China 'building runway in disputed South China Sea island'

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Duterte won't do anything meaningful, he has his snout in the chinky trough.

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Exactly what I was thinking Harry.

I'd like to know what percentage of their overall trade countries like Vietnam, Brunei, and other regional countries involved have with China. I'm guessing significant. In the long game this is going to play a major role in determining the eventual outcome of the dispute. I'm pleased the US is being allowed to step back a little and let others nations be more involved.

In any case I'm pleased with these developments. Time will tell.

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Originally Posted by bsnub

Biden in the house.

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:rofl:

Oh fuck yes. I'm surprised the Chinese haven't already relinquished all claims.

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Originally Posted by russellsimpson

I'd like to know what percentage of their overall trade countries like Vietnam, Brunei, and other regional countries involved have with China.

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Dated 2019 so there will be some changes since then.

Numbers:

China Imports By Country	Value	Year
South Korea	$173.55B	2019
Japan	$171.52B	2019
United States	$123.24B	2019
Australia	$119.61B	2019
Germany	$105.04B	2019
Brazil	$79.20B	2019
Malaysia	$71.63B	2019
Vietnam	$64.08B	2019
Russia	$60.26B	2019
Saudi Arabia	$54.26B	2019
Thailand	$46.13B	2019
Singapore	$35.23B	2019
Indonesia	$33.99B	2019
France	$32.58B	2019
Canada	$28.03B	2019
Switzerland	$27.40B	2019
Chile	$26.29B	2019
South Africa	$25.93B	2019
United Kingdom	$23.83B	2019
Iraq	$23.81B	2019
Angola	$23.31B	2019
Italy	$21.42B	2019
Philippines	$20.17B	2019
Oman	$19.46B	2019
India	$17.97B	2019

China Exports By Country	Value	Year
United States	$418.58B	2019
Hong Kong	$279.62B	2019
Japan	$143.22B	2019
South Korea	$110.98B	2019
Vietnam	$98.00B	2019
Germany	$79.71B	2019
India	$74.92B	2019
Netherlands	$73.95B	2019
United Kingdom	$62.28B	2019
Singapore	$54.96B	2019
Malaysia	$52.48B	2019
Russia	$49.48B	2019
Australia	$48.10B	2019
Mexico	$46.38B	2019
Indonesia	$45.69B	2019
Thailand	$45.62B	2019
Philippines	$40.76B	2019
Canada	$36.83B	2019
Brazil	$35.48B	2019
United Arab Emirates	$33.45B	2019
Italy	$33.41B	2019
France	$33.10B	2019
Spain	$26.82B	2019
Saudi Arabia	$23.92B	2019
Poland	$23.91B	2019

https://tradingeconomics.com/china/imports-by-country

Brunei %:

Attachment 64585

Attachment 64586



Brunei Exports By Country

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Originally Posted by OhOh

Dated 2019 so there will be some changes since then

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Thanks for posting those..

Quote:

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China Exports By Country

United States $418.58B 2019
Hong Kong $279.62B

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Wondering that the HKer need so many goods as a half of USA. Obviously it's for re-export - guessing where to...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OhOh

Dated 2019 so there will be some changes since then.

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US retailers signal record imports each month in H1 2021
| Feb 08, 2021 4:58PM EST
Retailers project record year-over-year import volumes each month through June as US consumers continue to shop with no end in sight.
Trade-Lanes: US retailers signal record imports each month in H1 2021


Savannah cargo flow improving despite record Asia import surge: GPA
| Feb 11, 2021 2:25PM EST
Volume has jumped more than 20 percent for three consecutive months in Savannah, which has slowed the supply chain for some shippers but not nearly as much as in Southern California.
US Ports: Savannah cargo flow improving despite record Asia import surge

(Wondering whether it is all a result of the new "Buy American"?)

China’s trade with ASEAN up 5.6% in 1H
by Nadeem Xu July 15, 2020

Snip:

"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) became China’s biggest trading partner in the first half of this year, accounting for 14.7% of China’s total foreign trade volume, amid upgraded free trade area protocol and supply chain cooperation.

China’s trade with ASEAN stood at 2.09 trillion yuan (US$299 billion) in the first six months, up 5.6% year on year. Exports to ASEAN rose 3.4% to 1.15 trillion yuan, while imports climbed 8.5% to 938.57 billion yuan, said the General Administration of Customs.

