"China vows to oppose military provocation" Topic

I guess that with the 22 nations involved in the exercise there could be quite a few variations and combinations as to who you could game with in any scenario with China opposing any type of "military provocation". Though of course this could just be China getting it's feelings hurt.But if you were to game any type of confrontation what country's forces do you think would have some kind of chance against China. I know that some would involve the US and Russia. What smaller nations would you use? Who would side with China? Robert

China vows to oppose military provocation
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) June 28, 2012

China said Thursday it would resolutely oppose any military provocation in its territorial waters, remarks which appeared to be directed at the United States, Vietnam and the Philippines.

China's military has established routine naval patrols in the South China Sea, "indisputable territory" of the nation and a matter of "national sovereignty," defence ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said.

"We will resolutely oppose any military provocations," Geng said in statements posted on his ministry's website.

"The determination and will of China's military to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering."

Geng's remarks came as the United States launched the largest-ever "Rim of the Pacific" naval exercises in Hawaii, involving 22 nations, including the US, India, Russia, Australia and the Philippines.

China was not invited to participate or observe the exercises.

Tensions in the South China Sea have intensified recently with Vietnam and the Philippines both accusing China of increasingly flexing its military muscle in the region, despite a pledge from all claimants to avoid actions that could further stoke tensions.

Both the Philippines and Vietnam have also sought to shore up relations with the United States to counter China's increasingly vocal assertions over the region that also includes key international shipping routes.

Geng downplayed the US-sponsored multi-national military exercises, but voiced concerns over Washington's recent announcement to deploy more of its naval forces to the Pacific Ocean.

"Frankly speaking, we do not believe that this (the multilateral exercises) is such a big matter and it is not worth being upset about," Geng, who was speaking at a press briefing that was only open to Chinese journalists, said.

But "deploying more military forces in the Asia-Pacific goes against the world's pursuit of peace, development and cooperation, as well as trust among nations in the region," he said.

The Philippines said Thursday it was committed to "defuse the tension" with China over a disputed shoal, despite the continued presence of Chinese ships in the area.

"While we continue to assert our sovereignty over (the shoal) and sovereign rights over the waters surrounding it, we are committed to defusing the tension in the area through diplomatic discussions and consultations," Department of Foreign Affairs Raul Hernandez said in a statement.

"We urge everyone to refrain from making statements that would tend to re-escalate the situation in the area," the statement added.

China says it has sovereign rights to the whole South China Sea, believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits. The sea is also claimed in whole or part by Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines."

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China has also apparently, and recently spent $1 USD Billion (yes, with a "B"), on a deepwater oil exploration rig.

In addition, they are also auctioning off leases for oil exploration in Vietnamese territorial waters, within the latter's 200 mile territorial limit.

Supposedly, Vietnam has leased those same waters to others.

Some bidders are reluctant to bid on the leases, due to the potential for conflict, and China has warned Vietnam not to make any waves over the issue.

Looks like there could be some new, artificial reefs in the South China Sea soon.

I much prefer a West vs China scenario over a West vs Middle East dust up.

Where do you see a land engagement taking place? Just Taiwan, or any other flashpoints?

Otherwise, it would appear to be all naval and air in the Western Pacific.

I love their rhetoric, since it's always someone else creating the provocations to them, while I imagine more independent viewers would see the Chinese as the actual provocateurs.

They learn quickly from the West :)

"Where do you see a land engagement taking place?'

Vietnam? And/or,

The Spratly Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Vietnam, with Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines claiming part of the archipelago
The Paracel Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Vietnam[2]
The Pratas Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China
The Macclesfield Bank, disputed between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China
The Scarborough Shoal, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, and the Republic of China

Not really much in the way of land there, to fight over, since most are little more than very small islands, rocks, or reefs, and many are submerged at high tide.

Still, humans will fight over almost anything, but especially oil and natural gas reserves…..

I much prefer a West vs China scenario over a West vs Middle East dust up.

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since my wife's family is Chinese and they only want us to buy their stuff rather than establish a new Caliphate I prefer the latter!

In their 1988 fight with the Vietnamese, the Chinese "ground" troops were literally wading through the water covering the reef they were fighting for. Dry land was very scarce.

Well Mako I think it would be as I mentioned. Vietnam and/or one of the others. Maybe with Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines throwing in some forces. The list of the 22 countries taking part in the exercise may add to those willing to help. This is from Wiki,so take with a grain of salt ,

"About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from Vietnam, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia and the Philippines. Brunei has also claimed an EEZ in the southeastern part of the Spratlys encompassing just one area of small islands above mean high water (on Louisa Reef.)."
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So perhaps quite a few small actions could happen.

