South China/West Philippine Sea

[oscartamaguchiblackface]

Agents po Sir... We call them Information Gathering Agents or Agents for short... Medyo nega and cold war-dish na po yung dating ng Spies eh...

 

[Bugatti Veyron]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-javad-heydarian/philippines-and-vietnam-i_b_5392321.html

 

 

Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea: A Burgeoning Alliance

Posted: 05/26/2014 11:55 am EDT Updated: 1 hour ago

It was bound to happen. For decades, the Philippines (liberal democracy) and Vietnam (communist) have developed a lukewarm partnership -- within the confines of regional bonds of solidarity -- despite the increasing convergence of their strategic interests. But as China steps up its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the two Southeast Asian countries have inched closer to a genuine alliance. The recent meeting between Philippine President Benigno Aquino and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (May 21) saw "productive discussions" over establishing a bilateral strategic partnership, marking a critical step towards deepening economic and political cooperation between the two countries. Finally, they have decided to move from semi-passive neighborly relations to institutionalized strategic cooperation, especially in the realm of maritime security and regional stability.

 

Previously, the two countries adopted distinct approaches to managing their territorial disputes with China: In recent years, the Philippines has opted for a combination of confrontational language and high-profile legal protestation, anchored by deepening military alliance with Washington, while Vietnam has largely relied on low-key, patient bilateral diplomacy to push for joint-development schemes with China. When the Philippines decided to file an arbitration case against China before a special United Nations (UN) Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, Vietnam was conspicuously quiet.

 

However, China's recent decision to unilaterally dispatch a giant oil rig to Vietnam's 200-nautical-miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which led to a nail biting showdown between Vietnamese and Chinese naval forces and massive anti-China protests in Hanoi, has changed the complexion of regional diplomatic calculations. Even the ASEAN couldn't hide its panic in the recently-concluded summit in Myanmar. So Vietnam has decided to move closer to the Philippines' position, with Hanoi now also threatening to file a similar legal complaint against China.

 

Deepening partnership between the two countries has paved the way for the emergence of a "security diamond" of like-minded states in the Western Pacific, especially as Japan, Australia, and India step up their counter-measures against rising Chinese maritime assertiveness in the Pacific waters.

 

From Rivalry to Synergy

 

During the Cold War, the Philippines and (North) Vietnam were placed in ideological opposition, as the U.S. and Soviet Union directed their Southeast Asian allies against each other. The two countries also competed for a myriad of contested islands in the Spratly chain of islands in the South China Sea. The end of the Cold War, in turn, saw the emergence of the Philippines and (united) Vietnam as competitors in a new age of economic globalization, as the two economies fought for a greater share of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), especially in the realm of low-cost manufacturing.

 

Nonetheless, the Philippines welcomed the integration of Vietnam as an integral member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Filipino policy-makers believed that Vietnam's integration into existing regional mechanisms would transform the communist country into a partner for stability and prosperity in East Asia, putting a definitive end to a bitter history of Cold War rivalries in the Indo-China theater. And they were correct in that assumption.

 

Leveraging its cheap labor, strategic developmental policies, and regulatory stability, Vietnam managed to outshine ASEAN countries such as the Philippines in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Up until the 2007-08 Great Recession, Vietnam was largely seen as the "Little China" of global manufacturing, as the medium-sized Southeast Asian country attracted one of the largest amounts of FDI (as a share of GDP) in modern history. Rising production costs and widespread labor unrest in neighboring China also encouraged massive relocation of Chinese production facilities to Vietnam.

 

No wonder, the Obama administration saw Vietnam as a perfect partner in its pan-regional Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. Vietnam was increasingly seen as a serious economic player in Asia. Naturally, many in the Philippines were worried about being left behind by another neighboring country, just as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea managed to do in preceding decades. As the Philippines struggled to attract FDI, and witnessed the relocation of multinational companies to its neighbors, Vietnam seemed to be poised for turbo-charged industrialization, thanks to massive inflow of investments from Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, China, and South Korea.

