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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Chinese Maritime Militia on the Move in Disputed Spratly Islands

    Even as the coronavirus crisis sweeps through Asia, China continues to assert its presence in the South China Sea by deploying maritime militia around disputed islands and reefs in the Spratly island chain, according to vessel tracking data and satellite imagery reviewed by Radio Free Asia (RFA).


    A fleet of Chinese ships has been moving this month through the Union Banks, a collection of small land features disputed between China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. Among the most significant features in this area are the Chinese-controlled Hughes Reef and Johnson Reef, and Vietnam’s Sin Cowe Island and Collins Reef. These ships were identified as part of China’s infamous maritime militia by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative in January 2019.


    The five ships whose movements could be tracked by RFA are now at Johnson Reef, in the southwest corner of Union Banks. BenarNews is affiliated with Radio Free Asia.


    It may not be a coincidence that that their presence at that location comes within days of the 32nd anniversary of the Battle of Johnson Reef, a March 14, 1988, naval skirmish between Vietnam and China in which dozens of Vietnamese troops died and China seized control of the reef.


    As usual, China has not publicized any build-up of its ships around Union Bank. The People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) often consists of what are ostensibly fishing vessels - although they do not engage in fishing. Their presence is meant to 'fly the flag' for Beijing in disputed waters without an overt display of military force that would draw international condemnation.


    Zack Cooper, a research fellow specializing on Asian security issues at the American Enterprise Institute, said China was continuing with its assertive behavior in regional disputes despite the COVID-19 pandemic now commanding the world's attention.


    “Beijing has stepped up military activity around Taiwan and now appears to be doing some of the same around Union Banks. Whether this is simply a continuation of previous activity or an intentional effort to use this distraction to put pressure on other claimants is unclear,” Cooper said.


    Ship-tracking software indicates that five PAFMM vessels – with the call signs Yuetaiyu (Fishing vessel) 18777, 18333, 18888, 18222, and 18555 - passed in early March between China's reclaimed island at Subi Reef - often a waystation for Chinese ships deployed to the region - and Thitu Island, a Philippine-occupied feature where Chinese vessels have engaged in a sustained pressure campaign, as documented by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. The ships first stopped at Whitson Reef, in Union Banks’ northeast, from March 3 to March 8.


    Then, the vessels moved southwest to Chinese-controlled Hughes Reef, passing by Vietnamese-controlled Sin Cowe East Island (referred to by Vietnam as Sinh Ton Dong), and further west near Sin Cowe Island (Sinh Ton). The ships lingered near Sin Cowe between March 13 and March 18.


    The exact number of Chinese ships deployed to the area very likely exceeds the five detected by RFA using ship-tracking software. Satellite imagery reveals many more vessels gathered in Union Banks although the identity of the vessels is unclear. About 12 ships moved to Hughes Reef between March 8 and March 13.


    Additionally, dozens of other ships have been lingering in the northeastern point of Union Banks, inside Whitson Reef, since at least March 6 and were still in the area as of March 19. Whitson is a shallow coral reef, which hosts no artificial islands or facilities. Satellite imagery reveals large clusters of vessels banded together.


    The Yuetaiyu-series vessels that had been at Chinese-held Hughes Reef and then the Vietnamese controlled Sin Cowe islands, moved to China’s Johnson Reef on March 18. Again, satellite imagery shows far more ships in the area than the five broadcasting an AIS, or Automatic Identification System, signal.


    All ships are required to have an AIS transponder to assist in tracking for search-and-rescue contingencies as well as for law enforcement purposes. Frequently, though, Chinese maritime militia ships simply turn their AIS transponders off to mask their activity. This has clearly been the case this time, as satellite imagery shows at least 30 vessels just at Johnson Reef.


    Johnson Reef is a rock, according to the 2016 ruling by the United Nations’ tribunal on China’s claims in the South China Sea. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a rock is stated plainly as a feature “which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own,” and as such has no rights to an exclusive economic zone or a continental shelf on the seabed. Regardless, it has been built up by China into another artificial island it can use as a base.


    As of March 23, the PAFMM ships have moved once again to the same spot near Sin Cowe Island they were at on March 13.

    Chinese Maritime Militia on the Move in Disputed Spratly Islands

  2. #2
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
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    Good timing for controversial moves

    Wonder how many "bad news" are getting buried these months

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Don't suppose they released the virus as a decoy, will put it down to dumb luck.

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    maritime militia
    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    are ostensibly fishing vessels
    https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/philippines-china-03242020174342.html

    Another cunning plan foiled.

    Are we to assume such ambiguous vessels will, next week, be accused raping the global fish stocks?

    More government funded propaganda.

    "BenarNews is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent US agency.

    The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), is an independent agency of the United States government which operates various state-run media outlets"

    U.S. Agency for Global Media - Wikipedia
    A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.

  5. #5
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by helge View Post
    "bad news"
    MK does have a weekly quota to fill.

    Quote Originally Posted by jabir View Post
    they released the virus
    Don't be hasty.

    MK already has the follow up article copied. It's embargoed until April 1st.

    "Chinese Fishing Boats Infect Johnson Reef Fish Stocks"

  6. #6
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Trust the chinkies to try and take advantage of a bad situation for which they are responsible.

  7. #7
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    If China's powers ever wane, I am certain their Asian neighbors will not forget how they behaved in the South China Sea.

  8. #8
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    Despite all the propaganda bullshit, the Chinese are still in the Stone Age, militarily, and the Yanks etc should just blow the little commie fuckers out of the water.

  9. #9
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    It's not so long since the "100 Years Of Shame" and the "Opium Wars". China has a lot of ground to make up.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    the Chinese are still in the Stone Age,

    Top 10 most fascinating Chinese cities for international tourists[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn

  11. #11
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    are still in the Stone Age, militarily,
    One metric utilised to illustrate "ability" are the granted patent annual numbers. You may want to look up the latest figures.

