China Says Wants South China Sea Solution But Manila Sees Worrying Signs

[News_Editor]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, right, shakes hands with Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario during the Asean-China foreign ministers meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Adrian Bradshaw)

BEIJING — China is serious about wanting a peaceful resolution to the bitter dispute over the South China Sea, Premier Li Keqiang told Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday, but he signaled it was in no rush to sign a long-mooted accord.

After years of resisting efforts by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to start talks on an agreement on maritime rules governing behavior in the region, the so-called Code of Conduct, China has said it would host talks between senior officials this month.

Friction over the South China Sea, one of the world’s most important waterways, has surged as China uses its growing naval might to assert its vast claims over the oil- and gas-rich sea more forcefully, raising fears of a military clash.

Four Asean nations, including Vietnam and the Philippines, have overlapping claims with China. Taiwan also claims parts of the sea and its numerous islets.

China and the Philippines accuse each other of violating the Declaration of Conduct (DoC), a non-binding confidence-building agreement on maritime conduct signed by China and Asean in 2002.

Separately to Li’s comments, Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin accused China of violating the informal DoC by building new structures in the Scarborough Shoal, part of the area disputed by Beijing and Manila.

“We have … sighted concrete blocks inside the shoal which are a prelude to construction,†Gazmin told a congressional budget hearing in Manila, displaying air surveillance photos of the group of rocks in the South China Sea.

He said the photos were taken on Saturday, describing them as a worrying pattern of construction that would be similar to the building of a garrison on Mischief Reef in the late 1990s.

Li, speaking at the opening of a China-Asean trade fair in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, said China had always advocated talks on the dispute on the basis of “respecting historical reality and international law.â€

“The Chinese government is willing and ready to assume a policy of seeking an appropriate resolution through friendly consultations,†Li told the audience, which included Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

China would “proceed systematically and soundly push forward talks on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea,†Li said without elaborating in comments aired live on state television.

He also repeated that talks on the dispute should only be carried out between the parties directly concerned, Beijing’s standard line which rejects the involvement of outside parties such as the United States or multilateral forums.

Washington has not taken sides, but Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated in Brunei in July the US strategic interest in freedom of navigation through the busy sea and its desire to see a Code of Conduct signed quickly.

Differences such as those between China and the Philippines could be another obstacle to agreeing on a more comprehensive pact because China has stressed that countries must first show good faith by abiding by the DoC.

Critics say China is intent on cementing its claims over the sea through its superior and growing naval might, and has little interest in rushing to agree to a code of conduct.

Divisions among Asean over the maritime dispute burst into the open a year ago when a summit chaired by Chinese ally Cambodia failed to issue a closing communique for the first time in the group’s 45-year history.

Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in Manila.

Source: Irrawaddy.org

[Publicus]

Beijing astoundingly claims territorial sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea despite the fact 130,000 km of the Sea have shoreline on Asean nations and only 3100 km are CCP-PRC shoreline.

The Philippine government last year took Beijing to the UN for a determination over Beijing's claims to Manila's sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoals which are within the 200 mile Economic Exclusion Zone of the Philippines under the provisions of the UN Convention on the International Law of the Sea. The case is still being heard by a UN panel of judges.

Beijing signed the UN ICLOS but, characteristically, attached a written caveat stating that Beijing doesn't have to abide by or respect any findings of the UN concerning the International Law of the Sea. How convenient. Beijing hasn't any interest in being a part of an international order based on rules and laws. Beijing considers that its national pronouncements are international law.

Conflict with China

The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) was formed with the Philippines as one of the organizing nations with the threat from China’s claim of the Scarborough Shoal as the main motivating factor.

Note that China’s claim is smack into the 10-nation Asean’s heart. Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including the seas “approaching the coasts of neighboring countries,” and has been resisting moves that it feels might weaken its position in and political claim of the area.

And so China is said to have refused “to upgrade a 2002 'declaration of conduct’ into a legally binding code, instead preferring to negotiate individually with each country.” Perhaps, China believes in the saying “united we stand, divided we fall.”

