China build artificial islands in South China Sea

x_54_u43 wrote:

max steel wrote:@X_Ukie53: Keep crying. You're unable to find my B-52 comment
from your forums? I'm surprised.

Your B-52 comment is your own addition, why do you think I did not include it my quote from you?

The rest of your comment is completely copied from Roovialk. It is not the first you have done it either.


Rest assured that I will not be crying, instead I will be laughing at you over how low your intelligence must be, to not even be able to analyse and form your own answers to the questions you mindlessly copy to other forums, hoping someone will answer them for you.

Make sure to not stay up beyond your bedtime.

hahah aren't you done yet,crybaby ? Go call the Internet police because you probably got sand in your vagina again. I'm done with you knobhead.

Well teach your fellow poster because he started name calling first not me. I simply reciprocated and we have discussed it earlier also had it been possible for me I won't be asking those questions here they haven't activated my profile. Secondly how I'm supposed to quote them? I asked it earlier also but no one answered. Should I post questions quoting anonymous ? Thirdly you told not to reply back on respective forums by copying solutions from here and you can check those links I don't reply back on other sites. Rest i will be asking those doubts but will make sure to quote them(how to do it let me know.) Your fellow poster has short memory perhaps , he can add me in his ignore list.

Beijing steps up building in South China Sea despite US resistance


China has stepped up its construction of runways in the South China Sea since President Xi Jinping visited Washington in September, underscoring how US efforts to counter China’s assertive stance there appear to be having little effect.
Satellite images of Subi Reef and Mischief Reef obtained by the Financial Times suggest that Beijing will soon complete two runways that will join a newly operational landing strip on a third reef called Fiery Cross in the contested waters.
“The runways at Subi and Mischief Reef are nearly complete. The work at Mischief has gone nearly twice as fast as it did at Fiery Cross Reef on which test flights landed earlier this month,” said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, a Washington-based project, which supplied the images.

SUBI REEF




Maritime tensions in the South China Sea have mounted in recent years as China has rapidly built a string of man-made islands and taken a more combative stance towards its neighbours, particularly the Philippines. A US Navy warship sailed close to Subi in November to signal it does not recognise China’s claims to the islands.
China insists it will not militarise the islands, which Mr Xi repeated in Washington, and says the runways are for civilian purposes. But many analysts see the rush to build runways that can accommodate fighter jets and long-range bombers as a move to boost power projection in the western Pacific, where the US has long been the dominant naval power.
China recently said it planned to manufacture an aircraft carrier for the first time, as it strives to build a “blue-water navy” that can operate far from shore.



The northwest side of Mischief Reef as of January 8, including a 1,900 foot seawall and newly-constructed infrastructure including housing, an artificial turf parade grounds, cement plants, and docking facilities.


China recently conducted civilian test flights on Fiery Cross, raising concerns in Washington. American officials believe that China is conducting the flights to test the runway for the possible use of fighter jets and also to make the facilities operational without making their intentions clear.
A senior official from the Obama administration said the test flights appeared to be part of “a broader pattern of Chinese behaviour to attempt to advance its claims over disputed areas”. The official added that “this pattern of Chinese unilateral activity” exacerbated tensions and undermined regional stability.

“We again call for all claimants to reciprocally halt land reclamation, further development of new facilities, and militarisation on their outposts and instead focus on reaching agreement on acceptable behaviour in disputed areas,” said the official.





While it took China at least seven months to build the runway at Fiery Cross, the landing strip at Mischief is almost complete just four months after Beijing began building. Regional experts interpret the pace of construction at Subi and Mischief as a sign that China intends to continue construction over the objections of the US and its own neighbours.

Mr Poling said the latest development was significant because it would give China more leverage over the Philippines, with which Beijing has the tensest maritime disputes.

It was unclear, he added, if China was honing its ability to build in a remote area far from shore or if it was rushing to finish runways and other facilities ahead of a legal ruling related to its maritime claims. In October, Beijing lost the first round of a big legal battle with the Philippines after an international tribunal based in The Hague agreed to hear a case related to the contested islands.


THE CENTRE PORTION OF THE SUBI REEF RUNWAY, DEC 21




Mr Poling said that having a base on Mischief would allow China to keep a close eye on Filipino marines at Second Thomas Shoal and on natural gasfields in the area.

