There needs to be a peace process to this region. There are too many countries and populations of people to leave this to chance.
15 December 2015
The US Pacific Fleet Commander (click here) has warned of a possible arms race in the disputed South China Sea which could engulf the region, as it was revealed an Australian military plane had been challenged as it flew through the area.
Commander Admiral Scott Swift urged nations, like China, to seek arbitration to settle maritime disputes as nations become increasingly tempted to use military force to settle territorial spats instead of international law.
"My concern is that after many decades of peace and prosperity, we may be seeing the leading edge of a return of `might makes it right' to the region," Swift said on Monday in a speech in Hawaii, according to a copy seen by Reuters.
"Claimants and non-claimants alike are transferring larger shares of national wealth to develop more capable naval forces beyond what is needed merely for self defence," Swift said.
Asked about Swift's comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "Certain countries are exaggerating tensions in the South China Sea region, which is in reality to create confusion and meddle in the South China Sea. China is resolutely opposed to this."
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $US5 trillion ($A6.90 trillion) of world trade ships every year, a fifth of it heading to and from US ports....
This has been an ongoing problem, but, muscle flexing with Australia was a mistake.
January 13, 2014
by Banyan
To Those who see China as an increasingly assertive, (click here) even expansionist, power, it offers yet more proof of its determination to establish authority even over fiercely disputed land and water. On January 1st new fishing regulations from the government of Hainan, China’s southernmost province, came into effect. They require all vessels planning to fish in waters in the South China Sea that are under Hainan’s jurisdiction first to secure the approval of the relevant Chinese authorities. Since China’s claims in the South China Sea are contentious, the rules seem very likely to provoke. That is probably not in fact China’s intention, but its neighbours do have cause to worry.
The Philippines and Vietnam, the littoral countries with the most active territorial disputes with China, were quick to condemn the regulations. America called the rules “provocative and potentially dangerous”. Japan’s defence minister, Itsunori Onodera, made explicit the link many had seen with China’s unexpected announcement in November of an Air-Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over parts of the East China Sea, including the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands administered by Japan. He expressed concern that China was “unilaterally threatening the existing international order”....
The countries challenging China for elbow room in the South China Sea do not have the resources to fight any kind of war. The countries along the South China Sea have concentrated their national efforts in building an economy and reputation. That was the very correct concern of these countries. All they ask is peace and access to continue to carry out their economic strategies. China does not have a military worry to it's sovereign rights along it's shoreline. There is no reason for China to make life difficult in the South China Sea. A peace pact has to be drawn up to provide for the well being of all the diversity of people in this region of the world.
China has been a heroic peace partner in this region of the Pacific Ocean. There is no reason to believe any country is challenging its sovereign presence in the Pacific, but, there are limits to sovereign borders of China. Just because no one wants war or in this case can afford war, it is not permission for China to take on expansionist strategies to it's national security.
China has achieved incredible milestones in the past two decades and is respected as a country with advanced technology, including space exploration. China is esteemed globally and to diminish it's presence by wrongful treatment of it's neighbors is a mistake. China needs to rethink it's plans for it's military presence. I think the region is so very diverse it lends itself to misunderstandings and enforcement of any country's sovereignty. This confrontation with Australia is serious, but, it is also a clear indication these countries need to be talking and setting goals for shared spaces in the Pacific.
President Obama has been very successful in building a benevolent relationship with China, there is more work to be done.
15 December 2015The US Pacific Fleet Commander (click here) has warned of a possible arms race in the disputed South China Sea which could engulf the region, as it was revealed an Australian military plane had been challenged as it flew through the area.
Commander Admiral Scott Swift urged nations, like China, to seek arbitration to settle maritime disputes as nations become increasingly tempted to use military force to settle territorial spats instead of international law.
"My concern is that after many decades of peace and prosperity, we may be seeing the leading edge of a return of `might makes it right' to the region," Swift said on Monday in a speech in Hawaii, according to a copy seen by Reuters.
"Claimants and non-claimants alike are transferring larger shares of national wealth to develop more capable naval forces beyond what is needed merely for self defence," Swift said.
Asked about Swift's comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "Certain countries are exaggerating tensions in the South China Sea region, which is in reality to create confusion and meddle in the South China Sea. China is resolutely opposed to this."
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $US5 trillion ($A6.90 trillion) of world trade ships every year, a fifth of it heading to and from US ports....
This has been an ongoing problem, but, muscle flexing with Australia was a mistake.
January 13, 2014
by Banyan
To Those who see China as an increasingly assertive, (click here) even expansionist, power, it offers yet more proof of its determination to establish authority even over fiercely disputed land and water. On January 1st new fishing regulations from the government of Hainan, China’s southernmost province, came into effect. They require all vessels planning to fish in waters in the South China Sea that are under Hainan’s jurisdiction first to secure the approval of the relevant Chinese authorities. Since China’s claims in the South China Sea are contentious, the rules seem very likely to provoke. That is probably not in fact China’s intention, but its neighbours do have cause to worry.
The Philippines and Vietnam, the littoral countries with the most active territorial disputes with China, were quick to condemn the regulations. America called the rules “provocative and potentially dangerous”. Japan’s defence minister, Itsunori Onodera, made explicit the link many had seen with China’s unexpected announcement in November of an Air-Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over parts of the East China Sea, including the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands administered by Japan. He expressed concern that China was “unilaterally threatening the existing international order”....
The countries challenging China for elbow room in the South China Sea do not have the resources to fight any kind of war. The countries along the South China Sea have concentrated their national efforts in building an economy and reputation. That was the very correct concern of these countries. All they ask is peace and access to continue to carry out their economic strategies. China does not have a military worry to it's sovereign rights along it's shoreline. There is no reason for China to make life difficult in the South China Sea. A peace pact has to be drawn up to provide for the well being of all the diversity of people in this region of the world.
China has been a heroic peace partner in this region of the Pacific Ocean. There is no reason to believe any country is challenging its sovereign presence in the Pacific, but, there are limits to sovereign borders of China. Just because no one wants war or in this case can afford war, it is not permission for China to take on expansionist strategies to it's national security.
China has achieved incredible milestones in the past two decades and is respected as a country with advanced technology, including space exploration. China is esteemed globally and to diminish it's presence by wrongful treatment of it's neighbors is a mistake. China needs to rethink it's plans for it's military presence. I think the region is so very diverse it lends itself to misunderstandings and enforcement of any country's sovereignty. This confrontation with Australia is serious, but, it is also a clear indication these countries need to be talking and setting goals for shared spaces in the Pacific.
President Obama has been very successful in building a benevolent relationship with China, there is more work to be done.
