Thread: China 'building runway in disputed South China Sea island'

Originally Posted by OhOh

>SOP diplomatic procedures "arry.

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

Originally Posted by OhOh

Sounds a marvellous exercise

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.

Originally Posted by Backspin

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

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

Originally Posted by Backspin

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

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.

Originally Posted by pickel

they've beaten both the Chinese

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

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.

Of course it does. It's doing all these thing to see how far it can go.

China Turning South China Sea Supply Ships into Mobile Surveillance Bases


China is upgrading two of its civilian South China Sea supply ships with new high-tech surveillance equipment to help the vessels track ships from the United States, Vietnam and other foreign countries, new Chinese government procurement documents show.


This is just the latest instance of the Chinese government leveraging civilian assets to pursue its national security interests in the South China Sea, a common practice under China’s strategy of “military-civil fusion.”


The project contract was awarded Thursday to Zhejiang Dali Science and Technology Co. Ltd. by Sansha City, which is responsible for administering China’s maritime and territorial claims in the South China Sea.


Dali, which appears to also work with the Chinese military, is set to provide a pair of its “DLS-16T Long-Distance Optoelectronic Monitoring Systems” for use on the city’s two main supply ships – the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 – for 3,830,000 yuan ($547,000).



Multi-function supply ships


The Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 are mainly tasked with supplying Woody Island, which is China’s largest base in the Paracels and serves as the headquarters for Sansha City. Though the Paracels are claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan as well, only China occupies any features in the archipelago.


But both ships have also ventured farther south to the Spratlys, where China is locked in maritime and territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

The Sansha 1 came into service in January 2015 and the Sansha 2 completed its maiden voyage in August 2019. This allowed the city’s older Qiongsha 3 supply ship to focus on supplying China’s settlements in the Crescent Group in the Paracels, state-run Hainan Daily reported.


State-owned CSSC Guangzhou Shipyard International, which built the Sansha 2, said the 128-meter ship would integrate “transportation and supply, administrative jurisdiction, emergency rescue command, emergency medical assistance and island and reef scientific survey capabilities.”


The company also stated that the Sansha 2 would “play an important role in defending the motherland’s southern gate” – which is how China sometimes refers to its claimed territory in the disputed South China Sea.


Defending the motherland’s southern gate


Once they are outfitted with their new surveillance equipment, the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 will be able to play an even greater role in asserting China’s claims.


According to bidding documents reviewed by Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews, the DLS-16T Long-Distance Optoelectronic Monitoring Systems from Dali are intended to allow the supply ships to “carry out omnidirectional search, observation, surveillance, and video evidence collection against maritime and aerial targets” such as ships, overboard people, objects floating in the sea and aircraft under all weather conditions, 24 hours a day.


Sansha City was seeking a tracking system that would integrate visible light imaging, infrared thermal imaging, automatic target tracking, radar, fog penetration, image enhancement, the U.S.-run satellite navigation system GPS, the Chinese equivalent system BeiDou, and other capabilities, the bidding documents show.


The software system for the tracking equipment is to be used to detect, identify and track “sensitive ships” from governments such as the United States, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan, as well as record and display this information in real-time, the documents say.


Corporate documents from Dali indicate that the company works closely with state-owned Chinese defense contractors and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).


Dali will be obligated to complete its work on the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 within three months of signing its contract with Sansha City, the bidding documents say.




Military-civil fusion


China has a long track record of utilizing civilian ships like the Sansha 1 and Sansha 2 to assert control over the South China Sea.


Devin Thorne, a Washington-based analyst, told RFA that “there are a few ways that China’s civilian fleets contribute to national security as part of military-civil fusion,” referencing China’s strategy of synthesizing resources to simultaneously advance both defense and development goals.


“They help assert China’s maritime rights by simply being active in disputed areas, they facilitate military power projection and they extend Beijing’s eyes and ears throughout the near seas,” Thorne said.


For example, the Chinese government has installed the BeiDou satellite navigation system – which has built-in texting capabilities – on thousands of fishing boats to enable them to carry out maritime surveillance in the South China Sea, Chinese documents show.


On top of leveraging ordinary fishermen, China also deploys professionalized maritime militia forces to monitor contested areas.

Thorne told RFA that “the fishing vessels of the People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia are best suited for carrying out reconnaissance missions given their training in intelligence gathering and ability to covertly linger for long periods in disputed maritime spaces.”


“But since at least 2014, some maritime militias have started enlisting heavy industrial vessels as well. Their role appears to be providing logistics support and conducting reconnaissance missions during military operations,” Thorne explained.