Since 2012, China has repeatedly tried to stop Manila from sending supplies to a tiny group of marines stationed on a ship called the Sierra Madre. The rusty ship was deliberately run aground on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to reinforce Manila’s claims to the waters. While the ship is practically falling apart, Filipino officials believe it has significant value in that an attack on the vessel would constitute an attack on the country, thereby activating a US-Philippines defence treaty.

The Philippines Supreme Court this week ruled that Manila could proceed with implementing a defence agreement with the US that would allow the Pentagon to station troops and military assets in the south-east Asian nation for the first time since 1991.
While many US analysts raise red flags about China’s activities around the Spratly chain, some experts argue that the fears are overblown.
Dennis Blair, former commander of the US Pacific fleet, said that the strategic importance of Chinese facilities in the Spratlys was exaggerated, in part because of their isolation. “China does not have the capability to assert sea and air control in the seas around the islands,” he said.” [As a result] the situation is quite stable.”

South China Sea: A game of chess?

As tensions continue to mount in the South China Sea, the United States' measured reaction to China's territorial claims has been criticised on both sides of the Pacific. Grace Jean and Ridzwan Rahmat examine the next moves in this contested issue

On 27 October 2015, the US Navy (USN) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) sailed within 12 n miles of one of China's newly built islands in the South China Sea. The patrol, referred to in Washington as a freedom of navigation (FON) operation, took place against a backdrop of steadily rising tensions in the region over conflicting maritime territorial claims and China's reclamation efforts in relation to these claims.

Within hours of the sailing, Beijing issued an angry response. The USN destroyer had "without Chinese government permission, illegally entered China Nansha Islands and adjacent waters to the reef", China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on its website. "The [activities of the] US warship threatens China's sovereignty and security interests, jeopardises the safety of personnel and facilities [on the] reefs, and damages regional peace and stability," the statement added.

Beijing's dissatisfaction with the operation went beyond just words. Chinese state media reported several days later that, on 28 October, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had deployed 10 South Sea Fleet ships at short notice for a series of exercises that included gun and missile live firings. The move was almost certainly a muscle-flexing operation by the Chinese military aimed at deterring further operations by US forces in the area.

China deploys HQ-9 air defense system having a range of 125 miles in disputed South China Sea

Taiwan said on Wednesday that China had positioned anti-aircraft missiles on a disputed South China Sea island, as Australia’s foreign minister began talks in Beijing expected to deal with tensions over China’s moves to assert its maritime claims.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement it had “grasped that Communist China had deployed” an unspecified number of missiles on Woody Island in the Paracel group. The Philippines said the development increased regional tensions.

Disputed territory

The move would follow China’s building of new islands in the disputed sea by piling sand atop reefs and then adding airstrips and military installations. They are seen as part of Beijing’s efforts to claim virtually the entire South China Sea and its resources, which has prompted some of its wary neighbours to draw closer to the U.S.

The most dramatic work has taken place in the Spratly Island group, where the militaries of four nations have a presence, although similar work has also gone on at Woody and other Chinese holdings in the Paracels.

“The military will pay close attention to subsequent developments,” the Taiwanese ministry statement said. Relevant parties should “work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea region to refrain from any unilateral measure that would increase tensions,” the statement added.

The U.S. network Fox News also said China had moved surface-to-air missiles to the Paracels, identifying them as two batteries of the HQ-9 system, along with radar targeting arrays. The missiles have a range of about 200 km (125 miles), making them a threat to all forms of civilian and military aircraft.

Called Yongxingdao by China, Woody Island is also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. Along with an artificial harbour, it boasts an airport, roads, army posts and other buildings and recent satellite imagery appears to show it is adding a helicopter base likely dedicated to anti-submarine warfare missions.

Taiwan and China claim almost the whole 3.5 million-square-kilometer (1.35 million-square-mile) South China Sea, including the Paracel chain. Vietnam and the Philippines claim much of the ocean, as well. Brunei and Malaysia have smaller claims.

China’s move is likely to rattle Vietnam the most because of its proximity to the Paracels and because of a history of maritime tensions with China that spiked in 2014 with a standoff after China moved a massive oil rig into disputed waters.

