News Report: Not All See China’s Great Power Diplomacy as Huge Success

Chinese President Xi Jinping

William Ide

BEIJING — Analysts say China’s foreign policy achievements are likely to be a key focus next month when the Communist Party hosts a crucial once-in-five-year leadership meeting. But don’t expect China’s leaders to say much about the challenges and setbacks they’ve faced since Xi Jinping came to power, even though a growing number of some scholars here are doing just that.

Since Xi began assuming leadership in China in 2012, the world’s second largest economy has been rapidly expanding its global footprint and influence. Beijing is engaging and seeking to play a more prominent role in international affairs, while laying out its own initiatives, such as the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the near trillion-dollar trade program, the Belt and Road.

Xi has visited nearly 30 countries, five continents and championed what some here call “Great Power Diplomacy." He has also been advocating what he calls the “China Solution,” Beijing’s proposals and answers to the world’s toughest problems.

The foreign policy focus is so important that some analysts say China’s need to play a more central role in global affairs is likely to be added to the communist party’s constitution during the meeting, along with other changes.

State media recently released a six-party series ahead of the 19th Party Congress on “Great Power Diplomacy.” Advocates of that idea, argue that as a rising great power, China should do what it feels is right anytime and whenever it wishes.

News Story: China jabs back at Trump's barb over South China Sea

Beijing hit back Wednesday at US President Donald Trump's veiled criticism of its territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea, countering that the United States was a greater threat to sovereignty.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump decried "threats to sovereignty" in Ukraine and the resource-rich South China Sea, without explicitly mentioning Russia or China.

"We must uphold respect for law, respect for borders, and respect for culture, and the peaceful engagement these allow," Trump said.

China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the strategically vital waters in the face of rival claims from its Southeast Asian neighbours, and has rapidly turned reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

The United States has conducted three "freedom of navigation" operations near islands held by China to challenge Beijing's maritime claims since Trump took office in January.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Vietnam, Japan want effective COC in East (South China) Sea

Tokyo (VNA) – Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh and his Japanese counterpart Ro Manabe agreed at a meeting on September 12 that the China-ASEAN Code of Conduct (COC) on the East (South China) Sea should be effective and legally binding. 

At their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 9th ASEAN-Japan Defence Vice-Ministerial Forum in Fukuoka, Japan, the Japanese Deputy Defence Minister lauded the growing defence cooperation between Japan ASEAN nations, including Vietnam.

He proposed an informal meeting between the Japanese Defence Minister and ASEAN counterparts be organised in the framework of the upcoming ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-plus) in October, saying that such a meeting will help intensify the ties between Japan and ASEAN nations, and create an opportunity for the new Japanese Defence Minister to get acquainted with ASEAN partners.

Ro Manabe noted that Japan is very interested in the negotiations to finalise the China-ASEAN Code of Conduct (COC), adding that Japan wants to cooperate with Vietnam in maintaining peace and security and ensuring maritime security in the East Sea.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Disputed Asian Sea Fails Despite 2 Decades of Discussion

Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI — Countries with competing claims to the South China Sea have failed to start joint resource projects with the strongest one, China, despite discussions over the past two decades, as they fear unequal results or a loss of sovereignty.

Front-line countries in Southeast Asia worry they would take a minor role compared to China or end up ceding marine resources because China is bigger and more advanced.

“Other countries are still expecting Beijing to be more of a responsible stakeholder in terms of their performance and behavior in the South China Sea,” said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies think tank in Taiwan.

China in turn may suspect that domestic politics in a democratic country such as the Philippines could disrupt a deal, experts say.

News Report: Festering Maritime Hostilities Push China-Vietnam Relations to New Low

Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI — A rash of incidents since May is threatening to reignite hostilities between neighbors China and Vietnam over control of the contested South China Sea, but Vietnam is seen suppressing its anger in the short term for lack of broader support.

The foreign ministry in Hanoi protested last week against Beijing’s announcement of a military drill in the Gulf of Tonkin. That exchange came after China apparently pressured Vietnam and Spanish contractor Repsol to stop a multi-million-dollar offshore oil exploration project in another part of the South China Sea in late July.

In July, pro-China maritime activists apparently hacked airline computers at two Vietnam airports. China and Vietnam called off a meeting of foreign ministers at a regional event in Manila last month. In June a Chinese military official cut short a visit to Vietnam, a move analysts call a protest over Vietnam’s offshore fuel exploration.

“There’s been a string of setbacks. So (Vietnam) is showing you it’s testy,” said Carl Thayer, Southeast Asia-specialized emeritus professor at The University of New South Wales in Australia.

“I think also for Vietnam anti-China sentiment is so toxic that if the government were to face a situation in South China Sea and be perceived by the Vietnamese public as not defending Vietnamese sovereignty, they’d be in real trouble,” Thayer said.