 

More than five years after the Great Recession, the Philippines has emerged as an increasingly confident emerging market, thanks to an unprecedented period of political stability and above-average growth amid stable inflation and interest rates. As the new toast of the town among global investors, the Philippines hosted the 2014 World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia, formally announcing its arrival on world stage. Meanwhile, Vietnam has been struggling with rising inflation, economic slow-down, and growing anxieties among foreign investors, largely due to the recent anti-China protests, which ended up in massive destruction of factories owned by, among others, China and Taiwan.

 

As the Philippines overcomes its economic insecurities, and achieves a more balanced competition with its neighbors, the scope (and vision) for cooperation with fellow ASEAN members has expanded. The Philippines is no longer just obsessed with attracting more investments and strategic support from Pacific powers such as the U.S., Australia, Japan, and South Korea, but it is also reaching out to smaller neighbors with similar interests.

 

The Perfect Alliance

 

In light of the intensifying territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Vietnam represents a perfect partner for the Philippines, and vice-versa.

 

As influential members of the ASEAN, the two countries have been concerned with the lack of a unified regional response to China's growing assertiveness in the Western Pacific. Despite a decade-long agreement on developing a robust maritime conflict-prevention mechanism, the ASEAN has yet to finalize a legally-binding Code of Conduct (CoC) with China. So greater diplomatic coordination and strategic engagement between the two countries has become indispensable to establishing greater synergy within the ASEAN. The two countries can no longer afford to simply chart their own independent paths, since maximum coordination has become a strategic imperative.

 

Together, the two countries also hope to bring other claimant states such as Malaysia on board. So far, Malaysia has agreed to participate in trilateral dialogues with Vietnam and the Philippines to forge a common approach to the South China Sea disputes. The ASEAN's informal leader, Indonesia, has also moved closer to Vietnam and the Philippines. In recent months, Jakarta has openly criticized China's notorious "nine-dash-line" doctrine as a quasi-legalistic claim with no basis in international law, while finalizing a new border agreement with Manila, ending two decades of territorial squabbles.

 

Beyond diplomatic coordination, the Philippines could also advice Vietnam on crafting a separate legal action against China. In this way, both Manila and Hanoi could utilize existing international arbitration mechanisms to undermine China's sweeping claims across the South China Sea. More importantly, the two countries are moving closer to establishing regularized joint-exercises among their maritime forces. Obviously, the way forward is to institutionalize various defense-related mechanisms such as deeper intelligence-sharing vis-à-vis developments in the South China Sea, annual exercises between Vietnamese and Filipino coast guard and naval forces, and regular high-level dialogue between the two countries' leaders, strategists, and eminent academics.

 

The greater salience of the burgeoning Philippine-Vietnam strategic alliance, however, is the potential consolidation of a network of alliances in the Pacific theater, largely led by Washington. As Japan astutely works around post-War constitutional restrictions to play an increasingly important military role in the region, Washington hopes that Tokyo can play a more visible role in enhancing the deterrence and maritime capabilities of weaker Southeast Asian states such as Vietnam and the Philippines.

 

By pushing for the doctrine of "collective self-defense", the Abe administration is paving the way for a more robust Japanese defense role in the region. After all, the ultimate aim is to allow Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces (MSDF) to be in a position to assist American troops if a war were to erupt in the South China Sea, presumably between China and the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally. As Japan relaxes self-imposed restrictions on defense exports, it is also in a position to provide more concrete military support for the Philippines and Vietnam.

 

Meanwhile, Australia and India have also emerged as (a more willing and capable) counterbalance to China's rising military profile. While Canberra has upgraded its joint-military exercises with Washington, with growing focus on maritime military operations, a new nationalist government in India, led by the charismatic Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is also expected to step up India's strategic footprint in Southeast Asia.

 

Overall, what is clear is that China's relentless territorial push into adjacent waters has inspired growing strategic cooperation among a wide range of like-minded states, which have sought to deter a large-scale military conflict across Sea lines of Communication (SLOC) by compensating for Washington's increasingly alarming strategic retrenchment in recent years.

 

The ultimate aim is not to contain China, which has become the pivot of economic prosperity in Asia, but to constrain the sharp edges of China's inexorable rise in recent decades.

 

 

 

[hit05]

http://youtu.be/zbPx6rQO3qg

 

This Making of the last super fighter film seems to betray faulty issues of the recent AFP modernization program that violated the Malampaya funds use.

