Weekly Bulletin (30 July - 5 August)

(The Vietnamese flag made by ceramic at Truong Sa Island)

Activities of the Claimants

China

The so-called Sansha city to build 83 low-rent apartments

Chinese authorities in Sansha City, which was established last week on Phu Lam Island (China calls it Yongxing Island) in China's southernmost province of Hainan, has decided to build 83 low-rent apartments for its residents, the People's Daily reported on 30th July.

China opposes military intervention in South China Sea

According to relevant rules, a regular combat-readiness patrol system has been established in sea waters under China's jurisdiction, Geng Yansheng, the spokesman, said in response to a question at a press conference. Geng said the system was established to maintain the country's territorial sovereignty and safeguard its maritime rights, and it is not targeting any other country or specific goals. "The Chinese navy is justified in protecting the country's interests, and it is groundless to equate such a justified action with tough foreign policy," he said.

China to examine uninhabited islands

According to the Chinese State Oceanic Administration, the so-called Sansha Marine Surveillance is going to further examine all the uninhabited islands across the newly-established city, to supervise quarrying, sand excavation, sea farming and tourism development.

China expresses its strong dissatisfaction with Japanese annual defence white paper

“In its defence white paper, Japan makes groundless criticisms on China's normal defence development and military activities, pointing fingers at China's internal affairs. China hereby expresses its strong dissatisfaction and has made stern representations with Japan”, said by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei.

23,000 Chinese fishing boats are going to start their journey to South China Sea to fish

Chinese fishermen in Hainan and Guangdong provinces have resumed operation after the Chinese unilateral fishing ban in the northern part of the South China Sea was lifted on Wednesday (1^st August), said local fishery authorities. From Wednesday, more than 14,000 fishing boats registered in Guangdong province will start their journey to the South China Sea to fish, Liu Kun, a deputy governor of Guangdong said. In Hainan province, about 9,000 ships holding 35,611 fishermen affected by the ban are going to fish in the South China Sea, according to Hainan provincial fishery authorities.

China ropes off Scarborough Shoal

Chinese fishing vessels left Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea but they roped off the mouth of its lagoon to prevent other fishermen from getting in, Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said on Thursday (2^nd August).Speaking at a news conference, Gazmin said the Coast Guard had reported to him that the Chinese left a long rope held by buoys at both ends of the entrance to the lagoon of the horseshoe-shaped reef. “It might be meant to prevent us from getting in because they are claiming [the shoal], but, of course, we are also claiming that it is ours,” Gazmin said.

Chinastrongly opposes the US statement on the South China Sea issue

In response to the US statement on the South China Sea issue, Spokesperson Qin Gang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said: ”The statement showed total disregard of facts, confounded right and wrong, and sent a seriously wrong message. It is not conducive to efforts by the parties concerned to uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea and the Asia-Pacific region at large. The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction of and firm opposition to it.”

“South China Sea issue should only be resolved by concerned parties”, vice Chinese Foreign minister said

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said on Sunday (5^th August) that China has consistently attempted to resolve the South China Sea issue through friendly negotiations between sovereign countries directly concerned on the basis of historical facts and universally recognized international law. "The South China Sea is not an issue between ASEAN and China, but rather between China and relevant ASEAN countries," Fu said.

China calls in U.S. diplomat over the US statement on the South China Sea issue 

China's Foreign Ministry has called in a senior U.S. diplomat to protest against remarks by the U.S. State Department raising concerns over tensions in the contested South China Sea. In a statement released late on Saturday (4^th August), China's Foreign Ministry said Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Kunsheng summoned the U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Wang to make "serious representations" about the issue.

Vietnam

Vietnamese Fisheries Society opposes China for violating the sea and island sovereignty of Vietnam

“Recently, China has carried out coutinuous actions which aimed at violating the sea island sovereignty of Vietnam. When the Chinese unilateral fishing ban was lifted (1st August), tens of thousands of Chinese fishing boats has been deployed fishing actions at Paracel and Spratly Islands, which belongs to Vietnam. This aggressive action of China has infringed the sea and island sovereignty of Vietnam. Vietnamese Fisheries Society strongly opposes China for violating the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the contents of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). We ask China to put an end to these actions.”