Thorne added that “China’s civilian fleets are also used to apply pressure in territorial disputes and, in some cases, instigate conflict.”


For instance, the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing or maritime militia ships at Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands sparked a diplomatic showdown between Manila and Beijing in late March, BenarNews reported.


“Fishing fleets are most frequently at the forefront of this activity. However, during the 2014 HYSY 981 standoff we also saw China’s state-owned merchant marine chase, ram, and spray Vietnamese ships,” Thorne said.


“I am not aware of another instance in which China has used the merchant marine like this, but the maritime militia and other parts of China’s armed forces have continued to create linkages with industrial fleets. It could happen again,” Thorne said.

China Turning South China Sea Supply Ships into Mobile Surveillance Bases — BenarNews

"state run".... "state owned"...

And they expect people to believe they are "civilian".

China Trademarked Hundreds of South China Sea Landmarks


Not content with claiming sovereignty over nearly every crag of rock and spit of sand in the South China Sea, China has taken the unusual step of registering trademarks over hundreds of land features scattered throughout those disputed waters, a BenarNews investigation has found.


That action is meeting with disapproval from other South China Sea claimants. Taiwan and Vietnam have rejected the legitimacy of the trademarks, which experts described as a possible attempt by the People’s Republic of China to control how domestic and even foreign companies use South China Sea branding.


Unlike most of China’s assertive behavior in the South China Sea, the trademark registrations largely slipped under the radar when they were initiated seven years ago. But now a review of Chinese government records from 2014 by BenarNews has revealed that Sansha City – which is responsible for administering China’s claims in the South China Sea – filed thousands of domestic trademark applications covering 281 specific rocks, reefs, shoals and other contested features as well as entire regions of the South China Sea.


Each of these trademarks is composed of the feature’s name in stylized Chinese calligraphy and is categorized under one of 45 international trademark classes, which cover everything from musical instruments to legal services. Many also include an English transliteration of the feature’s name and an illustrated logo that offers a colorful view of the feature as seen from above.


The depiction of features appears to predate China’s massive campaign of land reclamation in the Paracel and Spratly islands which kicked off in 2014.



Declaring sovereignty


Julian Ku, a professor at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, said these trademarks could potentially help the Chinese government wield lawsuits to control how Chinese and foreign companies use South China Sea branding.


He said that this would be a form of “lawfare” – China’s use of domestic and international law to advance its position in the disputes.


China contends that it holds sovereignty over hundreds of features across the entire South China Sea as well as extensive rights to its waters, a position not supported by international law. Its claims are contested by several neighboring countries, though it does not appear that those countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines, have registered comparable trademarks.


In response to a request for comment on China’s trademarks, an official at the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington told BenarNews that “every way to spread information that is against international law and historical truth is valueless and unlawful, as well as will not be able to change the truth about Viet Nam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa [Paracels] and Truong Sa [Spratlys].”


The commercial use of South China Sea imagery – particularly maps – has long been a source of tension between the rival claimants. The inclusion of China’s controversial nine-dash line on a map in DreamWorks’ 2019 film “Abominable,” for example, caused authorities in the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia to ban the film.


And just last week, Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said that “companies operating in Vietnam must respect and strictly comply with the laws of Vietnam,” criticizing foreign brands that include China’s nine-dash line in maps on their products.


It is clear from official commentary on the issue that China sees intrinsic value in asserting commercial rights over what are disputed territories. Quoting a Sansha City official, state-run China Industry and Commerce News reported in 2016 that “applying to register trademarks for the names of Sansha City’s islands and reefs in accordance with China’s ‘Trademark Law’ was the most direct embodiment of declaring sovereignty.”


Sansha City also registered these trademarks to “protect the geographical name ownership of each island, reef, shoal and island” and “prevent trademark squatting,” China Industry and Commerce News said, referring to when one entity preemptively registers another entity’s trademark, effectively stealing it.


Claiming every last rock and reef


The 281 features trademarked by Sansha City largely match the list of 287 features that China named and claimed in 1983, which was expanded in April 2020.


For example, the city trademarked the Paracel Islands, an archipelago also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; the Crescent Group and Amphitrite Group, which form the two main halves of the Paracel Islands; the Qilian Islets, which is a sub-region within the Amphitrite Group; and Tree Island, which is part of the Qilian Islets.


