Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Philippines Defense Forces Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
China tightening grip on Spratlys; merge threads, updates
Topic Started: Jun 25 2012, 06:46 PM (30,282 Views)
MSantor
Member Avatar

PDFF Mod Group
Please note parallels updates at the ff. threads: PH-China WPS dispute and US support for the Philippines against China

They will all remain separate threads.

ABS-CBN

Quote:
 
US' Kerry to take tough approach in China over West PH Sea

By David Brunnstrom, Reuters
Posted at 05/14/2015 8:08 AM | Updated as of 05/14/2015 11:15 AM
WASHINGTON- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will leave China ''in absolutely no doubt'' about Washington's commitment to ensuring freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea when he visits Beijing this weekend, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday.

Setting the scene for what could be contentious encounters with Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, the official said Kerry would warn that China's land-reclamation work in contested waters could have negative consequences for regional stability - and for relations with the United States.

On Tuesday, a U.S. official said the Pentagon was considering sending military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation around rapidly growing Chinese-made artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea.

(...SNIPPED)
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MSantor
Member Avatar

PDFF Mod Group
ABS-CBN

Quote:
 
China defends claims following U.S. Navy patrols

Kyodo News
Posted at 05/21/2015 10:41 PM
BEIJING - China on Thursday reaffirmed its territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) following reports that U.S. Navy planes entered the disputed region.

China has "indisputable sovereignty" over the territory in question, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

"We hope relevant countries...will not take actions that will complicate or expand disagreements in the region," he said.

(...SNIPPED)

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MSantor
Member Avatar

PDFF Mod Group
I highly doubt anyone here will agree with this assessment. This Greg Austin must be another apologist on Beijing's payroll... :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

Diplomat

Quote:
 
4 Reasons Why China Is No Threat to South China Sea Commerce
US diplomacy is not served by exaggerating or inventing military threats, such as threats to commercial shipping.


The heat being generated outside China about its putative threat to commercial shipping in the South China Sea because of activity in the Spratly Islands is becoming tiresome. (Note: The term “sea lines of communication” (SLOC) is often used in these debates as a substitute for “commercial shipping,” though in normal parlance the two are not completely synonymous.) It is not clear who invented the “China SLOC threat” thesis but it does not stand close scrutiny. Here are a few considerations that may stimulate a re-think.

First, China does not need the Spratly Islands to threaten north-bound shipping in the South China Sea. It could do so easily (if it wanted to) without controlling this disputed island group. China’s Southern Fleet is headquartered in Hainan, which sits in a commanding position opposite the Philippines in the area that overlooks the northernmost egress from this semi-enclosed sea. China’s mainland province of Guangdong has 4,300 km of coastline that forms one side of this sea egress. The distance between this coastline and the Philippines coast is around 800 km and this area is in relatively easy reach of China’s maritime military assets.

(...SNIPPED)
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
gammy322
Member Avatar
Member
[ *  *  * ]
Paper outlines China's 'active defense' strategy, says control of seas as vital as control of land
By: PNA/Xinhua
May 26, 2015 7:04 PM


BEIJING - China issued its first white paper on military strategy on Tuesday, stressing "active defense" and pledging closer international security cooperation.

The white paper, "China's Military Strategy", issued by the State Council Information Office, outlined a strategy unifying strategic defense and operational and tactical offense.

Among others, it warned of threats to China's maritime rights and interests, citing the provocative actions of some offshore neighbors, including reinforced, and illegal military presence in Chinese territory, and outside parties involving themselves in South China Sea affairs.

The traditional mentality that control of the land is more important than control of the sea must be abandoned, and great importance has to be attached to managing the seas and oceans and protecting maritime rights and interests, said the paper.

The nearly 9,000-word paper also underscored "the principles of defense, self-defense and post-emptive strikes", adding that China "will not attack unless we are attacked, but we will surely counterattack if attacked".


http://www.interaksyon.com/article/111198/white-paper-outlines-chinas-active-defense-strategy-says-control-of-seas-as-vital-as-control-of-land
Edited by gammy322, May 26 2015, 07:27 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MSantor
Member Avatar

PDFF Mod Group
:headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

Diplomat

Quote:
 
China to extend military reach, build lighthouses in disputed waters
Tue May 26, 2015 7:31am EDT

By Megha Rajagopalan

BEIJING (Reuters) - China outlined a strategy to boost its naval reach on Tuesday and held a groundbreaking ceremony for two lighthouses in disputed waters, developments likely to escalate tensions in a region already jittery about Beijing's maritime ambitions.