Vietnam to build a school at Truong Sa Island

On 31st July, the People’s committee of Khanh Hoa province and Vu A Dinh Scholarship fund met to discuss on building a school at Truong Sa province. Mrs Truong My Hoa - the former Vietnamese vice-president, the president of Vu A Dinh scholarship fund – said that Vietnam is planning to build a school at Truong Sa Island. The school will consist of 5 classrooms, a campus which includes 2 boarding rooms for pupils and 2 boarding rooms for teachers, a canteen, a playground, a freshwater tank… The estimated cost is about 10 billion VND ($480,000).

The Philippines

Philippines to bid out disputed South China Sea oil, gas blocks

The Philippines will offer three areas in the South China Sea for oil and gas exploration on Tuesday (1^st August), two of them in waters also claimed by China. "All the areas we have offered are well within the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines under the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas). Thus, the Philippines exercises exclusive sovereign rights and authority to explore and exploit resources within these areas to the exclusion of other countries.” Jose Layug, an undersecretary in Manila's Department of Energy, told Reuters.

Cambodia receives Philippine protest

After failing to get an “indisposed” Cambodian ambassador to personally explain on 31^st Julyhis accusation of “dirty politics” in the Philippines’ stand on the South China Seaissue with China, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it will continue to summon the envoy “until he is able to come to the DFA.”“We summoned the ambassador but he remains indisposed. We hope he will come when he is no longer indisposed,” DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said, referring to Cambodian Ambassador Hos Sereythonh.

Click here for the letter written by Hos Sereythonh, Ambassador, Kingdom of Cambodia to the Republic of the Philippines.

Philippines to bring China dispute to world body

Speaking to reporters on Friday (3^rd August), Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Raul Hernandez said the country is now gearing towards taking the legal track in settling the dispute with Beijing "with or without" its cooperation."The preparations are ongoing and we hope that we can do this as soon as possible," he said without giving any specific timeframe. "We are closely studying this track and we are hoping that we are able to use this legal track in order to have this settled peacefully."Hernandez noted that the Philippines has filed 12 diplomatic protests against China since April, when the standoff over the Scarborough Shoal began.

Philippines hopes China will take out ropes at Scarborough Shoal

When asked if China might see a plan to cut the ropes as a move to escalate tensions in the area, DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said, “Well the fact that they put a rope barrier in our lagoon, I think that they have to be true to their word not to escalate and aggravate the tension in the area.”

The US

U.S.Department of State issues statement on the South China Sea

On 3^rd August, Patrick Ventrell, Deputy Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State stated that the US is concerned by the increase in tensions in the South China Sea, in particular, by China's upgrading of the administrative level of Sansha City and establishment of a new military garrison there covering disputed areas of the South China Sea. “The United States urges all parties to take steps to lower tensions in keeping with the spirit of the 1992 ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea and the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.”, he said.

U.S. Senate Unanimously Passes Resolution Calling for “Self-restraint” in South China Sea Disputes

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution (S. Res. 524) on 2^nd August declaring that China’s recent actions to unilaterally assert control of disputed territories in the South China Sea “are contrary to agreed upon principles with regard to resolving disputes and impede a peaceful resolution.” Senator Jim Webb, chair of the Foreign Relations East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee said. “The United States has a clear strategic interest in facilitating a multilateral approach to resolving these territorial disputes, ensuring open access to international waters and air space, and promoting adherence to international law.”

Japan

Japanese Annual White Paper concerns about China

On 31^st July, Japanese government published its anuual white paper which expresses concern about the increase in China’s defense budget as well as the Chinese assertiveness in managing international conflicts. “China’s response has been criticized as assertive in regards to the issues on conflicting interests  with  its surrounding countries, including Japan. Thus, there is a concern over its future direction.” Regarding the South China Sea issuse, “China is intensifying its activities in the South China Sea, including  the Spratly Islands and Parcel Islands, over which it is engaged in territorial disputes with neighbors, including some ASEAN countries.”

Regional Snapshots

China and Russia reached the consensus for fishing

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said China and Russia have reached the following two consensus. First is to hold consultations on fishery cooperation, Russia's supply of fishing quotas in its exclusive economic zones to China and China's relevant compensation to Russia. Second is to establish a maritime law-enforcement and security cooperation mechanism to prevent illegal fishing from happening again.

