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Activities of the Claimants

China

Philippines-US drill raises concern

China urged regional countries not to act recklessly with the support of parties outside the region, referring to recent joint exercises between the United States and the Philippines near the South China Sea. "Peace, stability and prosperity are desired by people in the region and need to be maintained by all relevant parties," Ministry of National Defense spokesman Geng Yansheng said on September 26th at a monthly news conference. "Parties outside the region should take more action that favors peace and stability, rather than sowing dissension."

Taiwan receives first US anti-submarine aircraft

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Taiwan on September 25th received the first of 12 anti-submarine aircraft from the United States, as it beefs up its naval defences against China, the military said. Television footage showed the P-3C Orion patrol aircraft landing at an air base in southern Pingtung county. Water was then splashed on the plane in a brief welcome ceremony. The other 11 planes are scheduled for delivery by 2015, the military said. The P-3C fleet, which will cost around $1.96 billion, is intended to replace the island's ageing S-2T anti-submarine aircraft to carry out maritime patrol and reconnaissance.

Vietnam

France supports VN's stance of settling East Sea issue

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France supports Viet Nam’s consistent stance of settling East Sea disputes by peaceful measures based on respect for international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, strictly implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, as well as building the Code of Conduct in the East Sea as early as possible. French President Francois Hollande made the above statement during his meeting with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung in Paris on September 25th. He said France will continue promoting Viet Nam’s relations with the European Unions on the basis of their partnership and comprehensive cooperation agreement (PCA), while supporting the Southeast Asian country in its negotiations for a free trade agreement with the EU.

Prime Minister calls for a world free from war, hunger

Vietnamnese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, in his address at the general debate of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 27th, called on leaders of UN member states to strive for a world free from war and hunger for the benefit of the whole humanity.

Japan

Tokyo hosts maritime security forum

Japan held a seminar last week to help Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern nations enhance their maritime security capacity. The government hopes the three-day seminar, starting Tuesday in Tokyo, will contribute to increasing safety in sea lanes vital to Japan, including waters off Somalia and the Strait of Malacca, officials said. The event will bring together delegates from 13 countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Yemen, Djibouti, and Papua New Guinea.

Russia

Russia Starts Building 2 Frigates for Vietnamese Navy

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A Russian shipyard on September 24th started work on a second pair of frigates for the Vietnamese navy, the shipbuilding company said. The Gepard (Cheetah) class frigates are designed to guard and patrol the state border and economic zone, fight smuggling, poaching and piracy at sea and aid vessels in distress. They are armed with modern missile and artillery systems.

The U.S. 

China and ASEAN must end island disputes 'swiftly'

US Secretary of State John Kerry on September 27th urged China and its Asian neighbours to resolve territorial disputes over the South China Sea as swiftly as possible. "Your region is home to the world's busiest ports and the most critical sea lanes. So stability where you live matters deeply to prosperity where we live," Kerry told a meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers in New York. "That's one of the reasons why the United States is so committed to maritime security, to the freedom of navigation on the seas, and to resolving the disputes with respect to territory and achieving a code of conduct," he said. "This is going to require respect for international law and unimpeded lawful commerce in the South China Sea."

Regional Snapshots

Chinese hospital ship arrives in Cambodia for goodwill visit

Chinese hospital ship "Peace Ark" arrived at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port on September 24th as part of its overseas voyage to further enhance China- Cambodia ties and to provide medical services to local residents. The Peace Ark is headed by Commander Shen Hao, who is also the former deputy chief of staff of the East Sea Fleet of the Chinese Navy Rear Admiral. The ship's visit was to provide medical service to local people and militaries, and conduct medical exchanges.

India boosts defence cooperation with Vietnam

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India attaches much importance to fostering relations with Vietnam, especially in defence, as it is seen as India ’s top partner in the Southeast Asia region. Chairman of the Indian Chiefs of Staff Committee and Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne made the statement while receiving Sen. Lieut. Gen. Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, in New Delhi on September 24th. Both host and guest shared their delight at the development in bilateral defence cooperation in all realms, especially since the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral defence cooperation in 2009. The two sides agreed to continue developing this relation more effectively in the fields of delegation exchange, deputy minister-level defence dialogue, training, naval and air force cooperation.

Vietnam, China talk co-operation on less sensitive fields at sea

Vietnam and China held the fourth round of negotiations on co-operation in less sensitive issues at sea in Hanoi from September 24th – 26th.  The negotiations were in accordance with the common perception of Vietnamese and Chinese high-ranking leaders and the spirit of the Vietnam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues signed on October 11th, 2011. The two sides made in-depth discussions and reached consensus on the contents of two co-operative projects. One project covers joint research on the management of marine and island environment in the Gulf of Tonkin and the other will conduct comparative research on sediments dating back to Holocence epoch in the Red River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta.

Commentaries & Analyses

A Code of Conduct for the South China Sea?