Neither Bishop nor Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi mentioned the South China Sea directly during opening statements ahead of their talks.

In comments on Monday to Japanese broadcaster NHK, Bishop said Australia like the U.S. does not take sides on the issue of sovereignty, but urges all parties to “exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions and not act in a way that would inflame the situation.”

“Australia has called on all parties to cease reclamation, construction work and any militarization of the islands,” Bishop said.

China regards Australia and the U.S. as unwelcome outside interlopers in regional waters. Wang and Bishop engaged in a testy exchange in December 2013 after Australia criticized China’s unilateral declaration of an air defense zone in the East China Sea.

Obama calls for reducing tension

Ahead of Bishop’s visit, President Barack Obama and the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations called on Tuesday for the peaceful resolution of the region’s maritime disputes.

Obama told a news conference that disputes must be resolved by legal means, including a case brought by the Philippines challenging China’s sweeping claims over most of the South China Sea.

China has refused to take part in the proceedings, but Obama said parties to the U.N. law of the seas are obligated to respect the ruling, expected later this year.

Obama also accepted an offer to make a May visit to Vietnam, further strengthening reconciliation between former foes driven largely by concerns over China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated on Tuesday that China considered the legal proceedings initiated by the Philippines to be illegitimate and said they would “never be accepted by China.”

China was deploying “necessary national defense facilities” on its territory, Hong said. He said Australia should be remain unbiased and refrain from doing anything to undermine regional stability.

Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the deployment of missiles on Woody Island “increases tensions in the South China Sea.”

China's HQ-9 Missile Placement Underlines Pentagon Focus on A2/AD


When unveiling the Pentagon’s fiscal 2017 budget request, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter highlighted the challenge presented by China as one of “our most stressing competitors.”

“We're making all these investments that you see in our defense budget that are specifically oriented toward checking the development of the Chinese military,” Carter said Feb 2.

Two weeks later, China has now set up a pair of HQ-9 air defense systems on Woody Island, part of the Paracels chain of islands in the South China Sea. The move is the latest in a series of Chinese actions to assert dominance in the region, including rapid growth of a series of artificial platforms in the Spratley Islands, territory claimed by five other neighbors, including nearby Vietnam.

The weapons' placement also comes after the US has conducted a series of “freedom of navigation” exercises near the Spratleys, which officials have said explicitly are being done to prove to China that the territory remains in international waters.

Ben FitzGerald of the Center for a New American Security agrees that the HQ-9s by themselves “won’t impede” American capabilities in the region, but adds that the deployment “confirms the Pentagon’s concerns that this is an emerging concept that will be replicated throughout the region, which would impose significant operational challenges on US Forces.”

China’s actions “certainly support the rationale” that the Pentagon is right to focus on the Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) challenge, FitzGerald added.

The Pentagon’s fiscal 2017 request included around $3 billion in A2/AD technology development as part of the third offset strategy championed by Carter and Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work. It also features a heavy focus on taking existing munitions, such as the Tomahawk weapon, and adding new capabilities.

Such technologies would be key in defeating systems such as the HQ-9 in the event of a direct conflict, with US forces either needing to launch weapons while staying out of the roughly 125 mile radius of the system’s missiles or relying on stealthy planes such as the F-35 joint strike fighter to penetrate the protected airspace.

While that range is not devastating to American capabilities, the deployment of the system, along with its “advanced radar capabilities for targeting, again support the Pentagon’s narrative of challenges associated with competitors possessing precision weapons,” FitzGerald noted.

Robert Martinage, a former undersecretary of the Navy now with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, says the weapon placement is not a game-changer in and of itself, but “it could be the canary in the coalmine, a harbinger of what’s to come.”

If China expands its deployment of advanced defenses, Martinage said, it would have “significant operational implications” for the US and its allies. In peacetime, it could lead to China painting US planes with radar, increasing the risk of an incident; in a combat situation, it would put nearby assets at direct risk.

It also includes political impacts, Martinage added, noting it is “just another step in [China’s] game.”

