The recent spat over the South China Sea Monitor Sea came up for discussion at a meeting between the Indian and Chinese Foreign Ministers on 11 April in Moscow. Meeting for an hour on the sidelines of the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral conference, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Monday, 10 April 2017
Vietnam Offers South China Sea Monitor Sea Oil Blocks to India
During the official visit of India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Vietnam from August 24-26, the two countries renewed their bilateral relationship and Hanoi urged for stronger Indian participation in Southeast Asia.
During the official visit of India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Vietnam from August 24-26, the two countries renewed their bilateral relationship and Hanoi urged for stronger Indian participation in Southeast Asia. In the background of an assertive China in the South China Sea, Vietnam offered five oil and gas blocks in the South China Sea to India for exploration. China has always opposed internationalising the issue and warned other nations to stay out of the regional maritime disputes. However, with growing Chinese aggression in the disputes, nations like Vietnam and the Philippines are looking towards other regional powers for support against Beijing.
Maritime security was one of the key areas of discussion between the delegations. While addressing the Third Round Table of India-ASEAN Think Tanks, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh noted that "future development and integration (between India and China) lie in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean". While Vietnam explicitly expressed its interest in seeing a greater Indian presence in the South China Sea, the Indian side did not make any direct comment on the issue. Swaraj however did emphasise on the importance of India’s ties with Vietnam especially with regard to its Look East Policy.
Sushma Swaraj is believed to ’have laid the foundation for the upcoming visit to Vietnam by President Pranab Mukherjee in September. The high level visits to Hanoi are aimed at underlining the growing ties between the two countries and reflecting India’s interest in engaging further with the region. This was the first visit by the External Affairs Minister and apart from meeting her counterparts, Swaraj inaugurated the Third Round Table of India-ASEAN Think Tanks. The Minister also convened a meeting with the Indian Heads of Mission from Southeast and East Asia to discuss the developments in the region. Vietnam could pave the way for New Delhi to engage further with the region – an opportunity that is crucial to India’s Look East Policy.
MEDIA WATCH
China Media says Japan’s naming of 160 East China Sea Islands ’Farce’
Chinese state media has slammed Japan’s move of naming 160 islands in the East China Sea, claiming that it infringes on China’s sovereign rights. (The Japan Times).
Chinese state media has slammed Japan’s move of naming 160 islands in the East China Sea, claiming that it infringes on China’s sovereign rights. (The Japan Times).
U.S., Chinese officials to meet at Pentagon after jet intercept
Chinese and U.S officials met at the Pentagon after a Chinese fighter pilot flew acrobatic maneuvers around the U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine and reconnaissance plane. (Reuters).
Chinese and U.S officials met at the Pentagon after a Chinese fighter pilot flew acrobatic maneuvers around the U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine and reconnaissance plane. (Reuters).
Sushma Swaraj in Hanoi, India Examining Vietnam’s South China Sea Oil Blocks Offer
Vietnam sought greater Indian engagement in maintaining maritime safety, security and settlement of territorial disputes in the disputed South and East China Seas. (The Times of India).
Vietnam sought greater Indian engagement in maintaining maritime safety, security and settlement of territorial disputes in the disputed South and East China Seas. (The Times of India).
China to hold First Combat Drill with ’Opposition Forces’
Chinese air and naval forces would hold combat drill with realistic scenarios with "opposition forces" unlike previous drills which were in accordance with preplanned scenarios. (The Economic Times).
Chinese air and naval forces would hold combat drill with realistic scenarios with "opposition forces" unlike previous drills which were in accordance with preplanned scenarios. (The Economic Times).
Philippines to protest to Beijing over Shipping Activity in South China Sea
Philippines is set to protest Beijing’s increased patrols in the South China Sea. The protests were against Chinese vessels which have entered Recto and Reed Banks which lie within the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone. (South China Morning Post).