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/09/17/roperos-conflict-china-303848

China vs US: military conflict in the South China Sea

This article will examine how the South China Sea dispute between China and some of its immediate neighbours can help shed some light on both US-China conflicting maritime and security interests and the dynamics of the Asia-Pacific region.

A brief recap of the US’s and China’s major interest include in the case of the US, an interest in freedom of navigation for civil and military vessels as well as obligations with regards to existing alliances and partnerships in the region since adherence to them relates to their state credibility in the future.

In the case of China there is an expectation that their growth and development in the economic sphere should be supported and safe guarded by a capability to project force, particular in terms of resource supply and maritime trade, which translate into a stronger naval presence. The South China Sea is central to cementing naval strength and move the first line of defense beyond the coast of mainland China.

In relation to US-China relations, the discussion of the South China Sea territorial dispute between China and the other claimant states; the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, is primarily a question of state security. Certainly the abundant oil, gas and fish stock in the area add to the complexity of the issue, but this is first and foremost a discussion of the US and China’s interests

http://theworldoutline.com/2013/09/south-china-sea-dispute-new-battleground-us-china-interests/

Edited September 19, 2013 by Publicus

[Publicus]

U.S. gives tacit backing to Philippines in China sea dispute

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gave tacit backing to the Philippines' stance in a tense maritime dispute with China on Thursday, saying that all countries had a right to seek arbitration to resolve competing territorial claims.

The Philippines, a U.S. ally, has angered China by launching an arbitration case with the United Nations to challenge the legal validity of Beijing's sweeping claims over the resource-rich South China Sea.

Frustrated by the slow pace of regional diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute, the Philippines has hired a crack international legal team to fight its unprecedented arbitration case under the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea - ignoring growing pressure from Beijing to scrap the action.

http://kdal610.com/news/articles/2013/oct/10/us-gives-tacit-backing-to-philippines-in-china-sea-dispute/

I would add that the current reports of analysts of the international law of the sea are that, as the case presently stands before the UN Tribunal examining the Philippines' case, they would rather be sitting in Manila's seat than in Beijing's seat.

Which really comes as no surprise given that Beijing's claims of absolute territorial sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea is clearly unsustainable and unjustifiable under the UN Convention on the International Law of the Sea. Which is what makes Beijing so angry towards the Phils' president and US ally, Benigno Aquino who ordered his government to file the case at the UN.

As SECSTATE John Kerry notes in the article above, international legal processes and laws must apply, rather than the arbitrary and aggressive assertions of one government that makes so far a stretch as to reach several hundreds of kilometers into the seas to claim sovereign territorial rights. Bejing's claims and assertions against the Philippines and other Asean nations are simply outrageous, impudent towards international law..

Of course, being the international bully the Beijing CCP are, they already have made clear they will not fully participate in the case nor will Beijing recognize the ruling of the UN Tribunal, which is expected to come much sooner than the three or four years that had been initially anticipated.

Beijing did sign the UN Convention on the International Law of the Sea, but attached a written caveat that it doesn't have to observe any rulings or provisions of the Convention it doesn't agree with. The fact and reality are that Beijing makes itself the international outlaw of the seas. The CCP in Beijing is the grabber of other countries' legal sovereign territorial rights to the seas immediately off their shores.

Besides, Beijing has only 3100 km of SCS coastline while Asean countries have 131,000 km of the sea on their coastlines. There in fact is a petition afoot to change the name of the sea to the South East Asia Sea. Sounds good to a lot of people of the region and the world, to include yours truly.

[Publicus]

Neither the Philippines nor Asean stand alone against the belligerent aggressions of the CCP-PRC in the South China Sea.

This is not the first time India has spoken up or clearly taken sides with the Phils in particular but Asean in general in the SCS disputes created by the illegal expansionist designs of the CCP in Beijing.

India Rebukes Beijing on South China Sea

India has periodically inserted itself into the South China Sea dispute in the past on the side of ASEAN countries, much to China's displeasure.

