(BGF) – The China’s People Daily reported on May 13 that China denied the US Secretary John Kerry’s accusation of it making provocative moves in the South China Sea during a phone conversation, and implied that Vietnam is the country taking provocative actions.
Click here to read the full story or visit People Daily website.
China denies US accusation over South China Sea
13 May, 2014 | By WangXin、Yao Chun
(Photo Credit: Vietnamese Department of Foreign Affairs)
BEIJING — China on Tuesday denied that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had accused it of making “provocative” moves in the South China Sea during a phone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Foreign media, including Reuters, quoted U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki as saying Kerry told Wang over the phone that China’s introduction of an oil rig and numerous government vessels in waters disputed with Vietnam was “provocative.”
“In fact, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry made no such comments during the phone conversation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told Xinhua.
According to Hua, Kerry’s message during the phone talks was that the U.S. takes neither positions nor sides, and has no intention to make any judgment on the issue of territorial sovereignty.
(BGF) – Recently China placed an offshore oil rig 17 miles off the coast of an island claimed by both Vietnam and China. This article, featured in The New York Times, discusses China’s decision to place the oil rig in the South China Sea. Given that the China National Offshore Oil Corporation is a political, as well as an economic, actor many are skeptical that China’s actions are purely motivated by potential oil and gas reserves beneath the South China Sea. Rather, there is speculation that this move represents China’s efforts to test the United States’ resolve to get involved in sovereignty disputes in the region. However, at the moment, China’s motivations remain unclear. Click here to read the full article or visit The New York Times‘ website.
In High Seas, China Moves Unilaterally
By Jane Perlez and Keith Bradsher
BEIJING — It is the pride of China’s state-run oil industry and the nation’s first deepwater drilling rig, a vessel as big as a football field and as tall as a 40-story building, with a $1 billion price tag. Last week, it crawled through the South China Sea, pulled by heavy-duty tugs, and parked in one of the most sensitive spots possible, about 17 miles off a speck of an island claimed by both China and Vietnam.
The Vietnamese, at times embraced in brotherly Communist Party fealty by China, were taken by surprise. Hanoi assumed the rig, known as HD-981, was just passing through, people close to the government said.
At least twice in recent years, China has sought to explore these waters and backed down after protests by Vietnam. Just six months ago, during a visit of the Chinese prime minister to Hanoi, the two sides announced that they would try to find ways to jointly develop oil and gas fields.
That good will evaporated this week when Beijing made clear the drilling rig was staying put. It set off four days of confrontation, with dozens of Chinese and Vietnamese naval vessels ramming one another and China using water cannons in a standoff that threatens to push a region known for its economic development toward military conflict.
China has not been shy in recent years about making broad claims to control much of the South China Sea. But by installing an expensive drilling rig in disputed waters, it now appears more willing to act first and invite diplomacy later. It is in effect creating “facts” in the water that its regional rivals, and ultimately the United States, must either accept or fight.
China signaled it would take unilateral steps last year, when it declared an air defense zone over parts of the East China Sea that includes islands at the center of a long-smoldering dispute with Japan. In the battle of wills with Vietnam, China has unleashed a new and potentially powerful tool in its battle for territory: its oil industry and the rigs a state oil-company official once called “our mobile national territory.”
The deployment of the rig is a possible game changer in China’s determination to dominate the South China Sea, as oil exploration requires substantial investment and often protection, which in China’s case would be provided by its ships, including its navy.
“China has been taking incremental steps, escalating and increasing its presence in the South China Sea, but this is crossing a threshold,” said Holly Morrow, a fellow in the Geopolitics of Energy program at Harvard who served on the National Security Council in the George W. Bush administration.
It is unclear if China’s gambit will end up the way its leaders hope. Two years ago, China was able to nudge aside the Philippines from a disputed reef, without a fight, by simply refusing to abide by an American-brokered agreement. The Philippines retreated, as promised. The Chinese did not, and have controlled the reef, the Scarborough Shoal, and its rich fishery ever since.
Vietnam has proved to be a tougher adversary, sending out its own ships to meet the Chinese flotilla and, according to Chinese government reports, using them to ram Chinese ships as many as 171 times in four days.
A prominent Vietnamese political analyst, Nguyen Quang A, summarized the standoff this way: “Invasion is in their blood, and resistance is in our blood.”
