South China Sea Forum

[Krueger]

ASEAN Leaders Summit to Take Place Amid South China Sea Concerns

ASEAN leaders will meet this weekend and China will be at the top of the agenda.

By Ankit Panda
May 09, 2014

Leaders from the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet in in Napyidaw, Myanmar this weekend. The meeting is historic due to its venue: Myanmar is hosting an ASEAN summit for the first time. However, the meeting unfortunately coincides with two major maritime disputes between two ASEAN states and China. Vietnam’s tryst with China over an oil rig near the disputed Paracel Islands and the Philippines detention of a Chinese fishing boat in the disputed waters of the Second Thomas Shoal will ensure that managing maritime disputes with China will top the agenda as the leaders meet in Napyidaw.

The timing of the summit could encourage both the Philippines and Vietnam, and the remaining ASEAN countries, to revisit the regional organization’s bid to develop effective multilateral means to manage the various disputes in the South China Sea. It is highly unlikely that the leaders would convene in Napyidaw and issue any sort of joint condemnation of Chinese behavior (not in the least owing to the host country’s complicated relationship with China). Instead, ASEAN leaders are likely to do what they have done in the past: emphasize international law, encourage restraint, and call for diplomacy.

More specifically, the timing of the summit with these two acute flare-ups in the South China Sea should be a rude reminder that ASEAN should double-down on its efforts to set in stone a binding code of conduct for the South China Sea. Without any such concerted effort, China is unlikely to reconsider its behavior in the South China Sea. As Flashpoints blogger Carl Thayer told the South China Morning Post, ”Asean protestations will not move China one inch.”

The prospects for this summit leading to a breakthrough on a code of conduct are slim. The watershed document in this area, the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed between all the ASEAN states and China, is proving insufficient in managing contemporary tensions. As Malcolm Cook notes for the Lowy Interpreter, the 2014 summit will really test the mettle and conviction of ASEAN states to make good on their intention to enforce the 2002 Declaration. Chinese action in recent weeks, both against Vietnam and the Philippines, violates the declaration.

One of the worse potential outcomes of this weekend’s summit is that ASEAN leaders will leave Napyidaw having said or done nothing about Chinese behavior in the South China Sea or a code of conduct. Implicitly, such a result would expose the diplomatic fault-lines present within the 10-member association. Both Manila and Hanoi will be vocal in their pursuit of at least a joint statement on the South China Sea. Filipino Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles C. Jose told The Wall Street Journal that he expects ASEAN to reiterate its “grave concern over the recent developments in the South China Sea, as well as Asean’s strong resolve to uphold the rule of law.”

ASEAN leaders themselves remain divided over the urgency they ascribe to the China issue and the policies they would like to pursue to resolve South China Sea disputes. In particular, given that China is a major trade partner for each state in the region, the countries without disputes with China are not eager to participate in an inflammatory statement against China given the risk of damaging their political and economic relationships with Beijing. China’s approach of avoiding multilateral forums for addressing maritime disputes has worked to the extent that it has paralyzed ASEAN’s ability to respond in unison to China’s assertion of its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Indeed the July 2012 ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Cambodia offers a stark reminder of what disunity can look like within the association.

For Myanmar, the historic occasion of hosting its first ASEAN Summit and joining the comity of Southeast Asian nations as a state in transition will likely be overshadowed by a fixation on China. Although Myanmar’s reforms under the leadership of Thein Sein has reduced its dependence on China, it maintains cordial relations with Beijing and is unlikely to risk this over South China Sea maritime disputes.

ASEAN Leaders Summit to Take Place Amid South China Sea Concerns | The Diplomat

 

[BoQ77]

The main problem is clearly China robbed Paracels from Vietnam in 1956, 1974 ...
So they deny to continue identifying the boundary at the Mouth of Gulf of Tonkin ...
if they continue, they must draw the line through the gap between Paracels vs Hainan ...

You could see how nonsense the U-shaped line ...

China is trying to repeat the Scarborough shoal again, ...
but Vietnam would not let them do the same

 

[+4vsgorillas-Apebane]

10, 100 or 1,000 year or forever ? he he. stupid boy and kiddo leadership of China don't understand.

We know those numbers well enough. In fact we have occupied you 10, 100, and even 1000 years.

 

[Kyle Sun]

Update news:

At this morning, Chinese was increase their forces with some big transport and support ships.
Some Chinese ships with high speed was try to crush Vietnamese ships formation ...

