China is militarizing the south china sea

It was the epithet it used while releasing a joint statement made on Thursday by Senators Jim Risch, Bob Menendez, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Cory Gardner, and Edward Markey, chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, which labels China’s actions "coercion." The statement quotes Risch as saying, "Surveying operations by a state-owned Chinese vessel inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and the deployments of China’s Coast Guard ships are only the latest evidence of China’s willingness to use coercion to assert unlawful claims in the South China Sea." Identifying specific ways to push back China’s aggressive activities in the sea -- known in Vietnam as the East Sea -- should be treated as a priority at the U.S.’s meetings with ASEAN in Thailand this week, he said. He was referring to the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Post Ministerial Conferences and … [Read more...] about US senators slam China for South China Sea ‘coercion’

In a joint communique issued Wednesday, they reaffirmed the need to avoid actions that may further complicate the situation in the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea.  "We discussed the situation in the South China Sea during which concerns were expressed by some ministers on the land reclamations, activities and serious incidents in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region," the Joint Communique of the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) stated. The ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, and underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety. The foreign ministers stressed the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, … [Read more...] about Avoid actions complicating South China Sea situation: ASEAN

They could also erode bilateral and regional trust, and delay negotiations between China and ASEAN on the Code of Conduct in the waters, known internationlly as the South China Sea, they add. The experts were making comments regarding China’s sending out its oil survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 and escorts and infringing on Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf earlier this month. "China’s actions demonstrate that it is unwilling to conform to international law but is willing to act unilaterally to assert so-called ‘historic rights’ over the entire South China Sea," said Carl Thayer of the Australian Defense Force Academy at the University of New South Wales. He said there would be three consequences to China’s recent actions. First, even though Vietnam and China’s bilateral relations have improved this year, the latest developments would undermine Vietnam’s strategic trust. While Vietnam and China have reiterated at … [Read more...] about China’s East Sea actions could backfire: experts

By Reuters  &nbspFebruary 11, 2019 | 01:55 pm GMT+7 U.S.'s destroyer USS McCampbell and the Royal Navy Type 23 ‘Duke’ Class guided-missile frigate HMS Argyll maneuver during a divisional tactics exercise in the South China Sea on January 15, 2019. Photo handed out by Reuters Two U.S. warships sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Monday, a U.S. official told Reuters. The move might anger Beijing at a time of tense relations between the world’s two biggest economies. Beijing and Washington are locked in a trade war and the two sides are trying to hammer out a deal ahead of a March 1 deadline when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are scheduled to increase to 25 percent from 10 percent. Escalating tensions between the United States and China have cost both countries billions of dollars and roiled global financial markets. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two guided-missile … [Read more...] about US destroyers sail in disputed South China Sea amid trade tensions

At the 51st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM 51) in Singapore earlier this month, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced that ASEAN and China have successfully adopted a single draft negotiating text on the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (COC). This adoption, only achieved after years of negotiation between them, is among the significant positive developments in the situation, according to a Vietnamese Foreign Ministry official, who asked to remain unnamed. Speaking to VnExpress, the official said that compared to previous meetings AMM 51 also saw all ASEAN members finally agree on noting their concerns on the land reclamations and activities in the troubled waters. These activities have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and could undermine peace, security and stability in the region, ASEAN members noted in their joint communique. They also agreed to maintain ASEAN's central role in the region. "This shows the interest of ASEAN members … [Read more...] about South China Sea is ‘on low boil,’ analysts warn

The bloc leaders, including Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, are expected to announce agreement on a working text for negotiations over the code of conduct to ease tension in the disputed waters at a meeting that began on Thursday. Vietnam calls the waterway the East Sea. A draft communique seen by Reuters shows the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also aims to soon reach a cybersecurity deal with Russia, which the United States has accused of election meddling, following hacks in the region. The communique, which reiterated ASEAN’s commitment to an ambitious trade pact backed by China, is set to be issued by ASEAN foreign ministers on Saturday at the close of the meeting of top diplomats in Singapore. “We noted with satisfaction the ASEAN member states and China had agreed on a single draft COC (Code of Conduct) negotiating text,” read the draft communique, adding that it was reached in June during high-level talks in China. ASEAN … [Read more...] about Southeast Asia flags progress with China over disputed waterway talks

The United States is considering intensified naval patrols in the South China Sea in a bid to challenge China’s growing militarization of the waterway, actions that could further raise the stakes in one of the world’s most volatile areas. The Pentagon is weighing a more assertive program of so-called freedom-of-navigation operations close to Chinese installations on disputed reefs, two U.S. officials and Western and Asian diplomats close to discussions said. The officials declined to say how close they were to finalizing a decision. Such moves could involve longer patrols, ones involving larger numbers of ships or operations involving closer surveillance of Chinese facilities in the area, which now include electronic jamming equipment and advanced military radars. U.S. officials are also pushing international allies and partners to increase their own naval deployments through the vital trade route as China strengthens its military capabilities on both the Paracel and … [Read more...] about US weighs more South China Sea patrols to confront ‘new reality’ of China

Vietnam's foreign ministry on Monday denounced recent landing and taking off drills carried out by Chinese bombers on the Paracel (Hoang Sa) Islands as a serious violation of Vietnam's sovereignty in the South China Sea, which it calls the East Sea. "Vietnam requests that China put an end to these activities immediately, stop militarization and seriously respect Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa Islands," the ministry's spokesperson, Le Thi Thu Hang, said in a statement. The move has increased tension, caused destabilization and is not beneficial to the maintenance of peace, stability and cooperation in the region, Hang said. It also goes against the Vietnam-China Agreement on Basic Principles Guiding the Settlement of Maritime Issues, violates the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and negatively affects the negotiation of a Code of Conduct in the waters, she said. China should "seriously comply" with those agreements to "create a favorable atmosphere … [Read more...] about Vietnam asks China to end bombers drills in Paracels

By AFP  &nbspJanuary 22, 2018 | 08:35 am GMT+7 U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis walks from a meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 9, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Joshua Roberts In Vietnam, Jim Mattis and his counterparts are set to discuss freedom of movement in the East Sea. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday began a one-week trip to Asia, hoping to strengthen defense cooperation with Indonesia and Vietnam as regional Chinese military power looms ever larger. "We share the Pacific - it's an ocean named for peace - we would like to see it remain peaceful, so all the nations that use it and live here are prosperous," Mattis told reporters accompanying him on a military plane headed to the region. In Jakarta, where he is to arrive Monday evening, Mattis is to meet on Tuesday with President Joko Widodo and Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu for talks on maritime cooperation. The vast Indonesian archipelago reaches from … [Read more...] about US defense secretary heads to Asia to draw a contrast with assertive China