By  Deep Pal

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A series of high-level ASEAN meetings culminated in Suzhou, China on September 15th, when senior officials from the forum for the first time met to formally discuss the possibility of a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting ended positively, with an agreement to seek “gradual progress and consensus through consultations,” though no deadlines or details about the joint working group that will carry out the task were made available. It is likely that the development is an attempt by Beijing to woo ASEAN once again, given the skepticism among member countries towards China in recent years. Most media reports from ASEAN countries reflect the national disbelief that China is indeed keen on creating a COC in a timely manner. It seems China might have agreed in principle to a COC, but it is not ready to make the adjustments necessary to draw up a functioning document. Yet it is not just China that wants to go slow on the COC. If a code of conduct is finalized, all major claimants in the region will either have to justify or retract from projects of strategic and economic interest to them including, but not limited to, the U.S. rebalance to Asia.Given the current political dynamics of Southeast Asia, it is unlikely that any country labors under the belief that the South China Sea issue can be resolved with a code of conduct. For most it is another way of keeping China in check. The road to the COC, therefore, is likely to be a circuitous one, balancing China’s great power aspirations on the one hand, and the interests of smaller countries in accruing economic and security benefits from the region on the other.

South China Sea and UNCLOS

By Laveesh Sharma

If the claimant states are to resolve this dispute they should bring their claims in conformity with UNCLOS. The DOC has been a major breakthrough in this dispute; hence the claimant parties should have greater respect and commit adherence to it. If majority of overlapping claims are seen, it is largely due to the provisions of Article 121 which entitles island its own maritime zones that overlap with other states’ claims. Perhaps there could be a case for some amendments to its application in a particular geographical setting. If China is to become a regional power much less a global one, it has to accommodate views of its far smaller neighbours. It should refrain from actions that could upset the regional peace and stability. To reassure the ASEAN claimants, it needs to clarify its position in the South China Sea by bringing its claims in conformity with UNCLOS. Otherwise the ASEAN claimants might feel that they have little choice but to pursue assistance of an international court or perhaps a foreign security guarantee. A Chinese author Chin Kin Lo (1989) makes an interesting point in his book, ‘ ’the Chinese belief articulates that territory once won for civilization must not be given back to barbarism; therefore territory which was once Chinese must forever remain so, and if lost, must be recovered at the first opportunity ’’. Historically China has used border disputes as a ‘convenient stick’ to beat their counterparts on the diplomatic front. This belief has been the dominant code of China’s foreign policy. But, if China wishes to play a significant and responsible role in international affairs, it perhaps needs to revisit this belief.

Timid diplomacy leaves Australia in a sea of disputes

By Micheal Wesley

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There is growing agreement among maritime strategists that the days of American sea control are numbered, to be replaced by a fluid system of mutual sea deniability among the littoral great powers. What regime will develop in the place of the current high-seas doctrine is hard to predict - but there is little doubt that Australia will be vitally affected. Were Washington to become embroiled in a conflict in the South China Sea, it is highly likely that Australia would be expected to fulfil its alliance obligations alongside US forces. Australia's acceptance as part of the Asia-Pacific region might also be challenged, a status that has been contested in the past and could be again in the future. An Australia that stands aloof from one of the region's key flashpoints could well be an Australia whose commitment to regional issues is questioned in future international relations. Australia's foreign policy tradition stretching back over a century - of solidary with British Empire, American alliance or embracing of multilateralism - is likely to be found wanting should Canberra decide to become more activist and creative in its diplomacy towards the South China Sea disputes. Creative Australian diplomacy could be the beginnings of a new tradition: pragmatic and eclectic in drawing on past strengths but flexible and creative in finding solutions. The current quietism of Australian foreign policy on the South China Sea disputes is unsustainable. Canberra must become more ambitious on this issue - because ultimately its current small-target strategy carries with it substantial long-term costs.

Coercive orbit: Chinese maritime build-up in South-East Asia

China’s burgeoning military arsenal and the increase in capabilities impact on the region in ways that complicates regional security. China is pursuing a diplomatic and a military compellance strategy that involves in hyping its appeal of the peaceful rise, preferring consultations as expediency matters, but simultaneously has been engaging aggressive naval manoeuvres, hydrographic missions that dent the 2002 Code of Conduct. In the collective diplomatic forums, China has always exhibited cordial consultations, but engaged in selective conflict escalation with regard to Vietnam and Philippines. China’s deployment of the CSS-5/DF-21D and the increasing capabilities in joint warfare, network centric warfare and the growing strategic arsenal sends an unequivocal message to the United States that China is moving to an offensive - defense posture with regard to interventions in the region. If the anti-access area denial operational posture is proven credible; with the host of Chinese family of antiship cruise missiles and the anti-ship ballistic missiles, then the credibility of US naval and air power support to Southeast Asia and East Asia would have considerably eroded. The increasing pace of Chinese naval and air modernization, the new operational synergies of informationization and the lethality of the Chinese nuclear tipped cruise missiles pose credible threats by which China would apply strategic compellance to extract desired outcomes in the South China Sea dispute. It requires that Southeast Asia envision greater strategic cooperation and building of hardware assets and interoperability that would serve as a deterrent to Chinese aggression. The Chinese ability to test the US intervention defending the regional security interest is the critical game-changer that casts China as a ‘dissatisfied’ power bent on asserting its hegemony albeit by its own hype of ‘peaceful rise’ with Chinese characteristics.