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US & China Square Off Over South China Sea
Topic Started: Jul 12 2012, 01:32 PM (27,750 Views)
Ayoshi
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US challenges Beijing's sea claims based on ‘nine-dash line’ (gmanetwork.com)
Quote:
 
Addressing the rifts, the top US diplomat for the region challenged Beijing's so-called "nine-dash line" that outlines its territorial claims over much of the South China Sea.

Danny Russel, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said that maritime claims under international law needed to be based on land features.

"Any Chinese claim to maritime rights not based on claimed land features would be inconsistent with international law," Russel told a congressional committee.

"China could highlight its respect for international law by clarifying or adjusting its claim to bring it into accordance with international law of the sea," he said.
<snipped>
"China's lack of clarity with regard to its South China Sea claims has created uncertainty in the region and limits the prospect for achieving mutually agreeable resolution or equitable joint development arrangements," Russel said.

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raider1011


China’s Careful Days
By Felix Imonti | Thu, 30 January 2014

Quote:
 
The real threat from China comes from the Paracel Islands near Vietnam or Scarborough Shoal 190 kilometers west of Subic Bay in the Philippines. A map that was published by China in 1951 and presented to the United Nations in 2009 declares these to be Chinese territory. Chinese claims encompass two million square kilometers of the South China Sea. If China were to achieve its objective, the South China Sea would become a Chinese lake and China would become the gatekeeper between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. ...

On January 21, 2014, a 5,000 ton patrol boat began regular patrols from a newly established base on Woody Island. Included in its patrol area is Scarborough Shoal that was abandoned by the Philippine Navy on June 15 2012 to a superior Chinese naval force after a brief encounter.

Unlike the Paracels, the Chinese seizure of the shoal was accomplished through simple intimidation without a shot fired. The success of the strategy has prompted Beijing to look at the event as a model for future actions that have been labeled as “extended coercion.” ...

The Paracel Islands and the Scarborough Shoal are bricks in what is the construction of a new Great Wall of China
. Like the first wall that was designed to block a land invasion, the new marine wall is intended to protect China from attacks on its weak underbelly. ...

However much bravado the Chinese display, they seek to attain their objectives without engaging in a shooting war with a major power; and believe that they can. That is the lesson that Beijing learned from the incident in 1974 when the American naval forces refused to assist their Vietnamese ally or in June 2012 when the U.S. declined to take a position on the side of the Philippines. The lesson is that American interest is restricted to insuring that freedom of the seas is maintained in the Commons and not to become embroiled in every territorial squabble; and that is to China’s advantage. Even in the case of the Senkaku, Washington has expressed its determination to defend Japan, if Japan is attacked, but Washington has not acknowledged the Japanese ownership of the islands.

What Scarborough Shoal taught Beijing is how to apply pressure without employing a level of force that would provoke the United States to intervene. American ships will not fire upon a cluster of Chinese fishing boats in waters where they do not belong or upon an oil rig drilling in a neighbor’s waters. These are matters better left to the parties involved to resolve peacefully. ...

If Beijing intends to acquire the Senkaku Islands to add to their wall, they will have to move quickly before Japan expands the military bases on nearby Okinawa and acquires the more advanced weapons that are planned. The question is if the lesson of Scarborough Shoal that worked against the far weaker Philippine Navy can be applied to the Japanese. Extended coercion may prove to be the trigger to an unexpected and unwanted fight that the Japanese just might win and lead to the third humiliation of China by Japan. Xi Jinping has to think about that very carefully.

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Edited by raider1011, Feb 8 2014, 01:15 AM.
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pachador


some reporters are looking simplistically and declaring that the philippines 'lost' scarborough. we just withdrew because of the astronomical cost of fuel keeping ships there 24 hours a day, among other reasons.
as long as no structures are built there, its no big deal.
what is a big deal however is if our fishermen are not allowed to fish there although latest news indicate that they have been allowed by the bully to fish there again
the moment of truth will arrive after UNCLOS issues a ruling on the west philippine sea case, if it is in our favor then, by that time the new PCG ships will have arrived and the philippines can legally enforce bumping, ramming boarding foreign shipping boats since unclos ruled in our favor, its also easier for the pcg and pn to be more 'forceful' against the bully even if they are much more powerful since we are legally' covered by the unclos ruling if the bully resorts to violence - meaning its much easier for the UN body to issue condemnations and for europe,japan and US to intervene since the UNLOS ruling legally protects intervention by concerned countries - there is no gray areas in other words as there is pure naked aggression involved- as far as the UNCLOS and UN by extension is concerned.
to elaborate further, once UNCLOs decides in our fsvor, then the dispute or argument between the bully and us over who owns who is over, since unclos ruling is final and non-appealable(if i'm not mistaken). if the bully ships continue to insist on blocking scarborough or malampaya etc, then the bully will be violating a UN ruling , if for example we ram ourselves into an area that UNCLOS has already ruled as ours, we have every right since UNCLOS has ruled its ours, and if the bully uses force to kick us out violently then thats grounds for an allied intervention(read that U.S. , Japan, india, australia) already. and remember we have mutual defense treaty with uncle sam.




