alt

Activities of the Claimants

China

China's first submerged buoys installed in west Pacific

China has completed a large scale installation of submerged buoys in the west Pacific ocean for the first time, a move essential to continuous observation of the ocean environment. China's most sophisticated research vessel Kexue, or Science, returned to the eastern port city of Qingdao on October 21st after wrapping up an 82-day ocean expedition, during which it put 17 sets of submerged buoys in the key marine areas of the west Pacific and retrieved three, according to the Institute of Oceanology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It marks the first time that China has put an array of submerged buoys on such a big scale, said Hu Dunxin, a CAS academician. "The buoys will provide important scientific statistics about ocean circulation and climate," Hu said, adding that the research will help scientists better understand the relation between warm ocean in the Western Pacific and climate change.

Vietnam

Vietnam condems China’s illegal actions in South China Sea

alt

Vietnam has objected China's "illegal actions" on the Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos in the South China Sea, over which Vietnam claims sovereignty. “We once again strongly confirm Vietnam’s indisputable sovereignty over Truong Sa and Hoang Sa," Pham Thu Hang, the deputy spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said a a press briefing October 23rd. Hang was answering a question about Vietnam's response to China’s illegal building of an airport on Fiery Cross Reef in Truong Sa Islands and its support for Taiwan’s deployment of armed ships on Ba Binh (Itu Aba) Island in Truong Sa. "All unilateral actions conducted by any parties to change the status quo in these areas without Vietnam’s permission are illegal and invalid,” she replied.

The Philippines

Philippines pushes arbitration in China sea row

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said the international arbitration Manila has initiated to challenge China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and a legally binding "Code of Conduct" are the only ways to settle the long-raging disputes peacefully. Speaking at a forum with foreign correspondents, Aquino said the Philippines is seeking an internationally recognized settlement of the disputes. "This affects not just countries in the region, but countries that have to traverse this particular ocean," he said. "Beyond that, I don't know what else we could do," Aquino said. "The focus is to achieve a solution through peaceful means bound by international law."

Regional Snapshots

PH, US, Japanese navies take part in naval exercises

The maritime forces of the Philippines, United States and Japan took part in a two-day naval exercise in the West Philippine Sea that started on October 22nd, a Philippine Navy official said. Representing the three countries are the BRP Gregorio del Pilar for the Philippine Navy, Sazanami for the Japanese Maritime Self-defense Force and the USS Antietam for the United States Navy. Lieutenant Commander Marineth Domingo, Philippine Navy Public Affairs Office Chief, said Sazanami and Antietam are part of the strike team USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier, that is anchored off Manila Bay for a goodwill visit. “This is fortunate because this is the first time that we had an exercise with the Japanese and the US Navy at the same time,” Domingo said. “This is an opportune time for us to conduct these exercises as other navies in the world use this to communicate,” Domingo said.

ASEAN and China to discuss Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC)

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying on October 23rd said that the 8th Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from October 28th to 29th with the attendance of Vice Foreign Minister of China Liu Zhenmin and senior officials from foreign ministries of ASEAN countries, following the 12th Joint Working Group Meeting on the Implementation of the DOC. During relevant meetings, in-depth discussions will be held on the full and effective implementation of the DOC and advancement of pragmatic cooperation in the South China Sea. There will also be consultations on the formulation of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea under the framework of implementing the DOC.

Vietnam-China committee for bilateral cooperation holds 7th meeting

alt

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi co-chaired the 7th meeting of the Vietnam-China Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation in Hanoi on October 27th. During the function, the two sides reviewed their cooperation in all fields since the committee’s 6th meeting in May 2013 and defined areas for collaboration in the time ahead. Deputy PM and FM Minh emphasised that Vietnam prioritised the use of peaceful measures to settle the South China Sea issue with China on the basis of respecting the common perception of the two countries’ leaders, the agreement on the basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues, and international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. On his part, Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi said China and Vietnam were important neighbours, adding that his country attached the utmost importance to its friendship and cooperation with Vietnam. Yang pledged to instruct the relevant Chinese agencies to actively implement the agreements reached during the meeting.

Meeting on establishing "hotline" among ASEAN defense chiefs held in Brunei

The first ad hoc working group meeting on establishing a Direct Communications Link (DCL) in the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting process was convened on October 21st, the Defense Ministry of Brunei Darussalam said. Participants are from the ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as various departments and units from both the Ministry of Defense of Brunei and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. This DCL initiative is aimed at providing a permanent, rapid, reliable and confidential means by which any two ASEAN defense ministers may communicate with each other to arrive at mutual decisions in handling crisis or emergency situations, in particular related to maritime security, with the objectives to prevent or defuse misunderstandings and misinterpretations, and therefore to prevent escalation; and to promote quick-response cooperation in emergency situations, the Defense Ministry said.  According to the Defense Ministry, the main objectives of the meeting are to discuss and come up with the technical, technological and security parameters of the communications systems of the DCL; and to discuss on the way forward. The process up to now has clearly focused on the follow-up to the decisions taken at the 8th ADMM last May in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, that is ultimately to activate the DCL by 2015 in Malaysia, the Defense Ministry added.

East Sea (South China Sea) Studies