News Story: US planning more regular South China Sea patrols - report

The Pentagon is planning to conduct more regular patrols in the South China Sea -- as many as two to three a month -- to assert freedom of navigation in disputed waters claimed by China, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The newspaper said the aim is to create a more consistent posture to counter China's maritime claims, rather than a more ad hoc approach favored during Barack Obama's administration.

US officials declined to say where or when the new patrols would be made, but said the plan developed by the US Pacific Command calls for two or three so-called "freedom of navigation" operations a month over the next few months.

Future patrols also could include US military aircraft as well as US Navy warships, the Journal said.

There have been three "freedom of navigation" operations since President Donald Trump took office in January -- the last one by the USS John S. McCain, a destroyer that collided with a cargo ship days later off Singapore, killing 10 sailors.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: ‘OK being soft with China if sea dispute resolved’

By Helen Flores

BUSAN – The Duterte administration would rather endure criticisms of being too soft on China than sacrifice its push for a peaceful resolution of competing claims over the South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said yesterday.

“We can continue to fight for our rights without armed conflict or without escalating the arguments. So every now and then there are irritants and there are real issues and we’re taking the diplomatic action, but it doesn’t mean that we confront each other in front of the media each and every time because it doesn’t create the atmosphere of dialogue, but it also doesn’t mean that the government is giving up our rights or is not fighting for it,” Cayetano told The STAR.

Cayetano attended the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) meeting held at Nurimaru APEC House here.

The secretary maintained the administration is not changing its strategy on the South China Sea disputes, which he claimed is already “bearing fruits.”

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: US Navy collisions a propaganda windfall for China

By Laurent THOMET

A spate of deadly collisions involving US Navy warships in Asian waters has provided a propaganda windfall to rivals like China and given already rattled regional allies further reason to fret, analysts say.

Four accidents this year alone, including two fatal ones in two months, resulted in the dismissal this week of the commander of the iconic US Seventh Fleet -- the centrepiece of the American military presence in Asia.

The timing could hardly be worse, with the Japan-based fleet at the heart of ongoing US efforts to project an image of military strength and effectiveness in the face of threats from nuclear-armed North Korea and an increasingly assertive China.

The latest incident left the guided-missile destroyer, USS John McCain limping into port in Singapore on Monday with a gaping gash in its hull following a pre-dawn collision with an oil tanker that left 10 of its crew feared dead.

Just days before, the same ship had taken part in a "freedom of navigation exercise" -- sailing close to a contested island in the South China Sea in a show of strength to challenge Beijing's territorial claims there.

The incident, and a similar collision involving another warship off Japan in June that left seven dead, has been seized on by China as an illustration of US military overreach and incompetence.

"It's a lot of good propaganda for the Chinese," James Char, a regional security specialist at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, told AFP.

It comes as "China is trying to tell the region, 'you cannot count on the US for your security needs'," he said.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: General - Destroyer Collision ‘No Setback’ to US Presence in South China Sea

General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy
(Image: Wiki Commons)

The Monday collision of the USS John S. McCain with a Liberian oil tanker will not impact the American doctrine of “freedom of navigation” in the disputed South China Sea, according to the commander of US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) on Friday.

General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy issued a statement during his visit to Malaysia about the collision. "There is no setback to the operations following these incidents," O'Shaughnessy said. "We stand firm that we are going to sail and fly anywhere where international rules allow."

The USS McCain has been deployed in the South China Sea since late 2016, a show of American strength in the sea that is disputed by 10 different nations — including China.

To consolidate their claims in the strategically and economically significant region, China has built numerous artificial islands in the South China Sea. Earlier in August, the McCain came within 14 miles of Mischief Reef, one such Chinese artificial island.

Later that month, in a bizarre incident that still hasn't been explained, the McCain collided with the Liberian Alnic MC off the coast of Malaysia, leading to significant damage and the deaths of two US sailors.

News Story: China May be Finished with Island-Building Campaign

China's Artificial Island built on Fiery Cross Reef

On Tuesday, Philippines defense minister Delfin Lorenzana announced that Manila has reached an understanding with Beijing about Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, and that China has promised not to seize any additional land features in the region. "The Chinese will not occupy new features in the South China Sea nor they are going to build structures in Scarborough Shoal," he told a congressional hearing.

China has built a string of seven artificial islands in the Spratly chain, all of them on land features claimed by the Philippines and other nations. The government of former Philippine president Benigno Aquino opposed Chinese expansion in the region, but under the current leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte, Manila has downplayed the dispute in favor of strengthening economic ties.

Also on Tuesday, foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said that the Philippines is pursuing an oil and gas exploration agreement with China in disputed parts of the South China Sea, with revenues to be split 60/40 in favor of the Philippines. Last week, Cayetano admitted that there could be sovereignty issues for a partnership with China in contested waters, noting that the joint venture would have to be within a framework that would be consistent with the Philippine constitution.