It trademarked rocks and reefs in the Spratly Islands too, including features controlled by other claimant states like Taiwan-occupied Itu Aba, Philippines-occupied Thitu Island, and Vietnam-occupied Sin Cowe Island.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said this week that it has unquestionable sovereignty over Itu Aba as well as long-term effective governance over the island. The council said that China’s trademarks are inconsistent with international standards and criticized them as a deliberate attempt to create a false image of Chinese jurisdiction over Itu Aba.


Tensions between Taiwan and the China over their competing South China Sea claims have been increasingly high in recent weeks as China has operated drones and military aircraft near Taiwan-occupied Pratas Island.


Sansha City has not in fact registered a trademark for Pratas, but it has for other disputed features that have been in the news lately. Among them are Scarborough Shoal and Whitsun Reef – each the location of a standoff between China and the Philippines, the first at Scarborough in 2012 and the second at Whitsun in March 2021.


The presence of hundreds of Chinese fishing or militia ships at Whitsun Reef generated significant diplomatic pushback from Manila in late March and on Tuesday prompted Manila to summon China’s ambassador to the Philippines. It has also drawn statements of concern and condemnation from Washington, Hanoi, Canberra, London, and other capitals.


Authorities in the Philippines did say last week that they are aware of China’s trademarks but they declined to comment. Malaysian officials also declined to comment.


Questionable legal strength


Chinese government records show that Sansha City has applied for at least 2,675 trademarks, with all but a handful of applications submitted in 2014. Most but not all of these applications appear to have been successfully approved.


In 82 instances, Sansha City trademarked a feature more than once, sometimes filing trademarks under each of the 45 international trademark classes for a single feature. It also trademarked Scarborough Shoal under two separate names, submitting 45 trademark applications for “Huangyan Island” and 45 for “Minzhu Reef.”


Despite China registering the trademarks seven years ago, they do not appear to have been used widely – with one exception. The “Sansha” logo that the city trademarked can be spotted on the city’s supply ships, its website and podiums used by the municipal government. “Sansha” refers to the Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands and Zhongsha Islands, which are China’s names for the Paracel and Spratly islands, Scarborough Shoal, and Macclesfield Bank.

Ku said the legal implications of these trademarks are not entirely clear.


“Trademarks are legal protections for the use of names or logos for commercial purposes,” which means that “trademarks would not generally be understood to bolster a country’s sovereignty claims under international law,” he said.


Moreover, Ku said that “trademarks are generally recognized first under domestic law and you have to register for a trademark country-by-country” and “each country still has the right to reject the trademark registration for domestic legal reasons.”


Ku also questioned whether such geographical locations can even be trademarked.

“There are protections in U.S. and in international law for geographical indications when associated with (typically) food products such as ‘Champagne’ but trademarking the land feature without any particular product is new to me and I think somewhat uncertain under most countries’ trademark laws,” he said.


Despite these limitations, these trademarks could still be useful for the Chinese government.


For example, these trademarks may have allowed the Chinese government to block unapproved commercial use of South China Sea branding by Chinese companies.


Ku said that these trademarks could also be intended to deter foreign companies from using South China Sea branding.


He said “if any company tried to market a product with a land feature name associated with it, in theory, a Chinese trademark holder would be able to sue.”


“But since I think it is unlikely that other countries would recognize these trademark claims by China, I am not as worried,” Ku said.


He also noted that the Chinese government only trademarked the Chinese names of these features – as well as English transliterations – rather than their widely recognized names in other languages, likely further limiting the international impact of these trademarks.


“Still, even the potential of harassing litigation could be a meaningful deterrent,” Ku said.


China Trademarked Hundreds of South China Sea Landmarks — BenarNews

Simple. Let's rename the South China Sea to the East Asian Sea and ignore the chinkies.

It works in the Arabian Gulf.

There's a Kampung New Zealand in Malaysia . . . I'm sure Wellington can ay claim to it.

Ah, those crafty Chinese buggers . . . they should copyright/trademark every country's features and make a gazillion out of it

Philippines Military Chief Says Nation Could Build Structures on Claimed Islands


The Philippines’ armed forces chief said Thursday the country was considering building structures in areas that Manila claims in the South China Sea, as he accused China of doing so, despite a 2002 agreement barring new or expanded construction in disputed waters.


The statement was the strongest yet from a Filipino military officer amid a fresh dispute with Beijing over the discovery of scores of Chinese ships in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).


“The reason we did not build structures in the past was an agreement that no one should build anything there. However, China violated that,” Gen. Cirilito Sobejana told reporters in an online briefing.


He was referring to a 2002 non-binding pact between China and member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which the parties agreed to refrain “from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands” and other natural features of the contested waterway.