Philippines is set to protest Beijing’s increased patrols in the South China Sea. The protests were against Chinese vessels which have entered Recto and Reed Banks which lie within the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone. (South China Morning Post).
Japan’s provocative ’reconnaissance’ in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone
Japanese Air Defense forces entered the Air Defense Identification Zone instituted in November 2013. A Japanese F-15 twice attempted to engage with Chinese aircraft. (People’s Daily).
Japanese Air Defense forces entered the Air Defense Identification Zone instituted in November 2013. A Japanese F-15 twice attempted to engage with Chinese aircraft. (People’s Daily).
U.S. to monitor South China Sea for de-escalation after China rebuff
The U.S is set to monitor the South China Sea to see whether "de-escalatory steps" are being taken after China resisted pressure to rein in actions in the disputed waters, according to the U.S. State Department. (Reuters).
The U.S is set to monitor the South China Sea to see whether "de-escalatory steps" are being taken after China resisted pressure to rein in actions in the disputed waters, according to the U.S. State Department. (Reuters).
China Rejects Push at ASEAN to Curb South China Sea Activity
In a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum, China rejected a motion by Philippines to curb Chinese actions in the South China Sea. Maritime rights and Chinese actions were important points of discussion at the meeting. (Bloomberg).
In a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum, China rejected a motion by Philippines to curb Chinese actions in the South China Sea. Maritime rights and Chinese actions were important points of discussion at the meeting. (Bloomberg).
Indian Frontline Warships Test Waters in South China Sea
Three frontline warships have been deployed in the South China Sea to conduct naval drills with Japan and the U.S. China has objected to India’s attempt at oil exploration in these waters. (Hindustan Times).
Three frontline warships have been deployed in the South China Sea to conduct naval drills with Japan and the U.S. China has objected to India’s attempt at oil exploration in these waters. (Hindustan Times).
Japan Defence Paper Warns over China’s ’Dangerous Acts’ in Sea, Air
The annual defence white paper has warned that "dangerous acts" over territorial claims in the East China Sea could lead to "unintended consequences" in the region. The paper noted that China’s military budget had quadrupled over the past decade and said Japan was seeing an "increasingly severe" security environment. (The Times of India).
The annual defence white paper has warned that "dangerous acts" over territorial claims in the East China Sea could lead to "unintended consequences" in the region. The paper noted that China’s military budget had quadrupled over the past decade and said Japan was seeing an "increasingly severe" security environment. (The Times of India).
COMMENTARIES
China’s "Historical Evidence": Vietnam’s Position on South China Sea
– – Nguyen Huu Tuc
– – Nguyen Huu Tuc
In their joint RSIS Commentary entitled "South China Sea Disputes: China has evidence of Historical Claims", Dr Li Dexia and researcher Tan Keng Tat asserted that "China’s territorial claim is based on centuries of verifiable historical records, long-term use, treaties, international/customary laws plus records from the prodigious sea voyages of the Yuan and Ming dynasties". I argue, however, that these evidences are unconvincing in the framework of international law.
In the process of advancing its hegemonic ambitions in the South China Sea, China has always sought to use international law as the basis for its claims of sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the waters within its U-shaped line. Yang Jiechi, China’s former foreign minister once told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that there is "plenty of historical and jurisprudence evidence to show that China has sovereignty over the islands in the SCS and the adjacent waters".
China’s "historical evidence"
However, as Professor Mohan Malik from the Centre for Security Studies (Honolulu) noted in the World Affairs Journal, the vast majority of international legal experts have concluded that China’s claim to historic title over the South China Sea, implying full sovereign authority and the need for consent by other states to transit, is invalid.
In his visit to Germany in March 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping was given an antique map as a gift by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This was a 1735 map of China made by French cartographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville and printed by a German publishing house. The map was based on earlier geographical surveys done by Jesuit missionaries in China and represented the "summation of European knowledge on China in the 18th-century".
