Puerto Princesa—Longtime allies the Philippines and the United States launched naval exercises on Tuesday amid warnings that growing incidents at sea involving China could lead to war in Asia.
Two state-of-the-art US missile destroyers sailed into Philippine waters to kick-start the 11 days of training, being held in the wake of regional tensions caused by territorial rivalries in the West Philippine (South China) Sea.
The exercises, called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat), will actually take place in the Sulu Sea.
Both the Philippines and United States emphasized the training was an annual one aimed at strengthening defense ties, and not linked to the rising concern in Manila about allegedly aggressive Chinese actions in the potentially resource-rich Spratly Islands.
“Carat was planned in advance… the issue in the South China Sea started in February,” Philippine Navy vice commander Rear Adm. Orwen Corez said at the opening ceremony. “Carat has nothing to do with the issue.”
Nevertheless, the exercises were portrayed as a show of unity between the Philippines and its former colonial ruler.
‘Enduring commitment’
“The US and the Philippines are allies and that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make,” the commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, said.
“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding US interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines.”
Buskirk stressed the exercise “has nothing to do with the Spratlys.”
He said it was the second such exercise held by the two allies “but this situation is more complex.” He did not elaborate.
Tuesday’s opening ceremony took place at a military base in Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan province, a narrow island that divides the West Philippine Sea and the Sulu Sea.
About 800 US sailors are involved, as well as the two guided missile destroyers and a salvage ship. They will join a Philippine fleet of mainly World War II-era ships.
Risk-taking behaviour
As the exercises got underway, an Australian think tank warned risks were growing like incidents at sea involving China that could spark a war in Asia, potentially drawing in the United States and other powers.
The Lowy Institute said in a report that the Chinese military’s risk-taking behavior in the seas, along with the country’s resource needs and greater assertiveness, had raised the chances of an armed conflict.
“The sea lanes of Indo-Pacific Asia are becoming more crowded, contested and vulnerable to armed strife. Naval and air forces are being strengthened amid shifting balances of economic strategic weight,” authors Rory Medcalf and Raoul Heinrichs wrote.
“China’s frictions with the United States, Japan and India are likely to persist and intensify. As the number and tempo of incidents increase, so does the likelihood that an episode will escalate to armed confrontation, diplomatic crisis or possibly even conflict,” the report said.
Aquino call for help
In Washington, the US Senate passed on Monday a resolution that deplored China’s use of force against Vietnamese and Philippine ships.
Sen. Jim Webb, chair of an East Asian and Pacific affairs subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said “a growing number of nations around the South China Sea are now voicing serious concerns about China’s pattern of intimidation.”
President Aquino this month called for US help in containing China’s ambitions, saying his country was too weak to stand up to the Chinese alone.
Mr. Aquino made his plea after accusing China of inciting at least seven recent incidents in the disputed Spratly waters, including one in which a Chinese vessel allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen.
He also accused China of breaking international law by entering the Philippines’ 370-kilometer economic exclusion zone.
Clinton pledge
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week offered the Philippines’ some comfort, pledging that the superpower would help to modernize the cash-strapped Philippine military.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the West Philippine Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade. Redempto Anda, Inquirer Southern Luzon; AFP and Reuters
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
China reiterates ‘indisputable’ sovereignty over West Philippine Sea
From Inquirer.net
BEIJING—China on Wednesday reiterated that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after the United States pledged to help the Philippines, which has its own claims in the area.
A spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Yang Yi, also repeated the government position that safeguarding the sovereignty of the area’s potentially resource-rich islets was a “common responsibility” for Beijing and Taipei.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters,” Yang told reporters, according to an official transcript.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade.
Vietnam, as well as the Philippines, has in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claim to the disputed waters and its archipelagos.
In response, China has insisted it wants to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully but remained firm in its claims to most of the West Philippine Sea, even waters within the Philippines’ economic exclusion zone.
The United States and the Philippines on Tuesday launched joint naval exercises in Philippine waters close to the much coveted West Philippine Sea.
The commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, described America and the Philippines as “allies” and said “that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make”.
“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding US interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines,” he added.
BEIJING—China on Wednesday reiterated that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after the United States pledged to help the Philippines, which has its own claims in the area.
A spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Yang Yi, also repeated the government position that safeguarding the sovereignty of the area’s potentially resource-rich islets was a “common responsibility” for Beijing and Taipei.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters,” Yang told reporters, according to an official transcript.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade.