Edited May 27, 2014 by hit05

[sonnyt111]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-27/why-vietnam-cant-count-on-its-neighbors-to-rally-against-china

 

 

Why Vietnam Can't Count on Its Neighbors to Rally Against China

By Bruce Einhorn [/url] May 27, 2014 China’s fight with Vietnam has taken an even more dangerous turn. On May 2, a state-owned Chinese company began drilling for oil in a part of the South China Sea claimed by both countries, and relations have been deteriorating ever since. Ships from both sides have attacked one another and, fueled by media coverage of the incidents, anti-Chinese protesters went on a rampage around Vietnam, setting fire to Taiwanese owned factories with Chinese workers.

 

Now comes the latest escalation: A Vietnamese fishing boat has been sunk in the disputed waters after an attack after a Chinese ship “deliberately attacked” it, according to the official Viet Nam News. The Chinese oil exploration violates international law, VNS reported, quoting National Assembly deputy Truong Trong Nghia saying: “The area where the rig is stationed is totally within Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.”

 

China’s official Xinhua news agency blames the Vietnamese, saying the boat capsized “after harassing and colliding with a Chinese fishing boat.” According to the official Chinese account, “Vietnam has sent a number of ships to obstruct the drilling of Chinese companies in the waters where the collision took place.”

 

As in a similar dispute with the Philippines, China knows Vietnam can do little to stop it; while an appeal by Vietnam to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations could make the fight more equal, it’s not likely to be very effective. ASEAN emphasizes consensus, and Vietnam and the Philippines aren’t likely to gain the support of small countries that don’t have territorial disputes with China. ”Many Southeast Asian countries are reluctant to challenge China because it has become their largest trading partner and it is the largest aid donor to nations like Cambodia and Laos,” wrote Murray Hiebert, a senior fellow and deputy director of the Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

 

Even the Vietnamese government has to be cautious about upsetting the economic relationship with China. As wages have gone up in China, companies have moved factories to Vietnam to tap the country’s low-cost workforce. The supply chains are not completely separate, though, and companies that produce in Vietnam sometimes need to send products to factories in China. Vietnam’s exports to China now account for 42 percent of its total, up from 28 percent 18 months ago, Natixis Chief Asia Economist Luca Silipo told Bloomberg Television. Even as the political situation deteriorates, individual companies are cooperating more, creating a difficult balancing act for Vietnam’s diplomats.

 

Regional leaders worried about standing up to China may gain reinforcements soon. As Hiebert points out, there will be several summits in the coming months at which ASEAN foreign ministers will be able to get a boost from counterparts from the U.S., Japan, India and others. ”ASEAN officials recognize that they will not need to take the lead in discussions with China about the South China Sea at these meetings,” writes Hiebert. Maybe those other countries will be able to get China’s attention in a way that ASEAN can’t.

 

 

 

[heatseeker0714]

"The South China Sea may prove to be China's Dien Bien Phu, and it will be us, not the Americans, who stop Beijing's bullying in East Asia."

 

-Anonymous Vietnamese Diplomat.

 

 

When the other Patis lovers (aside from us Pinoys) speak, them Chicoms better listen...

[BnF95]

Here we go again,

 

Dear Filipinos,

 

You protest against everyone, yet expect their help when a foreign (for that matter a domestic) problem pops up. If you want to play with the big boys, be a big boy, not a cry-baby.

[camiar]

A very interesting read on why China does what its doing now:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hugh-white/china-america-relations_b_5412014.html

 

to highlight:

 

"Their reasoning is simple enough. They know that America's position in Asia is built on its network of alliances and partnerships with many of China's neighbors. They believe that weakening these relationships is the easiest way to weaken U.S. regional power. And they know that...the bedrock of these alliances and partnerships is the confidence ...that America is able and willing to protect them from China's power.

 

So the easiest way for Beijing to weaken Washington's power in Asia is to undermine this confidence. And the easiest way to do that is for Beijing to press those friends and allies hard on issues in which America's own interests are not immediately engaged -- like a string of maritime disputes in which the U.S. has no direct stake.

 

By using direct armed pressure in these disputes, China makes its neighbors more eager for U.S. military support, and at the same time makes America less willing to give it...

 

In other words, by confronting America's friends with force, China confronts America with the choice between deserting its friends and fighting China.