Read the full story at MarEx

News Story: Amanah - Don’t let Malaysia be China’s military satellite

Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub says no Asean nation has opened its borders for a defence base of this kind, belonging to a foreign power.

PETALING JAYA: Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub is concerned that Putrajaya is in danger of making Malaysia a new “satellite” of China in its haste to shore up relations with the economic and military superpower.

Salahuddin, who is also Pakatan Harapan vice-president, said reports that Malaysia will consider China’s proposal to set up a regional counter-intelligence centre in Johor equipped with radar surveillance and a missile system indicate that the country risks becoming subservient to Chinese interests.

“There are already many national assets that have been pawned away to China at present,” he said.

“We do not now want a situation where the country’s administration would have to abide by China’s directions in the future.

“Look at the experience of African nations that received gigantic investments and loans from China, and eventually had to comply with the demands that it made,” Salahuddin said in a statement today.

He said there was still time for Prime Minister Najib Razak to act appropriately in the matter for the interest of the people and the nation.

He said the government’s move to consider China’s latest proposal was worrying also because it would drag Malaysia into the “cauldron” of superpower conflict, as the United States and many other countries would be opposed to it.

Read the full story at Free Malaysia Today

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PacificSentinel: If this happens it might be the end of the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA), I doubt Australia & Singapore will allow Malaysia (due to Chinese "regional counter-intelligence") to become a threat to their nations & still adhere to the FPDA.

News Story: US vows to challenge excessive sea claims

Image: Flickr User - Greg Bishop

By Pia Lee-Brago

MANILA, Philippines - Saying it is not about any particular country or about making a political statement, the United States has stressed that it will invoke freedom of navigation and challenge excessive maritime claims anywhere in the globe.

In a recent press briefing in Washington, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said US forces operate in the Asia-Pacific region, including the South China Sea, on a daily basis under a comprehensive freedom of navigation program (FONOP).

She explained that the operations, conducted in accordance with international law, are meant to demonstrate that the US will continue to fly, sail and operate “wherever international law allows.”

“It’s true in the South China Sea; it’s true in other places around the world as well,” Nauert said.

A US Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation operation” on Thursday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea.

The USS John S. McCain traveled close to Mischief or Panganiban Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals.

Slamming the FONOP, the Chinese armed forces immediately sent naval ships to identify and verify the US warship and warned it to leave.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: South China Sea Tensions Escalate, Risk 'Involving More and More Countries'

China accused the United States of breaching its sovereignty and international law norms after an American warship came close to the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea. Beijing claims the islands to be part of its territory.

"The USS John S. McCain entered the neighboring waters of relevant islands and reefs of China's Nansha Qundao without the permission of the Chinese government. … The relevant acts of the US warship violated Chinese laws and international law, severely undermined China's sovereignty and security," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said in a statement.

On August 10, a US guided missile destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, sailed within 6 miles of the man-made Mischief Reef in the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, during a "freedom of navigation exercise" in the disputed region.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, such actions do not contribute to sustaining stability in the region, being the "biggest factor in the 'militarization' of the South China Sea."

News Story: ‘China using ECRL project to gain Malaysia’s favour in region’

Report cites mainland Chinese observers as saying that Beijing wants Malaysia not to incline towards the US as Singapore assumes Asean chairmanship next year.

PETALING JAYA: China is leveraging on its East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project to gain Malaysia’s support, in an effort to counterpoise its strained relations with the US and other countries in Southeast Asia, Chinese political commentators were quoted as saying today.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the 688 km line – planned to connect Gombak in Selangor to Kota Bharu in Kelantan with a travel time of less than four hours – has prompted speculation that it could alter current regional trade routes through the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea via Singapore when it is completed in 2024.

“Since Singapore will be the chair of Asean next year, mainland Chinese observers said Beijing would be trying to ensure that Kuala Lumpur did not also pivot towards the US,” the report said.

It quoted Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, as saying that the recent cooperation between China and Malaysia signalled Beijing’s desire to reduce Singapore’s influence.

“At the moment, 70% of China’s oil and gas imports pass through the Straits of Malacca,” Ni said.

“Because of that, Singapore has been able to control China’s commercial and military access through the strait, and has used this as leverage in its balancing act between China and the US.”

The report also cited Xu Liping, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as saying that Malaysia had in recent years become one of China’s closest partners in the region.

Read the full story at Free Malaysia Today

News Story: (Philippines) ASEAN may tackle China South China Sea reclamation

Tree Island in the Amphitrite Group, Paracel Islands

By Christina Mendez and Jose Katigbak

MANILA, Philippines - Ticklish issues regarding the South China Sea – particularly China’s massive island building activities – may be discussed in the next meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, Malacañang said yesterday.