Robert

Send in the Drones.

"Send in the Drones"

…And hope they don't get their GPS hacked into and sent back again!

Drones can't hold any ground though. Gotta have some boots on the ground for it to mean anything. Robert

So I guess there could be at least 45 little skirmishes. Certainly some scenario fodder there. . Robert

@GNREP8

Fair enough! BTW, can she cook?

As for the drones, probably not a problem, since there is little ground to hold, assuming you don't count buildings, observation posts, and/or drilling platforms on stilts, as "ground".

So out of China,Vietnam,Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines for example have drones? The Wiki page has some really good information on the "Tabular listing of features showing country possessions",
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You are right some are quite small but there are a few that are larger thank a mile or more going all the way up to Taiping Island. Robert

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"Occupied features

A feature is occupied by a country if one of the following is true:

Soldiers and/or civilian citizens of a country are present in the feature, either by building structures over the feature to house the citizens (most features are of this type) or by manning a ship anchored over the feature (Philippine-occupied Irving Reef is of this type).

Regularly visited by soldiers of a country, not necessarily having soldiers present in it 24 hours. These features must lie near (within 9 miles (14 km)) a feature occupied by the country in the way of the first condition. Presence of structures is not necessary. This is the case of Philippine-occupied Flat Island and Lankiam Cay where soldiers stationed at Nanshan Island and Loaita Island respectively, regularly visit on a daily basis.

The effective visible distance of horizon from a 15 meter (typical large structure) height above sea-level is 9 miles (14 km). This makes features occupied by the second condition to be also labeled as "occupied" since they can be guarded far away. However not all features within the 9-mile (14 km) radius can be considered as absolutely occupied. This is especially true for features that lie between and within 9 miles (14 km) of two or more features occupied by different countries. (See Virtually Occupied or Controlled table)"

If the US got involved it could be. I'm not sure about the other countries that could get involved except maybe Russia. Robert

I meant with SEAL type teams. Robert

China becoming 'more aggressive': Philippines
by Staff Writers
Phnom Penh (AFP) July 11, 2012

China is growing "more aggressive" in dealing with rival territorial claims, the Philippines said Wednesday, after a fresh spat erupted between Tokyo and Beijing over a remote chain of islands.

"It looks like they are becoming more aggressive every day," said Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, whose own country is locked in a months-long dispute with China over a shoal in the South China Sea.

Beijing on Wednesday asserted its "indisputable sovereignty" over the uninhabited territory in the East China Sea after three Chinese patrol boats approached the islands, prompting Japan to summon the Chinese ambassador.

The dispute, which centres around islands in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, is the latest territorial row involving China and its neighbours.

It comes as China and Southeast Asian countries struggle to make progress on a code of conduct to ease tension in the resource-rich South China Sea.

Tensions have flared recently in the area with both Vietnam and the Philippines accusing Beijing of aggression.

China claims essentially all of the South China Sea, home to vital shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits. Taiwan and ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia also have claims in the waters.

Foreign ministers from across the region are currently meeting in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh for a week-long security forum which has been dominated by efforts to ease friction over the competing claims.

A joint statement by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been held up as countries wrangle over whether to include a reference to recent incidents in the South China Sea.

Del Rosario told reporters in Phnom Penh it had been a "difficult" day, adding that he was still pushing for a mention of the tense situation in the Scarborough Shoal, a group of rocky outcrops also claimed by China.

China, Japan in new spat over disputed islands
by Staff Writers
Phnom Penh (AFP) July 11, 2012

China told Japan Wednesday to respect its "indisputable sovereignty" over islands claimed by both countries in the East China Sea, in the latest territorial row between Beijing and its neighbours.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba in Phnom Penh where he "reaffirmed China's principled position" on the islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

"He stressed that Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islets have always been China's territory since ancient times, over which China has indisputable sovereignty," said a statement from the Chinese delegation.

Japan summoned the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo as three Chinese patrol boats approached the chain of islands, which are privately held by Japanese owners.

The crew of the Chinese vessels, which have since left the islands' immediate vicinity, initially rebuffed Japanese orders to leave, Japanese officials said.

"We are conducting official duty in Chinese waters. Do not interfere. Leave China's territorial waters," the Chinese crews said, according to the Japanese coastguard.