“Little incremental provocations ... ultimately lead to where they want to go, which is asserting their sovereignty over most of the South China Sea,” he said. “The question is, What do we do about it? I think we continue to do the freedom of movement navigations. But beyond that there’s not a whole lot we can do. It’s a little of a fait accompli, and the question is what’s next.”

Some newer photos.

Report: Chinese Coast Guard Vessels Take Over Spratly Island Feature From Philippines

Chinese coast guard vessels have expelled Filipino fisherman from Jackson Shoal in the South China Sea.

Five China Coast Guard vessels have taken over Jackson Shoal, a disputed feature in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea some 140 nautical miles west of the Philippines’ Palawan Island, according to a report by the Philippines Star.

Jackson Atoll is a popular fishing ground for Filipino fishermen, and is 33 nautical miles from Mischief Reef, a Spratly Island feature where China has carried out extensive land reclamation work and built an artificial island for possible military use.

http://thediplomat.com/2016/03/report-chinese-coast-guard-vessels-take-over-spratly-island-feature-from-philippines/

PRC seems to be pulling a Crimea in the region. First the artificial expansions, now this.

China has landed a military aircraft on a man-made island in the disputed South China Sea

A Chinese military aircraft has landed at a new airport on an island China has built in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Monday, in the first public report on a move that raises the prospect of China basing warplanes there.

The United States has criticized China's construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea and worries that it plans to use them for military purposes, even though China says it has no hostile intent.

The runway on the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China has been building for more than a year by dredging sand up onto reefs and atolls in the Spratly archipelago.

Civilian flights began test runs there in January.

In a front-page story, the official People's Liberation Army Daily said a military aircraft on patrol over the South China Sea on Sunday received an emergency call to land at Fiery Cross Reef to evacuate three seriously ill workers.

They were then taken in the transport aircraft back to Hainan island for treatment, it said, showing a picture of the aircraft on the ground in Hainan.

It was the first time China's military had publicly admitted landing an aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef, the influential Global Times tabloid said.

It cited an military expert as saying the flight showed the airfield was up to military standards and could see fighter jets based there in the event of war.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said such rescue missions were part of the military's "fine tradition" and that it was "not at all surprising" they had done this on China's own territory.

The runways would be long enough to handle long-range bombers and transport aircraft as well as China's best jet fighters, giving it a presence deep in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia that it has lacked until now.

More than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped through the South China Sea every year. Besides China's territorial claims in the area, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

French Navy Floreal-class Frigate in South China Sea with US Navy Stennis CSG

Finally NATO members stepped up too.

The surface combatants conducted a series of tactical exercise together including:

1) LINKEX (communication and data link exercise)
2) Crossdeck (including French and US Navy sailors swapping between vessels)
3) ADEX (air defence exercise with some of the Stennis' F-18 fighters)

These exercises allow French Navy and US Navy crews to increase the interoperability of the vessels and enhance the mutual understanding of each other.

The surveillance frigate Vendemiaire left her base of Noumea on March 17, 2016. She is under the operational control of ALPACI (Commander of French Navy Pacific Fleet) since April 1st. Her deployment in Asia Pacific is part of the mission to ensure a French presence in the area. It allows to underline the commitment of France to the freedom of navigation at sea and in the air and to strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries through interactions at sea or in port.

Territorial claims in the South China Sea

China-ASEAN joint stance adopted on sea dispute

Top diplomats from China and the 10 ASEAN countries agreed on Tuesday that the South China Sea issue should be handled properly, reaffirming the need to "jointly ensure peace and stability" in the area.

The 11 countries also called for "maritime practical cooperation" and for early completion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

The China-ASEAN Special Foreign Ministers Meeting in Yuxi, Yunnan province, was the first of its kind in three years.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the region "should not become another place of turbulence" as the world has already witnessed considerable chaos.

Wang said the closed-door meeting, which was first proposed by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was timely, significant and involved strategic communication.

He added that it had achieved its expected goals. China is committed to future meetings to build trust and dispel misunderstandings, he added.

On the sidelines of the convention, Wang embarked on a whirlwind series of meetings with his counterparts from ASEAN countries.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh told Wang on Monday that his country is ready to tackle maritime differences properly based on the consensus of the party leaders of China and Vietnam.