The expansion was partly buoyed by growing farm produce trade with ASEAN members under the upgraded protocol of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, which came into effect in October 2019, according to GAC spokesman Li Kuiwen. The farm produce trade between the two sides grew 13.2% in the first half of this year.

Another driver of trade between the two sides was the interconnectivity in electronic manufacturing between China and countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore along the global supply chain, said Li. Integrated circuits, for instance, saw imports from and exports to ASEAN grow 23.8% and 29.1% in the period.

During the same period, China’s trade with Vietnam jumped 18.1%, pushing the bilateral trade volume to the top slot among ASEAN members, while trade with Thailand rose 9.2%."

China's trade with ASEAN up 5.6% in 1H - Asia Times


Don't forget these which again will increase the numbers:

ASEAN, China, Other Partners Sign World’s Biggest Trade Pact

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership includes 15 Indo-Pacific nations.

By Elaine Kurtenbach November 16, 2020

ASEAN, China, Other Partners Sign World’s Biggest Trade Pact – The Diplomat

and

New Zealand - China Free Trade Agreement Upgrade

"New Zealand has signed the upgrade of our free trade agreement with China, our largest trading partner."

New Zealand - China
Free Trade Agreement Upgrade

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Originally Posted by Klondyke

Wondering that the HKer need so many goods as a half of USA. Obviously it's for re-export - guessing where to...

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If you look at the site and select Hong Kong - Exports, it's mainly China:

Hong Kong Exports By Country	Value	Year
China	$296.07B	2019
United States	$39.12B	2019
India	$15.49B	2019
Japan	$15.47B	2019
Singapore	$10.77B	2019
Thailand	$10.45B	2019
Vietnam	$10.29B	2019

https://tradingeconomics.com/hong-kong/exports-by-country

Hong Kong had a trade agreement with ameristan which meant some goods were shipped from China to Hong Kong, two screws were tightened up and the "finished product" exported elsewhere.

IIRC the agreement has now been annulled, "human rights" I suspect.

It makes "China's" exports/GDP appear a little smaller. :rolleyes:

It's like watching the chinkies suck the planet dry in slow motion.

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Duterte won't do anything meaningful, he has his snout in the chinky trough.

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About "meaningful" we read here daily a lot, don't we?

Perhaps he could call his friends to show up more muscle around?

Unfortunately, the Visiting is currently not so well "visited"...

China Faces Pushback after Adoption of Controversial Coast Guard Law


A new law which authorizes the China Coast Guard (CCG) to use force in the South China Sea is drawing growing international criticism and some apparent pushback at sea from another claimant.


Ship-tracking data show that twice this month, Malaysia’s navy and coast guard have sailed close to a CCG ship which lingered at the Luconia Shoals claimed by Malaysia since mid-January.


It suggests that despite the persistent presence of the CCG, which is better equipped than most of the navies in Southeast Asia, South China Sea claimants are not ready to give way as China presses its claim to sovereignty over most of these disputed waters.


Malaysian forces have maintained a consistent presence at the Luconia Shoals for years, according to Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.


“The Malaysians are certainly not lying down and get rolled over. They’re at least trying to maintain a counter-presence against China in the disputed area, cognizant of their own capacity and capability shortfalls,” Koh said.


“And of course, with the new Coast Guard Law promulgated by Beijing, we can expect the Malaysians to try to keep up what they can put up to challenge the CCG presence,” Koh told Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews.


The U.S. State Department on Friday strongly criticized the law, adopted by China in January that grants the CCG more leeway in asserting China’s claims – a move that alarmed governments in Southeast Asian and beyond.


“The United States joins the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, and other countries in expressing concern with China’s recently enacted Coast Guard law, which may escalate ongoing territorial and maritime disputes,” department spokesman Ned Price said.


“Language in that law, including text allowing the coast guard to destroy other countries’ economic structures and to use force in defending China’s maritime claims in disputed areas, strongly implies this law could be used to intimidate the PRC’s maritime neighbors,” he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.


After Price’s remarks, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo told BenarNews that “we will be, as we have always been, resolute in protecting our maritime domain – regardless of what laws other countries may pass.”


“The protection of our territory and the upholding of the interest our people is our primary interest,” Arevalo said.


Earlier in February, the commander of the AFP said that the Philippines is planning to deploy more assets in the South China Sea in response to China’s new Coast Guard Law, BenarNews reported.