Vietnam, as well as the Philippines, has in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claim to the disputed waters and its archipelagos.
In response, China has insisted it wants to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully but remained firm in its claims to most of the West Philippine Sea, even waters within the Philippines’ economic exclusion zone.
The United States and the Philippines on Tuesday launched joint naval exercises in Philippine waters close to the much coveted West Philippine Sea.
The commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, described America and the Philippines as “allies” and said “that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make”.
“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding US interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines,” he added.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Filipino-Americans to hold anti-China protests in US
SAN FRANCISCO, California–Filipino-Americans are set to picket China’s consular offices in the United States to protest Beijing’s “impending invasion of the Philippines.”
The protesters, set to converge on July 8 in Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, will condemn China’s scheduled oil rig drilling activities in the Kalayaan Islands in the West Philippine Sea.
The coordinated protest actions will be spearheaded by the US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG), a national organization in the US led by Loida Nicolas Lewis and Rodel Rodis.
Protesters will include leading Filipino-American business, political and community leaders, they said.
The public demonstrations seek to expose China’s “abrogation of its pledge to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to resolve sovereignty disputes peacefully through negotiations,” organizers said.
In March 2010, China unilaterally declared the West Philippine a core national interest similar to its claims to Tibet and Taiwan and therefore “non-negotiable”.
The group also expressed apprehensions over China’s growing military power.
China has 2.17 million armed forces, even larger than the combined military personnel of all the Asean countries.
USP4GG said thay with China’s superior military forces, the socialist state “appears determined to begin its billion dollar oil rig construction activity this July approximately 125 miles from Palawan within the Philippines’s 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas declares that a nation owns the oil, mineral and other resources within a 200 mile radius from its base.
Last May 27, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) conveyed its concern to China over its state media reports about planned installation of its most advanced oil rig in the West Philippine Sea this July.
According to the Xinhua report, China National Offshore Oil Corp. plans to invest 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) and drill 800 deepwater wells which they expect to have an output of an equivalent 5 million barrels of oil by the year 2020. The target production is equivalent to approximately $50 billion per year.
The Philippine military reported that an an undetermined number of structures were recently built by China in the vicinity of Philippine-claimed Iroquois Reef-Amy Douglas Bank near Palawan.
The site, a DFA statement said, is located southwest of Recto or Reed Bank and east of Patag or Flat Island within the Philippines 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Philippines has the only airstrip in the Spratly Islands, located on Pag-Asa Island, a municipality of Palawan province.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, while visiting Washington DC last week, revealed at least nine Chinese intrusions in Philippine territory in the last few months after a Philippine oceanographic research ship was chased out of Philippine waters by Chinese warships.
“We call on global Filipinos and Philippine organizations throughout the world to stand up to the China bully and protest its impending invasion of the Philippines by demonstrating in front of consular offices of China throughout the world,” Nicolas Lewis said.
“There are more than four million Filipinos in the US who can mobilize to defend the sovereignty of the Philippines by exposing China’s aggressive acts in the Spratlys. What is also at stake is the Philippines ownership of potentially trillions of dollars in revenue from its oil and natural gas resources,” said Rodis.
The organizers also invited Filipinos in the San Francisco Bay Area to attend a meeting at the Filipino Community Town Hall in the Philippine Consulate Social Hall (447 Sutter Street) at 6PM on Wednesday, July 6, to discuss this issue.
For more information on the USP4GG and its planned actions on July 8, please contact Rodel Rodis at Rodel50@gmail.comor call (415) 334-7800.
The protesters, set to converge on July 8 in Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, will condemn China’s scheduled oil rig drilling activities in the Kalayaan Islands in the West Philippine Sea.
The coordinated protest actions will be spearheaded by the US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG), a national organization in the US led by Loida Nicolas Lewis and Rodel Rodis.
Protesters will include leading Filipino-American business, political and community leaders, they said.
The public demonstrations seek to expose China’s “abrogation of its pledge to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to resolve sovereignty disputes peacefully through negotiations,” organizers said.
In March 2010, China unilaterally declared the West Philippine a core national interest similar to its claims to Tibet and Taiwan and therefore “non-negotiable”.
The group also expressed apprehensions over China’s growing military power.
China has 2.17 million armed forces, even larger than the combined military personnel of all the Asean countries.
USP4GG said thay with China’s superior military forces, the socialist state “appears determined to begin its billion dollar oil rig construction activity this July approximately 125 miles from Palawan within the Philippines’s 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas declares that a nation owns the oil, mineral and other resources within a 200 mile radius from its base.
