13/12/2010
- (Australian Strategic Policy Institute 16/12) Carl Ungerer, Ian Storey and Sam Bateman, Making mischief: The return of the South China Sea dispute - This report examines the rising tensions in the South China Sea that are creating a difficult set of questions for Australian strategic policy. In order to examine the origins and implications of this conflict, the paper provides an analysis of the complex political/military and international legal issues that make up the South China Sea dispute - (NBR Analysis 12/2010) Sino-U.S. Competition and U.S. Security: How Do We Assess the Military Balance? - For the U.S., the most important characteristics of the rivalry are those that impinge on Washington’s ability to defend its interests in the world’s most important region. - (PhilStar 19/12) Wrong reasons for 'boycott'; South China conflict - (RTT News 18/12)Chinese Fisherman Killed In Clash With South Korean Coast Guard - (Asahi Shimbun18/12) Defense strategy says China's rise is a 'concern' - A new 10-year defense plan approved by the Cabinet on Friday describes China's burgeoning military power as a "matter of concern" for other countries in East Asia, and calls for more mobile and flexible Self-Defense Forces to respond to the new threats facing Japan; (The Japan Times 18/12) More muscular China made change necessary - (The Diplomat 17/12) China’s Welcome Backtracking? - (Financial Times 17/12) Carriers back China’s global reach - One of the first lessons Chinese military officers learn is the need for secrecy. Only through stealth, the officers believe, can they exploit enemy weaknesses. But the clandestine behaviour demanded by military doctrine is at odds with China’s broader political ambitions – to become a great power. It is this dilemma that explains Beijing’s attempt to announce its aircraft carrier programme in a way that nobody will notice - (Asia Times 17/12) PLA takes hard line in East China Sea - A dispute within the Chinese leadership seems to be going on over the defense of maritime resources in the East China Sea. - (Strategy Page 16/12) Chinese Marines - The marines are not stationed where they could be used for an invasion of Taiwan, but in the south, where they can grab disputed islands. - (Radio Australia 16/12) New report warns of tensions in South China Sea - An Interview with Dr Ian Storey, co-author of Australian Strategic Policy Institute report, fellow at Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore - (The Diplomat 16/12) China Foreign Policy Shift?; (The Economist 16/12) Great disorder under heaven - China’s disastrous diplomacy betrays the government’s insecurity at home - (The National Interest 15/12) Does the United States Want Japan to Fight China? - "But I suspect that the Times got the story wrong, or, more likely, was fed bad information by U.S. officials who regularly conceal the true purpose of U.S. foreign policy: namely, to discourage other countries from taking a more active role in their own defense..." - (RSIS 14/12) Carlyle A. Thayer, Recent Developments in the South China Sea: Grounds for Cautious Optimism? - This paper provides a broad overview of 4 major topics: tensions in China-U.S relations and their implications for Southeast Asia; review multilateral efforts to address the SCS; China-Vietnam interaction in the SCS with a particular focus on China's annual unilateral fishing ban and seizure of Vietnamese fishing boats; the status of the DOC and progress by the China-ASEAN working group to implement th DOC - (The National Interest 14/12) Resistance is Futile - "...the administration [U.S] will need a longer-term strategy for managing relations with China: one premised not only on the positive, constructive and cooperative relations with Beijing promised initially by the Obama administration, but also a clear U.S. commitment to sustaining a stable strategic equilibrium in Asia..." - (The Wall Street Journal 14/12) China's Changing Economic Leverage - The rare-earth export ban suggests Beijing is using its trade muscle in new and troubling ways. - (The Australian 14/12) China reaffirms "peaceful rise" - CHINA'S foreign policy supremo, Dai Bingguo, has delivered a powerful recommitment to China's promise of a "peaceful rise". - (The Star 13/12) M’sia, Brunei ink historic pact for joint oil exploration (Updated) - (BBC 13/12) Strength and power in seas off Japan - Joint exercises with Asian allies are also a show of strength, sending a signal that the US still has a lot of sway, not to mention firepower, in this region. - (The Korea Herald 13/12) [Park Sang-seek] Emergence of new U.S. Asia strategy - North Korea’s outright rejection of the preconditions for the resumption of the six-party talks demanded by the United States and South Korea and development of the uranium enrichment program; its provocative military actions against South Korea; China’s pro-North Korean behavior; the Chinese-Japanese maritime confrontation in the South China Sea; and the China-U.S. financial and trade war. - (SCMP/Viet-Studies 12/12) China stands firm on Paracels in negotiations with Vietnam - "China made its position very clear at the outset; China occupies the Paracels, they belong to China and there is nothing to negotiate," one official said; (The Manila Times 10/12) Manila, Beijing want peace in Spratlys - A territorial dispute in the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea should be resolved only through peaceful means, top officials of the Philippine government and Chinese military said on Thursday; (PhilStar 9/12) Spratlys row: Beijing claims indisputable sovereignty - China maintained yesterday that it has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands following a report of the construction of a lighthouse on Subi Reef in the disputed areas in the South China Sea. - (The New York Times 12/12) Japan Plans Military Shift to Focus More on China - (SCMP/Viet-Studies 12/12) A crucial debate with China at a crossroads
-(Vnexpress 6/6) Vietnam urges countries to abide by laws as US proposes sanctions in South China Sea: All sides need to make positive contributions to the maintenance of peace, security, safety, maritime and aviation freedom in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said Thursday. -(Straitstimes...
-(VNExpress 5/5) Vietnam rejects China's fishing ban in SCS: The foreign ministry has condemned China for violating Vietnam's sovereignty by imposing a unilateral fishing ban in the South China Sea. -(Strait Times 4/5) Philippine court orders government to protect SCS: This was prompted by a petition...
-(AP 22/4) Recent Developments Surrounding the SCS -(Reuters 20/4) China to show new warships as Beijing flexes military muscle on navy anniversary: The PLA Navy ship and aircraft to be revealed at Tuesday’s naval parade are the Liaoning aircraft carrier, new types of nuclear submarines, new types...
-(SCMP 5/4) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte tells China to ‘lay off’ island in disputed SCS: This follows a statement made by the foreign affairs ministry calling the presence of Chinese boats near Thitu Island illegal. -(Nikkei 4/4) Philippines hits out at China's 'swarming' SCS ships: The...