For years, the CCG has asserted China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, where China is locked in a series of overlapping maritime and territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, but Beijing claims historic rights to parts of that sea overlapping Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone.


The law adopted in late January by the National People’s Congress deepened concern that the CCG could intensify it behavior. The law explicitly states China’s coastguard and other maritime law enforcement agencies may use small arms, such as rifles, or shipborne-weapons such as deck-mounted guns, when handling foreign ships infringing upon waters that China claims as its own.


In the latest example of the CCG patrolling off the shores of other claimants, its ships have confronted Vietnamese ships at two locations in the South China Sea in recent days.


On Saturday, the CCG 5304 sailed out from China’s artificial island built on Subi Reef in the Spratly islands, arriving at a Vietnamese oil and gas block about 170 nautical miles off the coast of Vung Tau in Vietnam the following day, ship-tracking data show.


The CCG 5304 appears to have approached within one nautical mile of the PTSC Bien Dong 1, a Vietnamese floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit – likely signaling Chinese opposition to efforts to exploit resources in disputed areas of the South China Sea also claimed by China.


And on Monday, two CCG ships confronted a Vietnam-flagged ship in waters between Quang Ngai in Vietnam and the Paracel Islands, which are occupied by China despite claims from Vietnam and Taiwan.


The Vietnam-flagged ship –identified as “Benhai08629” on the MarineTraffic ship-tracker – left port from Da Nang on Feb. 15, navigating to an area about 110 nautical miles off the coast of Quang Ngai. Ship-tracking data show the CCG 4203 and CCG 4201 approaching the Benhai 08629 on Monday, coming within a few nautical miles of the vessel.


BenarNews could not confirm any additional information about the Benhai 08629, such who owns the vessel or what type of craft it is.


The latest apparent confrontation between the CCG and Malaysia began last week at South Luconia Shoals, which are about 100 nautical miles from the coast of Malaysia, and nearly 1,000 nautical miles from the southern coast of the Chinese mainland.


According to ship-tracking data, the KD Keris – shown on the MarineTraffic ship-tracking platform as “RMN WARSHIP 111” – sailed out from Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia on Feb. 18, arriving at the South Luconia Shoals on the same day. As of Monday, the KD Keris was in the area.


Two sources in the Malaysian military confirmed for BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service, that RMN WARSHIP 111 is indeed the KD Keris. Neither source was authorized to speak to reporters and so requested anonymity.

A CCG ship, the HJ5202, has been operating around the South Luconia Shoals since Jan. 17. Earlier in February, BenarNews reported that a Malaysian coastguard vessel sailed up to the South Luconia Shoals in an apparent challenge to the HJ5202.


A source in the Malaysian military told BenarNews that the Luconia Shoals are part of Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, and that the Luconia Shoals area is part of the patrol area of the KD Keris.


“Malaysian navy ships or Malaysian coast guard ships always being sent to Beting Patinggi Ali [Luconia Shoals] to monitor the activities in the area. Any ships local or international can pass through the area but cannot conduct any economic activity in the exclusive economic zone such as drilling or fishery activities without consent,” the source said.

China Faces Pushback after Adoption of Controversial Coast Guard Law — BenarNews

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It suggests that despite the persistent presence of the CCG, which is better equipped than most of the navies in Southeast Asia, South China Sea claimants are not ready to give way as China presses its claim to sovereignty over most of these disputed waters.

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Good for them.

I expect the chinkies are whinging about it.

If China receives enough real pushback they'll get very, very upset and talk about 5000 years of history and threaten . . .

China has Borneo in its list of first places to colonise in south east Asia.

Actually, it doesn't.

Share with us where you get this info from

It's called an opinion. Thanks for yours.

Ah, an opinion . . . that China's first priority is the colonisation of Borneo . . . that includes the Indonesian part as well. Whew, good luck to them

The opinion, if you read carefully, is that it's in the list of first places. That's different to the first priority. The opinion also doesn't state that it includes immediate colonisation of the whole island. They'll start with Sabah or Sarawak, in which many if not most want independence from Malaysia.

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Originally Posted by Wakey

The opinion, if you read carefully, is that it's in the list of first places

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wakey

China has Borneo in its list of first places to colonise in south east Asia.

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Umm, ok. Where is this 'list' then?

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Originally Posted by Wakey

They'll start with Sabah or Sarawak, in which many if not most want independence from Malaysia.

