A Change of Guard

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Saturday 16 May 2015

China and US at odds over disputed waters



FM Wang says Beijing "unshakable" in its defence of sovereignty as US mulls sending warships to South China Sea region.


During Kerry's visit to Beijing, FM Wang stressed the determination of China to safeguard its sovereignty [Reuters]

China's foreign minister has told US Secretary of State John Kerry that Beijing is "unshakable" in its defence of sovereignty, as tensions between the two nations mount over disputed waters in the South China Sea.

The US is weighing sending warships and surveillance aircraft within 12 nautical miles - the normal territorial zone around natural land - of artificial islands that Beijing is building waters in question.

Such a move could lead to a standoff on the high seas in an area home to vital global shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.

After talks in the Chinese capital, Foreign Minister Wang said: "The determination of the Chinese side to safeguard our own sovereignty and territorial integrity is as firm as a rock and it is unshakeable."
"It is the request of our people on our government as well as a legitimate right of ours," he added sternly at their joint press conference.  

Kerry was less assertive in public, saying that Washington was "concerned about the pace and scope of China’s land reclamation" and urged it "to take actions that will join with everyone to reduce tensions".
The region needed "smart diplomacy", he said, rather than "outposts and military strips".

China claims


China claims about 90 percent of the 3.5 million-square kilometre South China Sea. The Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam also claim large parts of the sea.

China's rapid reclamation effort around seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has alarmed other claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

At the same time, China has expressed its concern about a possible US plan to send military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The world's top two economies have significant commercial ties and Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to pay a state visit to the US in September.

The US is China's second-biggest trading partner after the European Union, with two-way commerce worth $555bn last year, according to Chinese figures.

Beijing is the heavily indebted US government's biggest foreign creditor, figures from Washington showed Friday, reclaiming top spot from Japan with more than $1.26 trillion in Treasury bonds.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The South China Sea Islands consist of over 250 islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars in the South China Sea, none of which have indigenous people, few of which have any natural water supply, many of which are naturally under water at high tide, and many of which are permanently submerged. The features are grouped into three archipelagos, plus the Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal. Collectively they have a total land surface area of less than 15 km2 at low tide:

The Spratly Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Vietnam, with Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines claiming parts of the archipelago[1]
The Paracel Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Vietnam, occupied by the PRC[2]
The Pratas Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, occupied by the ROC
The Macclesfield Bank, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam, with no land above sea-level[3][4]
The Scarborough Shoal, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, and the Republic of China, with only rocks above sea-level.
There are minerals, natural gas, and oil deposits on the islands and under their nearby seafloor, also an abundance of sealife, such as fish, animals and vegetation, traditionally exploited as food by all the claimant nations for thousands of years—mostly without disputes that could risk war. In the 20th century, since the WW2 settlements failed to resolve ownership of such lesser areas of land, seas and islands—and because of the economic, military, and transportational importance—their control, especially that of the Spratlys, has been in dispute between China and several Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, from the mid-20th century onwards. True occupation and control are shared between the claimants. (See Claims and control below)
Help the environment, whom able.