Philippines to get 12 new patrol boats from Japan

Minister Shinsuke Shimizu, head of the Japanese Embassy’s chancery in Philippines, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview on Thursday (26^th July)that Japan and the Philippines had begun the paper work for the acquisition of the patrol boats by the Philippine Coast Guard.Tokyo, Shimizu said, “has yet to decide which of the vessels will be built and transferred to the Philippine government on official development assistance or grants.”Shimizu sought to assure the Philippines that Japan would continue to help the Coast Guard deal with its maritime safety and law enforcement problems.

Australiarejects proposal for US carrier base

Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith has flatly rejected a proposal to expand a naval base in Perth to accommodate US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier groups. The idea fo a $7 billion US carrier base on Australia's Indian Ocean seaboard is one of many canvassed in a report commissioned by the US Defence Department from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "The report is an independent report to the United States government. It's not a United States government document," he said. "We don't have United States military bases in Australia and we are not proposing to. What we have talked about in terms of either increased aerial access or naval access is precisely that - greater access to our facilities."

Commentaries & Analyses

Soul Searching After Phnom Penh.

If ASEAN needs to do some "soul searching" over the next few months, as ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan put it, where should it start? A logical start should be to try to make some progress on the South China Sea (SCS), since events at Phnom Penh illustrated that intra-ASEAN divisions on the issue can clearly tarnish the organization's image. As a first step, the four ASEAN claimants- the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia- should aim to clarify and codify their various South China Sea (SCS) claims in order to present a more unified front to China. Secondly and more broadly, ASEAN as a grouping should redouble efforts to preserve its centrality and cohesion. Outside actors like the United States and China should continue to support a strong and united ASEAN. Equally important, they should also resist short-sighted attempts to undermine the bloc's unity or exploit its divisions, since they will only undermine this shared goal and leave themselves increasingly isolated in a more integrated world.

The South China Sea disputes: How States can clarify their maritime claims?

One of the sources of tension in the South China Sea is that the maritime claims of the claimant States are ambiguous and sometimes inconsistent with UNCLOS. If the claimant States would bring their maritime claims into strict conformity with UNCLOS, it would clarify the areas of overlapping maritime claims. There are three types of measures the claimant States should take. First, the claimant States who are claiming a 200 nm EEZ from their mainland coast (or from their main archipelago in the case of the Philippines) should, if they have not already done so, give official notice of the outer limit of their EEZ by publishing charts or lists of geographic coordinates, as required by UNCLOS. Second, the claimant States should identify the names and locations of islands over which they claim sovereignty. Third, if the claimant States believe that any of the islands they claim are entitled to an EEZ and continental shelf of their own, they should identify such islands and give notice of the EEZ claim from them by publishing official charts or lists of geographic coordinates of the limits of such claims, as required by UNCLOS. If the claimant States took the above measures it would bring their maritime claims into conformity with UNCLOS, and the areas of overlapping maritime claims could be identified.

Philippines arms itself with new pacts.

In the recent incidents in the South China Sea, the Philippine government had stood by helplessly as it lacks sufficient military power to challenge such Chinese provocations. At the same time, its traditional allies in the US and ASEAN have failed to come sufficiently to Manila's defense against China. That served as motivation for the new and enhanced pacts with Australia and Japan. Aquino's government is also considering similar new defense agreements with Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Though these pacts do not necessarily mean these countries will aid the Philippines should a shooting war break out with China, they will help build up military capabilities through joint exercises, training, education, and arms deals. While China has apparently seized on the Philippines' naval weaknesses, the situation is evolving as more regional players enter the fray.

Storm Warnings: South China Sea Tensions Reflect Danger of Defense Cuts.

