Traffic rides past the front of the Peace Palace, the main venue of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) annual ministerial meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum, in Phnom Penh on July The Association of Southeast Asian Nations failed to reach consensus on handling disputes in the South China Sea, reflecting a rift between China and the US over rules to keep peace in the trade lane. Cambodia, which holds the group's rotating chairmanship, rejected a compromise on the wording of a joint communiqué among the other nine members in Phnom Penh, according to Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thailand's top foreign ministry bureaucrat. The bloc's inability to agree on a communiqué is unprecedented, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said. "This is strange territory for me," he told reporters yesterday after a week of meetings. "It's very, very disappointing that at this 11th hour Asean is not able to rally around a certain common language on the South China … [Read more...] about Asean splits on South China Sea spats as US urges talks
South china sea
Exclusive: Philippines may ask for US spy planes over South China Sea
The Philippines may ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the South China Sea to help monitor the disputed waters, President Benigno Aquino told Reuters on Monday, a move that could worsen tensions with its giant neighbor China. The two countries only recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, a horseshoe shaped reef near the Philippines in waters they both claim - the latest round of naval brinkmanship over the resource-rich sea. The United States has stressed it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute, despite offering to help boost the Philippines' decrepit military forces. China has warned that "external forces" should not get involved. "We might be requesting overflights on that," Aquino told Reuters in an interview, referring to US P3C Orion spy planes. "We don't have aircraft with those capabilities." There was no immediate comment from Washington. Last month, Aquino pulled out a lightly armed coast guard ship and a … [Read more...] about Exclusive: Philippines may ask for US spy planes over South China Sea
Philippines urges united ASEAN stand on South China Sea
ASEAN should forge a common position on a proposed code of conduct aimed at easing tensions in the South China Sea before talking with China, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Tuesday. Aquino told fellow leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that the fundamentals of the proposed code should be "internal" to the regional bloc's members, according to a statement from the Philippine foreign ministry. "It is important that we maintain ASEAN centrality," Aquino said at the annual ASEAN summit in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. "After the CoC (code of conduct) has been finalised by ASEAN, then ASEAN member states will meet with China." Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said there was a "big disagreement" at a session earlier when ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan announced that China might be invited to take part in the drafting of the code. "We are saying that we're happy to invite China but this should be done after the approval of the … [Read more...] about Philippines urges united ASEAN stand on South China Sea
Why the East Sea became the South China Sea?
VietNamNet Bridge – The follow-up article by researcher Nguyen Dinh Dau explains why the East Sea, from the name Giao Chi (Jiaozhi) Sea in the 14th century, was mistakenly noted by Western people as the South China Sea. From the Giao Chi sea to the U-shape line The East Sea disputes The world map (continents) as drawn by Henricus Matellus Germanus in 1498 In the article “From the East Sea to the U-shape Line”, researcher Nguyen Dinh Dau clarified that in ancient maps of Chinese people; the East Sea was named Giao Chi Sea, Great East Sea or Southeastern Sea.From this aspect, a question emerges. Why the Giao Chi Sea (14th century) was mistakenly called by Western people as the South China Sea as today? We would like to introduce the follow-up article by researcher Nguyen Dinh Dau to answer this question. From the utmost antiquity to the 14th century, ancient people thought that the globe had only three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. Perhaps the pioneer for … [Read more...] about Why the East Sea became the South China Sea?
South China Sea disputes: China, other claimants and the US
VietNamNet Bridge - The South China Sea (East Sea) sovereignty issue consists of a number of separate disputes. The Paracels are claimed by Vietnam and China (for purposes of this article, Taiwan-Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are treated as a single entity under the name of “China”). Scarborough Shoals are contested by China and the Philippines. The Spratlys are claimed wholly or partly by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. There are also disputes over maritime zones, such as the exclusive economic zones and the extended continental shelves. China's U-shaped line in the East Sea (red line). Added to this already complex situation is China’s mysterious “U-shaped line,” which arbitrarily encircles most of the South China Sea, creating disputes over maritime space and rights between it and Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and potentially all states in the world, which have rights in the … [Read more...] about South China Sea disputes: China, other claimants and the US