PRC has over 100 ships (coast guard, military, armed fishing-ship, big tug, support ships ...), Vietnam has over 30 ships, and still reinforce ...

armed fishing -ship ???

Show me the picture.

 

[TaiShang]

I dunno about you, but i am tired of flowery language. That is partially the reason why these small countries are not afraid of China and think Chinese are weaklings. Imagine if it was Vietnamese boats ramming American , s korean, japanese or russian boats?

I think in diplomacy, flowery language/soft rhetoric makes you look even more dominating. The US (until Hillary and Kerry) actually maintained that soft tone even on the eve of an invasion.

So long as China does what it likes and no body harms its interests, no need to change that just because some war of words. Heated rhetoric often makes one look out of control, crazy and powerless. I forgot how many angry words the Turkey leader hurled at Israeli leadership, often going beyond the limits of civility, let alone diplomacy. The result is, no body takes his words seriously. He is a lone lunatic now.

We want our leadership to be respected and feared not because they speak loudly, but because they speak softly.

Believe me, not even one of these weakling leadership thinks China is powerless or too soft. They know better than their clueless citizenry.

Personally, I do not want to see the Chinese government to be barking at every tree. Let the small countries do that. As the regional leader and soon-to-be global leader, China is bound to get a lot of attention, jealousy, and hatred (as well as a lot of admiration). We probably will have to learn to live with that. USers learned to live with the label "Ugly American." Do they give a rat's back to that? No. We should not, either, when others bark at us.

In my view, no higher level than the spokesperson should bother to respond to criticism, even if the criticism comes directly from thick-skin Kerry, let alone the Phil or Viet. That shows greatness.


In the meanwhile, war of words continues. RT reports:

‘US has no right’: China responds to comments over its $1 billion rig in S. China Sea — RT News

China has sharply responded to US comments regarding the oil rig Beijing is setting up in the South China Sea. The $1 billion rig sparked a new row with Vietnam blaming China for intentionally ramming its vessels in a disputed area.

"The United States has no right to complain about China's activities within the scope of its own sovereignty," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the daily briefing on Wednesday.

The statement was made in response to the US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki’s comment in which she criticized “China's decision to operate its oil rig in disputed waters” and called it“provocative and unhelpful to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region."

The row comes less than a week after China National Offshore Oil Corp. placed the rig about 220 kilometers (140 miles) off the Vietnamese coast on May 2.

Vietnam “strongly opposed” the events in the South China Sea and considered them a violation of their sovereignty. State-owned Vietnam Oil & Gas, known as PetroVietnam, demanded China’s state-run company stops activities and removes the rig.

China, at the same time, insists that the oil rig was erected in Chinese waters.

"The disruptive activities by the Vietnamese side are in violation of China's sovereign rights," Hua Chunying said.

In a new development of the conflict, Vietnam blamed Chinese ships for “intentionally” ramming and spraying water cannons at Vietnamese vessels trying to stop Beijing from moving forward with the drillings.

The incident reportedly took place back on May, 4, however, it has been made public only now.

"On May 4, Chinese ships intentionally rammed two Vietnamese Sea Guard vessels," said Tran Duy Hai, a foreign ministry official and deputy head of Vietnam's national border committee.

Vietnam dispatched up to 29 ships to the area near the oil rig when it became aware of China’s intentions on May 2.

A video of Chinese ships ramming into Vietnamese ones and firing high-powered water cannons at them was shown at the news conference.

Thu said similar incidents had repeatedly occurred over the last three days and stressed that Vietnam was not carrying out any offensive actions in waters close to the rig.

However, according to AP citing a Vietnamese official who requested anonymity, the ships were trying to stop the rig from “establishing a fixed position” at the spot where it wanted to drill.

At the same time, China previously announced that no foreign ships would be allowed within a 4.8-kilometer radius of the rig.

China has not yet responded to the Vietnamese allegations of ramming.

Vietnam does not rule out that the dispute might be taken to international arbitration.

"We cannot exclude any measures, including international legal action, as long as it is peaceful,” the Vietnamese foreign ministry official Tran Duy Hai said as cited by Reuters. "If this situation goes too far, we will use all measures in line with international law to protect our territory. We have limitations, but we will stand up to any Chinese aggression."

....

 

[Soryu]

armed fishing -ship ???

Show me the picture.

Pictures are not released yet (only by Vietnam Maritime Police and Ministry of Foreign Affair).
PRC fishing ship is big (80-100 tons) and made by steel armed with machine gun and AK.

 

[KAL-EL]

As an outsider to this ongoing conflict, I'm trying to understand all these maps.