The waters around the disputed islands, which are close to oil reserves, have been the scene of previous rows, including the arrest of a Chinese trawlerman in late 2010.

Wednesday's spat is the latest clash over disputed territory between China and its neighbours that threatens to overshadow attempts to smooth regional relations at an Asian security summit in Cambodia this week.

The 10 members of Southeast Asian regional body ASEAN have been trying to agree a long-stalled "code of conduct" for the South China Sea that would help settle overlapping claims in the resource-rich waterway.

The Philippines is leading a push for ASEAN to unite to persuade China to accept a code based on a UN law on maritime boundaries that would delineate the areas belonging to each country.

Manila also wants ASEAN to condemn a standoff last month between Philippine and Chinese ships over Scarborough Shoal, an outcrop in the South China Sea.

Yang urged Japan to adhere to agreements and understandings with China "in good faith" and said it should return to "the right path of managing differences through dialogue and consultation with the Chinese side."

Japan-China relations this year had seen "some acute problems", the Chinese foreign minister acknowledged.

China's assertiveness over disputed territories in the South China Sea, which is home to vital shipping lanes, is seen by analysts as pushing anxious neighbouring countries closer to the United States.

Beijing also recently angered Vietnam by inviting bids for exploration of oil blocks in contested waters, sparking protests in Hanoi.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Cambodia on Wednesday to press for closer relations with ASEAN, part of Washington's strategy of "pivoting" towards Asia to challenge China's influence.

She is to take part in the ASEAN Regional Forum on Thursday, which brings together 26 nations and the European Union.

Yeah, the senkaku islands are … interesting. I think the Japanese government has the most valid claim, but only until the shooting starts.

I'd bet that the Philippines have a pretty good group of SEAL-like troops, though.

Doesn't "opposing provocation" mean ignoring it? Then again, their English isn't very good.

"Doesn't "opposing provocation" mean ignoring it?"

Or not provoking it themselves. Robert

Oh dear!

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Philippines urges China to explain stranded frigate.

"Col Estrella said the frigate was 60 nautical miles from Palawan, well within the 200-nautical-mile exclusive zone recognised by international law."

So it was "well within" the Philippines "200-nautical-mile exclusive zone recognised by international law". Which China claims as its "historical territory". Robert

TMP link

It would be no more than a local conflict.

Remember the 'send a gunboat' policy of earlier era's.

China warship refloated, pulled off disputed shoal
JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press
Updated 02:25 a.m., Sunday, July 15, 2012

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese navy ships safely removed one of the country's warships Sunday from a disputed shoal off the western Philippines where it had run aground while on a security patrol and sparked fears of another maritime standoff in the South China Sea.

The warship will sail back to port with minor damage, and no crew member was injured, Chinese Embassy spokesman Zhang Hua said in a statement that suggested the vessel did not spill any oil.

The frigate became stuck Wednesday night on Half Moon Shoal, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the western Philippine province of Palawan, prompting China and the Philippines to send rescue ships. Both countries were already locked in a tense dispute over another shoal off the northwestern Philippines.

The South China Sea is a flashpoint in diplomatic relations, with various Asian nations claiming all or part of its islands and waters.

Philippine navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said at least six Chinese navy ships, along with smaller utility boats, helped refloat the grounded frigate. Filipino coast guard vessels had been deployed near the area to help if needed, he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said Saturday the Philippines was investigating the circumstances that led to the accident. The government on Sunday expressed relief that the delicate incident was over.

"We are glad to note that Chinese authorities have successfully extricated their stranded frigate" and that it will leave Philippine-claimed waters, department spokesman Raul Hernandez said.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines did not plan to protest because the Chinese frigate and other foreign ships could sail through any country's exclusive territorial zone.

The shoal is called Hasa Hasa in the Philippines and is claimed by China as part of the Nansha island chain, known internationally as the Spratly islands. The Spratlys are a major cluster of potentially oil- and gas-rich islands and reefs long disputed by China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

Chinese and Philippine officials are still negotiating an end to a tense dispute over Scarborough Shoal, about 700 kilometers (400 miles) away, which has been continuing for more than three months. The Philippines has withdrawn its ships from Scarborough to ease tensions, but Chinese government surveillance ships have remained in the area.

The Philippines, meanwhile, said Sunday it would continue to offer another area near the South China Sea to foreign investors for oil and gas explorations despite protests from China. China claims ownership of those waters, which Filipino officials say include an area just 55 kilometers (34 miles) off the Philippine province of Palawan."