Wang said, "Both sides (China and ASEAN) should tackle differences properly and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability. They should cherish the hard-won peaceful and stable situation in this region."

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who co-chaired the meeting with Wang on Tuesday, said it demonstrates that "ASEAN and China are even able to discuss difficult issues … frankly, constructively and openly".

Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the meeting shows that most ASEAN members will not be "hijacked" by the South China Sea issue and related problems.

China has played a proactive role in boosting integration and development within the ASEAN Community, and such a role has won support from the ASEAN members, Ruan said.

Wei Ling, a professor of Asian studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said China has provided firm support to ASEAN continuously, with this year marking the 25th anniversary of the China-ASEAN dialogue.

"The strategic mutual trust and cooperation between China and ASEAN is a cornerstone of the region's peace and development," Wei said.

China Confirms Air Confrontation with Japan Over East China Sea


China's defense ministry confirmed that Chinese and Japanese fighter jets had a confrontation over disputed waters in the East China Sea last month, adding to concerns that such close encounters could lead to mishaps that threaten regional stability.

The two Chinese jets were only carrying out a routine patrol when two Japanese fighters approached at high speed, Beijing said Monday. The Chinese pilots took “tactical measures” before the Japanese planes fled, its statement said. No details on the measures were given.

“Such provocative acts by the Japanese jets could easily cause accidents in the air, harming personal safety on both sides and destroying the peace and stability in the region,” the Chinese statement said. “We demand Japan to cease all provocative acts.”

Yohei Haneo, a spokesman for the Japanese defense ministry, on Tuesday denied the Japanese fighters took any provocative actions during the encounter, saying the jets were scrambling against Chinese aircraft.

The June 17 encounter took place near a set of barren islets claimed by both countries, called Diaoyu islands by Beijing and Senkaku islands by Tokyo. China in 2013 set up an air defense identification zone that covers the islands and overlaps with Japan's claim of air space for defense.

The Japanese defense ministry said Tuesday that Japan scrambled against Chinese military planes about 200 times in April, May, and June, up from last year's 80 times in the same period. Tokyo has expressed concerns over China's increased military activities in the region.

In mid-June, a Japanese surveillance plane spotted a Chinese intelligence ship entering Japan's territorial waters, described then as the first report of a Chinese navy vessel doing so in more than a decade.

In that instance, Japan expressed concern to China that that incident and other recent Chinese military activity was escalating tensions.

Earlier last month, Japanese officials summoned China's ambassador to protest the sailing of a Chinese navy ship near the disputed islands

South China Sea arbitration abuses international law, threatens world order

A seminar on the South China Sea Arbitration and International Rule of Law was held on July 3 in the Hague, the location of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s arbitral tribunal. At the seminar hosted by both Chinese and Dutch academic institutions, experts from various countries warned that the unilateral filing of the South China Sea arbitration case by the Aquino administration of the Philippines and the arbitral tribunal’s overreach and abuse of power is a desecration of the spirit of the rule of law and pose a threat to current international order.

With this move, the Philippines is just adorning itself with borrowed plumes. First of all, estoppel is a basic principle of international law. As is known to all, China and ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002, in which all sides agreed to settle disputes over the South China Sea through friendly negotiation and consultation by parties directly concerned.

In 2011, the Philippines and China issued a joint statement, reiterating their respect and observation of the DOC. However, just two years later, the Aquino administration unilaterally submitted the South China Sea case for arbitration in spite of its previous commitments.

Secondly, the Philippines ignores basic historical facts by presumptuously claiming that the Chinese people never lived or conducted activities in the South China Sea region, thus bearing no sovereignty over the islands in the region.

Yet no one can deny the historical fact that those islands have been part of China’s territory since ancient times. Successive Chinese governments have continued to govern the islands through multiple approaches including setting administrative divisions, military patrols and conducting salvages at sea.

Respecting historical fact is an important principle of international law. Through its lack of respect for the facts, the South China Sea case violates this principle.

Moreover, the Philippines’ interpretation of the legal status of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea is not in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) and other international laws.

The Southeast Asian nation claims that the Huangyan Island and the Nansha islands cannot be considered islands as such no one can establish exclusive economic zones or claim the continental shelves there. Such an argument flies in the face of objective reality.

