Manila said Friday it planned to hold more joint exercises and to let more US troops rotate through the Southeast Asian country — an offer welcomed by the United States as it seeks to expand its military power in Asia.

“We hope that relevant parties will make more effort towards peace and stability in the region,” China’s foreign ministry said in a brief statement faxed to AFP.

China and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, have rival claims to parts of the South China Sea, home to some of the world’s most important shipping lanes and believed to hold vast deposits of fossil fuels.

Manila and Hanoi complained repeatedly last year of what they said were increasingly aggressive acts by China in the decades-long rift.

In contrast to the government’s response, the Global Times has published an article urging China to put sanctions against the Philippines. The San Francisco Chronicle adds:

An official Chinese newspaper says Beijing must punish the Philippines economically for proposing closer military ties with Washington.

The nationalist tabloid Global Times, published by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, said Sunday that China must pressure Manila to abandon cooperation with the U.S.

China and the Philippines, along with other nations, are locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, and Beijing sees the U.S. as an unwelcome interloper in that dispute.

See also Manila protests Chinese ships presence via CDT.

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Post tags: Global Times, maritime disputes, philippines, South China Sea
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Citing reports from the defence and military establishments, the foreign ministry said two Chinese vessels and a Chinese navy warship were seen around Sabina shoal in the Spratlys on December 11 and 12, respectively.

“These intrusions of the Chinese are clear violations of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea as well as the provision of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” the foreign ministry said.

Sabina shoal is around 124 nautical miles from the western island of Palawan and is within “Philippine sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction”.

The disputed ownership of oil-rich reefs and islands in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in trade sails annually, is one of the biggest security threats in Asia.

The South China Sea is known as the West Philippine Sea in the Philippines. This part of the sea is also being claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Amid disputes for the sea, China has claimed sovereignty over a majority of the area. The Philippine Star adds:

In Beijing, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told the official Xinhua News Agency that the situation in the South China Sea “is peaceful and stable.”

China will always opt for negotiations to peacefully resolve disputes on “some islands and the demarcation of parts of the sea,” Liu said.

The Philippines and Vietnam separately accused Chinese vessels of repeatedly intruding into Spratlys areas under their control and sabotaging oil explorations in their regular territorial waters in the first six months of last year.

China denied the claims and reiterated its sovereignty over most of the South China Sea.

 

Read more about recent disputes over the South China Sea via CDT.

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China, the world’s most prolific executioner, put a Filipino drug trafficker to death Thursday despite a clemency appeal from the Philippine president.

[...]Although China went ahead with the execution despite an appeal for clemency from President Benigno Aquino III on humanitarian grounds, Philippine government officials have said they respect China’s judicial system and the execution would not hurt bilateral relations. The Philippines abolished the death penalty in 2006.

Overlapping territorial claims over potentially gas-rich islands in the South China Sea have strained ties between the Philippines and China.

China refuses to say how many prisoners it puts to death each year, though Amnesty International estimates it is in the thousands, far above the number executed anywhere else in the world. The San Francisco-based human rights group Dui Hua Foundation estimated China executed 5,000 people in 2009.

An article from the Philippine Star provides further details about the unidentified drug trafficker’s last days and the record of Filipino drug traffickers being detained in China. This article puts emphasis on pleas coming from the Philippines for the death sentence to be reduced:

The Philippines had made repeated pleas for the death sentence to be commuted to life in prison, which Chinese authorities rejected.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said there was no response from the Chinese side on President Aquino’s letter to President Hu Jintao appealing the case of the drug mule.

The embassy said China already conveyed last week to the Philippines that the sentence is final and executory.

A piece on Bulatlat.com covers the frustration that many Filipinos are feeling towards the government, viewing this situation as another case where an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) has been abandoned:

“The labor export policy has brought about deaths of OFWs,” [Migrante International chairperson] Martinez said, “Even if we die abroad, they would not speak to protect our rights for fear of losing billions of dollars in remittances.”

[...]Gabriela, the country’s largest women group, said the blood is now on the hands of the Aquino administration, criticizing the government for its late response to assist OFWs in distress. “There were many instances that Aquino met China President Hu Jintao when he visited the country recently. But he sent Binay to appeal for the life of the Filipino on the last minute. No wonder that they were not able to do anything,” Nere Guerrero, a member of Gabriela’s National Council, said in a statement.

This was the fourth Filipino to be executed in China this year for drug related charges. An editorial in the Philippine Star mentions the need for the people and the government of the Philippines to learn from these executions:

The countries that are the largest sources of prohibited drugs are well known. Huge profits from the illegal drug trade have allowed traffickers to pay off those who are supposed to fight the drug menace. The money has also allowed the drug rings to enlist couriers around the world, including Filipinos. It may take a few more executions in China before Filipinos become sufficiently warned that drug trafficking can earn them the death penalty. In the meantime, the government must intensify its coordination with other countries to fight this menace at its roots.