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There is some misinformation being issued by Phil. An EEZ is not territorial waters. An EEZ gives you the right to use it for economic purposes, but not to bar foreign naval vessels. That is what you have 12-mile territorial waters for.

From last year there was this between Vietnam and China,

China's U-Shaped Claims
By Huy Duong
June 9, 2011

Late last month, tension in the South China Sea was ratcheted up a further when three Chinese marine surveillance ships threatened the Vietnamese seismic survey ship Binh Minh 02 and sabotaged its seismic equipment. The incident took place 120 nautical miles from Vietnam's mainland coast and 340 nautical miles from China's Hainan Island, well inside Vietnam's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

For anyone wondering if this incident is somehow tied to the Paracels and Spratlys disputes, then the answer is no. The Binh Minh incident took place closer to the Vietnamese coast than the Paracels or the Spratlys. According to international law and state practice, the Spratlys and Paracels' islands and rocks are only entitled to either a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles or, at most, a territorial sea plus an EEZ that doesn't extend much beyond 12 nautical miles. By no stretch of the imagination, then, could their EEZs extend to or past the midlines between them and the coastlines surrounding the South China Sea.

With this in mind, it has been interesting to follow the ensuing war of words between Vietnam and China.

On May 27, Vietnam sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese Ambassador in Hanoi accusing China of violating the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Vietnam's sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

The following day, China retorted that what it did was ‘completely normal marine law enforcement and surveillance activities in China's jurisdictional sea area.'

But as ‘jurisdictional sea area' isn't one of the maritime zones defined in the UNCLOS, it remains unclear what exactly China meant by that term, and what might be the legal basis for it.

The exchange of barbs continued on May 29, when Vietnam retaliated by saying that it was conducting its exploration entirely within its 200-nautical-mile EEZ and continental shelf, ‘in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is neither a disputed area nor is it an area "managed by China." China has deliberately misled the public into thinking that it is a disputed area.'

Effectively, Vietnam was saying that the area wasn't part of the Paracels and Spratlys disputes.

Two days later, China hit back, claiming that its action was, ‘law enforcement activities by Chinese maritime surveillance ships against Vietnam's illegally operating ships are completely justified.' It urged Vietnam to ‘immediately stop infringement activities and refrain from creating new troubles.'

Once again, China failed to state its claim in terms of UNCLOS maritime zones. Nor did it specify any limit or cite international law to support its claim.

This latest development bears a striking resemblance to the Reed Bank incident in March, when two Chinese patrol boats threatened a seismic survey ship operating on behalf of the Philippines. That incident also took place nearer to the Philippines' Palawan coast than to the contested Spratlys. In both cases, China asserted its claims without any limit or justification based on the UNCLOS or international law. The Philippines' riposte was that the Reed Bank isn't part of the Spratlys and therefore isn't subject to the Spratlys dispute.

In the past, China has made similar claims against Malaysia at James' Shoal, against Indonesia over the waters near the Natuna Islands, and against Vietnam in the Vanguard Bank and Blue Dragon areas. These claims, together with the Reed Bank and Binh Minh incidents, should dispel any doubts that China is trying to expand its control well beyond the disputed Paracels, Spratlys and Scarborough Reef, and their associated waters.

A common feature with all these claims and clashes is that they all involve areas inside the mysterious 'U-shaped line' that, some time during the last century, China started putting on its maps. Over the years, this U-shaped line gradually expanded until it covered most of the South China Sea, to within less than a hundred nautical miles of other countries' coastlines, without any justification based on international law or customs.

Although the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei are all directly affected by this expansionist policy, the first two, being the countries that are nearest to China, will bear the brunt of Chinese expansion, for a number of reasons.

First, these two nations' maritime spaces will clearly be affected the most. Second, if China doesn't try to claim the Philippines and Vietnam's maritime spaces, its claims over Malaysia's, Indonesia's and Brunei's will disintegrate. This means that while China might make compromises at the southern tip of its notorious U-shaped line to keep Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei quiet while it deals with the Philippines and Vietnam first, it can't do the reverse and give up its claims in the Philippines' and Vietnam's maritime spaces in order to gain the southern tip. Of course, if China is successful in getting its way against the Philippines and Vietnam, Malaysia's, Indonesia's and Brunei's turns will come.

As a result, both the Philippines and Vietnam have been put in a situation where they need to resolutely protect their legitimate maritime spaces. At stake are more than economic interests: they also have reasons to fear that their security and national independence are threatened.