The Philippines deliberately misrepresented factual information about the islands and reefs in the South China Sea during the trial and carelessly negated the integrity of the Nansha islands as well as the island status of Taiping Island and other large islands in area. However, its claims are not only inconsistent with reality, but also incompatible with UNCLOS and other international laws.

The legal representatives of the Philippines also withheld necessary information concerning other islands in the South China Sea (not included in its arbitration request) on purpose, and refused to present them to the court. It is safe to say that the Philippines’ argument concerning the South China Sea islands and reefs lacks basic credibility.

Taking this into consideration, the arbitral tribunal has clearly violated UNCLOS, abused the UNCLOS settlement procedure and exceeded its jurisdiction by accepting the unilateral request of the Philippines and even trying to deliver a verdict on the South China Sea issue. Its self-proclaimed “jurisprudence” and “normative power” demonstrate great irony.

The core of the South China Sea issue between China and the Philippines are territorial and maritime delimitation disputes. Territorial issues do not fall within the scope of UNCLOS authority. Additionally, as early as 2006, China has excluded compulsory settlement procedures from maritime delimitation disputes in accordance with Article 298 of UNCLOS.

As a temporary institution founded on UNCLOS, the tribunal has zero jurisdiction over this case. Arbitration and other international judicial methods to resolve disputes means resorting to third-party settlement. However, this option has already been excluded by internationally binding bilateral agreements between China and the Philippines.

The tribunal chose to ignore these binding documents and breached the premises, exclusions and exceptions for compulsory settlement procedure stipulated in UNCLOS to establish jurisdiction on its own.

The tribunal’s blatant disregard for the agreement China and the Philippines made concerning settling disputes has irresponsibly broken the consensus reached between the two states and has seriously violated China’s right as a sovereign state and UNCLOS signatory to choose its own dispute settlement method.

What’s more, by repeatedly referencing UNCLOS and extending the convention’s coverage to all maritime issues, the tribunal has in fact turned a blind eye to conventional international law.

Any practitioner of international law is aware that articles in UNCLOS are a summary of the historical maritime practices and common will of all countries. UNCLOS shows nothing but respect to conventional international law. However, the tribunal today has discredited all previous practices, contradicting the basic purpose and spirit of UNCLOS.

International law has played a significant role in maintaining a relatively stable international order after World War II. In the decades after the war, hundreds of international treaties were drafted to regulate the conduct of states and people’s lives.

From the planet where we live to outer space, from security to arms control, from economic development to environmental protection, from human rights to judicial cooperation and other areas, these international laws are ubiquitous. The diplomatic actions of every county call for international law. In other words, it is a commonly recognized standard for the international community. The world would fall into chaos without it, and the law of the jungle would once again dominate.

Therefore, the abuse of international law by the Philippines and the tribunal has undermined the authority of the law, which will in turn greatly impact the stability of international order.

It is worth mentioning that the US, a country outside the region, has been eager to play a hand in the issue. Those who are familiar with the “America-style” of dealing with international affairs know that “safeguarding the integrity of international law” is a catchphrase for the country when it comes to international dealings.

However, as a country that attaches such importance to the protection of international law, why has the US supported the illegal acts of the Philippines and the tribunal? The answer is simple: The US only protects those international laws that benefit itself. In the eyes of the US, any illegal act can be considered “an act that protects international law” so long as it benefits its own strategic interests.

A scholar at the seminar pointed out that what the Philippines has done to China today could happen to other countries in the future. If the tribunal comes to a conclusion that does not conform to the facts and the law, then the same twisted logic could be misapplied to other countries with territorial disputes.

Such apprehension is not without merit. If the irresponsible actions of the Philippines, the US and the arbitral tribunal are not faced head on, they will severely affect the authority of international law. From this perspective, China’s fight against the abuse of international law is not only the country safeguarding its territorial sovereignty, but also a contribution to lasting peace and stability in the world.

I don't know if this is the right topic... but, I did send an email for RT about one of its article about South China Sea.

1) If you agree with my arguments pls sent similar letters to RT.

2) If min/mod consider that this post is in the wrong topic then I am sorry and I would like to ask you to move the post to appropriate location.

Dear sir/madam,

I write this letter to you in order to notify you about some wrong information and misintepretation in one of your article, in the link below.