 

Beijing is betting that, faced with this choice, America will back off and leave its allies and friends unsupported. This will weaken America's alliances and partnerships, undermine U.S. power in Asia, and enhance China's power..."

Edited June 3, 2014 by camiar

[Bugatti Veyron]

A very interesting read on why China does what its doing now:

 

http://www.huffingto..._b_5412014.html

 

to highlight:

 

"Their reasoning is simple enough. They know that America's position in Asia is built on its network of alliances and partnerships with many of China's neighbors. They believe that weakening these relationships is the easiest way to weaken U.S. regional power. And they know that...the bedrock of these alliances and partnerships is the confidence ...that America is able and willing to protect them from China's power.

 

So the easiest way for Beijing to weaken Washington's power in Asia is to undermine this confidence. And the easiest way to do that is for Beijing to press those friends and allies hard on issues in which America's own interests are not immediately engaged -- like a string of maritime disputes in which the U.S. has no direct stake.

 

By using direct armed pressure in these disputes, China makes its neighbors more eager for U.S. military support, and at the same time makes America less willing to give it...

 

In other words, by confronting America's friends with force, China confronts America with the choice between deserting its friends and fighting China.

 

Beijing is betting that, faced with this choice, America will back off and leave its allies and friends unsupported. This will weaken America's alliances and partnerships, undermine U.S. power in Asia, and enhance China's power..."

But isn't maintaining America's alliances and partnerships with China's neighbors is in itself in line with its own interests? Since the US has no direct interests in the atolls, reefs, and small islets in the South China/West Philippine Sea, it needs to cultivate these alliances so as to appear as a disinterested spectator but at the same time ensure that the disputed region remains open to international shipping which IS in the interests of the US.

 

In other words, it does not want to confront China directly. Rather, it prefers to use proxies (that would be us, Vietnam, etc.) to counter China's growing influence in this part of the world.

 

Besides, if there's a huge deposit of oil underneath the South China/West Philippine Sea, that's certainly to catch the interest of the Americans.

 

Right now it's all a mind game. China and the US are making moves based on certain assumptions they made. We are like pawns being played by both the US and China.

 

Anyway, that certainly is a very interesting article you posted. Truly food for thought.

Edited June 3, 2014 by Bugatti Veyron

[heatseeker0714]

If the Vietnamese stand their ground and battle China tooth and nail whenever there is a Chinese incursion, other countries may be emboldened to duke it out with China in the disputed areas because Vietnam already did a precedent. The North Vietnamese/Viet Cong made America give up the fight. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility that Vietnam would make China give up and stop encroaching on its seas.

 

No can do brod... Never compare the Yanks with them Chicoms... A couple of decades ago, a Soviet Marshal once told a Chink General that with one press of a button, they can k*ll around 20 MILLION ++ Chicoms... Know what the Chicom General said...

 

"You can k*ll 20 Million of us, go ahead, we have a couple hundred million more and when you invade us, you'll all drown on the blood of those 20 Million" or words to that effect.

 

In the eyes of the Chicom government, the cheapest commodity they have is their countrymen's lives...

[camiar]

But isn't maintaining America's alliances and partnerships with China's neighbors is in itself in line with its own interests? Since the US has no direct interests in the atolls, reefs, and small islets in the South China/West Philippine Sea, it needs to cultivate these alliances so as to appear as a disinterested spectator but at the same time ensure that the disputed region remains open to international shipping which IS in the interests of the US.

 

Yes, absolutely. America cultivates its alliances with China’s neighbors for its own interests. It’s not really interested in the territorial disputes between China and her neighbors. What America is really interested in is to prevent China from taking control of the South China Sea, which could open Chinese Navy'’s access to the Pacific and Indian Ocean.

 

Who stands in China’s way to its access to the Pacific Ocean? Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

 

Who stands in China’s way to its access to the Indian Ocean? Malaysia and Indonesia.

 

That's the first-island-chain that China wants to control.

 

In other words, it does not want to confront China directly. Rather, it prefers to use proxies (that would be us, Vietnam, etc.) to counter China's growing influence in this part of the world.

 

Again, you’re right. But the Americans do not expect us to fight China for them. They can bring in their men and military equipment. What they need are land bases for them to stage their forces.

