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  1. #1026
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    More like warning super tankers in the area, to watch out for unattended warships and reduce the potential of polluting the environment.

    Er........

    Whatever you say HooHoo.


  2. #1027
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    Well, he pulled that one out of his arse . . . without even using the yellow highlighter

  3. #1028
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Indonesian Navy Conducts Major Exercise amid South China Sea Tensions

    Indonesia is staging a major naval exercise this week in the Java Sea and the South China Sea, the contested waterway where tensions have risen lately between China and the United States.


    The Indonesian Navy’s Western Fleet held an exercise in the Java Sea on Wednesday as part of a series of drills by Southeast Asia’s largest nation that began on July 18 and are scheduled to conclude Sunday, naval officials said. These will include an amphibious warfare exercise on the beach at Singkep, an island in Indonesia’s Riau chain in the South China Sea, they said.


    The program includes sea battle simulations and 2,000 personnel, 26 warships, 19 aircraft and 18 marine combat vehicles are taking part in the drills, Naval Fleet Command I spokesman Lt. Col. Fajar Tri Rohadi said.


    “At the fleet level, this is the most complex exercise, because there will be more exercises involving all naval units,” Fajar told BenarNews on Wednesday. The day’s drills in the Java Sea included damage control activities, communications, simulations of anti-submarine and surface warfare, he said.


    “The exercises were designed to be just like real operations,” Naval Fleet I chief Rear Adm. Ahmadi Heri Purwono said, according to Viva, an Indonesian news portal.


    In other developments related to the defense of the archipelago nation’s coasts and territorial waters, the coast guard (Bakamla) announced Wednesday that it had launched the Indonesia Maritime Information Center (IMIC), which will publish periodic reports on the nation’s maritime security.


    Sending a message


    Beni Sukadis, a military observer at the Indonesian Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies, said the drills are part of the country’s efforts to assert its maritime sovereignty.


    “Even though we don’t have many warships, we are showing that we have the determination to assert our sovereignty,” he told BenarNews.


    “In terms of capacity building and professionalism, routine exercises are necessary. It can be once or twice a year. It sends a message that the Navy is trying to improve its capacity,” he added.


    According to the Global Power Fire (GFP) 2019 report, Indonesia’s navy has 282 ships in its fleet, including seven frigates, 24 corvettes, five submarines and 156 patrol vessels. However, the Indonesian Navy has no aircraft carriers.


    In mid-2019, the military branch conducted a month-long exercise involving 8,493 personnel in the Java Sea.


    Indonesia is not a claimant in the South China Sea dispute, which involves the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam – all fellow members of the ASEAN – along with China and Taiwan.


    But in 2016 and late 2019, tensions flared between Jakarta and Beijing over the presence of Chinese fishing boats swarming in South China Sea waters near Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, which are located in Riau Islands province.


    Indonesia has declined China’s invitation to hold talks on what Beijing called “overlapping claims of maritime rights and interests” in waters off the Natunas, which lie in the southern reaches of the South China Sea.


    Beijing claims historic and fishing rights in parts of the sea that overlap Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but Indonesia rejects this.


    Meanwhile last week, in the disputed Paracel Islands, a chain claimed by both China and Vietnam, eight Chinese fighter jets were visible at Beijing’s key military base in the area.


    The aircraft’s sighting coincided with another round of naval exercises Thursday involving two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups – the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan. The first maneuvers began on July 4 and lasted six days, the first such “dual carrier drill” by the U.S. in the South China Sea in at least four years.


    In a watershed statement issued earlier this month, the United States toughened its stance on the South China Sea issue when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that America stood with its Southeast Asian allies “in protecting their sovereign rights to offshore resources.”


    Pompeo included Indonesia’s Natuna Islands in the statement that branded Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful.”


    The two rival superpowers have since traded verbal criticism over the South China Sea. Beijing, through its embassy in Washington, responded to Pompeo by accusing America of continuing to “interfere” in the South China Sea issue and “stirring up tension and inciting confrontation in the region” as well as flexing its muscles “under the pretext of preserving stability.”


    In recent days, apart from its public denunciation of Beijing’s claims and actions in the South China Sea, the United States has also carried out a series of actions targeting China, including sanctions over China’s imposition of harsh security laws in Hong Kong and over human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

    Indonesian Navy Conducts Major Exercise amid South China Sea Tensions

  4. #1029
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    The Indos, Yanks, Japs and Aussies should all stop off at an island in the Spratleys, get off their ships, and stroll around on one of those islands built by the chinky devils. Take a few pictures, act like tourists. That'll really spin out the Chinkies.