Last May 27, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) conveyed its concern to China over its state media reports about planned installation of its most advanced oil rig in the West Philippine Sea this July.
According to the Xinhua report, China National Offshore Oil Corp. plans to invest 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) and drill 800 deepwater wells which they expect to have an output of an equivalent 5 million barrels of oil by the year 2020. The target production is equivalent to approximately $50 billion per year.
The Philippine military reported that an an undetermined number of structures were recently built by China in the vicinity of Philippine-claimed Iroquois Reef-Amy Douglas Bank near Palawan.
The site, a DFA statement said, is located southwest of Recto or Reed Bank and east of Patag or Flat Island within the Philippines 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Philippines has the only airstrip in the Spratly Islands, located on Pag-Asa Island, a municipality of Palawan province.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, while visiting Washington DC last week, revealed at least nine Chinese intrusions in Philippine territory in the last few months after a Philippine oceanographic research ship was chased out of Philippine waters by Chinese warships.
“We call on global Filipinos and Philippine organizations throughout the world to stand up to the China bully and protest its impending invasion of the Philippines by demonstrating in front of consular offices of China throughout the world,” Nicolas Lewis said.
“There are more than four million Filipinos in the US who can mobilize to defend the sovereignty of the Philippines by exposing China’s aggressive acts in the Spratlys. What is also at stake is the Philippines ownership of potentially trillions of dollars in revenue from its oil and natural gas resources,” said Rodis.
The organizers also invited Filipinos in the San Francisco Bay Area to attend a meeting at the Filipino Community Town Hall in the Philippine Consulate Social Hall (447 Sutter Street) at 6PM on Wednesday, July 6, to discuss this issue.
For more information on the USP4GG and its planned actions on July 8, please contact Rodel Rodis at Rodel50@gmail.comor call (415) 334-7800.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Philippine-US navies unite amid China tensions
From Inquirer.net
PUERTO PRINCESA—The Philippines and the United States will launch naval exercises on Tuesday close to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), which is the focus of a simmering regional territorial row.
The longtime allies have emphasized the event is an annual one aimed at deepening defense ties, and not linked to rising concern in Manila about allegedly aggressive Chinese actions in the much coveted seas.
“The US and Philippine navies have a long history of working together, and exercises like (these) provide a great venue for us to hone our skills,” said the US commander for the 11-day exercises, Captain David Welch.
Nevertheless the exercises are being seen in Manila as a timely show of unity between the Philippines and its former colonial ruler.
Two state-of-the-art US missile destroyers, along with the host’s World War II-era warships, will patrol the Philippine waters of the Sulu Sea.
The Sulu Sea is separated from the West Philippine Sea only by the narrow island of Palawan.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade.
Vietnam as well as the Philippines have in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claim to the disputed waters and its archipelagos.
In response, China has insisted it wants to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully but remained firm in its claims to most of the South China Sea, even waters within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile economic exclusion zone.
President Benigno Aquino III this month called for US help in containing China’s maritime ambitions, saying the Philippines was too weak to stand up to the Chinese alone.
Aquino made his plea after accusing China of inciting at least seven recent incidents in the disputed waters, including one in which a Chinese vessel allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen.
Aquino also accused China of breaking international law by entering the Philippines’ economic exclusion zone.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week offered the Philippines some comfort, pledging that the superpower ally would help to modernize the cash-strapped Philippine military.
“We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines,” Clinton said.
No specifics were immediately announced but Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario later said the US government had vowed to boost the Philippines’ intelligence capabilities in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippine-US exercises, called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), officially begin at 3:00pm (0700 GMT) on Tuesday with an opening ceremony on Palawan island.
The first of the US vessels, the USS Chung-Hoon arrived at a pier in Palawan’s capital, Puerto Princesa, on Tuesday morning, greeted by a Philippine Navy band playing marching tunes.
US sailors in dress uniforms stood to attention as their vessel was guided into place by tugboats.
The second destroyer, the USS Howard, will arrive later in the day said Lieutenant Commander Mike Morley, spokesman of the US forces.
About 800 US sailors and 450 Philippine seamen will be involved in the exercises.
The United States is scheduled to stage similar exercises with Vietnam next month, although it has insisted they too are unrelated to the West Philippine Sea tensions.
PUERTO PRINCESA—The Philippines and the United States will launch naval exercises on Tuesday close to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), which is the focus of a simmering regional territorial row.