 

[Krueger]

9 May 2014

Scores of US and Filipino marines launched mock assaults on a South China Sea beach in the Philippines on Friday in war games aimed at honing the allies' combat skills.

SAN ANTONIO, Philippines: Scores of US and Filipino marines launched mock assaults on a South China Sea beach in the Philippines on Friday in war games aimed at honing the allies' combat skills.

The exercise came as tensions simmer between the Philippines and China over rival claims to the strategic waters.

Three US rubber raiding craft and two small-unit Filipino riverine boats made repeated sallies at a desolate beach at a northern Philippines navy base in a practise stealth landing of squads of armed marines.

Shouting "Volume Fire!" and "Bounce Up", the teams scrambled up the sloping shore with assault rifles to surround a mocked-up enemy tent before running back to their boats in rapid manoeuvres.

"We're here for the sake of training, to build up and develop our capabilities," US Marines spokesman Captain Jeremy Scheier told AFP when asked if they had a specific enemy target in mind.

"There was no specific scenario," he said, adding that Friday's exercises began well before dawn and involved about 40 US and 80 Filipino marines.

About 5,500 US and Filipino forces are taking part in the annual war games over a two-week period.

At the opening ceremony in Manila last week, Filipino Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said this year's joint manoeuvres were designed to help the hosts boost their "maritime capability" to address "challenges" in the South China Sea.

The Philippines, which signed a mutual defence treaty with the United States in 1951, has been involved in increasingly tense maritime confrontations with regional power China, which claims most of the sea including waters close to its neighbours.

The United States has said it takes no position in the territorial dispute.

However, US President Barack Obama, on a state visit to Manila last week, warned China against using force in territorial disputes and said Washington would support Manila in the event of an attack.

In the latest incident on Tuesday, Filipino police detained a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel and detained its 11 crew members.

It has ignored a Chinese demand to free the vessel and crew.

Philippine military spokeswoman Navy Lieutenant Annaleah Cazcarro said the amphibious landing exercises also involved two Filipino navy ships serving as launch pads about 3.7 kilometres (two nautical miles) offshore.

"This was planned years before," she told AFP when asked if the exercises had any bearing on the latest maritime incident involving China, which the Philippines said occurred near Half Moon Shoal, 106 kilometres west of the large western Philippine island of Palawan.

The Philippines on March 30 filed a formal plea asking a United Nations arbitration tribunal to declare as illegal what Manila said was Beijing's claim to 70 per cent of the South China Sea.

The seabed in the area is believed to contain huge deposits of oil and gas and the waters straddle vital sea lanes.

Beijing has rejected UN arbitration and urged Manila to settle the dispute through bilateral talks instead.

- AFP

US, Philippine marines launch South China Sea drills - Channel NewsAsia

 

[Kyle Sun]

Pictures are not released yet (only by Vietnam Maritime Police and Ministry of Foreign Affair).
PRC fishing ship is big (80-100 tons) and made by steel armed with machine gun and AK.

Do you really believe this ?

If so , why Phi can arrest our fishing men?

If they do have machine gun or even one pistol , I am sure they will shoot the Phi in case they are threatened .

 

[Viet]

a Vietnamese coastguard vessel with cannon
the force is ordered not shoot first. the Chinese seem wanting to provoke Vietnam to fire first, so they have a pretext to start the war.

encounter at sea, rear: Vietnamese, front: Chinese
the situation is described as very tense.

in Vietnamese media: the front page

 

[BoQ77]

May 07 2014
STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN ON CONFLICT BETWEEN CHINA AND VIETNAM IN SOUTH CHINA SEA
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today released the following statement on the latest reports regarding the escalating conflict between China and Vietnam over a Chinese oil rig near the Paracel Islands:

“China’s decision to begin drilling for oil off the coast of Vietnam, and its deployment of dozens of naval vessels to support that provocative action, is deeply concerning and serves only to escalate tensions in the South China Sea. Chinese ships have swarmed and rammed Vietnamese Sea Guard vessels in yet another instance of aggressive maritime harassment. There should be no doubt that China bears full responsibility for this unilateral attempt to change the status quo.

“These Chinese actions rest on territorial claims that have no basis in international law. In fact, China’s drilling is occurring squarely within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone, as defined clearly under international law. It is incumbent upon on all responsible nations to insist that China’s leaders take immediate steps to deescalate tensions and revert to the status quo ante.”

