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Activities of the Claimants

China

Chinese deep-sea base under construction

Construction of China's national deep-sea base kicked off on November 8th in the coastal city of Qingdao in eastern Shandong Province. Liu Feng, director of the administration center of the base, said it will become a multi-functional platform that will enable China to study and explore the ocean. With an investment of over 500 million yuan (82 million U.S. dollars), the base will cover about 26 hectares of land and 62.7 hectares of sea in Jimo City, serving as a support station for deep-sea facilities, including Jiaolong, China's manned submersible.

Vietnam

Vietnam objects to Taiwan building wharf on Ba Binh Island

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On November 5, 2013, Taiwan announced the construction of a new wharf and the consolidation of a runway on Ba Binh Island, called Taiping Island by China. The unlawful construction is expected to start in 2014 and to be completed two years later. This act seriously violates Vietnam’s undisputable sovereignty over the archipelago and goes against the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Vietnam has repeatedly voiced its opposition to Taiwan’s sovereignty violating acts on Truong Sa. Therefore, Vietnam demands that Taiwan stop illegal construction activities on the archipelago and not to further complicate the situation in the East Sea.

Malaysia

Malaysia plans to acquire anti-submarine helicopters

The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has proposed for the government to acquire anti-submarine helicopters to increase the force's capabilities. Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said this is to ensure the force remains relevant with the current modernisation. "At least six anti-submarine aircraft are needed to form a squadron. "The Kota Kinabalu RMN Base in Teluk Sepanggar, Sabah will house the squadron where two of the country's submarines are also stationed," he told reporters after officiating the Perak RMN Air Unit's 25th Silver Jubilee at the RMN Base on November 7th.

The U.S.

PLA officials and media tour US aircraft carrier

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The USS George Washington on November 6th hosted senior PLA officers and members of the press aboard the aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, in a gesture aimed at maintaining smooth military ties with China. The media tour was held as the nuclear-powered carrier sailed the high seas. The ship is due to arrive in Hong Kong today on a five-day port call.

Regional Snapshots

Philippines, US Disagree in Troop Deployment Talks

The Philippine defense chief said on November 5th that disagreements between U.S. and Filipino negotiators are prolonging talks on an accord allowing an increase in American military presence in the country. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said one key issue involves a U.S. failure to clearly accept Philippine control over and access to temporary American facilities to be set up in local camps. There were also differences on how to word certain provisions of the agreement, Gazmin said. The next negotiating session has not been scheduled. The differences mean an agreement may be reached next year at the earliest.

India, Vietnam hold eighth defence dialogue

Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh and his Indian counterpart Radha Krishma Mathur co-hosted the 8th Vietnam-India defence dialogue in HCM City on November 8th. Vinh highlighted the deepening ties linking Vietnam and India, their willingness to cooperate on mutual strategic interests, and their shared outlook on national security and defence challenges. Both sides used the dialogue to compare notes on regional and international security issues, defence cooperation, and India’s preference for East Sea conciliation based on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Russia to Deliver 2 More 'Black Hole' Subs to Vietnam in '14

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Russia will deliver the two more Varshavyanka class diesel-electric submarines to Vietnam in 2014, a defense industry source said November 7th. The Varshavyanka-class (Project 636) is an improved version of the Kilo-class submarines and features advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and the ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets. According to the defense industry source, the first craft in the order is to be loaded on a stevedore barge on November 11 and towed to Vietnam, where it will be officially transferred to the country’s navy. “The second vessel will be delivered in the beginning of next year, possibly in January, while the third will be also transferred in 2014,” the source said.

Commentaries & Analyses

A strategic pearl for US-Philippine ties

By Al Labita

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Nearly 600 kilometers southwest of the Philippine capital, workers are building an access road to link the mainland of Luzon to Oyster Bay on the island province of Palawan. The pristine island is a major tourist destination, but the project is not aimed at luring foreign travelers, rather to transform the bay into what officials are referring to as a "mini Subic". Like Subic Bay, north of Manila and once the site of the United States' largest military facility in the Asia-Pacific, Oyster Bay's cove includes a deep natural harbor capable of hosting large vessels, including warships. Philippine President Benigno Aquino's government has allocated around 500 million pesos (US$12 million) to Oyster Bay's initial groundwork, with piers, dry docks and ship repair yards also on the drawing boards. Construction of the naval port, part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' broad modernization drive, is slated for completion in 2016, coinciding with the end of Aquino's six-year term. Washington has so far committed limited finance to the project from the US Defense Department's contingency funds. Manila's development of Oyster Bay has been driven in part by rising traffic at Subic, particularly as more American battleships drop anchors at its piers. The development of Oyster Bay could serve to agitate China, which in recent years has taken a more assertive position on territories it claims in the South China Sea. While some Philippine officials have demurred on whether US vessels would have access to the new base, others have said the US is building advance command posts on Palawan to monitor the South China Sea. Although Philippine laws prohibit the establishment of permanent foreign military bases in the country, the US has found a "places not bases" loophole in the law by piggybacking on the Philippines' own camps and facilities to skirt the ban and advance its geopolitical interests vis-a-vis China.

