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Activities of the Claimants

China

China to rise 10% in defense budget

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China will raise its defense budget by around 10 percent this year to support its military modernization, a senior official said on March 4th. At a news conference one day ahead of the opening of the third session of the 12th National People's Congress, Fu Ying, spokeswoman for the top legislature, said China needs strong armed forces that can safeguard its national security and people. China's defense budget rose by 12.2 percent last year, riding on a multiyear run of double-digit increases. A growth rate of about 10 percent would be the lowest in five years.

China to promote tourism in the Paracel islands

Hainan province will launch another cruise ship route in the so-called Sansha in June to boost tourism in the South China Sea, Lu Zhiyuan, head of the tourism department, said recently. Lu said the current cruise ship Coconut Princess has only 200 beds, which can't meet the needs of increasing tourist numbers. Travelers can take Coconut Princess from Sanya to three islands in the South China Sea on a four-day trip that costs from 3,980 yuan ($636) to 12,200 yuan. According to Hainan's annual government work report, maritime tourism will top the provincial government's agenda this year.

China defends island building in South China Sea

China's foreign minister on March 8th defended his government's controversial policy of reclamation on disputed isles in the South China Sea which has sparked regional concern, and said Beijing was not seeking to overturn the international order. Speaking at his annual news conference on the sidelines of the on-going meeting of parliament, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China was undertaking "necessary" construction that was not aimed at any third party. "We are not like some countries which have carried out 'illegal building' in other people's home, and we won't accept unwarranted remarks about work on our own home," he said. Previously, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China’s reclamation activities are “lawful, reasonable and justifiable”.

Vietnam

China requested to halt construction on Truong Sa (Spratly) islands

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Vietnam opposes China’s illegal construction and expansion of structures on Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and has requested China immediately desist these wrongful actions, announced Deputy Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Pham Thu Hang during a regular press conference of the ministry in Hanoi on March 5th. She emphasised that Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical evidence validating its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagoes. That China has illegally built and expanded structures on rocks and changed the status quo in Truong Sa archipelago not only seriously violates Vietnam’s sovereignty but also defies the DOC in the East Sea (South China Sea), signed by China and the ASEAN member nations, Hang said.

The Philippines

Philippines suspends Reed Bank drilling in South China Sea

The Philippine government has suspended all exploration work at the Reed Bank in the South China Sea "until further notice", a unit of Philex Petroleum Corp said. "Under the terms of the force majeure, all exploration work at SC72 is immediately suspended until the DOE notifies the company that it may commence drilling," Forum said.  Reed Bank was included in Philippines case to the UN.

The U.S.

Top US Commander raises concern over Chinese reclamation activities

In a meeting with Indian Navy Chief Admiral Robin Dhawan, U.S. Admiral Harry Harris said "I view with concern China's land reclamation process. I think it's provocative, and it causes tensions to be raised in the South China Sea and all of the countries in the South China seas. So, I am concerned about it. For all of us who are concerned about freedom of navigation, it behoves us to pay attention to what China is doing in the South China Sea and its dramatic land reclamation. They are, in fact, changing facts on the ground." Though the US Admiral did note the increased Chinese submarine presence in the Indian Ocean, his primary concern was on safeguarding maritime security and ensuring the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Pentagon official wary of China's Spratlys reclamation

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A senior official of the U.S. Defense Department expressed concern Wednesday over the speed at which China is undertaking land reclamation work to claim a number of islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea. "Chinese reclamation stands out," David Shear, assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, told reporters, adding, "It's something that we're very concerned about." "China has certainly added more land to features it occupies over the last five months than other claimants have added there over the last five years," Shear said. Shear warned China against building military facilities on the reclaimed features, saying, "It will have potentially negative effects on security and stability in the region." Also on March 4th, regarding China’s plan to increase defense budget, General Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, told that China's rapidly increasing defence spending is not a cause for alarm unless Beijing uses its resources to be provocative. Some places in the Asia-Pacific are seeing "provocative and somewhat disruptive behaviours" by China, Brooks noted in an interview.

Regional Snapshots

Chinese admiral tells Japan to stay out of South China Sea

A top Chinese admiral on March 5th said that Japan must temper its naval ambitions and avoid criticizing China's increasing forays into international waters. Japan "should not extend its reach too far, for example, making trouble in the South China Sea," Adm. Yin Zhuo told Kyodo News as he left the opening of the National People's Congress, China's legislative body. Furthermore, Japan should avoid "making irresponsible remarks about China going to the far seas, going to the South China Sea," he said, adding that "the seas are common space."

PH takes on China at UN

The Philippines has criticized the massive reclamation being conducted by China on contested islands and waters in the South China Sea, during a United Nations Security Council open debate that was initiated by China. Philippine Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Irene Susan Natividad also called for international action to ensure maritime security in the contested areas and protect fisher folk and others who make their livelihood there. “The massive reclamation is a direct threat to the Philippines and other claimant states and should be considered a great concern as it threatens security and overall peace and stability in the region,” Natividad told Security Council members. Natividad also said the reclamation was also causing “widespread destruction of the region’s biodiversity,” irreparably damaging its ecological balance./.