South China Sea

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Richard Javad Heydarian
July 14, 2017

The Philippine leader's decision to set aside last July's international arbitration win over Beijing's extensive claims in the South China Sea has allowed China to consolidate major strategic gains

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (C) standing in front of Philippine (R) and Chinese national flags during a tour of the Chinese guided missile frigate Changchun berthed at the Davao international port on May 1, 2017.
Photo: AFP / PPD/ Simeon CeliConstruction at Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands in a June 16, 2017 satellite image released by AMTI to Reuters on June 29, 2017.South China Sea and disputed islands
Photo: Reuters/StringerPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) is shown the way by his Chinese President Xi Jinping at a signing ceremony in Beijing on October 20, 2016.
Photo: AFP/Ng Han GuanPhilippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana at the military headquarters of Camp Aquinaldo in Quezon city, metro Manila, on February 9, 2017.
Photo: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

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Indonesia Crosses the Nine-Dash Line
Philip Bowring
September 20, 2017


Indonesia blows up Chinese fishing boat


Sovereignty and the Sea: konfrontasi

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'Bigoted' Australia faces trade war over South China Sea, paper warns
Mark Saunokonoko
5 hrs ago

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A Chinese newspaper has belittled Australia as an insignificant world power because of Canberra's "meddling" in the South China Sea dispute.


Beijing's recent building of islands in the South China Sea and its declaration of an air defence zone in waters of the East China Sea has unsettled the US and alarmed regional neighbours such as Japan.

Now Australia's diplomatic role in South China Sea affairs has been criticised as "bigoted" and too closely aligned with the US, according to an incendiary op-ed published in the Global Times.

The English-language Global Times is a nationalist, pro-military propaganda news outlet, targeting a Western, particularly Australian, audience.

"Provocations in the South China Sea may prompt China to adopt strong countermeasures which will seriously impact Australian economic development," wrote author Zhang Ye.

"Excessive involvement in the South China Sea has increased Canberra's strategic burden, widened the gap between its limited prowess and its goal to become a middle power. Australia has held this goal for a long time and wants to have its position in international affairs.

"However, due to its small population and limited strength, Canberra hasn't stood out in global geopolitics."

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull


But an expert on Sino-Australian relations told Nine.com.au the sabre rattling was likely another shot across the bows of Canberra following accusations of Chinese interference in domestic politics.

Last month Labor senator Sam Dastyari quit federal parliament following intense scrutiny of his dealings with a Chinese businessman and political donor.

The Turnbull government would "not be overly concerned" by the article's tone or its threat of economic sanctions, said Carl Thayer, emeritus professor specialising in Southeast Asia at UNSW.

"But what Australia should be worried about is that since Canberra has taken a more assertive line dealing with China's interference internally China has stepped up the rhetoric officially and across the board, pushing back and denying that," Prof Thayer said.

Australia may yet find itself the target of pressure from China as a result of US President Donald Trump's National Security Strategy (NSS), which was announced last month.

The NSS showed the Indo-Pacific region has suddenly been elevated to the very top of the US strategic agenda, breaking with past administrations' focus on the Middle East.

China and Russia were singled out in the NSS as threats that have emerged to challenge American power, influence, and interests.

Prof Thayer said President Trump's NSS was "especially assertive", and that Australia may face diplomatic challenges with China depending on US action in the region.

The emergence of the Quad group, comprised of Australia, the US, Japan and India, is viewed in China as a kind of Cold War-style containment block covering the Indo-Pacific region, Prof Thayer said.

"As Australia is the smaller of all those four powers China could try and apply pressure on it to prevent that coalition from forming, or to show other countries that there are penalties to be paid," Prof Thayer said.

Washington has made clear its displeasure with China's trade imbalance and claims of cyber warfare and alleged intellectual property theft.

The NSS outlined the importance of the US tackling China over North Korea, maritime disputes in the region, and bilateral trade.

Beijing has slowly been consolidating its military presence on seven artificial islands in the South China Sea, bringing in defence systems and increasing radar capabilities.

But Prof Thayer said North Korea was the number one issue "sucking all the oxygen out of everything else".

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said today that the US should be aware his country's nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat.

"The US should know that the button for nuclear weapons is on my table," he said during the speech, as translated by The Associated Press.

"The entire area of the US mainland is within our nuclear strike range ... The United States can never start a war against me and our country," Kim said.

msn.com

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The Danger to the South China Sea Fisherybrief A Malaysian navy pier on Layang Layang Atoll in the disputed Spratly Islands of the South China Sea.
Photo courtesy of Greg Asner / Divephoto.org.

the DiplomatreportMap shows South China Sea, including occupied islands by country. (Unoccupied islands not shown.)
Map courtesy of CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.called the rulingflouted UNCLOS injunctions to cooperate with neighbors in protecting fragile ecosystems and managing fisheriesA Vietnamese fishing boat on the South China Sea.
Photo by Jean-Pierre Bluteau via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).


Meetings sponsored this summer by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., brought more than two dozen participantsthe latter on the carcasses of seven reefs it destroyed for the purposeThe South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia, told Mongabay.


A green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea.
Photo courtesy of Greg Asner / Divephoto.org.arguesreportedly accounted for 18 percentpolicy papersA manta ray in the South China Sea.
Photo courtesy of Greg Asner / Divephoto.org.

analysis of the planDavid Brown ([email protected]), a retired American diplomat, is a regular contributor to Asia Sentinel. He wrote this https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/ex...-may-collapse/ for Mongabay, a premier rainforest information site and a well-known source of environmental news reporting and analysis

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