Edited by pachador, Feb 8 2014, 07:00 AM.
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Ayoshi
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Quote:
 
What Scarborough Shoal taught Beijing is how to apply pressure without employing a level of force that would provoke the United States to intervene. American ships will not fire upon a cluster of Chinese fishing boats in waters where they do not belong or upon an oil rig drilling in a neighbor’s waters. These are matters better left to the parties involved to resolve peacefully. ...

Beijing is seeing just how far it can push the envelope, for it banking on the assumption that the United States, currently bunkrupt and war-weary nation will not want to directly confront China over such minor claims. Indeed, look what just happened in Scarborough Shoal, Mischeef Reef, and in Paracel Islands. :armyfrown:

an Old Article dated January 31, 2014.
How Richard Nixon Would Deter China (thediplomat.com)
Quote:
 
“While preventing inadvertent war in Asia is obviously a worthy goal, it is just as important to discourage China from believing that it can employ economic, military, and diplomatic coercion to settle international disagreements without triggering a serious response. Making the risk of escalation too low will at some point start running counter to U.S. interests.”

They continue: “Why? Because China is taking advantage of Washington’s risk aversion by rocking the boat, seeing what it can extract in the process, and letting the United States worry about righting it. Beijing’s playbook of tailored coercion relies in part on China’s confidence that it can weather ephemeral international outrage while Washington takes responsibility for ensuring the situation doesn’t get out of control.”
<snipped>
The solution? Colby and Ratner argue that “the United States needs to inject a healthy degree of risk into Beijing’s calculus …. [By] communicating that Beijing has less ability to control escalation than it seems to think. China must understand that attempts to roil the waters could result in precisely the kinds of costs and conflicts it seeks to avoid.” In practical terms, this means “the United States should pursue policies that actually elevate the risks — political, economic, or otherwise — to Beijing of acting assertively.”
<snipped>
The purpose of threats that leave something to chance is to inject a degree of uncertainty and risk into the calculus of the target. For Schelling, writing during the Cold War, the target of the threat was the Soviet Union. What Schelling felt threats that leave something to chance could prevent the Soviet Union from initiating crises or pursuing limited wars for fear that these could escalate into a general war with the United States. Colby and Ratner similarly argue that the U.S. must seek to inject a higher level of risk into China’s calculus to prevent it from initiating frequent crises in the South and East China Seas.
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gammy322
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Beijing slams 'irresponsible' US warning on South China Sea
By: Agence France-Presse
February 10, 2014 8:35 PM


BEIJING - China condemned the US Pacific air force commander Monday for "irresponsible remarks" after he warned it would be provocative if Beijing declared an air defense zone over the South China Sea.

The response ratchets up a war of words also involving the Philippines and Japan over territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas respectively.

Beijing set up an "air defence identification zone" (ADIZ) over the latter waters in November that included contested islands claimed by it and Tokyo, prompting condemnation by Washington.

Amid concerns Beijing may do the same to assert territorial claims in the South China Sea, US Pacific Air Force Commander Herbert Carlisle said on Sunday such a step would be "very provocative".

At a regular press briefing on Monday, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying hit back, saying that "setting up an air defence identification zone is a reasonable right for any sovereign state to exercise.


http://www.interaksyon.com/article/80483/beijing-slams-irresponsible-us-warning-on-south-china-sea
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seWer Rat
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amateur sewer cleaner

US program challenges Beijing's South China Sea claims

Before the US secretary of state, John Kerry, begins his second visit to China and his fifth to Asia, the China Youth Daily — the official newspaper of the Communist Youth League of China — stated that the Freedom of Navigation program announced by Jimmy Carter in 1979 stands in the way of Beijing's attempts to "reclaim" its territories in the disputed East and South China seas.

As about 50% of all world maritime transport goes through the South China Sea, maritime security is among the issues that Kerry will discuss with the Chinese authorities, said Jennifer Psaki, spokesperson for the State Department. Daniel Russel, US assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said on Feb. 5 that there were "growing concerns" that China is trying to gradually assert control over the area in the face of objections from its neighbors.

"This includes continued restrictions on access to Scarborough Shoal, pressure on the longstanding Philippine presence at the Second Thomas Shoal and the recent updating of fishing regulations covering disputed areas in the South China Sea," said Russel. "Our view is that these actions have raised tensions in the region and have exacerbated concerns about China's long-term strategic objectives." For this reason, he suggested Beijing refrain from establishing an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the region as it did with the East China Sea late last year.

"Any use of the 'nine-dash line' to claim maritime rights must be based on land features, such as a nation's coastline or its islands," said Russel, "Any Chinese claim to maritime rights not based on claimed land features would be inconsistent with international law. China could highlight its respect for international law by clarifying or adjusting its claim to bring it into accordance with international law of the sea," Russel said.