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Premier Wen Jiabao was by turns “grouchy” and constructive as he responded to the concerns aired by almost all of the leaders attending the East Asia Summit, said one of the administration officials, who spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One as Mr. Obama returned from an eight-day diplomatic swing around the Pacific Rim.

The meeting, at the end of the summit, capped a week during which Mr. Obama moved quickly, and on several fronts, to restore the influence of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region after years of preoccupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. He announced that 2,500 Marines would be stationed in Australia; opened the door to restored ties with Myanmar, a Chinese ally; and gained support for a regional free-trade bloc that so far omits Beijing.

The announcements appeared to startle Chinese leaders, who issued a series of warnings that claimed the United States was seeking to destabilize the region.

Xinhua, meanwhile, has published an opinion piece arguing that the Philippines, one country with whom China is embroiled in a territorial dispute over portions of the South China Sea, is not important enough for the U.S. to risk its relationship with China over:

As to some of the foul-mouthed Philippine officials, their performance has thus far been taken as an echo posture to Washington’s “Return to Asia” strategy.

But people cannot help but wonder how much the South China Sea issue virtually means to the U.S., and what is the true significance of the Philippines’ high-pitched claims over the sea.

First, it is an unwise move if it insists on playing a meddling hand in the South China Sea disputes. Some analysts take it risky that Washington would stake its prestige on a remote and strategically third-rate ally when it provokes a clash with a neighboring far stronger nation, whom the U.S. has been increasingly counting on to recover its dislocated economy, combat terrorism and shared challenges, and deal with a host of global problems.

A couple of months ago, Prof. Lyle Goldstein painted a doleful picture in the Foreign Policy magazine. He said if U.S. leaders heed his advice, they should shed most commitments in Southeast Asia, which he portrays as a region of trivial importance situated adjacent to an increasingly powerful China. He maintained that “Southeast Asia matters not a whit in the global balance of power.”

For more on the U.S. role in the South China Sea dispute, see previous CDT posts including, “What to Make of US Military Presence in the Asia Pacific” and “Tensions Rising on the South China Sea.”

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The U.S. hasn’t specifically said it wants the South China Sea on the formal agenda of the East Asia Summit: Diplomats say it has been anxious not to appear too assertive at the meeting as U.S. President Barack Obama is attending for the first time.

But Washington has been encouraging its allies, partners and other countries in the region to play a greater role in standing up to China’s more forceful diplomacy and protecting freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, diplomats and regional experts say.

Administration officials have asserted in the days leading up to the summit that the U.S. will seek to play to play a bigger role in countering China’s claims in the South China Sea.

Hillary Clinton reiterated the issue’s importance during a stop today to reaffirm ties with Philippines, where rocky relations have recently emerged with China and where the government today urged its Southeast Asian neighbors to stand strong in their pursuit of a diplomatic solution to the dispute. From Reuters:

“ASEAN is now at a critical junction of playing a positive and meaningful role to contribute in the peaceful resolution of the disputes in the South China Sea,” said Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario.

Manila wants ASEAN to be able to help resolve sensitive issues without letting them affect bilateral or multilateral relations, he said.

Smaller Southeast Asian claimants view a U.S. presence and a multilateral approach to negotiations as strengthening their stance against China’s all-encompassing claim on the sea.

Today’s BBC News China Morning Roundup points out a report in the Chinese language edition of the Global Times, in reaction to del Rosario’s comments, which accuses the Philippines of “grabbing resources from Chinese water.” See also recent CDT coverage of rising tensions on the South China Sea.

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From the territorial disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea to tensions with Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand, relationships that were sound, if not always friendly, have now soured.Myanmar’s decision to shelve the Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam project shocked China. Likewise, the killing of 13 Chinese boat crewmen on the Mekong River in October serves as a stark reminder that China’s presumably peaceful southern land border, which has been untroubled for nearly 20 years, today resembles the most hostile sort of neighborhood.

China’s people and government are especially dismayed by the Mekong killings, which seemed to demonstrate, once again, the government’s inability to protect its citizens from being murdered abroad, despite the country’s newfound global status. As a result, two compelling questions have arisen: Why do China’s neighbours choose to neglect its interests? And why, despite China’s rise, do its authorities seem increasingly unable to secure Chinese lives and commercial interests abroad?

…

Indeed, China’s neighbours will not be reliably good to Chinese interests unless and until China begins to provide essential public goods – not just commerce, but also full-fledged regional governance based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, and regional economic growth. Otherwise, ruptures such as those at Myitsone and along the Mekong will recur, deepening China’s sense of isolation and panic.