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/350809-between-rock-sea-south-china/

In this article there is a paragraph which says this:

"Fast forward to 1958, when China under Mao issued a declaration framing its territorial waters within the ‘nine-dash line’ - encompassing the Spratly Islands. Adding to historic irony, North Vietnam’s then prime minister, Pham Van Dong, agreed with then Chinese premier Zhou Enlai."

This information is completely wrong. The author of this article completely misintepreted the message of Mr. Phạm Văn Đồng.

Before I explain my arguments, I would like to notify you that, the quoted paragraph concides with the agenda of the 5th columnists in Vietnam which are funded and supported by Western imperialists, especially the U.S. government. These 5th columnists plan to dishonor and caluminate Mr. Phạm Văn Đồng - a respected leading figure in Vietnam - in order to topple the current Socialist and Independent goverment in Vietnam. They want to make Vietnam become a vassal state of Western imperialists. Therefore they are spreading wrong information to slander the Vietnamese political figures, including the one that conciodes with the aforementioned quoted paragraph.

Second, I would like to explain why the quoted paragraph in RT article is wrong.

Mr. Đồng statement only agreed to part of Zhou's opinion, that the territorial sea should be 12 nautical miles from the baseline. He did not mention any islands or rocks, nor did he stated that he agreed with Zhou's opinion as a whole.

According to Vietnam's law, Mr. Đồng alone had no power to express official confirmation or denial toward a foreign statement in the place of the state of Vietnam. The letter of Mr. Đồng to Zhou Enlai had no legal power and was written in a form that should be consider personal letter rather than any kind of state-issued documents.

Zhou's previous statement mentioned what would later be known as the Paracel and Spratly Islands, but in the statement they were named Xisha and Nansha (in Chinese). These were not internationally recognizable names at the time, and China did not provide additional maps or locations to make the point clear. Therefore, China's claims of sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly were all ineffective. This is not related to Mr., Đồng statement, but it further disproves that Mr. Đồng "agreed with then Chinese premier Zhou Enlai" on the issue of Paracel and Spratly.

I firmly believe that RT would never have any anti-Vietnam agenda, and I would like to ask RT to remove that article from your site, or at least ask the author to remove the quoted paragraph in the article.

Sincerely

Higurashi Hougi

Imagery shows Chinese HQ-9 battery being removed from Woody Island



Satellite imagery captured on 10 July shows an HQ-9 strategic surface-to-air missile (SAM) battery on Woody Island in the process of being taken off the island on board a Chinese naval vessel.

The Airbus Defence and Space image revealed that the battery had been removed from its deployment site along the northern coast of Woody Island in the Paracels, a move that coincided with the conclusion of military exercises in the area that took place prior to the Permanent Court of Arbitration's (PCA's) 12 July ruling on the South China Sea dispute.

Imagery taken on 8 July shows most of the dispersed HQ-9 battery components concealed under camouflage netting. Three transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicles and the battery's Type 305A target acquisition radar (TAR) remained uncovered.

Imagery captured a day later shows HQ-9 battery components uncovered and garrisoned together near the radar position. On 10 July, subsequent imagery showed a column of vehicles, including probably HQ-9 TELs, parked on a road adjacent to the island's southern harbour.

A Type 072A landing ship berthed in the harbour represented a possible transhipment option for the equipment. The HQ-9 battery, present on the island since at least February 2016, is likely to be sent back to China for maintenance.

At present, Woody Island lacks garrison facilities sufficient to house the HQ-9 battery. Continued construction on the island may result in a garrison and a prepared SAM site appearing in the near future.

China has controlled all of the Paracels, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, since the mid-1970s and the end of the Vietnam War.

ASEAN deadlocked on South China Sea, Cambodia blocks statement


Southeast Asian nations failed to agree on maritime disputes in the South China Sea on Sunday after Cambodia blocked any mention to an international court ruling against Beijing in their statement, diplomats said.

Foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met for the first time since the Permanent Court of Arbitration handed an emphatic legal victory to the Philippines in the dispute this month.

The ruling by the court in The Hague denied China's sweeping claims in the strategic seaway, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes each year.

