by Admin | Jun 6, 2014 | News
(BGF) – According to the Voice of America, Chinese officials were warning against any joint military patrols or exercises between Vietnam and the Philippines in the disputed Spratly Islands, which China calls Nansha. China has claimed that it has “indisputable sovereignty” and the adjacent waters over the Nansha Islands.
Click here to read the full article or visit the Voice of America website.
China Warns Against Joint Exercises in South China Seas
March 28, 2012 by Shannon Sant
Photo Credit: A general view of the third international workshop on the South China Sea, Hanoi, November 4, 2011.
(Voice of America) – Chinese officials in Beijing are warning against any joint military patrols or exercises between Vietnam and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea.
Vietnam and Philippines military officials have discussed conducting joint exercises in the disputed region in meetings earlier this month. The exercises could include joint patrols of the Spratly Islands, which both countries and China claim as their own.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei warned against any exercises in the Spratlys, which China calls Nansha.
China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, he said, and the adjacent waters. Hong also said China is opposed to foreign countries’ violation of China’s sovereign rights and interests.
There have been a series of run-ins involving fishermen, military patrols, and other vessels in the disputed region in recent months, increasing tension over the competing territorial claims. Philippine and Vietnamese officials have discussed establishing a communication hotline for possible disputes, as well as sharing shipbuilding expertise.
A visiting professor at the National University of Singapore, Huang Jing, a China foreign policy analyst, said Beijing is unlikely to back down on its claims to the resource rich waters.
“China is getting stronger and stronger, the so called peaceful rise, and the rise of nationalism in China on the one hand, and also the increasing demand for external resources and the market so all of a sudden the territory dispute in the South China Seas has become a kind of priority in the policy discussion and internal debate,” Huang Jing said.
China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim South China Sea territories. China has claimed the largest portion of territory.
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by Admin | Jun 6, 2014 | News
(BGF) – In China government’s official website, it warned the joint military exercises and joint patrol over the Spratly Islands of neighbor countries, the Philippines and Vietnam, and described these activities as “illegal”, which infringed upon its sovereignty over the islands.
Click here to read the full article or visit China’s website.
China warns against actions damaging peace in South China Sea
March 29, 2012
China on Thursday urged relevant countries to avoid escalating and complicating the South China Sea dispute and avoid taking actions that damage peace in the area.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a press conference, commenting on a report that claimed the Philippines and Vietnam planned to launch joint military exercises and joint patrols over the boundaries of the countries’ territorial waters in the South China Sea.
Hong said China owns “indisputable sovereignty” over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters, and China opposes any illegal activity that infringes upon its sovereignty over the islands.
“To maintain the peace and stability in the South China Sea complies with the common and fundamental interests of relevant countries in the area,” he added.
Relevant countries should comply with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and avoid taking actions that complicate and escalate disputes and damage the peace and stability in the South China Sea, said the spokesman.
by Admin | Jun 6, 2014 | News
(BGF) – China’s “nine-dashed line” maritime claims in the South China Sea has been a key source of disputes with its neighbors, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia. M. Taylor Fravel, an Associate Professor of Political Science and member of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, talked to The Diplomat about China’s claim of South China Sea. Click here to read the full article or visit The Diplomat website.
Clarification of China’s Claim?
March 05, 2012 I By M. Taylor Fravel
(The Diplomat) – Are China’s South China Sea claims as expansive as some people claim? The Foreign Ministry tries to clarify.
Ambiguity about the extent of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea has been a key source of concern in this dispute. In the 1990s, China issued a series of domestic laws detailing its maritime claims under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, including 12 nautical mile territorial seas and 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones (EEZ). Nevertheless, Chinese maps continue to contain a “nine-dashed line” around the South China Sea. The line first appeared on an official map produced by the Republic of China in 1947. After 1949, China continued to use the line on its official maps, but never defined what the line included or excluded.
In a recent press conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appeared to take an important step towards clarifying China’s claims in the South China Sea – and suggesting what the line might not mean.
First, the spokesperson, Hong Lei, distinguished between disputes over “territorial sovereignty of the islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands” and disputes over maritime demarcation. This affirms past statements, including a note to the United Nations in May 2011, that China will advance maritime claims that are consistent and compliant with UNCLOS. Under UNCLOS, states may only claim maritime rights such as an EEZ from land features like a nation’s coastline or its islands.
Second, and more importantly, the spokesperson further stated that “No country including China has claimed sovereignty over the entire South China Sea.” By making such a statement, this phrase suggests that the “nine-dashed line” doesn’t represent a claim to maritime rights (such as historic rights), much less a claim to sovereignty over the water space enclose by the line. More likely, the line indicates a claim to the islands, reefs and other features that lie inside.