    Quote Originally Posted by kmart View Post
    China has a lot of ground to make up.
    "Buying" knowledge is a far quicker route than it was a few decades ago.

    Plenty are willing and able to supply all, in this "digital age".
    Last edited by OhOh; 30-03-2020 at 05:02 PM.

  12. #12
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent_Smith View Post
    how they behaved in the South China Sea.



    A little further than that. To the gates of Budapest allegedly.

    "Under his successors it stretched from present-day Poland in the west to Korea in the east, and from parts Siberia in the north to the Gulf of Oman and Vietnam in the south, covering some 33,000,000 square kilometres (13,000,000 sq mi),[32] (22% of Earth's total land area) and had a population of over 100 million people (about a quarter of Earth's total population at the time). The emergence of Pax Mongolica also significantly eased trade and commerce across Asia during its height.[33][34]"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol...y_20th_century
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Chinese Maritime Militia on the Move in Disputed Spratly Islands-220px-mongol_empire_map-gif  

  13. #13
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    It's based on fucking concrete, a material the Romans were using 2000 years ago.

  14. #14
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    ^

    I suspect you will find most of the high rise buildings, 10 plus floors, will have a steel structural frame above ground. Ground level and down, RC, poured concrete, with steel bar reinforcement.

  15. #15
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    They're probably building some safe houses where their cowardly leaders can run and hide when the next deadly virus emerges from some chinky echidna buffet or something.

  16. #16
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    ^As opposed to other countries that has no bunkers for the ruling elites...

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post



    A little further than that. To the gates of Budapest allegedly.

    "Under his successors it stretched from present-day Poland in the west to Korea in the east, and from parts Siberia in the north to the Gulf of Oman and Vietnam in the south, covering some 33,000,000 square kilometres (13,000,000 sq mi),[32] (22% of Earth's total land area) and had a population of over 100 million people (about a quarter of Earth's total population at the time). The emergence of Pax Mongolica also significantly eased trade and commerce across Asia during its height.[33][34]"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol...y_20th_century



    Mongolia, hmmm....

    Well they are ranked 102 of 141 countries tallied for economic competitiveness... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global...iveness_Report

    So, doubt the rest of Asia sees them as any kind of threat they were roughly 800 years ago.

    Maybe that's how long it will take for Asian countries to forget China's belligerence? They certainly haven't forgotten Japan's from a hundred years ago.

  18. #18
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    Despite all the propaganda bullshit, the Chinese are still in the Stone Age, militarily,
    They are willing to sacrifice their soldiers and large parts of the population.

    Scared the shit out of The Soviet Union
    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    the Yanks etc should just blow the little commie fuckers out of the water.
    They would feel the breeze themselves, if they did

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klondyke View Post
    FOK
    Yet again you simply deflect and obfuscate . . . you quote a sentence and leave out the operative word 'militarily' and then show a picture of a city to 'prove' your point.

    Disingenuous



    Quote Originally Posted by helge View Post
    They are willing to sacrifice their soldiers and large parts of the population.
    Yup, they're not answerable to their population and the state propaganda machine is all-powerful.



    Quote Originally Posted by kmart View Post
    It's not so long since the "100 Years Of Shame" and the "Opium Wars". China has a lot of ground to make up.
    It is, to be fair. And China now uses that to justify their actions . . . it's time to grow up and see history as exactly that - history. Imagine if other countries behaved like the BIG RED SULK . . . waaaaahhhhh some countries were so bad with me 100+ years ago - waaaaaahhhh

    I wonder how often 'China' would like to be reminded that the US fairly well saved them from Japan, supported them in the second Sino-Japanese war. Ah, the memory is short when it doesn't suit

  20. #20
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    . . . it's time to grow up and see history as exactly that - history. Imagine if other countries behaved like the BIG RED SULK . . . waaaaahhhhh some countries were so bad with me 100+ years ago - waaaaaahhhh
    Ouch, my friend
    Not that I disagree as such, but it could come back to haunt you.

    Who does the most waaaaaahhh about the past ?

    Fill in the blanks yourself and post it in ...a german newspaper

    We all have feelings about the past; history should be seen as experience

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by helge View Post
    Ouch, my friend
    Not that I disagree as such, but it could come back to haunt you.

    Who does the most waaaaaahhh about the past ?

    Fill in the blanks yourself and post it in ...a german newspaper

    We all have feelings about the past; history should be seen as experience
    Oh, absolutely. I don't disagree. The one glaring case where the foundation of the state is based on history - recent history.


    The difference is, however, that China is in the top two echelon of world power.

  22. #22
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    Despite all the propaganda bullshit, the Chinese are still in the Stone Age, militarily, and the Yanks etc should just blow the little commie fuckers out of the water.
    And how's the Empire?

  23. #23
    Thailand Expat jabir's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent_Smith View Post
    If China's powers ever wane, I am certain their Asian neighbors will not forget how they behaved in the South China Sea.
    Can't see that makes the slightest difference because it won't. Problem for the future world is that China appears well positioned to shift power from west to east, with several huge advantages every one of which has to do with being unfettered by trivia like civilised rules and expectations.

    A does Queensberry, B doesn't, you might not like it but where's your money go?

  24. #24
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jabir View Post
    where's your money go?
    An overview on Thai gold buying and selling.



    Minute by minute official prices can be found here:

    Gold Traders Association : สมาคมค้าทองคำ - ราคาทองคำวันนี้ ราคาทองตอนนี้

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seekingasylum View Post
    and the Yanks etc should just blow the little commie fuckers out of the water.
    Wondering how long would it take after such blow - and after the last container vessel arrival - that the Yanks would reach a state of famine...

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