In a policy document issued by the State Council, the Communist-ruled country's cabinet, China vowed to increase its "open seas protection", switching from air defense to both offense and defense, and criticized neighbors who take "provocative actions" on its reefs and islands.

China has been taking an increasingly assertive posture over recent years in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, where Beijing has engaged in land reclamation in the Spratly archipelago.

(...SNIPPED)

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Hong Nam
Member Avatar
Bought by China

Chinese lighthouse project breaks ground in South China Sea

By John Stansfield - Vessel Finder
May 26, 2015

The ceremony was hosted by the Ministry of Transport of China. Despite the calls of the United States and the Philippines for ending such activities, the Chinese government will continue the building of both multi-functional lighthouses on Cuarteron Reef and Johnson South Reef respectively, which are part of the disputed Spratly Islands.







Posted Image
Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie - C Sword 90



Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ayoshi
Member Avatar


May 26, 2015

China's army plays down South China Sea island-building
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q2rgvTrzeY

Beijing boosts South China Sea naval defence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEYm2jzai-Q
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MSantor
Member Avatar

PDFF Mod Group
More evidence of fortifications:

ABS-CBN

Quote:
 
Vietnam says reports of China artillery on reclaimed land 'bad sign'

Reuters
Posted at 05/30/2015 11:28 PM
SINGAPORE - Vietnam's deputy defense minister said on Saturday that reports China had placed mobile artillery weapons on a reclaimed island in the disputed South China Sea were, if true, a very worrying development.

"If it has actually happened it is a very bad sign for what is already a very complicated situation in the South China Sea," General Nguyen Chi Vinh told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore.

The United States said on Friday that China had placed mobile artillery weapons on a reclaimed island in the disputed South China Sea. Analysts said the artillery could pose a threat to nearby Vietnamese bases, also on disputed territory.

(...SNIPPED)
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MSantor
Member Avatar

PDFF Mod Group
Diplomat

Quote:
 
China Is Playing Offense, Not Defense, in the South China Sea

China’s actions in the South China Sea have gone far beyond matching or reacting to the actions of others.



The construction of artificial islands is the latest and most dramatically tangible example of what many observers call increased Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, where China is one of six governments that claim sovereignty over some of the same territory. A key question is whether Chinese assertiveness is the result of provocations by other countries. If so, these other countries should cease and desist if we want to de-escalate tensions in the region.

There are three theories of China’s approach to the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. The first is that Beijing is completely defensive: What the Chinese really want is to lay aside the sovereignty question and continue business as usual, perhaps including the joint exploitation of resources in contested areas. Chinese officials have often stated this as their aim. The exceptionally expansive claim Beijing makes to some (unspecified) form of ownership over most of the South China Sea might be explained as merely an initial bargaining position from which the Chinese would eventually retreat. This theory would explain assertive Chinese actions responses to unilateral steps taken by rival claimants. The implication is that China could abide the status quo, but cannot tolerate the risk of appearing to tacitly accept other claimants changing the status quo to China’s detriment. If others did not violate the truce first, neither would China.

(...SNIPPED)

Edited by MSantor, Jun 4 2015, 10:47 PM.
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MSantor
Member Avatar

PDFF Mod Group
Diplomat

Quote:
 
South China Sea: China's Unprecedented Spratlys Building Program

Subi Reef looks next in line for an airstrip, as building and reclamation continue with unprecedented speed.

High-resolution satellite images from April 17, 2015 reveal that in the space of ten weeks China has built an island on top of Subi Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands group. The dimensions and shape of the land fill, which is still underway, are compatible with a potential airstrip 3,300 meters long, similar to the prospective length of the runway currently being paved on Fiery Cross, the site of another installation being built by China on a former reef in the Spratlys.

(...SNIPPED)
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · West Philippine Sea · Next Topic »
Add Reply