--------------------------------------------

Faleomavaega Condemns China for Violating Vietnam's Sovereignty in South China Sea; Calls for Strong and Clear U.S. Response
May 8, 2014
Press Release
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Eni Faleomavaega of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, which has broad jurisdiction for U.S. policy affecting the region, including Vietnam and China, strongly condemns China for violating Vietnam’s sovereignty in the South China Sea and calls upon the U.S. to issue a clear and decisive statement of response.

“On May 2, China anchored HD981 rig in Vietnamese waters and deployed dozens of naval vessels to support its provocative actions,” Faleomavaega said. “On May 3 and May 5, China issued notices banning all vessels from entering the area and stating that HD981 rig will conduct exploratory drilling. HD981 is anchored within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf of Vietnam, about 120 nautical miles from Ly Son island of Vietnam.”

“I thank U.S. Senator John McCain for his leadership in unequivocally stating that China’s territorial claims to these waters have no basis in international law. Simply put, China’s provocative actions are an escalation of its intent to threaten peace and maritime security in the East Sea.”

“Since 2009, China has escalated its claims of the ‘nine-dash line’, cut the ship cables of the ‘Binh Minh II’ and ‘Viking II’ (May and June 2011), established “Sansha City” (June 2012), implemented ‘measures to enforce ‘Fishery Law of the People’s Republic of China’ (entering into force since January 2014), enhanced oil explorations in disputed areas, attacked Vietnamese fishing vessels, launched patrol boats, and conducted military exercises in the South China Sea to flex its power and deter other claimants.”

“All the while the U.S. response has been negligible, although the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific has held hearings on the matter and several Members, including myself, have introduced Resolutions to promote a peaceful and collaborative resolution to any and all disputes in the South China Sea.”

“I am especially disappointed by the U.S. State Department’s weak response to China’s recent aggression. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki stated, “Vietnam has declared a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone based on its coast line in accordance with the law of the sea. Then we call on China because China has a different view on that. That’s why we continue to call on both sides not to take provocative or unilateral actions given this is occurring in disputed waters near those islands and these events, of course, point to the need for claimants to clarify their claims in accordance with international law and reach agreement of what types of activities should be permissible within disputed areas such as these waters.”

“I call upon the State Department to issue a more clear, definitive and concise statement than this. Once more, as Senator McCain stated, China’s claims have no basis in international law, and the U.S. State Department should not shirk from saying so. I join with Senator McCain in calling upon China’s leaders to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions, and I call upon the U.S. to lead the way. For historical purposes, I have entered a statement in the Congressional Record with supporting documentation so that there is no dispute about the facts or about where I stand,” Faleomavaega concluded.

 

[Soryu]

Do you really believe this ?

If so , why Phi can arrest our fishing men?

If they do have machine gun or even one pistol , I am sure they will shoot the Phi in case they are threatened .

Er hem ... Are you naive for real !??
The fishing-ship was arrested by Philippines is smaller ship with fishing-men go to catch sea Turtle.
But other fishing-ships are used for ram and protect your oil rig and they're armed.

As an outsider to this ongoing conflict, I'm trying to understand all these maps.

It's simple, Chinese Government want to own water areas inside 9-dash-lines, so they took Paracel, and a part of Spralty Islands, building military base, then they said these Islands and reef have 200nm EEZ.
Now, they proclaim it with their dirty game by used HD-981 oil rig.

On other side, Vietnamese proclaim sovereignty with only Paracel and Spratly, and Vietnam has 200nm EEZ follow UNCLOS.

 

[Kyle Sun]

Er hem ... Are you naive for real !??
The fishing-ship was arrested by Philippines is smaller ship with fishing-men go to catch sea Turtle.
But other fishing-ships are used for ram and protect your oil rig and they're armed.

Damn ,I really do not understand your logic.

Now our coastguard ship is there .

For what reason we need to use a fishing boat to fight your coastguard ship ??

Using fishing boat pretend to be unarmed ship ????

Viet Gov public a video of this incident , it is very clear our ships are not fishing boat but coastguard ship with big and clear sign .

 

[TaiShang]

a Vietnamese coastguard vessel with cannon
the force is ordered not shoot first. the Chinese seem wanting to provoke Vietnam to fire first, so they have a pretext to start the war.

encounter at sea, rear: Vietnamese, front: Chinese
the situation is described as very tense.

in Vietnamese media

Good. Just keep the policy and stay away from the zone forbidden by China.

China will never shoot first so long as you do not intend or cause harm.

A skirmish at sea with our Communist brothers is the last thing we want to see happen.

 

[Viet]

the Marines on night training