The timing of the move was perceived by some in the region as a test not only of the ability of Southeast Asian nations to stand up to their far more powerful northern neighbor, but also of President Obama’s resolve less than a month after he promised to support American allies in Asia as they deal with a stronger China.
China’s action was almost certainly a long-term plan — the deployment of a deep water drilling rig takes months of preparation. But a senior Asian diplomat with deep ties in the region said some officials were left with the impression after Mr. Obama’s visit that the United States was eager to avoid direct confrontation with China over its claims in the South China Sea.
At a news conference in Manila, Mr. Obama sidestepped a question about whether Washington would defend the Philippines if a territorial dispute with China became an armed conflict, instead saying “we don’t think that coercion and intimidation is the way to manage these disputes.” A few days earlier he had made a stronger statement of support for Japan in its maritime disputes with China.
On Friday, Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, said the United States had been clear that it opposed unilateral steps or the threat of force by the Chinese and that it was strengthening military ties with its allies, including the Philippines. The United States does not have a defense treaty with Vietnam.
“We have reaffirmed our support for our mutual defense treaties with allies in the region, and have supported the efforts of the Philippines to pursue international arbitration to resolve maritime disputes,” Mr. Rhodes said.
Few believe that energy discoveries were the primary reason for the arrival of rig HD-981, which is owned by China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or Cnooc, the state-run energy giant.
(BGF) – On March 7, 2014 Senator John McCain (R-AZ) issued a statement condemning China’s decision to begin drilling for oil within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The statement goes on to state China’s action is “provocative” and “deeply concerning and only serves to escalate tensions in the South China Sea.” Senator McCain’s statement is included below and can also be found on Senator McCain’s website.
“Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today released the following statement on the latest reports regarding the escalating conflict between China and Vietnam over a Chinese oil rig near the Paracel Islands:
‘China’s decision to begin drilling for oil off the coast of Vietnam, and its deployment of dozens of naval vessels to support that provocative action, is deeply concerning and serves only to escalate tensions in the South China Sea. Chinese ships have swarmed and rammed Vietnamese Sea Guard vessels in yet another instance of aggressive maritime harassment. There should be no doubt that China bears full responsibility for this unilateral attempt to change the status quo.
“These Chinese actions rest on territorial claims that have no basis in international law. In fact, China’s drilling is occurring squarely within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone, as defined clearly under international law. It is incumbent upon on all responsible nations to insist that China’s leaders take immediate steps to deescalate tensions and revert to the status quo ante.'”
The Financial Times (FT) is a British English-language international daily newspaper with a special emphasis on business and economic news internationally. The paper, published by Pearson PLC in London, was founded in 1888 by James Sheridan and Horatio Bottomley, and merged with its closest rival, the Financial News (which had been founded in 1884) in 1945.
The Washington Post (WP) is an American daily newspaper. It is the most widely circulated newspaper published in Washington, D.C., and was founded in 1877, making it the area’s oldest extant newspaper.
Located in the capital city of the United States, the newspaper has a particular emphasis on national politics, reporting on the workings of the White House, Congress, and other aspects of the U.S. government. Daily editions are printed for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
The New York Times (NYT) is an American daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18, 1851.
The paper’s print version remains the largest local metropolitan newspaper in the United States and third-largest newspaper overall, behind The Wall Street Journal and USA Today
(BGF) – This article, featured inThe Economist discusses China’s foreign policy with regard to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. As the article notes, the Chinese Government extols the virtues of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Accordingly, China has been relatively silent on the issue Russia’s actions in Ukraine and has not explicitly condemned Russia’s actions. However, Russia’s actions interfere significantly with the internal affairs of Ukraine. Does this mean that perhaps China is remaining silent on Russia’s actions because it sympathizes with Russia’s determination to do what it takes to defend its territory, even if it doesn’t control that territory (i.e., the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute)? If so, how does this fare for China’s soft power in East Asia? Click here to read the full article or visit The Economist‘s website.
