Vietnamese Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich has called for all concerned parties to act responsibility to maintain order and make the South China Sea “a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship.” Addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, Minister Lich said: “The peaceful means of dialogue, instead of confrontation, the threat to use force or unilateral action, is really the best solution, which can resolve multiple issues on the basis of common interest, respect for international laws and regional institutions.” He called for responsibility from all concerned parties in building order at sea to make the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea, “a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship.” Lich said militarizing acts on disputed areas in the East Sea a serious breach of the sovereignty of another country and a serious violation of international laws. “Vietnam pursues a defensive and peaceful defense policy, does … [Read more...] about Clarion call: Make South China Sea ‘a sea of peace’ Vietnam exhorts
Hotel east china sea
Shoal may become military line in sand on South China Sea
Global defense chiefs meeting in a plush hotel in Singapore on the weekend were faced with one of Asia’s biggest looming security challenges, but left without any tangible sense of how to tackle it. The elephant in the room at the Shangri-La security forum was a uninhabited shoal about 230 kilometers (143 miles) from the Philippine coast, a triangle of reef and rocks that barely stretches above high tide. Occupied by China since 2012, the Scarborough Shoal threatens to become the biggest flash point in disputes over the South China Sea. U.S. Admiral John Richardson raised the prospect of China building on the shoal in March and the following month the U.S. sent air force planes into its vicinity. An airstrip there would add to China’s network of runways and surveillance sites that U.S. Pacific Command chief Harry Harris said last year would create “a mechanism by which China would have de facto control over the South China Sea in any scenario short of war.” The … [Read more...] about Shoal may become military line in sand on South China Sea
China says U.S. guilty of “political provocation ” in South China Sea
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (R) speaks with U.S. Navy Cmdr. Robert C. Francis Jr., as Carter and Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein (Not Pictured) visited the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, in this handout photograph taken and released on November 5, 2015. The destroyer USS Lassen is pictured in the background. Photo: Reuters/Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz/Department of Defense/Handout China said on Sunday that the United States was making political provocations with its patrols in the disputed South China Sea, as tensions around the strategic waterways mount. China will continue to construct military facilities on artificial islands it is building, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur. The facilities are needed to protect the islands, he said. Washington was testing Beijing with its insistence on "freedom of navigation" in the strategic waterway, he said. China, which claims almost the … [Read more...] about China says U.S. guilty of “political provocation ” in South China Sea
Protesters stage anti-Japan rally in China
BEIJING, Oct 24, 2010 (AFP) - Around 200 people protested against Japan in northwest China on Sunday, witnesses said, the latest demonstration amid a simmering diplomatic row between the two nations over a disputed island chain. The protesters rallied in a square in Lanzhou city, the capital of Gansu province, chanting patriotic and anti-Japanese slogans amid a heavy police presence, according to Internet postings and local residents. A worker in a hotel next to the square told AFP that a large number of police had been deployed at the demonstration. Postings and pictures of the demonstrations which appeared on the Internet were removed, apparently by China's censors, and police refused to comment on the protest when contacted by AFP. China and Japan are trying to rebuild ties that were badly strained after Tokyo arrested a Chinese trawler captain near a disputed island chain in the East China Sea over six weeks ago, sparking a barrage of protests from Beijing. Both sides claim the … [Read more...] about Protesters stage anti-Japan rally in China
Japan seeks defense ties with ASEAN amid China rows
Japan on Wednesday called for stronger security ties with Southeast Asia as Tokyo looks to boost alliances at a time of growing territorial tensions with China. Vice-minister level representatives from Japan and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began a two-day gathering at a Tokyo hotel, with several participating nations embroiled in sovereignty rows with Beijing. "The Asia-Pacific region has various issues concerning security and defense... including territorial conflicts in the South China (East) Sea," Vice Defense Minister Akinori Eto told the opening session of the closed-door meeting. "On top of the growing maturity of our economic cooperation, Japan and ASEAN need to further strengthen ties in the field of security and defense," Eto said. The meeting is the first high-ranking defense dialogue of its kind since hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office late December following a landslide victory in general elections. "Our … [Read more...] about Japan seeks defense ties with ASEAN amid China rows