  5. #1030
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Latindancer View Post
    The Indos, Yanks, Japs and Aussies should all stop off at an island in the Spratleys, get off their ships, and stroll around on one of those islands built by the chinky devils. Take a few pictures, act like tourists. That'll really spin out the Chinkies.
    That would be fucking hilarious.

    Deck chairs, eskies, the lot. They could even invite the chinkes for a beer and BBQ.

  6. #1031
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    eskies,
    ....................

  7. #1032
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Latindancer View Post
    That'll really spin out the Chinkies
    I refer you to my previous post:

    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Looper View Post
    the Australian warships did not come within 12 nautical miles of the contested islands

    Quote Originally Posted by Looper View Post
    "unplanned interactions with foreign warships throughout the deployment were conducted in a safe and professional manner"
    Do keep up.

  8. #1033
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    Do keep up.

  9. #1034
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Australia Joins Nations Rejecting China’s South China Sea Claims

    Australia sent a diplomatic note to the United Nations rejecting China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, joining the growing list of nations that have pushed back against Beijing’s presumption of “historic rights” to the disputed waters.


    The note was sent on Thursday and posted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf’s website on Friday morning.


    Australia is the latest in a small but emerging chorus of nations that are describing as illegal China’s position that it holds economic and maritime rights to nearly all of the South China Sea. China’s expansive claims overlap those of five of its neighbors.


    Australia’s note follows similar diplomatic submissions from the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.


    “The Australian Government rejects any claims by China that are inconsistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” the note states.


    Specifically, Australia rejects China’s insistence on holding “historic rights” to the South China Sea, the drawing of “baselines” to connect its occupied rocks in the Paracel and Spratly island chains, and China’s claim to maritime zones around completely submerged features and around features only visible at low-tide conditions.


    That amounts to a comprehensive rebuke of the legal basis of China’s maritime claims and aligns Australia with the new, tougher U.S. position on the South China Sea announced two weeks ago.


    Beijing has bristled at its perceived encirclement by the U.S., its allies and partner nations in recent weeks. In addition to the flurry of diplomatic notes disputing China’s expansive claims, the U.S. has spearheaded a series of high-profile military drills in the South China Sea.


    Australia joined U.S. aircraft carriers for exercises this month, most recently in the Philippine Sea on July 19, along with Japan.


    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday spoke of building “a new alliance of democracies” to confront China, in a speech that was unsparing in its criticism of China’s government as relations between the two world powers spiral downward.


    That drew a sharp response from China’s top diplomat.


    “Some anti-China forces in the U.S. lately have been deliberately creating ideological opposition, blatantly coercing other countries to pick sides and confronting China for U.S.’s self-interests,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart according to China’s readout of the call.


    “But any country with conscience and independent spirit will not play a part in such actions,” he said.


    Like the United States and Japan, Australia does not claim territory in the South China Sea. The governments that do are Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.


    In its note to the U.N., Australia cites a 2016 decision by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration to explain why China’s claims aren’t supported by international law. That echoes the earlier diplomatic notes sent by Indonesia, the Philippines and the U.S.


    The 2016 tribunal aimed to settle a dispute between the Philippines and China over who held legal claims to the Spratly chain of rocks and reefs in the southern part of the South China Sea. That tribunal ultimately struck down virtually every basis China put forward to justify its claims.


    Australia called on China to acknowledge the tribunal’s decision and abide by it – something that China, which did not participate in the tribunal’s proceedings, has refused to do.


    “The rationale put forward by China as an explanation of why the Arbitral Award is not binding on China is not supported by international law,” Australia’s note reads. “Pursuant to Article 296 and Article 11 of Annex VII of UNCLOS the Tribunal’s decision is final and binding on both parties to the dispute.”

    https://www.benarnews.org/english/ne...020154720.html

  10. #1035
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    “The Australian Government rejects any claims by China that are inconsistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” the note states.


    Specifically, Australia rejects China’s insistence on holding “historic rights” to the South China Sea, the drawing of “baselines” to connect its occupied rocks in the Paracel and Spratly island chains, and China’s claim to maritime zones around completely submerged features and around features only visible at low-tide conditions.
    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    “The rationale put forward by China as an explanation of why the Arbitral Award is not binding on China is not supported by international law,” Australia’s note reads. “Pursuant to Article 296 and Article 11 of Annex VII of UNCLOS the Tribunal’s decision is final and binding on both parties to the dispute.”
    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post


    Seriously arrogant prats

  11. #1036
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Duterte Says Philippines Powerless over South China Sea Rights

    President Rodrigo Duterte told Congress on Monday he had no power to enforce his country’s ownership of territories claimed by China in the South China Sea.