The map showed, according to its original Latin caption, the so-called "China Proper" ? that is, the Chinese heartland mostly populated by ethnic Han people, without some minorities such as Mongolia, or Manchuria. The island of Hainan ? the southern-most part of modern China ? is shown with a different colour border. Of course, there were no signs of the Paracel or Spratly archipelagoes in this map.
Professor Mohan Malik pointed out that, China’s present borders largely reflect the frontiers established during the spectacular 18th-century Qing (Manchu) expansionism, which over time hardened into fixed national boundaries following the imposition of the Westphalian nation-state system over Asia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Now ten-dash line?
Dr Li and Mr Tan asserted that "Chinese records also named the Paracels as Chi-chou yang shan, referring to the nine western islets of the Paracels. During the late Qing dynasty, the name Xisha islands became common" and that, "one of the earliest Chinese references to today’s Xisha (Paracels) is the ’Chu Fan Chi’ a 13th century book". Actually, in the Manchu or Qing dynasty maps, it is Hainan Island, not the Paracel and Spratly Islands, that is depicted as China’s southern-most border.
Furthermore, China’s so-called "historic claims" to the South China Sea are actually not "centuries old". Historical documents demonstrate that they only go back to 1947, when Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist government drew the so-called "eleven-dash line" on Chinese maps of the South China Sea, enclosing the Spratly Islands and other chains that the ruling Kuomintang party declared were now under Chinese sovereignty.
Following the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in the civil war in 1949, the People’s Republic of China adopted this cartographic coup, revising Chiang’s notion into a "nine-dash line" after erasing two dashes in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1953. Most recently, China drew the new map to show its claim over the South China by marking a "ten-dash line" around the region just off the coasts of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines’ island of Luzon.
From the legal aspects, statements about the basis in law and China’s respect for international law in the South China Sea dispute seem to merely exist in words. What China claims (from eleven, to nine and ten-dash lines) remain vague and lacks legal basis.
Vietnam’s position on South China Sea
For its part, Vietnam has full historical and legal evidences to prove that the Vietnamese states of the past have claimed sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes. The ancient documents such as official references, maps, books and the sovereignty steles were collected and exhibited; they have clearly asserted that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam.
South China Sea Monitor | Volume V; Issue 6
The South China Sea Monitor is a monthly maritime tracker produced and published by the ORF. The Monitor tracks and analyses maritime developments in the Asia-Pacific with a special focus on the South China Sea. Published in the first week of every month, each issue of the monitor carries highlights of one key development of the previous month, a round-up of the debates in the media on the region, a collection of the most recent journal articles, commentaries, books and reports as well as two opinion pieces analysing events in the maritime domain in Asia.
The Monitor aims to keep its readers up-to-date on the geopolitical and strategic changes in the Asia-Pacific and offer its readers a useful database on the most recent publications on broader issues in the region. The Monitor is a key resource for students, policymakers, academics and strategic thinkers on the developments in the South China Sea and beyond.
Editor: Dr. K. Yhome
Associate Editor: Pratnashree Basu
Associate Editor: Pratnashree Basu
Read the full Monitor here.
South China Sea Monitor | Volume V; Issue 8
Courtesy: US 7th Fleet/CC BY-SA 2.0
The month of July has been an important one for the South China Sea. Weeks before the verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was due to come out on July 12, a volley of opinions erupted regarding the implications of the verdict which was largely understood to go against China’s position. And indeed, the court ruled that China’s territorial claims did not have any legal or historical basis. The court also stated that Beijing had violated the sovereign territorial rights of Manila by constructing artificial islands and subsequently resulting in ecological damage.