The longtime allies have emphasized the event is an annual one aimed at deepening defense ties, and not linked to rising concern in Manila about allegedly aggressive Chinese actions in the much coveted seas.
“The US and Philippine navies have a long history of working together, and exercises like (these) provide a great venue for us to hone our skills,” said the US commander for the 11-day exercises, Captain David Welch.
Nevertheless the exercises are being seen in Manila as a timely show of unity between the Philippines and its former colonial ruler.
Two state-of-the-art US missile destroyers, along with the host’s World War II-era warships, will patrol the Philippine waters of the Sulu Sea.
The Sulu Sea is separated from the West Philippine Sea only by the narrow island of Palawan.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade.
Vietnam as well as the Philippines have in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claim to the disputed waters and its archipelagos.
In response, China has insisted it wants to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully but remained firm in its claims to most of the South China Sea, even waters within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile economic exclusion zone.
President Benigno Aquino III this month called for US help in containing China’s maritime ambitions, saying the Philippines was too weak to stand up to the Chinese alone.
Aquino made his plea after accusing China of inciting at least seven recent incidents in the disputed waters, including one in which a Chinese vessel allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen.
Aquino also accused China of breaking international law by entering the Philippines’ economic exclusion zone.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week offered the Philippines some comfort, pledging that the superpower ally would help to modernize the cash-strapped Philippine military.
“We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines,” Clinton said.
No specifics were immediately announced but Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario later said the US government had vowed to boost the Philippines’ intelligence capabilities in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippine-US exercises, called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), officially begin at 3:00pm (0700 GMT) on Tuesday with an opening ceremony on Palawan island.
The first of the US vessels, the USS Chung-Hoon arrived at a pier in Palawan’s capital, Puerto Princesa, on Tuesday morning, greeted by a Philippine Navy band playing marching tunes.
US sailors in dress uniforms stood to attention as their vessel was guided into place by tugboats.
The second destroyer, the USS Howard, will arrive later in the day said Lieutenant Commander Mike Morley, spokesman of the US forces.
About 800 US sailors and 450 Philippine seamen will be involved in the exercises.
The United States is scheduled to stage similar exercises with Vietnam next month, although it has insisted they too are unrelated to the West Philippine Sea tensions.
Philippines, US navies in show of unity
From Inquirer.net
MANILA – State-of-the-art US missile destroyers will join ageing Philippine warships for naval exercises this week in a timely show of unity as tensions with China escalate over a maritime dispute.
The 11 days of exercises start on Tuesday off the southwest Philippine island of Palawan in the Sulu Sea, close to the disputed waters of the South China Sea where Manila has complained of increasing Chinese provocation.
Officially the training is an annual event not linked to the territorial row, but it nevertheless offers the Philippines comfort shortly after appealing to its longtime ally and former colonial power for help in containing China.
“The exercises show that the Philippines and the US are still very close. They (Philippine leaders) hope that the Chinese will be impressed by this,” said Ben Lim, a political science professor at Ateneo de Manila University.
“It will give the Philippines confidence in regard to diplomatic leverage. When they meet the Chinese again in peaceful negotiations, they can say ‘the Americans are on our side’.”
The Philippines has in recent months complained of allegedly increasingly aggressive actions by China in waters claimed by both nations in the strategically vital and potentially resource-rich South China Sea.
The Philippines and China – along with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam – claim all or part of the South China Sea, and the area has long been considered one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino this month accused China of inciting at least seven incidents recently, including one in which a Chinese vessel allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen.
He accused China of breaking international law by intruding within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile economic exclusion zone, and called on the United States for help in defending his country’s claims against the Chinese.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario last week travelled to Washington, where he won some backing from the United States as the superpower offered to help modernise the cash-strapped Philippine military.
“We are determined and committed to supporting the defence of the Philippines,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a joint news conference with del Rosario.
No specifics were immediately announced but del Rosario later said that US authorities had vowed to help boost the Philippines’ intelligence capabilities in the South China Sea.
Nevertheless, both nations have emphasized that the naval exercises starting Tuesday – named Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) – are part of long-term US efforts help the Philippine military.
“The US and Philippine navies have a long history of working together, and exercises like (these) provide a great venue for us to hone our skills and increase our interoperability,” US CARAT commander Captain David Welch said.
The United States will send 800 sailors and two guided missile destroyers, plus a diving and salvage ship, to the 17th staging of the exercises, the US military said in a press release.