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Again, you're talking shit - "many if not most" - is that also 'opinion' with no basis in fact? Must be easy - just post crap and defend your assertion by saying it's just 'opinion'.

Go for it

Weird responses. Can you only deal in facts and not opinions? Life must be a bundle of fun!

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Originally Posted by Wakey

Weird responses. Can you only deal in facts and not opinions? Life must be a bundle of fun!

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"Opinions are like arseholes. Everybody's got one and most of them stink".

Philippines says 220 Chinese militia vessels seen in disputed waters this month

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines expressed concern about hundreds of Chinese military vessels it said were spotted this month in the disputed South China Sea, the latest example of tension in the crucial waterway.


The Philippine Coast Guard reported that some 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen moored in line formation at a reef on March 7, a cross-government task force said late on Saturday.


Foreign minister Teodoro Locsin, asked whether he would file a diplomatic protest over the ships’ presence, told a journalist on Twitter: “Only if the generals tell me. In my watch foreign policy is the fist in the iron glove of the armed forces.”


The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea expressed concern about overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday, and calls to the Chinese embassy in Manila seeking comment went unanswered.


An international tribunal in 2016 invalidated China’s claim to 90% of the South China Sea, but Beijing does not recognise the ruling. China in recent years has built islands in the disputed waters, putting air strips on some of them.


Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei all claim parts of the sea.


In January, the Philippines protested a new Chinese law allowing its coastguard to fire on foreign vessels, describing it as a “threat of war”.


The United States has repeatedly denounced what it called China’s attempts to bully neighbours with competing interests, while Beijing has criticised Washington for what it calls interference in its internal affairs.


The Chinese vessels were at the Julian Felipe Reef, also called Whitsun Reef, in Manila’s exclusive economic zone, the task force said, describing the site as “a large boomerang-shaped shallow coral reef at the northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs.”


“Despite clear weather at the time, the Chinese vessels massed at the reef showed no actual fishing activities and had their full white lights turned on during night time,” it said in a statement.


The Philippines vowed to monitor the situation and “to peacefully and proactively pursue its initiatives on environmental protection, food security and freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea.


Philippines says 220 Chinese militia vessels seen in disputed waters this month | Reuters

Chinky bastards at it again.

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Originally Posted by misskit

The Philippines vowed to monitor the situation

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Legends . . . true warrior legends

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"We are proud that China and the Philippines are two great friends. And I welcome you to your new assignment. May it be productive. And I'm ready to accept your letter of credence," Duterte told Huang, who arrived in Manila on Tuesday.

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..?.., come to my assistance!
Wrong I was in calling
Spirits, I avow,
For I find them galling,
Cannot rule them now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by misskit

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that some 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel,

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By an unnamed ghost no doubt?

In addition, some suggest that "freedom of passage", for commercial and military "vessels", applies to all nations.

Attachment 66078

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OhOh

In addition, some suggest that "freedom of passage", for commercial and military "vessels", applies to all nations.

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So why are the chinkies always bleating when anyone else does it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by misskit

Philippines says 220 Chinese militia vessels seen in disputed waters this month

“Despite clear weather at the time, the Chinese vessels massed at the reef showed no actual fishing activities and had their full white lights turned on during night time,” it said in a statement.

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This reef used only to emerge at low tides and was theoretically unclaimable. In recent years, some sand has piled up beside the reef, sand which remains above the water at high tide. In theory, it is now claimable. The source of the sand is unclear. It could be a natural phenomenon. Or not.

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

So why are the chinkies always bleating when anyone else does it?

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>
SOP diplomatic procedures "arry.

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Originally Posted by OhOh

>
SOP diplomatic procedures "arry.

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It is for those snivelling fucking whiners, yes.

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Originally Posted by OhOh

>SOP diplomatic procedures "arry.

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Except that it isn't for others, just the thin-skinned whiny cretins in Beijing

Chinese Navy Harvests Data from South China Sea


China’s new militarized outposts in the Spratly Islands and its expanded bases in the Paracel chain are helping harvest one of the South China Sea’s most valuable but least visible resources: data.


Research by the Chinese military and other documentation show that the collected data informs ongoing construction activities, helps improve naval weapons and underwater communications in the unique local environment, and could support amphibious landing operations in the future – among other uses.