    Duterte made the statement during the annual State of the Nation Address, just two weeks after his foreign and defense departments backed a position by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accusing China of bullying Southeast Asian countries.


    Duterte said the nation could not afford to go to war over South China Sea territories.


    “I am powerless there. I’m willing to admit it,” he said, suggesting that the conflicts were better treated as “diplomatic endeavors.”


    “China is claiming it, we are claiming it. China has the arms, we do not have it. So, it’s simple as that. They are in possession of the property… So what can we do? We have to go to war. And I cannot afford it. Maybe some other president can. But I cannot.”


    Duterte also cautioned against the United States returning to Subic Bay, a massive port north of Manila that was a U.S. military base before being shut down in 1992.


    “If you put a base there at this time, this will ensure that if war breaks out – because there would be atomic arsenals brought in – this would (lead to) the extinction of the Filipino race,” he said.


    It was not immediately clear why Duterte spoke of a military base. U.S. and Australian companies have mounted a joint effort to purchase and potentially set up a naval repair facility at Subic, following the bankruptcy of the South Korean shipbuilding company that ran the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.


    The U.S. embassy in Manila did not comment when contacted by BenarNews.


    Duterte, who has been drifting toward strengthening relations with China since he assumed power in 2016, said Manila would “continue to pursue an independent foreign policy.”


    “Neither beholden nor a pawn to anyone, we broaden the boundaries of Philippine diplomacy, we develop productive ties with everyone willing to engage us on the basis of equality and mutual respect,” he said.


    A plea to President Xi


    The statement came two weeks after Pompeo announced a tougher a stance against China, accusing Beijing of trying to build a “maritime empire” in the South China Sea.


    “We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them,” Pompeo said in July 13 statement.


    He spoke as the Philippines marked the fourth anniversary of the July 12, 2016, decision by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that junked China’s claims to the South China Sea.


    Duterte has not enforced the ruling and instead aligned himself with China despite his country’s defense treaty with the U.S., which once based its largest overseas military installations north of Manila.


    Satellite imagery and vessel tracking data shows a China Coast Guard vessel has been patrolling Scarborough Shoal since July 20. The shoal is claimed by the Philippines and sits on the Philippine continental shelf. In addition, vessel tracking data shows a Chinese survey ship was within 200 nautical miles of the Philippine coast on July 21.


    On Monday, Duterte said he spoke with his Chinese counterpart and asked to be among the first countries to have access to a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Beijing.


    “Four days ago, I made a plea to President Xi Jinping that if they have the vaccine, can they allow us to be one of the first, or if needed, we have to buy it,” Duterte said.


    He appealed to the public to cooperate in battling the coronavirus, saying it had wreaked havoc on the economy even as the country had appeared to “withstand the headwinds” of the virus.


    “Let me say that the strength of a nation rests in the hands of the people acting as one with government in the pursuit of common goals and objectives,” Duterte said.


    The Philippine health department reported 16 deaths and 1,657 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the totals 1,945 and 82,040. Globally, nearly 16.3 million have contracted the coronavirus and nearly 650,000 have died, according to disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.


    Protests


    Duterte spent a portion of his speech commenting on ABS-CBN Corp., the television network that his allies in congress recently voted to shut down. The network has been critical in reporting on the government.


    “That happened after the [House] Committee on Franchises voted 70-11 to deny the grant of franchise to ABS-CBN,” Duterte said. “Great wealth enables economic elites and corporations to influence public policy to their advantage,” he said.


    Duterte said the family that owns ABS-CBN had used it in “battles with political figures.”


    “I am a casualty of the Lopezes during the 2016 elections,” he said, referring to an incident when ABS-CBN apparently did not air his political ads during the presidential campaign.


    He warned other business owners he would take over vital services if they did not shape up.


    “For the remaining two years of my term, all that is good that belongs to government, whether it be airwaves, lines or whatever that is good for the people, will belong to the government,” Duterte said.


    Meanwhile, hundreds of activists joined a protest in Manila ahead of Duterte’s address. The fishermen’s group Pamalakaya criticized the president for his defeatist stand on the South China Sea, but said it was expected.


    “Asserting what is ours does not mean declaring war with the aggressor,” said Fernando Hicap, a Pamalakaya leader. “Mr. Duterte should be reminded over and over that we have all the legal, political and historical claim over our exclusive economic zone being robbed by China.”