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seWer Rat
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US to bring 'very best' forces in Southeast Asia amid sea row

MANILA, Philippines - As part of the Obama administration's rebalancing strategy, the United States will position its top armed forces capabilities in the Asia Pacific, a ranking military official said.

US Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Locklear said that American forces are working to have a "huge impact" in the region's security.

"We're also gonna ensure that the forces that we have forwarded are the very best of what we could produce, that US can produce," Locklear said in a recent video by East Asia and Pacific Media Hub.

"We'll put our very best destroyers here, our very best ballistic missile offense here, our very best airplanes here, our very best people here," he elaborated.

He said this amid China's increasing assertiveness in claiming 80 percent of South China Sea, opposing exclusive economic zones of its neighbors including the Philippines.

Alongside such maritime tension, the US' Asian allies including the Philippines, will also have a boost in their military strength in the coming years, Locklear said.

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Hong Nam
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Bought by China

Quote:
 
China, Obama, the Dalai Lama and the South China Sea
by Katie Turner
February 22, 2014


China is once again criticizing President Obama's diplomacy with the Dalai Lama, along with his upcoming tour of Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines, and his general tone toward their territorial expansion in the South China Sea.

What, we might ask, does a regular annual or semi-annual visit with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader have to do with Chinese territorial policies in the middle of a sea far from land-locked Tibet?

The answer to such a question is more complex than it might seem at first glance.

The problem has to do with two main points. The first is that the U.S. seems to be done with the cautious diplomatic approach regarding China's territorial disputes. Previous to 2014, President Obama has shown an openness and a willingness to deal with China despite signs of increasing expansionism. When the president, however, recently announced an upcoming tour of the nations surrounding the South and East China seas-but, glaringly obvious, not including a visit to China until much later in the year; November to be exact-China reacted unfavorably.

From the comments made by Chinese officials after the announcement, it seems that China is beginning to feel a change in U.S. attitudes, one markedly devoid of the previously conciliatory tones that led Obama to delay a previous meeting with the Dalai Lama and to take a diplomatic line with China in its territorial tussles in the South and East China Seas.

This recently-announced April visit to the four most decisive nations bordering the disputed seas has provoked angry comment from China that the U.S. is siding with the other side in their claims, to the detriment of U.S.-Chinese relations. Previous to the announcement of the upcoming tour, Obama's administration has criticized the use of the so-called 'nine-dash-line', a line of demarcation debated between the People's Republic of China (PRC), including Taiwan, and neighboring nations such as Viet Nam, the Philippines and Malaysia among others.

Ties of economic interdependence between China and the U.S. have kept the two countries speaking softly and searching for common ground for a long time, but the U.S. seems to be taking a harder line with Beijing of late.


Guardian LV


Iran knocked out of the top spot by China as US' greatest enemy: Gallup
Staff Reporter 2014-02-22

China has replaced Iran and North Korea as America's greatest enemy, according to research and consulting firm Gallup, headquartered in the US. The shift was caused by Iran's agreement to limit its capability and China's growing economic power.


Want China Times








Edited by Hong Nam, Feb 23 2014, 08:09 PM.

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Ayoshi
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US envoy warns against altering status quo in South China Sea (gmanetwork.com)
February 24, 2014
Quote:
 
The US, along with other Western nations expressed alarm over China’s unilateral imposition of a fisheries regulation in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety, and an air defense zone in the neighboring East China Sea, where a group of islands is jointly disputed by China and Japan.

“We reject unilateral attempts to alter the realities on the ground, the air or the sea," Goldberg said at a briefing for foreign correspondents.

“We take no sides on regional territorial disputes but we do stand on our principles,” he said, adding “consultations with neighbors, adherence to codes of conduct, respects for freedom of navigation - should be the byword of the 21st century.”
<snipped>
Many countries are worried that the conflicts could turn violent, even by accident, and result in a major armed conflict in Asia.
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Ayoshi
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US questions China intentions, amid budget hike (mb.com.ph)
March 6, 2014
Quote:
 
Several lawmakers questioned Adm. Samuel Locklear about U.S. ability to contend with a rising China and sustain a “pivot” to Asia amid growing pressure on the U.S. defense budget.
<snipped>
“What’s frustrating is what’s happening in their own backyard as it relates to their relations with some of our allies,” Locklear said, citing China’s “ambiguous” territorial claims in the South China Sea and its declaration of an air defense information zone over the East China Sea, in an encompassing airspace above Japanese-controlled islands also claimed by China. “This all complicates the security environment and makes us wonder,” Locklear said.

“Whether the (Chinese) military will rise, I think that’s a given. It will. The question is: is it transparent, what is it used for, is it cooperating in the larger security environment with neighbors?” he said.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki also told reporters that the U.S. was urging greater transparency from China, and encouraging it to use its military capabilities for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.
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