Highlighting the disparity between the allies’ military capabilities, the Philippine navy said it would deploy two World War II-vintage vessels armed only with cannon for CARAT.
About 300 Philippine sailors will take part, according to navy spokesman Lieutenant Noel Cadigal.
The United States is scheduled to stage similar exercises with Vietnam next month, although it has insisted they too have nothing to do with South China Sea tensions.
Vietnam has made accusations similar to those of the Philippines over alleged Chinese actions in the South China Sea recently.
Amid the spike in tensions, China has repeatedly said it wants to solve the territorial disputes peacefully while warning the United States it has no role to play in the spats.
MANILA – State-of-the-art US missile destroyers will join ageing Philippine warships for naval exercises this week in a timely show of unity as tensions with China escalate over a maritime dispute.
The 11 days of exercises start on Tuesday off the southwest Philippine island of Palawan in the Sulu Sea, close to the disputed waters of the South China Sea where Manila has complained of increasing Chinese provocation.
Officially the training is an annual event not linked to the territorial row, but it nevertheless offers the Philippines comfort shortly after appealing to its longtime ally and former colonial power for help in containing China.
“The exercises show that the Philippines and the US are still very close. They (Philippine leaders) hope that the Chinese will be impressed by this,” said Ben Lim, a political science professor at Ateneo de Manila University.
“It will give the Philippines confidence in regard to diplomatic leverage. When they meet the Chinese again in peaceful negotiations, they can say ‘the Americans are on our side’.”
The Philippines has in recent months complained of allegedly increasingly aggressive actions by China in waters claimed by both nations in the strategically vital and potentially resource-rich South China Sea.
The Philippines and China – along with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam – claim all or part of the South China Sea, and the area has long been considered one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino this month accused China of inciting at least seven incidents recently, including one in which a Chinese vessel allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen.
He accused China of breaking international law by intruding within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile economic exclusion zone, and called on the United States for help in defending his country’s claims against the Chinese.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario last week travelled to Washington, where he won some backing from the United States as the superpower offered to help modernise the cash-strapped Philippine military.
“We are determined and committed to supporting the defence of the Philippines,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a joint news conference with del Rosario.
No specifics were immediately announced but del Rosario later said that US authorities had vowed to help boost the Philippines’ intelligence capabilities in the South China Sea.
Nevertheless, both nations have emphasized that the naval exercises starting Tuesday – named Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) – are part of long-term US efforts help the Philippine military.
“The US and Philippine navies have a long history of working together, and exercises like (these) provide a great venue for us to hone our skills and increase our interoperability,” US CARAT commander Captain David Welch said.
The United States will send 800 sailors and two guided missile destroyers, plus a diving and salvage ship, to the 17th staging of the exercises, the US military said in a press release.
Highlighting the disparity between the allies’ military capabilities, the Philippine navy said it would deploy two World War II-vintage vessels armed only with cannon for CARAT.
About 300 Philippine sailors will take part, according to navy spokesman Lieutenant Noel Cadigal.
The United States is scheduled to stage similar exercises with Vietnam next month, although it has insisted they too have nothing to do with South China Sea tensions.
Vietnam has made accusations similar to those of the Philippines over alleged Chinese actions in the South China Sea recently.
Amid the spike in tensions, China has repeatedly said it wants to solve the territorial disputes peacefully while warning the United States it has no role to play in the spats.
US asks China for lower tension at sea
HONOLULU – The United States on Saturday called for China to lower tensions in the South China Sea through dialogue as the Pacific powers held first-of-a-kind talks amid friction in Southeast Asia.
Senior US official Kurt Campbell said he told China during the talks in Hawaii that the United States welcomed a strong role for Beijing, which has warned Washington against involvement in the intensifying disputes.
“We had a candid and clear discussion about these issues,” Campbell, the assistant secretary of state of East Asian and Pacific affairs, told reporters after the session in Honolulu.
“We want tensions to subside. We have a strong interest in the maintenance in peace and stability, and we are seeking a dialogue among all of the key players,” he said.
Incidents in recent weeks have heightened tension on the South China Sea, a strategic and potentially oil-rich area where China has sometimes overlapping disputes with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Vietnam carried out live-fire drills and the Philippines ordered the deployment of its naval flagship after accusing China of aggressive actions.
While the United States and China often talk, Saturday’s session was the first to focus specifically on the Asia-Pacific region. The dialogue was set up during the top-level Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington in May.