In recent years, the South China Sea has been fraught with tension as China beefed up its claims over the islands, rocks and shoals of the waters in the region. In addition to territorial claims, Beijing had started construction works on many of the rocks and formations that dot the waters of the South China Sea including the establishment of airstrips and facilities which in future can be equipped to function as military bases. Beijing’s aggressive posturing coupled with its actions have served to fuel the apprehensions of littoral countries in the region. And it was the result of the buildup that in 2013 the Philippines approached the PCA in the Hague in its bid to bring about a legal solution to China’s claims. On its part, China has tried to project that its claims are entirely justified and that the disputed territories are actually part of its own sovereign space. Beijing has also actively tried to lobby other countries in its favour in the months leading up to the verdict. This was probably because Beijing understood that the odds were not on its side.
Following the release of the court’s ruling, China’s Supreme Court released a legal statement clarifying its position on the South China Sea issue and warned of action against states which would fail to comply with what it considered its own territory. Asserting that judicial power was an important aspect of sovereignty, the court explained the extent of China’s maritime jurisdiction. But, at the end of the day, China cannot deny or refuse to acknowledge the rules and code of international maritime law. The challenge is that, in today’s Asia, China is economically and militarily more powerful than any other country. But it is also to be remembered that countries like Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and others will not sit back and let China walk all over them. And this is exactly what the Philippines has refused to do. The only exception is Cambodia which has supported China’s position due to its own political reasons. Besides, the US has a strong interest in the Asia-Pacific region and has treaty alliances with many of the countries in the region. Should Chinese actions be deemed as unnecessarily provocative, the possibility of naval engagement cannot be ruled out, although it does not seem likely in the near future. What is most significant, however, is that the ruling of the PCA is the first instance of a legal repudiation of China’s claims at an international level. Beijing knows this and is therefore content with its posturing and declarations for now.
MEDIA WATCH
Russia to join China in naval exercise in disputed South China Sea
Russian naval forces plan to join Chinese forces for a joint exercise in the South China Sea to be held in September, highlighting Moscow’s partnership with Beijing after a recent international legal ruling underlined rifts between China and Southeast Asian nations over rival claims across the sea.
Source: Reuters
Show ‘utmost respect’ for law of seas: India
Identifying maritime cooperation as a key priority, India called for all stakeholders in the South China Sea issue to show “utmost respect” for the UN body that establishes the international legal order of the seas and oceans as it sought peaceful resolution of the dispute and appealed to all parties in the matter to avoid any activity that could escalate tensions.
Source: NDTV
US says backs resumption of China-Philippines talks on South China Sea
US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he supported the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, following an international court ruling against Beijing over the dispute earlier this month. China did not participate in and has refused to accept the July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, in which U.S. ally Manila won an emphatic legal victory.
Source: Reuters
Chinese FM warns Japan against intervention in South China Sea issue
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday urged Japan not to intervene in the South China Sea issue. During talks with Japanese Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Laos, Wang said Japan, which is not a claimant in the South China Sea disputes, should avoid interfering in and hyping up the maritime spats.
Source: Xinhua
China upset by ‘groundless accusations’ of US Republican Party on South China Sea and Tibet
China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the US Republican Party to stop making “groundless accusations” against Beijing in its party platform, which says China practices cultural genocide in Tibet and has ludicrous claims in the South China Sea. The ministry accused the Republican platform of interfering in China’s internal affairs.
Source: South China Morning Post
Beijing’s South China Sea militarisation becoming fait accompli: Defence paper
Japan will express its wariness over China’s muscle-flexing in the South China Sea in this year’s defense white paper, warning Beijing’s militarisation of the disputed waters is making its territorial claims a fait accompli. The white paper, which the Cabinet is expected to approve early next month, will say China’s activities in the South China Sea could be called high-handed, unilateral action to change the status quo.
Source: Japan Times
KFC, Apple in China hit by South China Sea spat
To the challenges facing KFC and Apple in China, add a surprise backlash from Beijing’s spat with the Philippines over the South China Sea. Nationalists are protesting at KFC outlets and calling for a boycott, spurred by government accusations that Washington encouraged Manila to oppose Beijing’s claims to vast tracts of ocean.