This data is valuable because it allows the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to understand the elements that constitute the “ocean battlespace environment,” according to Ryan Martinson, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute.


“China needs to collect this information because it is used to build and improve models for how these elements of the ocean battlespace environment change under particular circumstances,” Martinson said.


Civilian government scientists and PLAN personnel stationed on these features collect different kinds of information, including hydrological, meteorological, bathymetric and tidal data.


In addition, scientific survey ships operated by state-run research organizations regularly probe the depths of the South China Sea, gathering biological samples, mapping the seafloor and scooping up sediments.


Continuing construction


This data has many uses, including facilitating ongoing Chinese construction activities in the South China Sea, where Beijing is locked in maritime and territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.


In January, BenarNews reported that China was reclaiming additional land on the northern side of Woody Island, its main base in the Paracel Islands, and fortifying the island’s coast against erosion.



In preparation for this project, the Chinese Ministry of Transport’s Tianjin Research Institute for Water Transport Engineering agreed to simulate the erosion of the island’s coast using data gathered over several years, bidding documents indicate. The documentation offers a rare look at how China can leverage its long-term occupation of contested islands and reefs to collect and then exploit data in support of construction projects.


According to the materials reviewed by BenarNews, the institute was to synthesize multi-year bathymetric measurements, remote sensing imagery, hydrometeorological measurements and other data collected on Woody Island as well as data generated by previous construction projects in nearby waters. Bathymetry is the measurement of the sea’s depth while hydrometerology studies the water cycle as it relates to atmospheric processes.


The ocean battlespace environment


Data gathered from remote outposts also aid China’s naval operations in the South China Sea – and helps the Chinese military prepare for potential conflicts with other claimant states or outside rivals such as the United States.


For example, Martinson noted, tides, currents, wave height, temperature, wind and salinity are all subject to change.


“Being able to forecast these changes is very important to the PLAN because these elements directly affect naval operations, everything from basic navigation to weapons employment to ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance],” Martinson told BenarNews.


Publicly available research authored by engineers, meteorologists and other specialists affiliated with the PLA confirms the ongoing interest of the Chinese military in these environmental factors.


For example, in 2020 researchers from PLA Unit 61741 published a paper that addresses how the thermocline – the transition layer between warmer water near the ocean’s surface and cooler water deeper below – affects underwater communications and underwater vehicle concealment in the South China Sea.


A recent South China Sea-oriented study from experts at the PLA Naval Research Academy examines how ocean modeling can help analyze the impacts of “complex ocean mesoscale phenomena” on the effectiveness of naval weaponry and equipment.


According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the Chinese academy focuses on technological research, the maritime environment, and defense engineering.


Other subjects explored by PLA researchers include how the South China Sea environment corrodes airborne electronic equipment and stainless steel, the mechanical properties of sand used for land reclamation in the South China Sea, and how to treat brain injuries sustained during naval combat in the South China Sea environment.


Expanding capabilities


The development of China’s bases in the South China Sea has long been intertwined with the collection of environmental data.


For example, after China occupied Woody Island – the largest natural feature in the Paracel chain – in the 1950s, it quickly established a meteorological station.


And according to a study published in The China Quarterly, Beijing used international meteorological data collection for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a pretext for establishing a permanent presence in the Spratlys in the late 1980s, initially building an observation post on Fiery Cross Reef.


From this observation post, PLAN meteorologists have measured factors such as wind direction, wind speed, temperature and tides every two hours every day for the past 30 years, Chinese state media reported.


And as China built massive artificial island bases in the Spratlys, its capacity to collect this data appears to have grown.


“In theory, more land area allows for installation of more and larger equipment,” Martinson told BenarNews.


Martinson also noted that China’s new facilities in the Spratly chain likely support the ships used to service and deploy surface and subsurface buoys, which China uses to monitor conditions over wide areas of water.


Additionally, these expanded outposts allow the PLAN to deploy more personnel in the Spratly islands, including meteorologists and engineers to help the Chinese military gather crucial data.

For instance, according to a 2020 report in PLA Daily, which is published by the Chinese military, a PLAN engineer stationed in the Spratly Islands, Wu Jingquan, has designed and patented measuring devices tailored to the local environmental conditions since 2018.