The Philippines had successfully lobbied for the exclusion of militarization of land features in disputed waters in the ASEAN communiqué released at the conclusion of the foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila recently.

“The continuing reclamation and militarization of disputed territory in these waters, if the report and photos from a Washington-based think tank are accurate, these can be taken up by the ASEAN in future discussions,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said at a press briefing yesterday.

He stressed there is a need to verify the report and photographs presented by Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (AMTI-CSIS) about the continued reclamation activities in the South China Sea.

“It would be best if this apparent evidence can be vetted for accuracy, if only to preserve the trust and confidence that all disputants over the territory in South China Sea, South China… West Philippine, North Natuna Seas need to have… in each other going forward,” he explained. “So, we defer to ASEAN.”

Early this week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano described the think tank’s report as “false,” saying Beijing is “not reclaiming land anymore.”

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Can Proposed Code of Conduct in S China Sea Help Resolve Sovereignty Disputes?

South Asia and China need to adopt a legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea, according to the foreign ministers of Australia, Japan and the United States in a statement following the recent ASEAN meetings held in Manila. Sputnik spoke with an expert, Carl Thayer, about this issue.

The ministers stated that ASEAN countries and China must refrain from taking any unilateral actions that could undermine the existing state of affairs and lead to increased tensions in the South China Sea.

They also called on the countries to avoid land reclamation and any further construction of outposts in the sea.

Radio Sputnik talked to Dr. Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor of the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defense Force Academy, about this proposed code of conduct and its effect on the situation in the region.

“ASEAN and China have just agreed to a framework for that code. They set out a timetable, that they will approve it and further it in August and commence consultations in November to draw up the code of conduct,” Thayer said.

News Report: Philippines Not Concerned by US Operation Near Spratly Islands - Spokesman

Manila does not object to the presence of the USS John S. McCain guided missile destroyer near the disputed Spratly Islands as the US operation was conducted in accordance with "freedom of navigation," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, the USS John S. McCain sailed within 12 nautical miles of the man-made Mischief Reef in the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, during a "freedom of navigation exercise" in the disputed region. The Chinese Defense Ministry in response urged the United States to immediately cease all provocative activities in the South China Sea, as they impede bilateral relations and mutual trust between the armed forces of the two countries.

News Story: China resolutely opposes U.S. provocation in South China Sea: spokesperson

USS John S. McCain conducted a freedom of navigation operation
around China's Artificial Island built on Mischief Reef

BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Ministry strongly objects to the illegal entry of a U.S. warship into China's waters off the Nansha Islands, said a ministry spokesperson Friday.

Wu Qian said in a statement that missile frigates Huaibei and Fushun of the Chinese Navy were immediately sent to identify the U.S. warship, warn and expel it.

The USS John S. McCain illegally entered the waters near the reef in South China Sea earlier on Thursday. China has sovereignty of the Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: ‘ASEAN under pressure on Souht China Sea issue’

By Pia Lee-Brago

MANILA, Philippines - The United States yesterday acknowledged that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was under “tremendous” pressure on the South China Sea issue.

Heather Nauert, spokesperson for the US Department of State, said ASEAN still “held on to its principles” by defeating attempts to drop “militarization,” self-restraint” and “land reclamation” from the joint communiqué at the end of the meeting in Manila.

“So the ASEAN foreign ministers’ joint communiqué, which came out at the end of the forum, contains language on the South China Sea, and that reflects ASEAN’s important role in strengthening the rules-based order that benefits all nations, both large and small,” Nauert said in a press briefing in Washington.


The US welcomed the ASEAN foreign ministers’ reaffirmation of the importance of freedom of navigation, noting that the US shared their concerns over developments that Washington considered to be “unconducive” to regional stability, such as land reclamation.


“ASEAN was under tremendous pressure, but still held on to its principles,” she stressed.


Nauert added ASEAN also stressed the importance of exercising self-restraint, including refraining from militarization of features in the South China Sea. 


The US reiterated that the July 16 arbitral ruling is binding on China and the Philippines.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Chinese Defense Ministry Calls on US to Stop Provocations in South China Sea

The Chinese government urges the United States to immediately stop provocative activities in the South China Sea, which impede bilateral relations and mutual trust between the armed forces of the two countries, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

BEIJING (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, US guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain sailed within six miles from the man-made Mischief Reef in the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, during a "freedom of navigation exercise" in the disputed region.

"We urge the United States to immediately correct its wrongdoing and stop provocations under the pretext of so-called 'freedom of navigation'," the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

The ministry stressed in the statement that the provocative actions of the US armed forces would only push the Chinese army to increasing its defense capability in order to ensure sovereignty and safety.