Source: The Economic Times
China ups the ante, to close part of South China Sea for military exercise
China announced on July 18 that it is closing off a part of the South China Sea for military exercises this week, days after an international tribunal ruled against Beijing’s claim to ownership of virtually the entire strategic waterway. An area off the east coast of China’s island province of Hainan will host military exercises, China’s maritime administration said on its website, adding that entrance was “prohibited”.
Source: The Times of India
Tribunal rules against China’s South China Sea efforts
China’s prestige as a rising global power suffered a blow as an international tribunal said its efforts to assert control over the South China Sea exceeded the law.
Source: Bloomberg
Japan, Philippines to launch maritime exercise amid South China Sea uncertainty
Japan and the Philippines will conduct a bilateral exercise this week off of Manila Bay just after an international tribunal is expected to announce a much-anticipated verdict on the Philippines’ South China Sea case against China, Philippine officials confirmed on July 11.
Source: The Diplomat
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Books
Sana Hashmi, China’s Approach towards Territorial Disputes: Lessons and Prospects, Knowledge World Publishers, 2016
Commentaries
Feng Zhang, The Paradox at the Heart of the South China Sea Ruling, Foreign Affairs, July 28, 2016
Robert Beckhusen, The Philippines’ Biggest South China Sea Problem: It Has Almost No Navy, The National Interest, July 27, 2016
Wang Wen and Chen Xiaochen, Who Supports China in the South China Sea and Why, The Diplomat, July 27, 2016
Richard Javad Heydarian, The Day After: Enforcing The Hague Verdict in the South China Sea, Brookings, July 25, 2016
Donald Rothwell, Cause for Optimism in the South China Sea, East Asia Forum, July 25, 2016
Adoracion M. Navarro, The AIIB Offers Hope for the China–Philippines relationship, East Asia Forum, July 20, 2016
Robert C. Beckman, Game Changer in the Maritime Disputes, RSIS, July 18, 2016
Mark E. Rosen, China Has Much to Gain from the South China Sea Ruling, The Diplomat, July 18, 2016
Hannah Beech, China Will Never Respect the U.S. Over the South China Sea. Here’s Why, TIME, July 8, 2016
Steve Mollman, The line on a 70-year-old map that threatens to set off a war in East Asia, Quartz, July 7, 2016
Jesse Johnson, Growing activity in East China Sea shines spotlight on lack of Japan-China communication protocol, The Japan Times, July 7, 2016
Jane Perlez, Ruling on South China Sea Nears in a Case Beijing Has Tried to Ignore, The New York Times, July 6, 2016
Editor: K. Yhome
Associate Editor: Pratnashree Basu
South China Sea Monitor | Volume V; Issue 10 | Shifting Sands in the South China Sea
Geopolitics of South China Sea appears to be ever-changing with approach of the Philippines towards China assuming a shift under current President Duterte
The geopolitics of the South China Sea appears to be ever-changing. After a much debated as well as anticipated ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) led by former President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino, the approach of the Philippines towards China has assumed a bewildering shift under the current President Rodrigo Duterte. The change is evident, although not quite lucid, both in action as well as rhetoric, with Manila, ostensibly, carving a more visible role in the regional maritime politics. The recent visit of President Duterte to China and the statements made during the visit have taken many by surprised. The most significant of these has been Duterte’s claim the Philippines no longer perceived the U.S. as their primary ally in the Asia-Pacific and that Manila would engage in bilateral talks with China over the South China Sea disputes. Beijing has been urging the acceptance of bilateral solutions to the disputes in the Sea but countries of the region have remained firm on a resolution that is backed by international law. Duterte’s comments also served to dilute the importance of the ruling by the PCA.