“Tides are an important factor influencing the ocean battlespace environment,” PLA Daily says, but the salinity and temperature of the waters in the Spratlys often affects tidal measurements, leading to errors


With support from his superiors, Wu set out to solve this problem, reportedly establishing multiple observation points on Fiery Cross Reef to collect tidal data on a day-to-day basis. He then used this data to construct a tidal data model, ultimately designing a new type of automatic tidal gauge that would be unaffected by salinity and temperature, PLA Daily says.


BenarNews obtained the patent application documents for two of Wu’s inventions: the aforementioned tidal gauge and an “underwater surveying device and dynamic draft surveying instrument” intended to aid ships carrying out bathymetric surveys.


“Tides are an especially important factor in amphibious operations. If you are trying to land on an island or bring a ship close to an island, you need to know how tides affect the water depth around the island at any given time,” Martinson said.

Chinese Navy Harvests Data from South China Sea — BenarNews

Sounds a marvellous exercise. Are not the British Admiralty charts available for the South China Seas? Maybe China will make their charts of the area available. But who would trust them, eh.

I'm surprised other countries ships, submarines, aircraft, drones and satellites don't also collect similar very useful data. It would stop ships running into reefs and sinking.

I suppose it may require 5G technology though, which not all countries are able to create/build/deploy and utilise.

:rolleyes:

Maybe the Suez Canal Authorities may consider mapping any new sandbanks and warning ships about them. They appear to have had a ship hitting something just the other day and blocking the canal. An act of war on a Chinese ship?

:rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OhOh

Sounds a marvellous exercise

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So, why do you go apoplectic when others do it?

China simply wants to assume security responsibilities of the south China sea from the US. Freedom of navigation will still be in effect. They just want to be the guaranters of it.

Why shouldn't they ? It's the south China sea. Not the south United States sea ffs.

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Originally Posted by Backspin

It's the south China sea. Not the south United States sea ffs.

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Just when one thought you'd reached the depths of stupidity . . .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Backspin

Why shouldn't they ? It's the south China sea.

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The Vietnamese might disagree with you on that, and they've beaten both the Chinese and the USA in wars, so East Sea it is.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pickel

they've beaten both the Chinese

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An excellent proposal.

However, to be fair during China's two millennia of history China has won more Chines v Vietnamese wars. Similarly, with its other Asian neighbours.

Hence, the millennia practice of tribute payments to China. Ranging from cargoes of exotic nicknacks to the annual replacement of hostage foreign prince and princesses.

Japan and Germany to Hold First '2 Plus 2' Dialogue Talks in April - Yomiuri

TOKYO (REUTERS) - THE foreign and defence ministers of Japan and Germany are looking to hold a "2 plus 2" dialogue online in mid-April, the daily Yomiuri reported on Monday.


The "2 plus 2" talks will be the first among the two countries, and they are expected to discuss ways to defence and a "free and open Indo-Pacific" in face of an increasingly assertive China, the report said, citing multiple unidentified sources.

Although the exact schedule is not yet confirmed, the two parties are looking to speak on April 16, the Yomiuri also said.


Countries such as the United States and Japan have become increasingly alarmed as China takes an increasingly aggressive foreign policy approach in the Indo-Pacific region.


A German frigate expected to set sail for Asia in August will become the first German warship to cross the South China Sea since 2002 on its return journey.


Japan and Germany to Hold First '''2 Plus 2''' Dialogue Talks in April - Yomiuri | World News | US News

Philippines Claims Beijing Aims To Occupy More ‘Features’ in South China Sea


The Philippines on Sunday claimed that the continued presence of Chinese vessels in Manila’s maritime territory in the South China Sea revealed that Beijing plans to occupy more features in the disputed waterway.


Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s latest statement came after the Chinese Embassy in Manila a day earlier defended the presence of Chinese boats at the Whitsun Reef saying it was part of “China’s Nansha Islands” – Beijing’s name for the Spratly Islands.


“China should respect Philippine sovereignty over the Kalayaan Islands, and its sovereign rights over its Exclusive Economic Zone as defined by UNCLOS and affirmed by the arbitral award,” Lorenzana said in a statement, referring to the Spratly Islands by its Philippine name, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.


The Whitsun Reef is about 175 nautical miles off the Philippine island province of Palawan and within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).


“The continued presence of Chinese maritime militias in the area reveals their intent to further occupy features in the West Philippine Sea,” Lorenzana said, referring to the South China Sea by its Philippine name.


The Philippine defense secretary was citing a July 2016 U.N.-backed tribunal’s ruling that affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the waterway.


