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Singapore 'disappointed' with 'irresponsible report' by Global Times on NAM Summit: MFA
  • Posted 27 Sep 2016 00:45
  • Updated 28 Sep 2016 03:08
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The Non-Aligned Movement recently held its 17th Summit in Venezuela. (Photo: AFP/Ronaldo Schemidt)

  • SINGAPORE: Singapore's Ambassador to China on Monday (Sep 26) expressed the city-state's disappointment at a report by Chinese newspaper Global Times, alleging that Singapore had acted inappropriately at the recent Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit held in Venezuela.

In a letter to the Global Times' editor-in-chief Hu Xijin, Ambassador Stanley Loh refuted the newspaper's report, stating that it "attributed actions and words to Singapore which are false and unfounded".

The report, published online on Sep 21, said Singapore wanted to include Philippines' position on the South China Sea dispute in the NAM Final Document at the last minute, which was met with opposition by many countries.

It said as a result, Singapore's delegation at the summit was unhappy and responded with "inappropriate" remarks during discussions. The report also alleged that Singapore openly challenged NAM chair Venezuela's position on the matter.

"Singapore acted out of self-interest and caused many discussions to drag on late into the night, upsetting many countries," the report claimed.

Additionally, the Global Times report said Singapore's reaction to the Hague's ruling on the South China Sea was "disappointing", especially as it is the country coordinator for ASEAN-China relations.

In response, Mr Loh said in his letter that the proposal to update the Southeast Asia paragraphs in the NAM Final Document was not done at the last minute, nor by any single ASEAN country. Neither did the Singapore delegation raise the South China Sea or the tribunal ruling at the NAM Summit, he wrote.

Ambassador Loh's response is reproduced in full below:

"Dear Editor-in-Chief Hu,


The Global Times (Chinese) article dated 21 September 2016 regarding the 17th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit attributed actions and words to Singapore which are false and unfounded.

Firstly, the proposal to update the Southeast Asia paragraphs in the NAM Final Document was not done at the last minute nor by any single ASEAN country. There was a common and united ASEAN position. It was a consensus position of all ten ASEAN members, based on agreed language from the Joint Communique of the 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting. As the current ASEAN Chair, Laos conveyed the group’s common position through a formal letter to the former-NAM Chair Iran in July 2016. Subsequently, Iran circulated ASEAN’s updates to all NAM Members on Jul 29, 2016.

Secondly, the NAM Chair refused ASEAN’s request to abide by the established practice in NAM for regional groupings to update the paragraphs of their respective regions in the NAM Final Document, without interference from non-regional NAM countries or external parties. If this important principle is not respected, any non-regional NAM member or external element could in future impose their views on any regional issue. This is not in the interests of the NAM and its members. The paragraphs on Southeast Asia, including those referring to the South China Sea, have been part of the NAM Final Document since 1992, and regularly updated based on the common position of the ASEAN countries.

Thirdly, contrary to the claim fabricated by the Global Times, the Singapore delegation did not raise the South China Sea or the tribunal ruling at the NAM Summit. Singapore adopted a principled position throughout and intervened to support the common position of ASEAN and defend NAM principles and established practices. Singapore believes that it is detrimental to the unity, impartiality and future of the NAM to allow NAM principles to be undermined.

The following additional facts clearly refute the allegations in the article:

i. Only a very small number of NAM Members outside Southeast Asia raised objections to ASEAN’s updates at the NAM Senior Officials’ Meeting at Margarita Island. However, substantive discussions were regrettably blocked.

ii. As Chairman of ASEAN, Laos protested on behalf of all ten ASEAN countries to the NAM Chair on its improper decision to reject ASEAN’s updates. Several other countries also objected to the breach of this well-established NAM principle.

iii. At the end of the 17th NAM Summit, Laos as Chair of ASEAN wrote to the Venezuelan Foreign Minister to put on record ASEAN’s collective reservation to a paragraph in the Southeast Asia section of the NAM Final Document that was not updated. The ASEAN Chair further requested that ASEAN’s proposed language be annexed to the NAM Final Document. A copy of the letter from Laos as Chair of ASEAN is attached.