China claims most of the sea, but ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have rival claims. Beijing says the ruling has no bearing on its rights in the sea, and described the case as a farce.

The Philippines and Vietnam both wanted the communique issued by ASEAN foreign ministers after their meeting to refer to the ruling and the need to respect international law, ASEAN diplomats said. Their foreign ministers both discussed the ruling with ASEAN counterparts in the Laotian capital.

But before the meeting, China's closest ASEAN ally Cambodia opposed the proposed wording, throwing the group into disarray. Phnom Penh supports Beijing's opposition to any ASEAN stand on the South China Sea, and its preference for dealing with the disputed claims on a bilateral basis.

FIRST DEADLOCK SINCE 2012

"We are still working on it," Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told Reuters after the meeting on Sunday, adding that she hoped the ASEAN members would reach an agreement.

Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon declined to comment on his country's position on Sunday.

Even after a late-night meeting of foreign ministers called to thrash out the issue late on Saturday, the region's top diplomats were unable to find a compromise.

The group has given itself until Tuesday to come to issue a statement, said one ASEAN diplomat.

ASEAN is facing the prospect of being unable to issue a statement after a meeting for only the second time in its 49-year history. The first time, in 2012, was also due to Cambodia's resistance to language about the South China Sea.

"We have been here before and I hope they can solve it," said one official from the ASEAN Secretariat in Indonesia. "It is the same story again, a repeat of the meeting in 2012."

Over the next two days, Southeast Asian nations will meet with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry and Wang are also expected to meet and discuss the maritime issues.

Wang, who started bilateral meetings with ASEAN members on Sunday, said he thought the media focus on the South China Sea issue was "very strange"

It was "not a China-ASEAN issue," he said, adding that disputes should be resolved among the parties involved.

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumiko Kishida will also be in Laos for the ASEAN regional forum meeting. It is unclear if he will meet Wang, but China reacted angrily to Kishida saying he would discuss the sea issue if they do meet.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, in a statement posted on the ministry's website, said the sea is not Japan's concern.

"We urge Japan not to hype up and meddle in the South China Sea issue," he said. "Japan is not a concerned party in the South China Sea, and because of its disgraceful history is in no place to make irresponsible comments about China."

U.S. ROLE

The United States, allied with the Philippines and cultivating closer relations with Vietnam, has called on China to respect the court's ruling.

It has criticized China's building of artificial islands and facilities in the sea and has sailed warships close to the disputed territory to assert freedom of navigation rights.

But Kerry will urge ASEAN nations to explore diplomatic ways to ease tension over Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint, a senior U.S. official said ahead of his trip.

Chinese state media called for "damage control" at the meetings. A commentary published by the official Xinhua news agency on Sunday said the court ruling was a "blow to peace and stability in the region ... and only serves to increase the likelihood of confrontation and turbulence."

Barack Obama is set in September to become the first U.S. president to visit Laos, attending an annual summit hosted by the country that holds the ASEAN chairmanship.

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is also in Laos, making her debut at ASEAN meetings as the foreign minister for Myanmar.

Impressive rates of Chinese construction on the islands in the South China Sea

Interesting analysis of satellite images of the construction of Chinese military infrastructure in the Spratly and Paracel Islands archipelago in the South China Sea in 2017 from the US CSIS research center in the framework of the ASIA MARITIM TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE project.

The attention of the international community to the sluggish crisis in the South China Sea weakened in 2017, but the situation there did not remain stable. Along with the efforts to resolve the conflict with its neighbors in South-East Asia through diplomatic methods, Beijing continued active work under the control of the Chinese military to strengthen, expand the natural and create new artificial islands in the Spratly Archipelago and in the Paracel Islands. China is still committed to advancing the next stage of building its influence - building the infrastructure necessary for the functioning of naval and air bases on the largest reefs in this region of the South China Sea.

AMTI specialists identified all the facilities of a permanent type that the People's Republic of China built or began to build this year. These include objects from underground storage facilities and administrative buildings to radar stations.

The total area of ​​the newly constructed facilities on the reefs Fiery Cross, Subi, Mischief Reefs on the Spratly Archipelago and the reefs North, Tree and Triton Islands on the Paracel Islands is 290,000 sq. Km. meters.































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