Although there remain differences between the Philippines and Vietnam over the Spratlys, there's much more scope for the two nations to co-operate in defending their respective maritime spaces that don't belong to the Spratlys. Given China's extensive claims, these maritime spaces may be far more significant than those belonging to the disputed Spratlys.

The Philippines' note verbale to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf after the Reed Bank incident highlights how the country is using UNCLOS to defend its rights in the South China Sea. With Vietnam relying on the same body of law, the two nations have a common framework for co-operation.

For example, if Vietnam and the Philippines could voice their diplomatic support for each other in incidents such as the Reed Bank and Binh Minh ones, it would benefit both nations. More fundamentally, though, analysts and diplomats from the two nations should get together with their counterparts from Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia to decide what exactly the Spratlys consist of and how much maritime space can be attributed to them, which would lead to a collective agreement on the extent of the contested areas in the South China Sea. This will help these nations in individually and collectively opposing China's attempts to expand the South China Sea dispute into previously uncontested areas. It will also help to convince the world of the merit of their case.

Another path that the Philippines and Vietnam could explore is making joint submissions of their continental shelf claims to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, possibly with the participation of Malaysia and Brunei.

Either of these actions would be without prejudice to the question of sovereignty over the Spratlys, and would benefit the Philippines and Vietnam enormously in counteracting China's expansive claims in the South China Sea."

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I wonder if should the shooting start, some of the more extreme Chinese claims are merely places to negotiate away in return for what they really want if there is a UN sponsored settlement. Anyone who has any Chinese friends would know they are great and enthusiastic gamblers, who always try to have something up their sleeve in case it is needed.

OK OK…we'll stop the shooting if you give us undisputed rights to islands X & Y if we give you rights to A & B.

I wonder????

Except that you usually don't need to start shooting to do horse-trading like that, Mal.

I guess that would all depend on whether the other side wants to stop the shooting too. Robert

" China has approved the formal establishment of a military garrison for Sansha, though specific details have yet to be released."

Another "garrison" that could be part of a scenario. Robert

China dubs tiny island new city in sea claim bid
Associated PressBy ALEXA OLESEN | Associated Press – Tue, Jul 24, 2012

BEIJING (AP) — China's newest city is a tiny and remote island in the South China Sea, barely large enough to host a single airstrip. There is a post office, bank, supermarket and a hospital, but little else. Fresh water comes by freighter on a 13-hour journey from China's southernmost province.

Welcome to Sansha, China's expanding toehold in the world's most disputed waters, portions of which are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and other neighbors. On Tuesday, as blustery island winds buffeted palm trees, a new mayor declared Sansha with a population of just 1,000 China's newest municipality.

Beijing has created the city administration to oversee not only the rugged outpost but hundreds of thousands of square kilometers (miles) of water, aiming to strengthen its control over disputed — and potentially oil-rich — islands.

A spokesman for the Philippines Foreign Ministry said Manila did not recognize the city or its jurisdiction. Vietnam said China's actions violated international law.

The city administration is on tiny Yongxing island, 350 kilometers (220 miles) southeast from China's tropical Hainan Island. The Cabinet approved Sansha last month to "consolidate administration" over the Paracel and Spratly island chains and the Macclesfield Bank, a large, completely submerged atoll that boasts rich fishing grounds that is also claimed by Taiwan and the Philippines.

Vietnam and China both claim the Paracels, of which Yongxing, little more than half the size of Manhattan's Central Park, is part. The two countries along with the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim all or parts of the Spratlys.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and its island groups, and its disputes occasionally erupt into open confrontation. The islands, many of them occupied by garrisons from the various claimants, sit amid some of the world's busiest commercial sea lanes, along with rich fishing grounds and potential oil and gas deposits. China has approved the formal establishment of a military garrison for Sansha, though specific details have yet to be released.

Official broadcaster China Central Television aired Tuesday morning's formal establishment ceremony live from Sansha, with speeches from the city's new mayor and other officials.

The Chinese flag was raised and national anthem played before plaques for the Sansha Municipal Government and the Sansha Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China were unveiled on a white-columned government building.

Mayor Xiao Jie trumpeted Sansha's important role in protecting China's sovereignty. He said the designation of Sansha as a new city was "a wise decision made by the party and the government of China to protect the sovereign rights of China, and to strengthen the protection and the development of natural resources."