We are disappointed that an established newspaper published this irresponsible report replete with fabrications and unfounded allegations with no regard for the facts. I request that in the interest of professionalism, objectivity and transparency, Global Times publishes this letter in full in Chinese and English, so that your readers may be accurately informed, and the close friendship between our two countries will not be inadvertently affected."

The letter from the Laos delegation is as follows:

"Excellency,

I would like to extend my friendly greeting to Your Excellency, and on behalf of 10 ASEAN member States attending the XVII NAM Ministerial Meeting, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippine, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, have the honour to reiterate that the question of South China Sea is a matter of vital interest for peace stability, security and cooperation in South East Asia. From the very beginning, ASEAN with a high respect to Venezuela Chair of XVII NAM Summit and with the strong aspiration to contribute to the success of this XVII NAM Summit, has been requesting extensive discussion and consultation with interested NAM members to reach an agreement on the issue.

Unfortunately our cooperative spirit and our constructive efforts have not been reciprocated. ASEAN, with a very deep regret and with the high respect to the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as the Chair of the XVII NAM Summit and to all distinguished NAM members, has to reiterate that ASEAN is not in a position to accept the paragraph relating to the South China Sea numbered 449 as reflected in the draft NAM Final Outcome Document received by member countries in the morning of 18 September 2016, as it does not reflect the current developments in the region. We would like to request the NAM Chair to put on record our reservation and incorporate in the NAM Final Outcome Document our reservation in the form of an Annex as follows:

'The Heads of State or Government reiterated the call to solve all sovereignty and territorial disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means, without resorting to force and/or the threat to use force, in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Charter of the United Nations. In this context, they urged all parties to ensure the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in its entirety to build, maintain and enhance mutual trust and confidence, to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities, and to work expeditiously for the early adoption of an effective Code of Conduct, which would help to promote international peace and stability in the region, with a view to creating a positive climate for the eventual resolution of all contentious issues, as mentioned in paragraph 2 of the Joint Commmunique of the 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, Laos dated 24 July 2016. They expressed their hope that all parties concerned would refrain from any actions that may undermine peace, stability, trust and confidence in the region. The Heads of State or Government shared serious concerns over recent and ongoing developments in the South China Sea and took note of the concerns expressed by some ministers/leaders on the land reclamations and escalation of activities in the area, including the increased presence of military assets and the possibility of further militarization of outposts in the South China Sea, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region. They emphasized the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities, including land reclamation that could further complicate the situation and escalate tensions in the South China Sea. They reaffirmed the importance of and their shared commitment to maintaining peace, security, stability, the freedom of navigation in and over-flight above the South China Sea, as provided for by the universally recognized principles of international law. To this end, they welcomed the adoption of the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in July 2011 in Bali and the Joint Statement of the 15th ASEAN-China Summit on 10th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in November 2012 in Phnom Penh. The Heads of State or Government also welcomed the Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States and China on the Full and Effective Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea on 25 July 2016 in Vientiane. They further welcomed the positive contribution of the consultations at ASEAN-China dialogues, and the regular exchange of views at relevant ASEAN-led fora, and encouraged their continuance. The Heads of State or Government welcomed the progress made on some of the Early Harvest Measures, which includes adopting a 24-hour MFA-to-MFA hotline for maritime emergencies. They noted the ASEAN-China 25th Anniversary Commemorative Summit on 7 September 2016 in Vientiane, the 17th Joint Working Group on the implementation of the DOC on 8 June 2016 and the 12th Senior Official’s Meeting on the implementation of the DOC on 9 June 2016 in Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam.'

