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Chuyên mục: CSIS
2015 South China Sea Developments: A Five Minute Guide
cogitASIA • July 15, 2015
By Emily Chen
The CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies has prepared a timeline summarizing security developments in the South China Sea during the first half of 2015. The included chronology and infographic covers events through July 15, 2015 and provides a short assessment of present power projection capabilities among the relevant countries. Tiếp tục đọc “2015 South China Sea Developments: A Five Minute Guide”
CSIS: Countering China’s Gradual Creation of a Fait Accompli in the South China Sea
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July 7, 2015 Countering China’s Gradual Creation of a Fait Accompli in the South China Sea: Hiroshi Waguri Increased tensions over China’s maritime sovereignty claims in the Western Pacific pose a challenge for the international system. A confrontation between China and Japan in the East China Sea continues mainly between Japan’s national coast guard ships and China’s government and civilian fishery vessels, but it seems to have reached a kind of moderate stalemate as the two governments have resumed working-level talks aimed at establishing a maritime communication mechanism between Japan and China. While the situation bears watching, U.S. statements reiterating that Article V of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, which obligates the United States to defend Japan, applies to the Senkaku islands, as well as the continuous presence of Japan’s coast guard and Maritime Self-Defense Forces around the islands, must have played a major role in achieving the current relative stability. Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS: Countering China’s Gradual Creation of a Fait Accompli in the South China Sea” |
How should we address nuclear risks in Asia?
CSIS.org – While North Korea would appear to be the most prominent nuclear risk in Asia, the United States faces a more complex web of nuclear challenges as it works to build secure and sustainable relationships in that region. More than ever, a strong U.S. role in nuclear energy and nonproliferation in that region will be crucial for reducing emerging nuclear risks.
Without a doubt, nuclear energy will grow fastest in Asia, given the ambitious construction plans of China and South Korea, and the tremendous energy needs of other emerging economies and exploding populations. This contrasts with Europe and the Americas, which are likely to see little growth or perhaps even decline in nuclear energy. Unlike in the 1970s when U.S. Nuclear exports dominated the global market, the nuclear power plants that will be constructed in Asia are much more likely to be “homegrown”—that is, built by Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean nuclear vendors. In all three cases, there is a tremendous learning curve in nuclear governance, for domestic and export programs.In China, the rapid pace of nuclear power plant construction (16 operating and 29 under construction) is placing strains on a relatively small regulatory system, prompting outside concerns that China needs more resources (financial and human) for nuclear regulation. After the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan, China halted construction for a year although targets for growth have not changed. Tiếp tục đọc “How should we address nuclear risks in Asia?”
CSIS: Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – June 25th, 2015
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Diplomacy changes, construction continues: New images of Mischief and Subi Reefs
amti.csis – On June 16, 2015, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang announced that “as planned, the land reclamation project of China’s construction on some stationed islands and reefs of the Nansha (Spratly) Islands will be completed in the upcoming days.” He went on to note that after land reclamation on existing features was complete, China would continue to construct facilities on its new islands. As of June 17, AMTI assesses that two of China’s land reclamation projects are fully complete, three are nearly complete, and two are ongoing, with active land reclamation still taking place. The map below shows the current status of China’s Spratly building projects.
Tiếp tục đọc “Diplomacy changes, construction continues: New images of Mischief and Subi Reefs”
China’s land reclamation announcement: A change in message, not in policy
June 17, 2015
Q1: What has China announced about its land reclamation activities in the Spratly Islands?
A1: On June 16, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announcedthat “as planned, the land reclamation project of China’s construction on some stationed islands and reefs of the Nansha (Spratly) Islands will be completed in the upcoming days.” He noted that after land reclamation was complete, China would continue to construct facilities on its islands.