If we are friendly with the US, we will always grant them the use of our bases.

 

China on the other hand would try to undermine our friendly ties with the US. Bullying is China’s tactic to make us doubt USA’s resolve to protect us on territorial dispute. And it’s working.

 

America's biggest nightmare would be if China convinces us to allow their naval assets unhindered passage to the Pacific Ocean, in exchange for their allowing us to freely exploit the KIG's oil and mineral deposits.

 

Besides, if there's a huge deposit of oil underneath the South China/West Philippine Sea, that's certainly to catch the interest of the Americans.

 

I don’t think US is really that much interested in the potential oil and mineral wealth in the KIG.

China and America are now playing the world domination game. Strategic control of the oceans is their real goal.

 

What’s more important for China is to drive the US out of South China Sea so that they can make it “Beijing’s lake” just as the Pacific Ocean is “Washington’s lake”. And America in turn trying to keep China contained within the South China Sea with the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia as buffer zone.

 

Right now it's all a mind game. China and the US are making moves based on certain assumptions they made. We are like pawns being played by both the US and China.

Anyway, that certainly is a very interesting article you posted. Truly food for thought.

 

It’s the fight of the big boys. We are just collateral damage.

So, we should think smart.

Do we really want to be used as pawns? If we are willing to play as pawns, what’s in it for us?

In the long run, taking whose side would be less hurtful to us?

Can we be smart enough to build our strength so we can be neutral to both?

Edited June 4, 2014 by camiar

[Bugatti Veyron]

It’s the fight of the big boys. We are just collateral damage.

So, we should think smart.

Do we really want to be used as pawns? If we are willing to play as pawns, what’s in it for us?

In the long run, taking whose side would be less hurtful to us?

Can we be smart enough to build our strength so we can be neutral to both?

Of course the ideal situation is to build our strength so we can afford to be neutral to both. But until such time that this ideal situation is achieved, I think we have no choice but to take sides. And if it's a choice between siding with the good old US of A and the neighborhood bully to the north, well, it's quite obvious whose side I'll personally take.

[maxiev]

http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/03/south-china-sea-standoff-the-u-s-must-get-off-the-sidelines/

 

South China Sea Standoff: The U.S. Must Get Off The Sidelines

12:05 PM 06/03/2014

 

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Within days of President Obama concluding his recent trip to Asia, which was meant to reinforce America’s commitment there as the Chinese threat grows, China attacked Vietnamese vessels to advance its claim over disputed waters and to test Washington’s resolve. A firm, multilateral response is needed to avoid escalation and to demonstrate that China’s combativeness pushes its adversaries together and closer to the U.S.

 

China has sought to aggressively expand its control of the East and South China Seas, where its claims conflict with those of other countries. Throughout 2011, China harassed Vietnamese fishing and oil exploration vessels. In June 2012, after India and Vietnam agreed to jointly explore oil in the South China Sea, a Chinese navy vessel shadowed Indian ships traveling in international waters between the Philippines and South Korea. In mid-2012, China expelled Filipino ships from the Scarborough Shoal, which is 399 miles closer to the Philippines than China. In November 2013, China expanded its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) to cover parts of the East China Sea claimed by Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In March 2014, China blocked the Philippines from resupplying a ship in disputed territory.

 

Distracted by budget issues and foreign policy crises outside of Asia, the U.S. took little action against China’s pattern of coercion. Indeed, China aims to press its interests in small increments that do not individually provoke a strong U.S. response. The reason for President Obama’s tour of Asia last month was to demonstrate that America’s security guarantees remain strong. Beijing was unconvinced.

 

On May 2, just three days after President Obama’s Asia trip, China placed a state-owned oil-drilling rig in contested parts of the South China Sea — 120 miles from Vietnam and 180 miles from China. Vietnamese ships intervened, but some of the 80 or so Chinese vessels accompanying the rig rammed and blasted them with water cannons. A tense standoff persists as Beijing plans to keep its rig there until August 15.

 

Beijing is gauging Washington’s resolve to stop its creeping expansionism. China seeks in the contested waters more than control of natural resources and a valuable trade passage. Indeed, China wants to seize these assets by overpowering Vietnam while keeping the U.S. on the sidelines to show that it can engage in a string of hostilities without the U.S. and its partners stopping it. Emboldened, China’s confrontations will continue until it supplants American primacy in Asia or it is met by a resolute balancing bloc.