Another development has been the attitude of Chinese ships in the long disputed Scarborough Shoal which lies 120 miles from the Philippines coast. Reports surfaced that Chinese ships and the Chinese Coast Guard which had forbidden Filipino ships access to the Shoal since 2012, were altering their behaviour and not engaging in harassing Filipino fishermen. For a region which has remained persistently troubled with Chinese vessels upsetting Filipino vessels and fishermen for years, this has been a welcome change. There are also reports that the Chinese Coast Guard has not been present in the area for a few days. Meanwhile, the CCCC Dredging Co, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company, has won a contract in the Philippines to carry out a 208-hectare land reclamation project in Davao Bay. A Chinese state-owned enterprise poised to carry out maritime construction activities in the South China Sea for the Philippines is something unimaginable a month ago. Close on the heels of the Philippines, Malaysia has also signaled its intent for closer ties with Beijing.
Subsequently, on his trip to Japan a few days later, President Duterte reiterated that he wanted all foreign troops to leave Filipino soil. This was also followed by the announcement that the Philippines would not be holding joint patrols in the area with the U.S. although the latter has denied the receipt of any official communication regarding the same. While his remarks during the China visit may have given the sense that Manila is drawing closer to Beijing, his proposal to conduct military exercises with Japan, which has less than cordial ties with China, complicates that assumption. While on the hand, it would appear that Manila is drawing closer to Beijing, on the other hand, it has also articulated that it is on the same page as Japan on the South China Sea issue. These developments suggest that the geopolitics in the South China Sea calls for more nuanced perceptions and inferences as key players take new twists and turns with huge implications on the wider regional power play.
MEDIA WATCH
Defence tops Malaysian PM’s agenda in China
Military and economic cooperation will be high on the agenda during Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s week-long visit to China. Najib arrives as China is spearheading efforts to win over Asean nations as the US faces setbacks in its pivot to Asia strategy. But observers said it remained to be seen how far China could draw Southeast Asian nations closer to Beijing and away from Washington.
Source: South China Morning Post
RI proposes joint patrols with Australia
Following a meeting with Australia’s foreign and defence ministers, Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said Friday he had proposed that Indonesia and Australia conduct joint patrols in the eastern South China Sea in the near future to ensure safer waters. The Sulu Sea was also discussed by the two neighboring countries as it remains of large concern to Indonesia. Indonesians have become victims of recurring abductions carried out by the Abu Sayyaf militant group and its splinter cells in the southern Philippines.
Source: The Jakarta Post
Chinese vessels leave disputed fishing grounds in South China Sea
Chinese vessels have quietly abandoned the contested Scarborough Shoal, said the Philippine government, apparently a concession by Beijing after a visit to China by President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. Ernesto Abella, the president’s spokesman, told reporters at the presidential palace in Manila that there had been no sign of Chinese Coast Guard vessels in that part of the South China Sea since Tuesday. Filipino fishermen, who had been chased away from their traditional fishing grounds at the shoal after the Chinese arrived in 2012, can fish there once again, he said.
Source: The New York Times
Abe, Duterte united on South China Sea disputes
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte affirmed their cooperation in resolving the territorial disputes in the South China Sea peacefully and in accordance with international law, a week after China and the Philippines agreed to set aside the contentious issue to promote bilateral relations. The two leaders indicated they remain on the same page over addressing China’s military expansion at sea, despite Duterte’s overtures during his visit to China last week suggesting he wishes to align more closely with Beijing.
Source: South China Morning Post
Islands building Chinese firm wins contract with rival claimant the Philippines
A Chinese state-owned infrastructure company that has helped build artificial islands in a disputed area of the South China Sea has signed a land reclamation contract in the Philippines, a rival claimant in the sovereignty dispute. CCCC Dredging Co, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company, will carry out a 208-hectare land reclamation project in the harbour at Davao where Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte once served as a city major before assuming office in June. The Chinese company will create land along an 8km stretch of coastline in Davao Bay. The artificial land will be used for government offices, businesses, housing, port terminals and industry.