China reached an agreement earlier this week with Laos, Myanmar and Thailand to send patrol ships to protect its interests on the Mekong River, though questions remain over the exact nature of the initiative and how its Southeast Asian partners will contribute. See also CDT coverage of the Myitsone dam project and recent analysis of rising tensions on the South China Sea.

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Post tags: Burma, economic growth, Human Rights, Laos, Myanmar, neighbors, philippines, rule of law, Southeast Asia, thailand, Vietnam
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Post tags: Chinese media, Global Times, oil exploration, people's daily, philippines, South China Sea, u.s.-china relations, United States, Vietnam
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Recently, both the Philippines and South Korean authorities have detained fishing boats from China, and some of those boats haven’t been returned. China has been increasingly confronted with sea disputes and challenged by tough stances from the countries involved. These events have been promoting hawkish responses within China, asking the government to take action ….

Currently, China’s mainstream understanding is that it should first go through the general channels of negotiating with other countries to solve sea disputes. But if a situation turns ugly, some military action is necessary.

This public sentiment will influence China’s future foreign policy. Countries currently in sea disputes with China may have failed to spot this tendency, as they still perceive China through conventional wisdom. Thus, the South China Sea, as well as other sensitive sea areas, will have a higher risk of serious clashes.

If these countries don’t want to change their ways with China, they will need to prepare for the sounds of cannons. We need to be ready for that, as it may be the only way for the disputes in the sea to be resolved.

The hawkish tone echoes that of a recent op-ed by a think tank analyst who advocated “tiny-scale battles” against the southern “minnows” if polite warnings failed:

The Afghanistan and Iraq Wars have already set some bad examples for us in terms of the scale of potential battles, but the minnows will get a reality check by the art of our move ….

Russia’s decisive move on Caspian Sea issues in 2008 proved that actions from bigger countries might cause a shockwave for a little while but will provide its region with long-term peace.

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Post tags: Afghanistan, Global Times, iraq, philippines, Russia, South China Sea, south korea, war
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“China has presented its stance to the Philippines. We demand that the Philippines return the small Chinese boats unconditionally and as soon as possible, and properly handle related issues,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a daily press briefing.

On Tuesday, a Philippine military vessel entered the sea area neighboring the Liyue Tan, also known as the Reed Bank, of the Nansha archipelago in the South China Sea and tried to approach a Chinese fishing vessel towing 25 smaller, unoccupied boats, Jiang said.

The propeller of the Philippine vessel got tangled with the rope, disconnecting the Chinese fishing vessel from the 25 smaller boats.

“The Chinese fishermen and the fishing vessel are currently safe,” Jiang said.

She said China has undisputed sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and neighboring sea.

The Filipino Department of Foreign Affairs had said that an apology to the Chinese was unnecessary. From the Philippine Star:

In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was firm that no apology was necessary for the recent collision of Philippine Navy and Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

“No apologies were necessary and none was given,” DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said yesterday, amid comments from various sources that China does not deserve an apology because the Chinese boats were in Philippine waters.

The statement from the DFA came as Defense department spokesman lawyer Zosimo Paredes clarified that contrary to earlier reports, no formal apology has been forwarded to China in relation to the collision involving a patrolling Navy gunboat and a Chinese fishing vessel on Tuesday.

“No formal apology given, just a diplomatic tact,” Paredes said.

However, the Philippine Navy has issued its own apology to the Chinese Embassy. From GMA News:

Paredes [a spokesperson] said Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexandar Pama immediately ordered the Navy to send an apology to the Chinese Embassy after learning about the incident.

“I think there was already an apology to the Chinese Embassy here in Manila. It’s in the form of incident information to the Chinese Embassy here. At the same time, we are saying that the damage is not intentional. The minor incident was unfortunate, that was a result of unforeseen circumstances,” Paredes said.

“There was no intent to ram them whatsoever, we are just doing a rightful job. They (Chinese fishermen) are within our territory so they have to be accosted of course,” he added.

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The tension of war is escalating second by second but the initiative is not in our hand. China should take part in the exploitation of oil and gas in South China Sea.

For those who infringe upon our sovereignty to steal the oil, we need to warn them politely, and then take action if they don’t respond.

We shouldn’t waste the opportunity to launch some tiny-scale battles that could deter provocateurs from going further ….

The Afghanistan and Iraq Wars have already set some bad examples for us in terms of the scale of potential battles, but the minnows will get a reality check by the art of our move ….

Russia’s decisive move on Caspian Sea issues in 2008 proved that actions from bigger countries might cause a shockwave for a little while but will provide its region with long-term peace.

The author is an analyst at the China Energy Fund Committee, “a nonprofit, non-governmental think tank devoted to public diplomacy and researches on strategic issues with emphasis on energy and culture.”

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Post tags: Afghanistan, Global Times, iraq, philippines, Russia, South China Sea, Vietnam, war
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