China has continued to expand facilities in islands it controls and build artificial islands, Sobejana said, adding the Philippines could do the same.


“We are also entertaining the idea, of course, subject to the wisdom of the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, of us building structures in the area just as China is doing,” Sobejana said.


Manila refers to its EEZ and claimed territory in the South China Sea as the West Philippine Sea.


Outclassed and outnumbered by the Chinese military presence in the sea, the Philippine naval fleet would require significant upgrading and logistical support from the government, Sobejana said.


To construct structures on Philippine-held reefs and islets would help deter further encroachment from other claimants, he said, although he did not elaborate on what kinds of structures.


In late March, Sobejana announced at the time that Philippine patrols had found “man-made structures that were built on some of the features,” and that these were “illegal.”


It is unclear whether the structures he referred to were new, but China has the most advanced and expansive infrastructure network in the South China Sea among claimant governments that include the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Indonesia does not consider itself a party to the dispute, but China has claims that overlap with the Indonesian EEZ.


The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not respond immediately to a query from BenarNews on Thursday.


Dispute over Chinese ships


Manila and Beijing have traded barbs since March when the Philippine government called out the presence of about 200 Chinese ships gathered near Whitsun Reef in the Philippine EEZ but which Beijing claims as its territory, along with most of the South China Sea.


Manila has been filing daily diplomatic protests with Beijing over what it called “Chinese maritime militia” intruding in recent weeks, but Beijing repeatedly denied the accusation, saying the vessels were fishing boats in Chinese territory.


Beijing has called Manila’s protests an “unnecessary irritation.”


On Thursday, Sobejana said he had summoned Beijing’s defense attaché in Manila last week to discuss concerns about the Chinese ships.


“We clearly told him that this area is our country’s territory because it is within our exclusive economic zone. On his part, he also presented a letter indicating that they own it,” Sobejana said of the meeting with the unnamed Chinese official.


The incident at Whitsun prompted Manila to deploy military boats and aircraft on maritime patrols – 10 naval ships were on the water as of Thursday, Sobejana said.


On Wednesday, the West Philippine Sea task force said four fisheries bureau ships and five Coast Guard ships and an aircraft were on a similar assignment.


These are no match to Beijing’s massive fleet, Sobejana acknowledged.


“It’s not enough, because the West Philippine Sea is quite vast. It would take a vessel on patrol there two to three months to cover the entire area,” Sobejana said.


Beijing has reclaimed and built military outposts on seven major reefs in the South China Sea.


Observers from Washington and Manila have said these outposts enable Beijing to maintain a constant fleet in the disputed waters.


By contrast, the Philippines controls Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, which is considered a municipality attached to the western province of Palawan.


Satellite photos from the Philippine-claimed Pag-asa taken in 2007 and 2019 show how construction has changed the face of the island over a dozen years, despite the 2002 agreement between China and ASEAN.


A few troops also rotate on Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas) aboard a rusting naval ship purposely grounded there.


War ‘only the last option’


President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, has been careful not to antagonize China, and has instead sought friendlier ties with Beijing rather than enforcing a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal thumbing down China’s expansive claims to the sea.


This week, he said he was prepared to send naval assets to the sea region only if Beijing started oil and mineral exploration in the area. He had also rejected suggestions by critics to file a complaint against China with the United Nations.


Sobejana on Thursday said that increased Philippine patrols in the South China Sea would not escalate tensions with Beijing.


“That will be a reaction coming from those who are going into our exclusive economic zone, particularly China,” the country’s top general added.


Philippine patrols are only out to secure Filipino fishermen, protect marine resources from overfishing, and increase “situational awareness” of the area, he said.


“Now as to how to resolve [the dispute]? Of course, anything may happen, but I should say that war, as you may perhaps be imagining, is only the last option, so we have to exert other means to resolve this problem in a diplomatic and peaceful manner,” Sobejana said.


Philippines Military Chief Says Nation Could Build Structures on Claimed Islands — Radio Free Asia

The ASEAN+ countries are allegedly sorting this problem out.

One wonders who or what is delaying the conclusion and adoption. One would presume all parties would welcome an agreement being concluded.

Possibly an ameristani could write it. I'm sure the "rules" will be unambiguous,

Originally Posted by OhOh

The ASEAN+ countries are allegedly sorting this problem out.

One wonders who or what is delaying the conclusion and adoption. One would presume all parties would welcome an agreement being concluded.

Possibly an ameristani could write it. I'm sure the "rules" will be unambiguous,

Do you mean an agreement like UNCLOS arbitration?