To be sure, China could advance a large claim to maritime rights in the South China Sea from the islands and other features in the Spratly Islands. Although UNCLOS only permits states to claim a 200 nautical mile EEZ from islands that can sustain permanent human habitation, sovereignty over a single island can generate an EEZ of approximately 125,000 nautical miles.
Nevertheless, even articulation of a large but UNCLOS-compliant claim would offer several advantages in terms of dispute resolution. It would clarify where China’s EEZ claims from islands in the South China Sea overlap with the claims of littoral states from their coastlines. As a result, disputed and undisputed areas would be clearly identified. It would also allow states to invoke the dispute settlement mechanisms of UNCLOS, Part XV, which would a negotiated settlement to overlapping claims.
Of course, this recent statement doesn’t represent a full and complete definition of the nine-dashed line. Nevertheless, it does at least rule out one possible definition and provide an opportunity for other states to press China to further clarify its position.
by Admin | Jun 6, 2014 | News
(BGF) – The Strait Times reported Vietnam’s acquisition of more fighter weapons to counter a potential adversary of superior military capability. This initiative shows that Vietnam would be no pushover to try seizing the South China Sea. Click here to read the full article
Vietnam prepares to better protect its S. China Sea claims
January 10, 2012 by Robert Karniol
(The Straits Times) – Like China, Vietnam faces the same dilemma in seeking to counter a potential adversary of superior military capability.
Hanoi’s acquisitions of the Su-30MK multi-role fighter and the Gepard-class frigate are indicative of its A2/AD effort. Rather than looking at the numbers involved, consider the armament.
The fighter’s weapons fit is thought to include the Kh-59MK anti-ship cruise missile which has a 115-km range, while the frigate carries the Kh-35E anti-ship missile. The latter has an operational range of 130 km and can attack vessels of up to 5,000 tons.
Hanoi’s outstanding order for six Kilo- class submarines fits significantly into this mix as well. The weapons fit is expected to include the sea-skimming 3M-54 Klub anti-ship missile, ranging up to 300 km.
Meanwhile, land-based coastal defense has recently been strengthened through the Extended Range Artillery Munition obtained from Israel, a short-range ballistic missile effective beyond 150km, while air defense capabilities were bolstered by three sophisticated Vera passive radio locators from Czech Republic. Washington initially blocked the Vera sale but later reversed its decision.
These and similar initiatives show that Vietnam would be no pushover were the PLA to try seizing the South China Sea. Mirroring Beijing’s A2/AD strategy, Hanoi is introducing capabilities that threaten to make any Chinese adventurism there more complex and more costly than a simple comparison of air and naval assets suggests.
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by Admin | Jun 6, 2014 | News
(BGF) – The Wall Street Journal reported the fared tensions in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea as China warned its neighbors to stop looking for oil while Vietnam accused China of sabotaging a seismic survey boat. Beijing has contributed to mounting worries over the stability of the South China Sea through its efforts to extend the reach and influence of its military, alongside the hunger for natural resources.
Click here to read the full article or visit The Wall Street Journal website
Tensions Flare Over Disputed Asian Sea
June 10, 2011 | By James Hookway
(Photo Credit: The Wall Street Journal)
BANGKOK (The Wall Street Journal) —Tensions in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea flared as Vietnam accused China of sabotaging a seismic survey boat while China warned its neighbors to stop looking for oil in the disputed territory without its permission.
Beijing’s efforts to extend the reach and influence of its military, alongside its hunger for natural resources, have contributed to mounting worries in recent months over the stability of the South China Sea.
The conflict has escalated into a series of clashes between Vietnamese exploration craft and Chinese patrol boats and a worsening war of words with the Philippines.
In the latest incident, Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said a Chinese fishing boat supported by two Chinese naval patrol craft cut a cable being used by a seismic survey craft operated by state-run energy company PetroVietnam.
Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said the Chinese boat’s actions were “completely premeditated” and “seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereign rights.”
China’s ambassador to the Philippines, Liu Jianchao, denied any wrongdoing in the area while also urging South China Sea claimants to stop drilling for oil and gas.
China fired back late Thursday, accusing Vietnam of “seriously infringing” China’s sovereignty and maritime interests. In a statement posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website, spokesman Hong Lei blamed Vietnam for Thursday’s incident, saying the Chinese fishing boat had been dragged for more than an hour after becoming entangled in the cable used by the Vietnamese vessel. “The Vietnamese vessel’s actions seriously threatened the safety of the Chinese fishermen,” Mr. Hong said.
Mr. Hong also reiterated Beijing’s claim that “as everyone knows, China possesses indisputable sovereignty” over the Spratlys and the maritime area around them.
Security analysts say the incident reflects a pattern of Chinese muscle-flexing in the disputed waters, which are claimed in whole or in part by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia in addition to China, which considers the entire South China Sea as its sovereign territory.
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