Aquino rebalances his China position

By Richard Javad Heydarian

After months of diplomatic confrontation, Philippine President Benigno Aquino is seeking to re-engage China by dialing down bilateral tensions and promoting the language of dialogue and cooperation. For example, contradicting his own cabinet members, namely Secretary of Defense Voltaire Gazmin, Aquino has vigorously denied earlier accusations that China has placed concrete blocks at the contested Scarborough Shoal, purportedly as a prelude to establishing military fortifications in the area. At the same time, his government is conditionally supporting negotiations between major Filipino and Chinese companies to jointly develop hydrocarbon resources in the Reed Bank, a contested feature off the coast of the Philippines' island province of Palawan. With Washington driving a hard bargain on a new security pact, Aquino seems increasingly keen to engage rather than confront Beijing. China's growing regional prominence and America's perceived strategic absence has added urgency to a tactical reconsideration in Manila, especially as ASEAN focuses its attention on fostering economic ties and integration (rather than territorial disputes) with China. But as Aquino pursues a more conciliatory tack, it's not clear yet his overtures will be reciprocated by a peeved Beijing.

Japan’s New (Defensive) Attack Force

By Trefor Moss

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As part of U.S.-Japan new vision, the Japanese military will shoulder a greater share of the joint security burden, something the U.S. government – and some Japanese conservatives – have wanted to happen for a very long time. And If Japan is to assume a greater share of the regional security burden, then the JSDF needs to acquire the capability to manage the country’s territorial disputes independently, without U.S. forces. It can already operate independently in most respects, and it already possesses most elements of an amphibious capability, notably three Osumi-class landing ship tanks (LSTs) alongside six landing craft air cushions (LCACs) and a mix of smaller landing craft, and now also the Hyuga- and Izumo-class helicopter destroyers to supply the necessary air lift. However, a ship-to-shore capability has always been the missing piece of the puzzle. Beach-storming was taboo for the JSDF – something deemed too aggressive for the country’s pacifist constitution. Changes in the political wind have now made amphibious operations seem more palatable to Japanese decision-makers. However, the scale of the upcoming drill – which the MoD says will involve 34,000 personnel – should not be confused with the size of the amphibious force Japan is currently assembling. The new Amphibious Preparatory Unit – as the Ministry of Defense is calling its L-plate marines, at least for now – will be a relatively small team: a specialist unit of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), rather than a fully fledged Marine Corps. It will have 700 men initially, expanding to 3,000 over time. The unit’s job will be to respond “to attacks on remote islets,” as the MoD’s 2014 budget request explains. There is only one group of remote islets that Japan really has in mind: the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, whose ownership it disputes with China. While Japan also has territorial disputes with Russia and South Korea, those islands are not under Japanese Japan’s marines, in other words, will be the first in the world tasked exclusively with defending one specific, tiny and uninhabited location. So while budget cuts and political gridlock may indeed undermine the ability of the U.S. to intervene in regional disputes, Japan is sending a very clear signal to China: it plans to hold onto the Senkaku islands, with or without American help.

How China can cement its territorial claims in the South China Sea

By Mark Valencia

China has painted itself into a diplomatic and legal corner regarding its claims in the South China Sea. Several policy analysts have suggested that China could turn the tables on its antagonists by making a statement that clarifies the nine-dash line as commensurate with the most optimistic interpretation - a claim to sovereignty only over all legal islands and rocks enclosed by the line. But such a claim would conform to the 1982 convention and could not be arbitrated by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea because boundary delimitation is excluded from its jurisdiction. Likewise, the conflicting claims to sovereignty over the islands could not be brought to the International Court of Justice without the consent of the parties. The result would be the status quo, minus any historic waters or title claim, and sovereignty and boundary disputes would have to be resolved by negotiations or non-binding conciliation. Joint development might even be possible in some areas of overlapping exclusive economic zones and continental shelf claims. Issuing an official statement along these lines would clarify China's position without fundamentally sacrificing its claims or interests. By this simple but velvet manoeuvre, China could mollify its critics, render the Philippines case politically moot, demonstrate its willingness to abide by the convention and modern international law, and build confidence with its Southeast Asian maritime neighbours. It won't be clear sailing from there in the South China Sea, but China will have resolved its dilemma, and taken the initiative as well as the "high ground". Hopefully, China will see the wisdom of this option, which could reduce tensions and uncertainties in the South China Sea.