Therefore, ASEAN expresses its reservation on paragraph 449 of the XVII NAM Final Outcome Document, and with your permission, kindly requests that its reservation and this letter be put on record and included as annex of the Final Outcome Document.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Kham-Inh Khitchadeth
Director General
SOM and Ministerial Leader of the Lao delegation"

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...sponsible-report-by-global-times/3158046.html
 
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1000 tons class "Seawater Desalination facility" started to operate in (永兴岛)Yongxing Island
三沙永兴千吨海水淡化厂10月1日投入使用。南海网记者高鹏摄
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New desalinator put into use in China's Sansha
Xinhua, October 3, 2016

A 1,000-tonne-a-day desalination plant was put into use on Yongxing Island of China's Sansha City, to meet the fresh water need of people on the island.

The new facility, which was officially commissioned on Saturday, is capable of treating 1,000 tonnes of seawater per day and 700 tonnes of processed water is directly drinkable.

Currently, the desalination equipment on Yongxing Island can process 1,800 tonnes of seawater per day.

Sansha City was officially established in 2012 to administer the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea. The city government is located on Yongxing Island.

Neither did the Singapore delegation raise the South China Sea or the tribunal ruling at the NAM Summit, he wrote.

Good. They are being good boys and trying to prove it.

Global Times did well on this by forcing Singapore to clear their position.
 
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US, Vietnam Boost Naval Cooperation with NEA 2016
Washington and Hanoi kick off the seventh iteration of their naval engagement activity.

thediplomat_2015-01-27_18-57-02-36x36.jpg

By Prashanth Parameswaran
October 02, 2016

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The USNS Richard E. Byrd at anchor in Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay while undergoing a routine seven-day maintenance availability.
Image Credit: Flickr/US Pacific Fleet

On September 28, the United States and Vietnam kicked off the seventh iteration of their naval engagement in Da Nang.

As I have noted previously, though the United States refers to its naval interactions with Southeast Asian states such as the Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) and the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) as exercises, those with Vietnam continue to be referred to on their own as a Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) (See: “Interview: The Future of US Military Exercises in the Asia-Pacific”).

Nonetheless, NEA Vietnam has evolved over the years from mere port visits to multi-day bilateral naval engagements ashore and at sea, with a U.S. littoral combat ship (LCS) participating last year for the first time.

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On Wednesday, the 7th annual Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) with Vietnam began with a welcome ceremony at Tien Sa Port in Da Nang. NEA Vietnam 2016 will include a range of non-combat events including symposia on military medicine and maritime law, subject matter exchanges, community service events, according to a press release by Task Force 73, the task force of the U.S. Navy that helps oversee the planning and execution of the CARAT exercises.

This year will also see some notable firsts, including the expansion of the sea phase to incorporate a more complex event involving the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) and a search and rescue scenario. U.S. assets participating in the exercise will include the guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain.

The exercise is occurring amid increasing momentum in the U.S.-Vietnam defense relationship, with future developments expected including the naval domain (See: “U.S.-Vietnam Defense Relations: Problems and Prospects”). In May, U.S. President Barack Obama had announced the historic lifting of a decades-old embargo on the sale of arms to Hanoi (See: “Why Obama’s Lifting of the Vietnam Arms Embargo Matters”).

http://thediplomat.com/2016/10/us-vietnam-boost-naval-cooperation-with-nea-2016/
 
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You guys(Viets) will soon be naked to Chinese eyes :rofl::lol:

Mystic Bar-shaped Facilities on China’s Artificial Cuarteron Island


Posted:
October 6, 2016 | Author: chankaiyee2



The above September-3 satellite photo of China’s artificial island on Cuarteron Reef shows that the island is filled with mystic bar-shaped facilities. No one knows what the facilities are and why they have been built there.



To have a clearer image, we have above the satellite photo of a corner of the artificial island bar-shaped facilities there.



The above is a photo of China’s artificial island on Cuarteron Reef taken in July before the facilities were built there.