Yeah, that's an extremely good suggestion.








Oh.

Shut up hoohoo, if it had gone the chinkies way they would be screaming it from the fucking rooftops.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Shut up hoohoo

Facts disturbing your slumber eh.

Philippine Senators Sign Resolution against China’s ‘Creeping Hegemony’ in South China Sea


Philippine opposition senators, in a resolution Tuesday, accused Beijing of “creeping hegemony” in the South China Sea through what they described as the illegal presence of Chinese ships in Manila’s exclusive economic zone.


The 11 senators, mostly critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, released Resolution 708 that hit out at the lingering presence of Chinese vessels in disputed waters in the Spratly Islands, despite multiple diplomatic protests lodged by the Department of Foreign Affairs this month.


“While China’s increasing dominance as regional and world power cannot be denied, its open and serious contempt of the UNCLOS, as well as its expansion of influence in the area at the expense of legitimate interests and legally recognized maritime entitlements of smaller nations like the Philippines, must be firmly resisted and denounced and the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration Award vigorously asserted,” said the resolution filed on Monday.


UNCLOS refers to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The 2016 ruling supported the Philippines’ territorial claims to the South China Sea.


Close diplomatic ties and Manila’s acceptance of economic help from Beijing “should not be mistaken as acceptance of China’s creeping hegemony over our region and country,” the senators emphasized.


On Monday, Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon urged the president to rally the country’s neighbors and allies to form a united front against Beijing and its actions in the South China Sea.


“Apart from the protests, which I support, we should, as an objective, get the other nations to confront China, including our allies – United States, Japan, and Australia. We must unite against the unlawful Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea,” Drilon told reporters, referring to the weeks-long presence of Chinese ships in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).


The Duterte administration was aware of Tuesday’s resolution, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.


“The Palace respects that as the views of 11 policymakers of the country,” he told reporters.


Last week, President Duterte said he would send military ships into the disputed areas only if China began drilling for oil and minerals.


On Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment.


Beijing had said in the past that it was not bound by the international arbitration court’s ruling in 2016.


Chinese ships in EEZ


Two weeks ago, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported that government patrols had spotted an estimated 240 Chinese ships in Philippine waters – more than the 220 spotted in March. The West Philippine Sea is Manila’s designation for claimed territory in the South China Sea.


In mid-April, the task force said nine ships were still present at Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef), a shoal in the Spratly chain that became the epicenter of a bilateral flare-up when scores of Chinese ships were first spotted moored together there in early March. China also claims the reef as part of its territory.


Chinese ships and boats were also spotted in other areas in the South China Sea, including in Manila-claimed Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, the task force reported.


Philippine patrols, it said, had also seen Chinese navy ships, including two Houbei-class missile warships at Panganiban Reef, one Corvette-class warship at Fiery Cross Reef, and one Navy tugboat at Zamora Reef.


Diplomatic protests


Last Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced it had lodged two new diplomatic notes of protest with Beijing because, as of April 20, Philippine maritime law enforcement patrols had “observed the continuing unauthorized presence and activities” of 160 Chinese fishing vessels and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels in Philippine waters, it said.


The diplomatic notes “were in addition to the daily protests being filed by the DFA against the continuing presence of Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe Reef,” the foreign office said in a statement.


On Saturday in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard began training exercises with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.


“We are supporting the whole-of-nation approach in securing our maritime jurisdiction, especially the efforts of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea to undertake maritime security, maritime safety, maritime law enforcement, maritime search and rescue, and marine environmental protection roles in our country’s waters,” Commodore Armando Balilo, said in a statement on the coast guard’s website.


China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, but five other Asian governments – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam – have territorial claims. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesia’s EEZ.


On Saturday, the European Union’s External Action Service expressed concern about the Chinese ships and called for peaceful, diplomatic solutions.


“Tensions in the South China Sea, including the recent presence of large Chinese vessels at Whitsun Reef, endanger peace and stability in the region,” the EU said in a statement. “The EU reiterates its strong opposition to any unilateral actions that could undermine regional stability and the international rules-based order.”


Philippine Senators Sign Resolution against China’s ‘Creeping Hegemony’ in South China Sea — BenarNews

Originally Posted by misskit

The 11 senators, mostly critics of President Rodrigo Duterte,

*cough*

Originally Posted by misskit

“The Palace respects that as the views of 11 policymakers of the country,” he told reporters.

So, all in unison now, "what's happening?"


Sweet Fuck All.

Can't believe that these reports basically about nothing get so much airtime.


Dare we ask misskit?