India has also dismissed Chinese criticism of its willingness to engage in joint oil and gas explorations with Vietnam in waters that China also claims.

Notably, after Chinese fishing vessels sought to disrupt India’s joint oil and gas exploration with Vietnam in disputed parts of the South China Sea last year, Indian Navy Chief Admiral D.K Joshi said that Delhi was prepared to send naval ships into the South China Sea to protect the country’s interests.

http://thediplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2013/10/12/india-rebukes-beijing-on-south-china-sea/

[SinglePot]

+3

"Li Keqiang also repeated that talks on the dispute should only be carried out between the parties directly concerned, Beijing's standard line which rejects the involvement of outside parties such as the United States or multilateral forums."

China is in no hurry to agree a code of conduct.

I wonder why?

China is not to be trusted. They want what they want. No compromise.

[boomerangutang]

+3

"Li Keqiang also repeated that talks on the dispute should only be carried out between the parties directly concerned, Beijing's standard line which rejects the involvement of outside parties such as the United States or multilateral forums."

China is in no hurry to agree a code of conduct.

I wonder why?

China is not to be trusted. They want what they want. No compromise.

Chinese heavies know they have a better chance of manipulating country heads if they deal with each individually. Similar to how it gets small countries to side with it (to reject Taiwan sovereignty), China can employ carrot and stick diplomacy to bring annoying countries in line. No way would they embrace accepted norms of Int'l maritime law, unless it was somehow advantageous to China's land/resource grab.

[SinglePot]

Yes. Divide and conquer.

[Publicus]

Things are not sweetness and nice between India and the CCP in Beijing over the CCP's outrageous claims to almost all of the South China Sea, to include Philippines' territorial waters.

Of great importance to the Philippines, India, which had quietly sided with Manila against Beijing's aggressions, is now increasingly stating its open support of the Philippines in the Beijing initiated disputes.

While Indian PM Singh was in Beijing last week playing nice with the CCP, his foreign minister was in the Philippines signing joint agreements and issuing statements that run contrary to everything Beijing is doing in the SCS.

The linked article below provides specifics of the numerous SCS and regional agreements Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has just made with the Philippine government while PM Singh was effectively singing lullabies simultaneously in Beijing.

Wait until Beijing realizes Minister Khurshid endorsed the Phils' case against Beijing that is currently before the UN Tribunal on the International Law of the Sea. The CCP is so opposed to the Phillipines' initiated UN involvement that it has tried to punish the Phils by terminating imports of numerous goods normally sent by the Phils. Beijing had already declined to send a representative to the Tribunal to argue the case, and had declined to participate in the selection of judges to comprise the Tribunal.

Philippine Pres Benigno Aquino has parried this petty and cheap CCP tactic to ban certain Phils' imports by instead sending the exports to its treaty ally, the United States, which had successfully encouraged Aquino to seek redress before the UN Tribunal, much to the anger of the CCP, which wants bilateral negotiations only so it can try to pick off Asean nations one by one and no involvement by either the US or India in the disputes..

Next year Indian President Pranab Mukherjee will visit the Philippines to further sign off on a new Philippine-India Comprehensive Partnership which will include increased military ties and purchases by the Phils. The successful visit last week by Indian Minister Khurshid was to get all the ducks in a row for Pres Mukherjee's substantive and significant document signing visit.

Is India Playing a Double Game in the South China Sea?

This week Delhi’s delicate balancing act was put to the test as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to China coincided with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid’s trip to the Philippines.

Perhaps most notably, the joint statement that Khurshid signed onto calls the South China Sea the West Philippines Sea, the name Manila uses to refer to the disputed waters. According to Indian media outlets, this broke with India’s usual policy of referring to the waters as the South China Sea to avoid upsetting Beijing.

Khurshid “clearly stated” India’s support for using the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the basis for resolving any disputes in the South China Sea. To that end, Khurshid also offered support for the Philippines decision to seek international arbitration to settle its dispute with China.

http://thediplomat.com/the-editor/2013/10/25/is-india-playing-a-double-game-in-south-china-sea/