alt

Activities of Claimants

China

China Defends Its Activity of Installing Two Lighthouses in disputed South China Sea

On October 20, in a response to the protest of the Philippines over China's construction and operation of lighthouses in Spratly, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said the construction activities on the relevant islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands are carried out fully within the range of the Chinese sovereignty. By setting up civilian facilities and facilities for public interests on its territory, the Chinese side aims to better serve the littoral countries of the South China Sea and vessels passing through these waters. She added that “there is no such a thing as "changing actual conditions."

The Philippines

PH slams China actions

The Philippine government has protested China’s construction and operation of two lighthouses in the South China Sea reefs, which is part of the Philippine territory, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on October 19. “We are strongly opposed to China’s construction and operation of lighthouses on Cuarteron Reef and Johnson Reef,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said, “these actions are obviously intended to change the actual conditions on the ground and aimed at bolstering China’s territorial claim in the South China Sea.” Jose stressed “we will not accept these unilateral actions as a fait accompli.”

The United States

U.S. deploys advanced missile defense ship to Japan

On October 19, the United States deployed one of its most advanced ballistic missile defense warships to Japan as part of the Obama administration’s rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region. The USS Benfold berthed at Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, where it joins seven other destroyers. Its missions may include guarding the U.S. and its allies against ballistic missiles launched by North Korea, a senior officer said on condition of anonymity. The destroyer has 90 vertical-launch missile tubes and one of the world’s most advanced rocket-tracking capabilities, the Aegis Baseline 9 system. “Today is significant because we add another destroyer, one of the United States’ most capable destroyers, to the forces in this region,” said Commodore Christopher Sweeney of the U.S. Seventh Fleet. He said it strengthens the U.S.-Japan relationship and adds to the security of the region.

South China Sea Is 'Everybody’s Sea'

On October 22, in a response to Defense News’s question about the comment made in September by Vice Adm. Yuan Yubai, commander of the Chinese Navy’s northern fleet that “the South China Sea, as the name indicated, is a sea area that belongs to China.” Disregarded this comment, the US Navy’s chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson said “that doesn’t talk in terms of my sea or your sea. That is everybody’s sea. 30 percent of the world’s trade goes through the South China Sea. Nobody owns that. It’s open. It’s international waters.”

Policymakers to decide South China Sea patrols

Speaking in an interview with the AP on October 22, Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Swift told that his sailors have the capacity and capability to patrol within 12 nautical miles of newly constructed islands claimed by China in the South China Sea. He said "we're ready," "We have the resources to support whatever those policy decisions are and whatever policymakers may ask us to do to demonstrate the U.S. resolve with respect to the operations that we conduct in the South China Sea."

Swift said under international law, building on an island that is only exposed at low tide but not at higher tide does not bolster a territorial claim to the place. He reiterated the U.S. does not support land reclamation efforts, regardless of their scale.

Australia

Australia should send warships to South China Sea, former foreign minister says

The Australia's former Foreign Ministers Gareth Evans told the ABC's AM program on October 19 that "the Americans are entirely justified in wanting to demonstrate 'freedom of navigation' rights by sending ships to within 12 nautical miles to demonstrate you're not accepting the sovereignty claims associated with that." He suggested "Australia ought to be quite willing to do that — not necessarily in conjunction with the US. I think it's important that there be push-back against some of the more indefensible aspects of Chinese policy, which are first of all to make large, ill-defined historical territorial claims to effectively the whole area of the South China Sea. And secondly, to be proceeding with these installations in reefs and inlets and so on to which they've got no compelling, or certainly no sole sovereignty claim." Mr. Evans has suggested merchant ships could also play a role alongside naval assets. "There's a case for shipping, be it military shipping or be it commercial shipping — exercising freedom of navigation rights and not seeking permission to go within 12 nautical miles of these particular specks," he said.

PM Warns Beijing Against Rule Breaches

In an interview with Fairfax Media on October 23, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warns warn Beijing against provocative strategic expansion, saying it must not use its power to deny others' territorial rights. Mr Turnbull said "we have to stand up for the rule of law, we have to stand up for a rules-based international order, which means that the strongest power cannot just do whatever it likes. That is what the whole international order is designed to stop - to ensure that there is a rules-based approach to international relations, and it's very important to stand up for that." Regarding to the dispute in the South China Sea, Mr said that "my own view, which I've expressed in the past, is I think China's policy there, or China's practice there, is quite counterproductive from China's point of view."

However, Mr Turnbull declined to comment in detail on United States plans to use its navy to assert so-called "freedom of navigation" movements into the 12-mile territorial limit claimed by China around seven artificial islands it has constructed in the disputed Spratly group of islands.

Regional Snapshots

U.S. navy delegation visits Chinese carrier amid maritime tensions

According to theChinese navy's official microblog said on October 19, 27-member delegation of U.S. naval captains paid a visit to the Liaoning. The U.S. captains exchanged views with Chinese peers on topics like "personnel training and management, medical support and aircraft carrier development strategy," the Chinese navy's official microblog said. The visit came under circumstance that Washington considers sailing warships through international waters claimed by China, a move that would infuriate Beijing.

China, ASEAN consult on South China Sea COC

On October 20,Senior diplomats from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered and consulted at the 10th senior officials meeting on the implementation of the declaration on the conduct of the parties in the South China Sea (DOC) which was held in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. An official press release stressed the shared political will to implement the DOC and reach a consensus on the COC as soon as possible. The work plan for 2015-2016 has been updated with agreement on practical maritime cooperation under the DOC framework on navigational safety, search and rescue; marine research; environmental protection; and combating transnational crime. Regarding to the progress of the COC, according to China's Foreign Ministry, "all parties had an in-depth exchange of views on how to advance consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea (COC) at the new stage, discussed and formulated two preliminary leaving documents, namely, the list of crucial and complex issues and the list of elements for the outline of a COC, which will serve as the basis for future consultations.

Vietnam-Philippines Cooperation Committee Convenes Meeting

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Filipino Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert Del Rosario co-chaired the 8th meeting of The Vietnam–Philippines Bilateral Cooperation Committee in Hanoi on October 21. Expressing delight at their strengthened links across politics, economics-trade-investment, national defence-security, sea and ocean, agriculture, education and people-to-people exchange, two sides set sight on quality growth of the partnership through further facilitating visits and high-level exchanges. They promised to work closely together and with other partners to successfully build the ASEAN Community, and at the same time upholding ASEAN’s central role in settling regional security issues. The two sides reiterated the significance of ensuring peace, stability, security, navigation and aviation freedom and safety in the East Sea as well as settling disputes at sea in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, towards formulating a Code of Conduct in the East (South China) Sea.

THE EAST SEA STUDIES