The official Xinhua News Agency reported earlier that Sansha's jurisdiction covers just 13 sq. kilometers (5 sq. miles) of land, including other islands and atolls in the South China Sea around Yongxing, but 2 million sq. kilometers (770,000 sq. miles) of surrounding waters.

Sansha means "three sandbanks" in Mandarin and appears to refer to the Chinese names for the disputed island chains and atoll, known in Chinese as the West, South and Middle Banks, or Xisha, Nansha and Zhongsha.

A description from a former People's Liberation Army officer who was among the officials overseeing the island before Sansha was established paints a picture of a harsh and isolated post where officials took turns staffing for a month at a time. Though, he said fishermen live there all year round.

"The living conditions are pretty simple," Tan Xiankun, director of the office in Hainan overseeing Xisha and other South China Sea territories, told The Associated Press in 2010. "It's very humid and hot, more than 30 degrees, and there's salt everywhere. There's no fresh water, except for what's shipped in and what's collected from rain water."

Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said Manila has expressed its concern and registered a strong protest with Beijing over the decision to set up a military garrison on Sansha.

"The Philippines does not recognize the Sansha city and the extent of its jurisdiction and considers recent measures taken by China as unacceptable," Hernandez told a news conference.

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said in a statement that Vietnam had protested to the Chinese foreign ministry.

"China's establishment of the so-called 'Sansha City' … violated international law, seriously violating Vietnam sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes," Nghi said.

A report released Tuesday by the International Crisis Group think tank said that although China's large claim to the South China Sea and its assertive approach has rattled other claimants, Beijing is "not stoking tensions on its own."

"South East Asian claimants, with Vietnam and the Philippines in the forefront, are now more forcefully defending their claims — and enlisting outside allies — with considerable energy," it said, a reference to Washington's move to influence the Asian balance of power by supporting China's neighbors.

The report also warned that the risk of escalation was high and urged claimants to find ways to jointly manage energy resources and fishing areas while also agreeing on a mechanism for handling incidents.

"In the absence of such a mechanism, tensions in the South China Sea could all too easily be driven to irreversible levels," it said."

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"Sansha military garrison established
2012-07-27 09:21

The Ministry of National Defense on Thursday announced the appointment of major officers to the Sansha military garrison, saying China's military establishments in its own territory are irrelevant to other countries.

Senior Colonel Cai Xihong was appointed as the garrison's commander, and Senior Colonel Liao Chaoyi was appointed as the garrison's political commissar, the ministry's spokesman Yang Yujun said at a regular news conference.

Analysts said China will continue to strengthen control over Sansha to ensure its lawful interests and rights amid maritime disputes.

China on Tuesday officially established the city of Sansha on Yongxing Island in Hainan province, and a military garrison was also established.

The new military garrison is responsible for defense mobilization, militia reserves, the relationship between the garrison and local government as well as guarding the city and disaster relief, Yang said.

"Whether a military establishment has combat forces or not depends on its military tasks," the spokesman said in response to a question about the military deployment of the Sansha military garrison.

There had been speculation that the military garrison originated from the existing Xisha maritime garrison, but Yang said the Sansha military garrison and Xisha maritime garrison are separate military organs executing duties according to their respective responsibilities.

Yang said the Xisha maritime garrison under the Chinese navy's Nanhai Fleet is responsible for maritime defense and military combat.

Zhang Junshe, deputy director of the Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said the construction of the Sansha military garrison is a long-term process based on the city's defensive needs.

China's recent steps to beef up lawful maritime rights in the South China Sea have drawn concerns from some US officials. US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland on Tuesday expressed Washington's "concern" over the city's establishment.

China adheres to direct bilateral negotiations between related parties to properly solve the South China Sea issue based on historical facts and international laws, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Office told Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

Although Washington has expressed neutrality over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, it is still worried about China's growing military strength in the region. Some US politicians have even suggested Washington play a more influential role in multilateral maritime negotiations to solve the disputes, said Zhang Zhexin, a US studies expert with the Shanghai Institute for International Studies.

"China will certainly continue reinforcing its political and military control over Sansha as it has drawn lessons from maritime disputes in the past," he said.

Asked whether the Chinese navy will use China's first aircraft carrier to solve the South China Sea issue, Yang said the purpose of developing an aircraft carrier is to strengthen national security and world peace.

The spokesman would not say whether the aircraft carrier would be commissioned on Aug 1, which marks the 85th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army's establishment, but said its current sea trials have gone well and additional trials will continue.