A comparison between the two photos is given below:



Source: mil.news.sina.com.cn “What are the bar-shaped facilities? Disclosure of new photo of Cuarteron Island” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese)
 
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You guys(Viets) will soon be naked to Chinese eyes :rofl::lol:

Chinese thief invaded in to neighbors house, to be seen neighbors are naked...in chinese eyes. Yes, at nights, time to time we are naked.:p:


Russia Hints at Reclaiming Cuba, Vietnam Bases in Test for U.S.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-hints-reclaiming-cuba-vietnam-152349052.html

Threatening to open Cold War wounds and further aggravate ties with the U.S. that are already strained by the conflict in Syria, a senior Russian defense official said the military is considering a possible return to its Soviet-era bases in Cuba and Vietnam.

In the clearest confirmation to date that Russia may scrap its decision to withdraw from the two countries more than a decade ago, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov told lawmakers in Moscow on Friday that the military is revisiting the issue, without providing more details, according to the state-run Tass news service. Responding to a question about the plans, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the global security situation has become “rather fluid” after “substantial changes” over the past two years.

“It’s natural that all countries are assessing these changes in accordance with their national interests and taking certain measures they consider necessary,” Peskov said, referring more detailed questions to the Defense Ministry.

A move to reclaim the bases, abandoned shortly after Putin came to power in 2000, would further expose fault lines of the Cold War standoff with the U.S. as the two former rivals now duel over the 5 1/2 year war in Syria. While Russia withdrew from Cuba and Vietnam, it kept its small base in the Syrian port of Tartus, the only naval facility it’s maintained outside the former Soviet Union.

Since Putin entered the conflict in the Middle Eastern country on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad a year ago, Russia has now added a second base in Syria’s Khmeimim, used for conducting air raids against groups opposed to government forces there. The lower house of parliament on Friday ratified a treaty that allows Russia to keep the air base in Syria indefinitely.

Deepening Rift
The U.S. has blamed Putin’s government for indiscriminate bombing that has killed civilians and targeted hospitals in Syria, cutting bilateral discussions with Russia over the conflict after a Sept. 9 cease-fire deal collapsed within days. Russia hasn’t budged from its support for Assad, continuing to back the Syrian regime’s bombardments in Aleppo, where the United Nations estimates 275,000 people are trapped.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday called for an investigation into possible war crimes in Syria after a hospital bombardment killed 20 people, saying that Russia and Assad’s regime “owe the world more than an explanation” for the attack.

The clashing views are reviving tensions started by the separatist war in Ukraine, with the U.S. and the European Union accusing Russia of backing the insurgency. Russia’s expanding military presence, from Vietnam to Latin America, has already drawn notice from the U.S.

Cuba, Vietnam
The State Department last year confirmed then that the U.S. was pressing Vietnam to bar Russian military aircraft from refueling at the former American base at Cam Ranh Bay, while a U.S. commander raised concerns about Russia’s military activities in the Western Hemisphere. The facility in Cam Ranh Bay, a U.S. base during the Vietnam War, was a Soviet naval base until 2002.

In 2012, a senior military official in Moscow said that Russia was in talks to set up resupply bases in Cuba after undertaking its biggest military overhaul since the Soviet era. Putin visited the Caribbean island in 2014, with Russia writing off $32 billion of Cuba’s Soviet-era debt.

Under the deal that ended the 1962 Cuban crisis, the Soviet Union withdrew its missiles on the island and pledged not to station offensive weapons. Russian military cooperation with Cuba ended in 2002 after Russia closed its radar base at Lourdes, Russia’s only intelligence-gathering center in the Western Hemisphere, which had been operating since the 1960s.
 
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Vietnam opposes China’s election in so-called Sansha city

China’s election of deputies to the People’s Congress in the so-called Sansha city illegally built by the country and the illegal patrol in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago area is a serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty, Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Hai Binh said on October 3.

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Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Hai Binh



He made the statement in reply to reporters’ queries about Vietnam’s position on China’s aforementioned moves, noting that Vietnam has sufficient legal and historic evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

According to him, such illegal actions could not change the truth about Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

Vietnam resolutely opposes and asks China to respect Vietnam’s sovereignty, immediately end above wrongful actions, seriously abide by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea between Vietnam and China, he said.