Despite claims by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta that more than half of the U.S. Navy would be stationed in the western Pacific, the reality is far more thread-bare. Half the U.S. carrier fleet is currently centered on the Middle East. Meanwhile, there is only one carrier currently assigned to the Seventh Fleet in the western Pacific.And this is before further budget cuts hit.Sequestration, with its imposition of another half-trillion dollars in additional cuts atop those already programmed, will clearly hollow out American ability to maintain substantial presence in the western Pacific. The budget slashes, made without regard to strategy, will affect every part of the U.S. military, from training and logistics to operations and maintenance to acquisition and R&D. The South China Sea is becoming an ever more perilous flashpoint as China increasingly asserts its control over the region and develops the means to back it up. Consequently, the U.S. needs to make clear that regional and global interests are at stake, that it remains committed to preserving the peace in this vital area, and—perhaps most importantly—that it will retain the capacity of its armed forces to do so.

What to do next to keep ASEAN unity and peace?

The initiative of Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to conduct “charm diplomacy” by visiting Manila, Hanoi and Phnom Penh is laudable. But, rather than just listening to their views and expectations, it is crucial to continue the process of realizing the code of conduct (COC). We cannot wait any longer to present ASEAN’s common position on this CoC draft to be negotiated further with Chinese counterparts. Any delay will result in a worsening of the situation, as China gets bigger in terms of its power and influence, making negotiations even more difficult to manage. Now is the right time to really start thinking about the establishment of the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) Part II to affirm member states’ commitment to maintaining the region’s neutrality from the influence and competition of major powers. If it is part of the growing process, then ASEAN should quickly recover from this failure. But, as always, it depends on each member to reflect and think about whether they really wish this ASEAN boat to continue sailing toward its ultimate goals.

A War Footing in the South China Sea?

By unilaterally creating a city government and installing a military garrison on a disputed island in the South China Sea, Beijing has further inflamed tensions and made a negotiated settlement of the Asia-Pacific's territorial disputes less likely. The hardening of positions in the South China Sea is a problem for Washington, given its much-vaunted "rebalancing" to Asia. As a first step, Washington should threaten to cut off military-to-military dialogue until it gets answers on how large the garrison will be. If China increases the size of its garrison and further intimidates its neighbors, the U.S. should consider postponing future annual Security and Economic Dialogues. Washington also should come up with a concrete plan to provide enhanced intelligence and military aid to nations threatened by China's military presence. At best, these moves might force Beijing to realize that a truly negotiated settlement is the only way forward. At a minimum, they would show that America recognizes how China is attempting to unilaterally shape the future of the world's most important waterway.

China’s Forward Policy In The South China Sea.

For reasons that are conceptually weak and militarily untenable, the top Chinese military decision making body—the Central Military Commission—took a surprising decision last Sunday to post about 1,200 PLA soldiers in the so-called Sansha City. Nevertheless, this ‘forward’ policy has pitfalls all on its own. Firstly, China will find it extremely difficult to maintain the security of its garrison. It will have to deploy considerable elements of both naval and air power to ensure security, apart from the logistical nightmare. To satisfy nationalist sentiment at home based on tenuous military strategy is asking for trouble. Secondly, the other contenders will probably come even closer together and unite to oppose Chinese claims in the area and to that extent would welcome US presence and military help. Thirdly, such garrisons are totally exposed, militarily untenable and can be eliminated at one stroke.It is still not too late for the Chinese to realise their folly and withdraw from these uninhabited islands and seek a peaceful solution in line with the UN Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]. Co-operation and goodwill of the South-East Asian nations and the international community far outweighs any purported advantage that China might gain in occupying these barren islands.

South China Sea: Asean's exit strategies.

The tension in the South China Sea will increase further leading to confrontation - a lose-lose situation the region cannot afford to have. To manage the crisis, all concerned parties must commit to the highest political will. First of all, the Asean chair must continue its effort to issue the abortive joint communique as soon as possible because many important decisions are being held up. Secondly, the non claimant Asean members must be more pro-active. Thirdly, all claimants need to agree on an ideal model for cooperation knowing full well that the overlapping claims of sovereignty over disputed islands would not be resolved in the foreseeable future. Fourthly, Asean should continue to discuss the South China Sea as they have done in the past among themselves and with China, under the Asean plus one formula. Finally, to stay and play with the major league, Asean must be prepared. One of the strategies is to increase the capacity of Asean Secretariat. Without any clear direction, Asean much vaulted centrality and neutrality could be challenged.

Click here for pdf file.