China claims the Spratly Islands in addition to almost all of the South China Sea and rejects the tribunal’s ruling.


The Philippines had said last month that 220 Chinese ships were seen moored at Whitsun Reef on March 7, and “showed no actual fishing activities.” Manila on March 22 lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing over the presence of the vessels.


Lorenzana said that as of Saturday, 44 of those Chinese vessels were still near the reef and ought to leave. Beijing’s earlier explanation that the vessels were fishing boats sheltering in bad weather was not true, he claimed.


“I am no fool. The weather has been good so far, so they have no other reason to stay there. These vessels should be on their way out,” Lorenzana said.


"The Chinese Ambassador has a lot of explaining to do."


‘Niu'e Jiao part of China's Nansha Islands’


The Philippine defense secretary’s statement was part of an escalating war of words between him and the Chinese Embassy in Manila over the weekend.


The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Saturday denounced Lorenzana’s demand from earlier in the day that the Chinese vessels must leave “our sovereign territories.” It also called Lorenzana’s Saturday statement “perplexing.”


“The Niu'e Jiao is part of China's Nansha Islands. The waters around Niu’e Jiao have been a traditional fishing ground for Chinese fishermen for many years,” the Chinese Embassy’s statement on Saturday said. Niu’e Jiao is the Chinese name for the Whitsun Reef.


“The Chinese fishermen have been fishing in the waters for their livelihood every year. It is completely normal for Chinese fishing vessels to fish in the waters and take shelter near the reef during rough sea conditions. Nobody has the right to make wanton remarks on such activities.”


But Lorenzana said on Sunday that he didn’t buy that explanation and that China had used similar tactics to occupy Scarborough Shoal and Mischief Reef, which the Philippines calls Panatag Shoal and Panganiban Reef, respectively.


“They have done this before at Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc and at Panganiban Reef brazenly violating Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights under international law,” Lorenzana said.


In 2012, the Chinese seized Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground within the 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines in the South China Sea, after a two-month standoff with the Philippine Navy


Mischief Reef is one of several submerged natural features in the disputed waterway, which China has reclaimed and transformed into military installations.


‘Summon the Chinese ambassador’


Renato Reyes, secretary general of Bayan, or the New Patriotic Alliance, a grouping of left leaning organizations in the Philippines, said Manila needs to get an explanation from the Chinese ambassador.


“Malacanang should summon the Chinese ambassador and ask him to explain his recent statements that insult the Philippines ... and disregards our sovereign rights in our EEZ,” Reyes said in a statement, referring to the presidential palace in Manila.


“If he does not change the statements made, he should be expelled from the country. China’s overweening arrogance is an affront to our nation. It has illegally annexed Juan Felipe Reef, claiming it as part of China’s territory and effectively disregarding our EEZ.”


According to Reyes, President Rodrigo Duterte’s actions in the past few years and Manila’s dependence on COVID-19 vaccines from China had placed Philippines’ EEZ “in a precarious position.”


Duterte is perceived to have been soft on China’s intrusions in Philippine territorial waters in the South China Sea since he assumed office in 2016.


After years of soft-pedaling on the issue, Duterte in September declared that the 2016 international arbitration court’s ruling in favor of the Philippines’ claims in the South China Sea were “beyond compromise.”


A Philippine defense historian and analyst said the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic would also hamper Manila’s response to the Chinese ships.


“Even though the Philippines is mounting a more aggressive response, complete with protests and sorties and patrols, the dire economic situation of the country may make it difficult for the Manila to sustain such operations,” Jose Antonio Custodio, of the Institute of Policy, Strategy and Development Studies, told BenarNews on Saturday.


“Thus, the Chinese expect that once the Philippine activities peter out against them, they will just tighten their hold on the area. Given the pro-Beijing posture of Duterte, he may consider these initial actions as face saving.”


Custodio said the Chinese vessels' presence at Whitsun Reef is characteristic of China’s “grey zone tactics through its maritime militia to enforce Beijing's outrageous and illegal claims on the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea.”


The analyst was referring to China escalating its military build-up in the disputed waterway, by deploying ships and aircraft to the region.


Six other Asian governments – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam – have territorial claims or maritime boundaries in the South China Sea. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of that sea overlapping Indonesia’s EEZ.

Philippines Claims Beijing Aims To Occupy More ‘Features’ in South China Sea — BenarNews