 

The U.S. and its Asian partners must meet China’s aggression together.

 

First, China must realize that escalation is costly. The U.S. should declare that if China continues using force, it will dispatch naval and aerial support near the rig to restore peace and consider sanctioning the subject Chinese energy company and its leaders.

 

By maintaining ships near the rig and returning water cannon fire, Vietnam has shown that it will stand up to China. Still, Vietnam, which has no defense treaty with the U.S., must calibrate its use of defensive force because it cannot beat China in a maritime battle and it benefits from China being seen as the sole aggressor. Hanoi should thus continue talks with Beijing to reach a nonviolent resolution, but it must not unilaterally withdrawal from the area as Beijing demands. During the Scarborough Shoal incident, the U.S. brokered a deal requiring China and the Philippines to simultaneously remove their ships from the disputed waters, but only the Philippines did so and China has since controlled the shoal. Additionally, Vietnam should continue mobilizing international support and shaming China, because Beijing values its image. Indeed, after the Philippines initiated international arbitration of the Scarborough Shoal incident, China allegedly offered to withdrawal from the area if the Philippines delayed the arbitration.

 

Other Asian countries clashing with China over territorial and maritime claims should condemn it and announce that Chinese hostility drives them closer to each other and the U.S. This dynamic is already underway. The Philippines recently increased U.S. access to its military bases and agreed to enhance naval cooperation with Vietnam. Japan announced this week that it would provide maritime aid to Vietnam. India has offered Vietnam a credit line to purchase weapons and agreed to train Vietnam in submarine warfare. The goal is for regional partners to respond jointly when China targets one of them.

 

Second, Vietnam’s defensive capabilities, including its maritime law enforcement and surveillance capacities, must be strengthened. Additional weapons sales and aid from the U.S., Japan, and India are necessary. The U.S. must therefore revisit its ban on the sale of lethal weapons to Vietnam. To supplement its defense budget, Hanoi can offer these countries’ companies favorable terms to exploit natural resources near its coast. Further, the U.S., Vietnam, and other countries sparring with China should conduct multilateral military exercises.

 

Third, Hanoi should invite Washington to return to Vietnamese military bases. Given political sensitivities, Vietnam can retain control of its facilities, but grant American forces rotational access and allow them to build new infrastructure and pre-position equipment. America will be able to project power into the South China Sea more easily and China will be deterred from harassing Vietnam.

 

Fourth, the U.S. should conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). That free trade agreement is being negotiated by the U.S., Vietnam, Japan, and nine other countries that make up over one third of world trade and about forty percent of global output. The TPP will open up its signatories to more trade and investment. For instance, numerous textile companies are moving from China to Vietnam because wages are lower and the TPP will cut textile tariffs. As TPP countries prosper, they can increase their military spending. And by creating such a large market, the pact will reduce its members’ economic reliance on China, giving them greater freedom to oppose Beijing’s power grabs.

 

The single time that the U.S. and its allies responded firmly to recent Chinese aggression, China essentially backed down. Days after China expanded its ADIZ, Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul sent warplanes through it. The U.S. and Japan provided military aid to Southeast Asian countries embroiled in territorial disputes with China, and Japan increased its military budget and drafted its first national security strategy, which focused on countering China. South Korea enlarged its ADIZ to include areas claimed by China. Beijing has since largely fallen silent about its ADIZ and not followed up on its statements about creating an ADIZ in the South China Sea.

 

The U.S. and its Asian partners must demonstrate that they can regularly make tough, coordinated responses to Chinese aggression. Otherwise, Beijing will further doubt U.S. commitments and continue trying to control Asia.

 

Paul J. Leaf is an attorney at an international law firm, a commentator on U.S. foreign policy, and a former editor of the Stanford Law Review.

[maxiev]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-04/china-refuses-to-defend-its-south-china-sea-claims-to-un-court.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

China Refuses to Defend its South China Sea Claims to UN Court

By Bloomberg News Jun 4, 2014 4:55 PM GMT+0800

 

China refused to defend its territorial claims in the South China Sea to a United Nations tribunal because it doesn’t recognize international arbitration of its dispute with the Philippines.