Non-interference on the line
The Economist
If they have said it once, they’ve said it a million times. Hardly a press briefing goes by at the foreign ministry in Beijing without a stern reminder of the importance China places on the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs. These days the phrase is trotted out whenever a spokesman is asked about China’s stance on Ukraine. Yet, oddly, the spokesman never goes on to criticise Vladimir Putin or Russia, which, in annexing Crimea, has interfered in Ukrainian internal affairs in the crudest way imaginable. Swift to pounce on any alleged hypocrisy in Western foreign policy, China now seems to be upholding double standards of its own. In truth, it always has. But the crisis in Ukraine has exposed the contradictions in China’s “principled” diplomacy with unusual starkness.
China has not explicitly taken Russia’s side. Rather, it calls on all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiation. It opposes the sanctions imposed by America and threatened by Europe. And it harps on about the “complexity” of the situation. But America has tried in vain to persuade China to be explicit in condemning Russia. A telephone conversation between Barack Obama and China’s president, Xi Jinping, yielded no change in the Chinese script. According to the Chinese press, Mr Xi said China hoped “that all parties concerned would tackle their differences through communication and co-ordination”. In the context of Russia’s bullying approach, Huang Jing of the Lee Kuan Yew School in Singapore says that China’s supposedly neutral stance amounts, in effect, to backing Mr Putin.
Several reasons suggest why that might appear the best option to China’s leaders. Russia is a fellow permanent member of the UN Security Council and an important strategic and diplomatic partner. It lines up with China and on the opposing side to America on a range of international issues, such as Iran and Syria. Also, China shares Russia’s distaste for the sort of people-power revolution that saw Viktor Yanukovych ousted as Ukraine’s president last month after confrontations in the centre of Kiev that to some recalled Beijing’s abortive pro-democracy uprising in 1989. As with every such movement since—across eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and, three years ago, the Middle East—China’s leaders have fretted about how their own citizens might react. Sure enough, this time, some users of Sina Weibo, a microblogging service, drew poetical parallels: “In Kiev dawn is nigh; how long can the moon remain full over the Chinese capital?” asked a post by a widely followed writer. The censors later deleted it.
Like Russia, China saw Western meddling behind the unrest that led to Mr Yanukovych’s downfall. A commentary published on March 7th by Xinhua, the official news agency, lamented the West’s “fiasco” in Ukraine. “The West’s strategy for installing a so-called democratic and pro-Western Ukrainian government”, it argued, “did not get anywhere at all. On the contrary, they have created a mess they do not have the capacity or wisdom to clean.” Global Times, a daily owned by the Communist Party, argued that “the world should see Russia’s resistance as the dissatisfaction of many countries towards Western powers.”
So, though willing enough to criticise supposed Western interference, China’s official spokesmen are silent about—or even favourable towards—the Russian variety.
(BGF) – The Boston Global Forum (BGF) is pleased to announce the launch of its Global Media Award. The Global Media Award will honor persons, organizations, or products that have a significant positive impact on media and society. The award is comprised three categories will change yearly, meaning that three winners will be selected annually.
The award process will begin with the public submitting nominations to the Boston Global Forum website. Each nomination will recognize the impact a product has had throughout the previous year; therefore, the 2014 Global Media Awards will recognize products from three categories that had a significant impact on society throughout calendar year 2013. Once the nominating process closes, a jury made up of Boston Global Forum leaders will make the final decisions. The winners of the Global Media Award will be selected by a jury consisting of: Governor Michael Dukakis; The Honorable Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvia’s president, and President of World Leadership Alliance Club de Madrid; Harvard Professors Joseph Nye, Thomas Patterson, and John Quelch; and Dean of College of Communications, Boston University Professor, Thomas Fiedler etc. Building upon its tradition of public engagement, the Boston Global Forum seeks nominations in three categories from the global community for products that have made a significant contribution to society.
The three award categories for 2014 are:
Best Connectivity Platform – this product will have a positive effect on society by successfully connecting people from around the world.
Best Content Production – this product will positively influence and/or affect the way people receive information, make the world more peaceful, prosperous, and humanity. The product can be from any realm; radio, television, internet, print media, blogs; etc.
Best Cyber Security Products – this prize will be broken into three sections – awarding the products that make the most significant contributions to protecting online activities. The three subcategories are:
– Best solution to protect Denial of Service (DOS), website censorship etc
– Best solution to protect stealing information , account etc .
– Best solution to recognize information fraud
The Boston Global Forum will formally recognize the winners of the Global Media Awards in a ceremony on October 03, 2014, at the Loeb House, which is a historic residence that has housed many of Harvard’s former presidents.