    Other protesters carried signs and banners denouncing Duterte’s policies including the new anti-terror law they warned could be used against critics denouncing his drugs war that has left thousands dead.

    Duterte Says Philippines Powerless over South China Sea Rights

  12. #1037
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    “I am powerless there. I’m willing to admit it,” he said, suggesting that the conflicts were better treated as “diplomatic endeavors.”


    “China is claiming it, we are claiming it. China has the arms, we do not have it. So, it’s simple as that. They are in possession of the property… So what can we do? We have to go to war. And I cannot afford it. Maybe some other president can. But I cannot.”
    Some comment....Hmm

    Has he done a deal with Beijing, that involves being handed presents, that already belongs to the PI ?

    I smell a rat

  13. #1038
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    ^ I agree. For such a big mouth wannabe-dictator he has turned into a weak piece of crap.

  14. #1039
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    Big mouth indeed, but why the change in tone? Wonder what back door deal was done?

  15. #1040
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    Big mouth indeed, but why the change in tone? Wonder what back door deal was done?
    Whatever it is no doubt involved a little "personal enrichment".

  16. #1041
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    he has turned into a weak
    Some politicians work for their citizens, others for their own/fund raising election backer's pocket.

    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    Wonder what back door deal was done?
    No need to wonder. Painting targets at his citizens is not a good move, I suggest.

    As illustrated in MK's regime funded propaganda piece.

    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    Duterte also cautioned against the United States returning to Subic Bay, a massive port north of Manila that was a U.S. military base before being shut down in 1992.

    “If you put a base there at this time, this will ensure that if war breaks out – because there would be atomic arsenals brought in – this would (lead to) the extinction of the Filipino race,” he said.
    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post
    just two weeks after his foreign and defense departments backed a position by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accusing China of bullying Southeast Asian countries.
    There is a forum, ASEAN + China, discussing the new SCS Code of Contact as we type.

    Let's see if they can agree for a non military option prior to letting these loose:

    China 'building runway in disputed South China Sea island'-maxresdefault-jpg
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails China 'building runway in disputed South China Sea island'-dogs-war-jpg  
    Last edited by OhOh; 29-07-2020 at 12:31 PM.
    A tray full of GOLD is not worth a moment in time.

  17. #1042
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    Some politicians work for their citizens, others for their own/fund raising election backer's pocket.
    indeed . . . in this case the former doesn't apply - except for maybe closing off certain island <insert name here> for rejuvenation for whatever reason, but not taking into account the damage it did to <the not-to-mention class of people>

    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    As illustrated in MK's regime funded propaganda piece.
    Duterte is simply another strongman, in a whole line of them, in the PIs, but to think that the 'filipino race' (no such thing) would be made extinct - what a tool.



    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
    . . . in yellow - why?

  18. #1043
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Duterte is the same sort of corrupt shithead as Hun Sen and the rest of the asian tinpot dictatorships, and they will always let their country bend over and take it in the arse when the chinkies are rewarding them handsomely.

  19. #1044
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Duterte is the same sort of corrupt shithead as Hun Sen and the rest of the asian tinpot dictatorships, and they will always let their country bend over and take it in the arse when the chinkies are rewarding them handsomely.
    Fact!

  20. #1045
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    As if it was such an exceptional exception in the world of mighty superpowers... (but we criticise it only at some, don't we?)

  21. #1046
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klondyke View Post
    As if it was such an exceptional exception in the world of mighty superpowers... (but we criticise it only at some, don't we?)
    Don't you come here with your "whataboutisme" !!!!!!



    You are not wrong

  22. #1047
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klondyke View Post
    As if it was such an exceptional exception in the world of mighty superpowers... (but we criticise it only at some, don't we?)
    Are you really that thick? Who said it was an exception?

    We really criticise only one? Fuck off and ope your eyes to the rest of the board, you whiny little bitch. What makes you so insecure?

    The Donald Trump thread alone has close to 30.000 posts, by far the majority about what a whackjob he is and how terrible a job he is doing both internally and externally.


    Add tens of thousands of posts critical of the US in general . . .

    Thick thick thick

  23. #1048
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    Are you really that thick? Who said it was an exception?

    We really criticise only one? The Donald Trump thread alone has close to 30.000 post
    No, I am not "thick". But perhaps you are thhhhsick... 30,000? But isn't it just the one only? Didn't you claim how much you criticise German and Aus? How wonderful from you....

  24. #1049
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klondyke View Post
    No, I am not "thick".
    Actually . . .

  25. #1050
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    Are you really that thick?
    Yes, but I still think there's some wiggle room...

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