Source: South China Morning Post
Japan wants India to speak its mind on SCS
Japanese authorities were stunned to notice in August this year more than 200 Chinese fishing boats operating in the contiguous zone around East China Sea’s Senkaku islands, which Beijing insists on calling Diaoyu islands. Around the same time, 15 Chinese Maritime Law Enforcement Force (MLEF) vessels entered Japanese territorial watersaround the Senkakus. As Beijing raises the stakes in Japan’s contiguous zone as well as territorial waters in East China Sea, Japan is looking increasingly at India as an indispensable partner in preventing China from altering the maritime status quo in South China Sea where it is not itself party to any territorial dispute.
Source: The Times of India
US warship sails near China claimed islands
A US navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea, drawing a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area. The U.S. action was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, U.S. officials said. The Chinese Defense Ministry called the move “illegal” and “provocative,” saying that two Chinese warships had warned the U.S. destroyer to leave. The latest U.S. patrol, is expected to anger Beijing and could further escalate tensions over the South China Sea. The destroyer sailed within waters claimed by China, close to but not within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits of the islands, the officials said.
Source: Reuters
China develops world’s smallest nuclear plant to take control of South China Sea
China has developed a nuclear power plant so small it can fit inside a shipping container – to help Beijing’s efforts to take control of disputed islands in the South China Sea. The reactor, which was partly funded by the People’s Liberation Army, will be used to supply electricity to new settlements and desalinate sea water for drinking. The South China Morning Post reported the new reactor, believed to be the smallest ever created for civilian use, had been developed by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology. They told the paper they hoped to send the first reactor to the South China Sea in the next five years and it could also be sold to countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and Middle East.
Source: The Times of India
Philippines tells US no joint patrols in SCS
The Philippine defense chief told the U.S. military that plans for joint patrols and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold, the first concrete break in defense cooperation after months of increasingly strident comments by the country’s new president. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said that 107 U.S. troops involved in operating surveillance drones against Muslim militants would be asked to leave the southern part of the country once the Philippines acquires those intelligence-gathering capabilities in the near future. President Rodrigo Duterte also wants to halt the 28 military exercises that are carried out with U.S. forces each year, Lorenzana said. Duterte has said he wants an ongoing U.S.-Philippine amphibious beach landing exercise to be the last in his six-year presidency as he backs away from what he views as too much dependence on the U.S.
Source: Philstar
China opens desalination plant in SCS
Seeking to firm up its hold over the disputed South China Sea, China on Monday said it has commissioned the first desalination plant in the strategic maritime region. The plant has been set up in Sansha City, a prefecture level city formed in 2012 to administer a number of islands and atolls, including the Spratly Islands which are a disputed group of 14 islands, islets and more than 100 reefs. The new facility, officially commissioned on Saturday on the city’s Yongxing Island, is capable of treating 1,000 tonnes of seawater per day and 700 tonnes of processed water is potable.
Source: The Times of India
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
Dr. D.N. Roy, “South China Sea New Sino Asian rivalry”, Neha Publishers & Distributors, 2016
COMMENTARIES
Cary Huang, “Four reasons Duterte will have to change tune on China and U.S.”, South China Morning Post, October 29, 2016
Zachary Abuza and Nguyen NhatAnh, “Vietnam’s Military Modernization”, The Diplomat, October 28, 2016
Charles R. Hankla, “Why is the TPP facing headwinds in the United States?”,East Asia Forum, October 20, 2016
Greg Raymond, “What’s wrong with the United States’ Southeast Asian allies?”,East Asia Forum, October 18, 2016
Michael G. Roskin, “The hole in the pivot”, East Asia Forum, October 10, 2016
Bernard Miranda, “Maritime Security Threats in Southeast Asia: A Collective Approach”, RSIS, October 17, 2016
Huiyun Feng, “The Great Russia-China South China Sea Naval Hook Up (and Why It Matters)”, The National Interest, October 7, 2016
Editor: K. Yhome
Associate Editor: Pratnashree Basu
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