Yang reiterated China's indisputable sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, saying the Japan-US security and cooperation treaty, a product of the Cold War and a bilateral arrangement, should not damage the interests of third parties including China.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba on Tuesday said the Diaoyu Islands would be included in such treaty between Japan and the US, in a decision worked out with his US counterpart Hillary Clinton, the Jiji Press News Agency reported.
Source:China Daily"

US criticizes new China garrison in tense sea
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Aug 3, 2012

The United States on Friday accused China of raising tensions through a new military garrison in the South China Sea as it called on all sides to lower tensions in the hotly contested waters.

China announced last week that it was establishing the tiny city of Sansha and a garrison on an island in the disputed Paracel chain, infuriating Vietnam and the Philippines which have accused Beijing of intimidation.

"We are concerned by the increase in tensions in the South China Sea and are monitoring the situation closely," US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.

"In particular, China's upgrading of the administrative level of Sansha city and establishment of a new military garrison there covering disputed areas of the South China Sea run counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences and risk further escalating tensions in the region," he said.

Ventrell also pointed to "confrontational rhetoric" and incidents at sea, saying: "The United States urges all parties to take steps to lower tensions."

China says it controls much of the South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim portions. Vietnam and the Philippines have accused China of stepping up harassment at sea.

The United States has rallied behind Southeast Asian nations, expanding military ties with the Philippines and Vietnam. President Barack Obama has decided to send Marines to Australia in a further show of US power in Asia.

The US Senate approved a resolution late Thursday that "strongly urges" all regional nations to exercise self-restraint and to refrain from permanently inhabiting points in the South China Sea until a code of conduct is reached.

The resolution, sponsored by senators from both major parties, declared that the United States was committed "to assist the nations of Southeast Asia to remain strong and independent."

During a 2010 visit to Vietnam, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the United States had a national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, through which half of world cargo passes.

The State Department statement on Friday reiterated that the United States has an interest in stability and "unimpeded lawful commerce" in the South China Sea but that Washington does not take a position on rival claims.

China also has separate disputes with US ally Japan in the East China Sea, an issue discussed by Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto on a visit Friday to Washington.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, addressing a joint news conference with Morimoto, voiced hope for further progress in a code of conduct on the South China Sea.

"The last thing we want is to have direct confrontation in the South China Sea with regards to jurisdictional issues," Panetta said.

"Those should be resolved peacefully, and they should be resolved pursuant to a code of conduct. And the United States will do whatever we can to work with Japan and others to ensure that that is the approach we take," he said.

Southeast Asian nations faced deep divisions last month during annual talks in Cambodia, preventing them from issuing a customary joint communique and holding up progress on reaching a code of conduct with China.

The code of conduct would aim to set rules to reduce the chances of a spat over fishing, shipping rights or oil and gas exploration tipping into an armed conflict.

Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former US government strategist, said that China may have set up the garrison as a way to counter the recent US military focus on Asia.

"To be sure, China is well aware that its assertiveness is not well received in East Asia, and tends to lead smaller nations to tilt to the US to balance China," Manning wrote in an essay released by his think tank.

"But Beijing seems to be calculating that despite the more robust US military posture in the region, China can throw its weight around and the US response will be limited to diplomatic reprimand," he wrote."

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China's Military Moment
A window of opportunity is closing in the South China Sea. Will Beijing strike?
BY JIM HOLMES | JULY 26, 2012

Beguiled by undersea oil and gas deposits and the weakness of fellow claimants to the Paracel Islands, China launched a naval offensive to seize the disputed archipelago. To justify its actions, Beijing pointed to history -- notably Ming Dynasty Adm. Zheng He's visits to the islands in the 15th century -- while touting its "indisputable sovereignty" over most of the South China Sea.

Chinese vessels carrying amphibious troops and operating under fighter cover from nearby Hainan Island engaged a South Vietnamese flotilla bereft of air support. One Vietnamese destroyer escort lay at the bottom of the South China Sea following the daylong battle. China's flag fluttered over the islands.

The skirmish was real -- and the date was Jan. 17, 1974.

History may not repeat itself exactly, but it sure rhymes. Back then, China exploited South Vietnamese weakness to seize the Paracels. Now, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has announced plans to station a military garrison at Sansha, a newly founded city on the 0.8 square-mile Woody Island in the Paracels. Formally established on July 24, Sansha will act as China's administrative center for the Paracel and Spratly islands and adjoining waters.