 

“China’s position that it will not accept or participate in the tribunal case involving the Philippines hasn’t changed,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said in Beijing today.

 

The UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration announced yesterday it was giving China until Dec. 15 to respond to the complaint by the Philippines filed in March, when it asked the court to uphold its right to exploit waters within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. So far China has refused any international efforts to resolve the dispute, insisting any discussions on the issue must be held directly between China and the Philippines.

 

Under President Xi Jinping, China has been tapping its economic and military muscle to assert its claims to surrounding waters that may be rich in mineral and energy deposits. China claims much of the South China Sea under its “nine dash-line” map, first published in 1947, which extends hundreds of miles south from China’s Hainan Island to equatorial waters off the coast of Borneo, taking in some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

 

Hagel Rebuked

 

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said China’s action in the South China Sea risked destabilizing the region and that the “U.S. will not look the other way when fundamental principles of international order are being challenged.”

 

Hagel made the remarks on May 31 at a gathering of defense officials in Singapore, where he drew a rebuke from Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, who said Hagel’s criticism was “groundless.”

 

The U.S. is treaty-bound to defend the Philippines and Japan, involved in a separate dispute with China in the East China Sea, in case of any conflict.

 

The Philippines and China have had regular dust-ups in the area. On May 7, Philippine police fired warning shots before arresting a boatload of Chinese fisherman near the Spratly Islands, known as Nansha in Chinese, for violating their sovereignty and catching endangered sea turtles. Chinese ships used water cannons in January to drive Filipino fishermen away from the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said on Feb. 24. China warned off two Philippine boats near the Second Thomas Shoal, its Foreign Ministry said on March 10.

 

Vietnam Spat

 

Vietnam is preparing legal action against China in a separate dispute over a different area of the South China Sea after China set up an oil rig near the contested Paracel Islands, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said in a May 30 interview. The placing of the rig set off anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam last month that left at least three dead.

 

In the East China Sea, Chinese and Japanese coast guard boats regularly tail each other around a chain of islands disputed by the two countries. Two Chinese fighter jets came within tens of meters of two Japanese surveillance planes near the islands last month, a move that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called “dangerous.”

 

Speaking at the same international conference as Hagel last week, Abe said that countries shouldn’t try to change the status quo by force and that Japan would make every effort to help Southeast Asian nations secure their seas and airspace.

[camiar]

Of course the ideal situation is to build our strength so we can afford to be neutral to both. But until such time that this ideal situation is achieved, I think we have no choice but to take sides. And if it's a choice between siding with the good old US of A and the neighborhood bully to the north, well, it's quite obvious whose side I'll personally take.

Are we really taking sides? Or are we nothing but unwitting pawns?

 

It's obvious that the US cannot respond to China's creeping invasion - from reclaiming of shoals in the Philippine EEZ, to create islands big enough to build naval or air station, to outright drilling for oil right at Vietnam's doorstep.

 

It's World War II scenario again as we are reminded of Pres. Manuel Quezon's lament that "Uncle Sam sits idly while his daughter is being raped in the backroom, wringing his hands in worry about the fate of his cousins in Europe..."

 

And we, Filipinos, never learned that the only way we can get out of this morass is to rely solely on ourselves, as Vietnam does.

Edited June 5, 2014 by camiar

[oscartamaguchiblackface]

Are we really taking sides? Or are we nothing but unwitting pawns?

 

It's obvious that the US cannot respond to China's creeping invasion - from reclaiming of shoals in the Philippine EEZ, to create islands big enough to build naval or air station, to outright drilling for oil right at Vietnam's doorstep.

 

It's World War II scenario again as we are reminded of Pres. Manuel Quezon's lament that "Uncle Sam sits idly while his daughter is being raped in the backroom, wringing his hands in worry about the fate of his cousins in Europe..."

 

And we, Filipinos, never learned that the only way we can get out of this morass is to rely solely on ourselves, as Vietnam does.

I agree we should face this problem as a nation and not rely on the help of the US. Problem is I find our leaders too timid (and obviously intimidated) by a much more powerful China. Vietnam has shown a lot more balls than the Philippines in facing off against China.