The south china sea

Washington (VNA) – Ely Ratner, former Deputy National Security Advisor to former Vice President Joe Biden, on July 29 (local time) posted on his Twitter a letter of four US senators opposing China’s actions in the South China Sea and urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to ensure that China’s aggressive and expansionist behavior in the South China Sea is a top priority in his discussions at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok on August 2. In their letter sent to Secretary of State Pompeo, senators Bob Menendez, Ed Markey, Patrick Leahy, and Brian Schatz said: “China’s assertive behavior in the Exclusive Economic Zones of other claimant states, its use of reclaimed and militarized artificial features as platforms for coercion, its decision to ignore the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling against its territorial claims, and its efforts to pressure ASEAN to negotiate a restrictive Code of Conduct all deserve greater U.S. attention, leadership, and … [Read more...] about US senators oppose China’s actions in South China Sea

In a recent interview with Vietnam News Agency, Nguyễn Mạnh Đông, head of the maritime affairs department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' National Border Committee, reiterated Việt Nam’s consistent policy that all international disputes, including those in the South China Sea, must be resolved by peaceful means as regulated in the UN Charter and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).   What do you have to say about the need to maintain a peaceful and stable environment in the South China Sea? First of all, we need to reaffirm that peace, security, stability and cooperative development is the wish of all nations in the world and an inevitable trend of humanity. All nations, no matter their economic development level or scope of influence, must together make efforts – with goodwill and via practical and constructive contributions – to maintain an environment conducive for this trend, in the … [Read more...] about All nations, big or small, must uphold the rule of law in the South China Sea

Less is heard these days about China’s massive terraforming operations in the East Sea, which not long ago exercised neighbours as well as the United States. China illegally builds artificial island on the Fiery Cross Reef (photo: Digital Global) But that does not mean China is any less assertive in the 1.4m square-mile (3.5m square-km) sea which, on the flimsiest grounds, it claims pretty much in its entirety. On the contrary, China seems to think its artificial islands allow it to open a new phase of self-assertion in the face of the South-East Asian countries with overlapping claims in the sea. Starting in 2013 seven artificial islands sprouted around distant reefs that China controlled. Other countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan, have also reclaimed land from the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) for airstrips and bases. But the scale of China’s efforts dwarfs theirs. President Xi Jinping swore that … [Read more...] about China is resorting to new forms of bullying in the East Sea

Chairman of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel (C) in Washington, DC. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Washington (VNA) – Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, on July 26 (US time) issued a statement on Chinese interference in Vietnamese-controlled waters, in which he said China’s actions constitute a violation of Vietnamese sovereignty and its legitimate rights within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “China’s recent aggression in the South China Sea (called the East Sea by Vietnam) is a disturbing demonstration of a country openly flouting international law. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, China’s actions constitute a violation of Vietnamese sovereignty and its legitimate rights within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ),” said the statement. Since reports broke last week that Chinese oil exploration ships have entered Vietnam’s EEZ, … [Read more...] about China’s actions violate Vietnam’s sovereignty within EEZ: US Congressman

Some Chinese coastguard vessels deployed in the East Sea have deliberately made themselves visible to rival claimants of the contested waters by turning on tracking signals – a move analysts described as an attempt to assert sovereignty. A Chinese coast guard vessel. Photo: SCMP A report released by the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said it had identified 14 Chinese coastguard vessels broadcasting automatic identification system (AIS) signals while patrolling the Luconia Shoals, Second Thomas Shoal and the Scarborough Shoal over the past year. Commercial vessels over 300 tonnes are required to broadcast AIS signals for collision avoidance, while military and law enforcement vessels have discretion about when and where to do so, the think tank said, adding that many Chinese coastguard vessels patrolling in other parts of the East Sea broadcast the signals only when entering and leaving port. But the vessels patrolling the three shoals appeared … [Read more...] about Chinese coastguard ships ‘deliberately visible’ in the East Sea