Senior US official Kurt Campbell said he told China during the talks in Hawaii that the United States welcomed a strong role for Beijing, which has warned Washington against involvement in the intensifying disputes.
“We had a candid and clear discussion about these issues,” Campbell, the assistant secretary of state of East Asian and Pacific affairs, told reporters after the session in Honolulu.
“We want tensions to subside. We have a strong interest in the maintenance in peace and stability, and we are seeking a dialogue among all of the key players,” he said.
Incidents in recent weeks have heightened tension on the South China Sea, a strategic and potentially oil-rich area where China has sometimes overlapping disputes with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Vietnam carried out live-fire drills and the Philippines ordered the deployment of its naval flagship after accusing China of aggressive actions.
While the United States and China often talk, Saturday’s session was the first to focus specifically on the Asia-Pacific region. The dialogue was set up during the top-level Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington in May.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Spratly Islands Bone of Contention Among Philippines, China, Vietnam
From Yahoo News
With the attention of the Obama administration fixed on the Middle East, yet another international crisis is threatening to disturb the peace of the world, this time around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The Spratly Islands are the focus of a territorial dispute between the Philippines, China, and Vietnam, among other countries. At hazard are vast deposits of oil and gas as well as a lush commercial fishing zone.
While the Philippines is dedicated to the peaceful resolution of the dispute, which goes back decades, the country is also committed to building up naval strength to increase its capacity to defend its territorial claims if necessary. It has also called upon the United States to help it defend its claims.
A naval conflict in the South China Sea, which the Philippines refer to as the West Philippine Sea and Vietnam called the East Sea, would not be in the interests of anyone. While China has been aggressive in asserting what it considers its national interests, it is not yet capable of asserting sovereignty over the Spratly Islands should it be opposed by the US 7th Fleet. Embroiled in a multi front war in the Middle East and Central Asia, the United States is not interested in participating in a fight in the Far East, especially with another nuclear power.
The smaller countries with claims over the Spratly Islands, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as Taiwan and Malaya, would be caught in the middle of a super power clash should it occur.
What the basis of a diplomatic settlement of the Spratly dispute is not clear. Ceding the islands to one country or another would leave all the other claimants aggrieved and motivated possibly to assert their own claims by force. That would mean that some kind of permanent presence, likely American led, would have to be stationed in the Spratly Islands to keep the peace.
Alternatively, some kind of joint sovereignty arrangement could be worked out in which all or most of the claimant countries would be partners in the development of the Spratly Island resources and sharing the profits. That would have the virtue of not leaving any party to the dispute unsatisfied, tamping down on the possibility of military conflict, while at the same time binding the parties together to cooperate rather than fight to enjoy the fish and hydrocarbon resources of the Spratly Islands.
With the attention of the Obama administration fixed on the Middle East, yet another international crisis is threatening to disturb the peace of the world, this time around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The Spratly Islands are the focus of a territorial dispute between the Philippines, China, and Vietnam, among other countries. At hazard are vast deposits of oil and gas as well as a lush commercial fishing zone.
While the Philippines is dedicated to the peaceful resolution of the dispute, which goes back decades, the country is also committed to building up naval strength to increase its capacity to defend its territorial claims if necessary. It has also called upon the United States to help it defend its claims.
A naval conflict in the South China Sea, which the Philippines refer to as the West Philippine Sea and Vietnam called the East Sea, would not be in the interests of anyone. While China has been aggressive in asserting what it considers its national interests, it is not yet capable of asserting sovereignty over the Spratly Islands should it be opposed by the US 7th Fleet. Embroiled in a multi front war in the Middle East and Central Asia, the United States is not interested in participating in a fight in the Far East, especially with another nuclear power.
The smaller countries with claims over the Spratly Islands, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as Taiwan and Malaya, would be caught in the middle of a super power clash should it occur.
What the basis of a diplomatic settlement of the Spratly dispute is not clear. Ceding the islands to one country or another would leave all the other claimants aggrieved and motivated possibly to assert their own claims by force. That would mean that some kind of permanent presence, likely American led, would have to be stationed in the Spratly Islands to keep the peace.
Alternatively, some kind of joint sovereignty arrangement could be worked out in which all or most of the claimant countries would be partners in the development of the Spratly Island resources and sharing the profits. That would have the virtue of not leaving any party to the dispute unsatisfied, tamping down on the possibility of military conflict, while at the same time binding the parties together to cooperate rather than fight to enjoy the fish and hydrocarbon resources of the Spratly Islands.
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