VNA
 
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Vietnam opposes China’s election in so-called Sansha city

China’s election of deputies to the People’s Congress in the so-called Sansha city illegally built by the country and the illegal patrol in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago area is a serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty, Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Hai Binh said on October 3.

le_hai_binh.jpg


Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Hai Binh



He made the statement in reply to reporters’ queries about Vietnam’s position on China’s aforementioned moves, noting that Vietnam has sufficient legal and historic evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

According to him, such illegal actions could not change the truth about Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

Vietnam resolutely opposes and asks China to respect Vietnam’s sovereignty, immediately end above wrongful actions, seriously abide by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea between Vietnam and China, he said.

VNA

China has heard you. So what can the Vietnamese do?
 
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China has heard you. So what can the Vietnamese do?

Protest all kind of illegal activities of China in sea territory of Vietnam.

Last update 00:42 | 11/10/2016



Da Nang protests China’s election in so-called Sansha city

The central city of Da Nang has opposed China’s organisation of an election for the so-called Sansha city in the East Sea.

Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Huynh Duc Tho issued a statement of opposition on October 10.

He noted that Da Nang city’s administration is once again seriously concerned about China’s organisation of an election of deputies to a People’s Congress of the so-called Sansha city on September 22.

The election organisation in the area that is part of Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos has seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, he stressed.

“Da Nang city resolutely rejects and strongly objects to the abovementioned action and demands China not repeat similar actions,” Tho emphasised.
VNA
 
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Protest all kind of illegal activities of China in sea territory of Vietnam.

Last update 00:42 | 11/10/2016



Da Nang protests China’s election in so-called Sansha city

The central city of Da Nang has opposed China’s organisation of an election for the so-called Sansha city in the East Sea.

Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Huynh Duc Tho issued a statement of opposition on October 10.

He noted that Da Nang city’s administration is once again seriously concerned about China’s organisation of an election of deputies to a People’s Congress of the so-called Sansha city on September 22.

The election organisation in the area that is part of Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos has seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, he stressed.

“Da Nang city resolutely rejects and strongly objects to the abovementioned action and demands China not repeat similar actions,” Tho emphasised.
VNA

ok keep protesting. U can protest all you want. Nobody will stop you.
 
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ok keep protesting. U can protest all you want. Nobody will stop you.

The game to protect Vietnam sea territory is just going on. China can't swallow our coral reefs so illegally with force and mad claimations on it.
 
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yes u can protest all u want. hired a group of demonstrators paid by the hour to do it

vietnamese is hatred toward China with her expansionism. VN police has tried best to make people was calmed down recently.. .No needed to pay for them to gather for anti-China demonstration.

If Chinese Singapore kid like you are not to be neural in this dispute. Chinese expansionism is threatened to sovereignty of Ma lai xi a too, so Malaysian can take back singapore island to her back , and Chinese Singaporian can move back to your native home land, there is China.

too many hua chinese immigrated to South east asia is no good.
 
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Last update 12:34 | 11/10/2016



Khanh Hoa leader opposes China’s election in so-called ‘Sansha’ city

Chairman of the People’s Committee of central Khanh Hoa province Le Duc Vinh has rejected China’s election of deputies to the People’s Congress in the so-called ‘Sansha’ city.

In a statement posted on Khanh Hoa province’s e-portal on October 10, the official affirmed that Truong Sa (Spratly) island district is an integral part of Vietnam’s territory and under Khanh Hoa’s administrative management.

“Khanh Hoa’s authorities and people are discontented with China’s election in the so-called Sansha city illegally set up by the country, covering Vietnam’s Truong Sa island district,” he said, stressing that the election seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty.

Khanh Hoa resolutely rejects the above-motioned illegal deed and asks China not to repeat such an action harming the relationship between the two countries, the friendship between their people and the feelings of citizens in Khanh Hoa, he said.
VNA
 
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