This is the latest move in China's campaign to consolidate its claim to all waters and islands within a "nine-dashed line" that encloses most of the South China Sea, including large swaths of Southeast Asian countries' exclusive economic zones (EEZs). This month, a Chinese frigate ran aground in the Philippine EEZ after reportedly shooing away Filipino fishermen. That incident came on the heels of a late June announcement that PLA Navy units would commence "combat-ready patrols" of contested waters.

Beijing is reaching for its weapons once again. Unlike in 1974, however, Chinese leaders are doing so at a time when peacetime diplomacy seemingly offers them a good chance to prevail without fighting. I call it "small-stick diplomacy" -- gunboat diplomacy with no overt display of gunboats.

Chinese strategists take an extraordinarily broad view of sea power -- one that includes nonmilitary shipping. In 1974, propagandists portrayed the "Defensive War for the Paracels" (as the conflict is known in Chinese) as the triumph of a "people's navy," lavishly praising the fishermen who had acted as a naval auxiliary. Fishing fleets can go places and do things to which rivals must respond or surrender their claims by default. Unarmed ships from coast-guard-like agencies constitute the next level. And the PLA Navy fleet backed by shore-based tactical aircraft, missiles, missile-armed attack boats, and submarines represents the ultimate backstop. "

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The Vietnamese should be able to effectively oppose the Chinese in the long run if they become too aggressive. They were able to best the US once, but this time the US will be their ally.

Hopefully not the 4th Indochina war…
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"a brief but bloody border war fought in 1979 between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."

Both claim victory in the 1979 war. China won in 1974. Robert

They already took over Hollywood and made MGM change the bad guys in the "Red Dawn" remake from China to NK.

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Dan
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Are the N.Koreans making any claims in the same area? Robert

Japan stands firm on China islands dispute
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 20, 2012

Japan rejected Chinese protests Monday over the raising of a Japanese flag on disputed islands but sounded a placatory note, saying ties with Beijing are among the "most important" it has.

Tokyo stood firm in its insistence that islands where Japanese nationalists landed on Sunday, which it administers, were part of its territory, but said it wanted to improve ties with its giant neighbour.

The comments came as Chinese media rounded on Japan after street protests erupted across China over a series of moves that Beijing considers provocative.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Beijing and Taipei, which both claim the islands, had lodged objections after 10 Japanese nationalists landed on what Japan calls the Senkaku islands and China calls Diaoyu.

Sunday's flag-raising came just days after Tokyo deported pro-Beijing protesters who had landed on the same island.

"We have explained our nation's basic position and told them that we cannot accept their claims," Fujimura told a news conference in Tokyo.

"There is no doubt that the islands are our sovereign territory historically and under international law, and our nation controls the islands," he added.

Despite their large and mutually important trade relationship, ties between Tokyo and Beijing are often blighted by historical animosities, especially war-time atrocities carried out by the invading Japanese army.

But Fujimura insisted that neither Tokyo nor Beijing had any interest in seeing overall relations affected by the dispute over the islands, whose seabed is believed to harbour rich mineral resources.

"The Japan-China relationship is one of the most important bilateral ties for Japan," he said.

"China's constructive role is necessary for the stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region," he said. "We would like to continue to further progress mutually beneficial relations between Japan and China."

Sentiment in the Chinese media was more strident, after thousands of people in more than 20 cities protested on Sunday, in what some analysts said was the biggest wave of anti-Japanese sentiment since 2005, when several cities were rocked by violent demonstrations.

"Japan is building another wall in its relations with China and the Japanese intruders and their government seem hell-bent on freezing Sino-Japanese ties," the English-language China Daily said in an editorial.

"It would be a mistake for Japan to see China's use of reason and restraint to deal with the Diaoyu Islands dispute as its weakness," it added.

The People's Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist party, said Japan should recognise the consequences of its actions, which damaged Sino-Japanese relations.

The Global Times newspaper, known for its nationalistic stance, warned China could reciprocate if Japan increased its defence of the islands.

"China will definitely take further steps regarding Diaoyu," it said. "The reluctance to resort to military means doesn't mean China is afraid of war."

Fujimura called on the Chinese government to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in China after Japanese businesses, restaurants and cars were targeted.

The Japanese foreign ministry has separately issued a travel advisory, telling its nationals to be on alert while staying in the country.

In far southern Okinawa, police were questioning the 10 Japanese nationalists who had landed on the island without the necessary permission.

A police spokesman told AFP the questioning was being done on a voluntary basis as officers tried to "get a handle on what happened".

The police were examining whether the landing was "appropriate under the law", he said while declining to give further details."

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