Kang indicated that China’s position on its island building remained largely consistent. He reiterated that “the construction activities on the Nansha islands and reefs fall within the scope of China’s sovereignty, and are lawful, reasonable, and justified.” Kang also restated that the artificial islands have defense purposes, as well as civilian purposes, including search and rescue, scientific research, ecological conservation, and fishing. Kang declined to offerspecific details on which islands were close to complete. Tiếp tục đọc “China’s land reclamation announcement: A change in message, not in policy”
Massive island-building and international law
AMTI. CSIS – Within the short span of a year, China’s rapid construction of artificial islands in the disputed Spratlys has radically changed the geographical and security landscapes in the South China Sea.
This island construction has so far created over eight million square metres of real estate in the open sea, outstripping other countries’ reclamation activities by far, and shows no sign of abating. Hundreds of millions of tons of sand and coral have been dredged from the seabed and dumped atop fragile coral reefs that are vital components of the maritime ecology. Marine experts expect that the work has already caused disastrous and essentially irreversible environmental impacts. Tiếp tục đọc “Massive island-building and international law”
Southeast Asia’s Geopolitical Centrality and the U.S.-Japan Alliance
JUN 11, 2015
CSIS – Building on a careful analysis of Southeast Asia’s recent history, politics, economics, and place within the Asia Pacific, this report looks forward two decades to anticipate the development of trends in the region and how they will impact the U.S.-Japan alliance. How will Southeast Asian states come to grips with the political and economic rise of China? How will they modernize their military forces and security relationships, and what role can the United States and Japan play? How will they manage their disputes in the South China Sea, and how will they pursue greater regional integration? These questions will prove critical in understanding Southeast Asia’s role in the Asia Pacific, and in the U.S.-Japan alliance, in the decades ahead.
Publisher CSIS/Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 978-1-4422-4086-5 (pb); 978-1-4422-4087-2 (eBook)
CSIS: Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – June 11
Tackling Southeast Asia’s Migrant Crisis
By Murray Hiebert (@MurrayHiebert1), Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies (@SoutheastAsiaDC), CSIS
June 11, 2015
The beginning of the monsoon rains in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, coupled with the international spotlight on human traffickers in the region, appears to have slowed the flight of Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar in recent weeks. But once the storms run their course, sometime around October, migrant departures could again erupt and create another humanitarian crisis in the region. Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS: Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – June 11”
Retreat or Revivial: A Status Report on Democracy in Asia
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Thursday, June 11, 2015
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Murray Hiebert, CSIS deputy director and senior fellow, Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies, testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on “Retreat or Revivial: A Status Report on Democracy in Asia.”
Civil society activist beaten by plainclothes police officers; prominent blogger released
CSIS
Civil society activist beaten by plainclothes police officers; prominent blogger released. Civil society activist Pham Thanh Nghien was beaten by plainclothes police officers on June 2 in front of her home outside Hanoi. Blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who was traveling to Nghien’s home with two other bloggers for a meeting, said that plainclothes police officers beat Nghien in order to force Quynh and the other bloggers to leave, according to Radio Free Asia. Separately, authorities on May 26 released well-known blogger Truong Duy Nhat, who was sentenced to two years in jail for “abusing democratic freedoms.”
Australia Has a Larger Role to Play in the South China Sea
by Gregory Poling • June 4, 2015
Both the tone and substance of South China Sea discussions in Australian policy circles has undergone an important shift in recent months. What was previously a second-tier security concern to be watched closely and engaged diplomatically, but at a safe distance, has become a heated discussion about concrete responses. Australian policymakers are as concerned as anyone about China’s breakneck land reclamation in the Spratly Islands and the threats, both legal and military, they pose to the global commons. Australian officials and thinkers are seriously considering options to contest Chinese assertiveness, in tandem with the United States and other partners, which would have seemed distant possibilities a year ago. Tiếp tục đọc “Australia Has a Larger Role to Play in the South China Sea”
CSIS – Southeast Asia Sit-Rep June 4, 2015
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Sabah’s Shadow on the South China Sea
• By Jay L. Batongbacal I May 27, 2015
cogitasia – Philippine media went into a minor frenzy with the startling news that Manila purportedly offered Kuala Lumpur a quid pro quo in March: dropping the Philippine claim to North Borneo (Malaysia’s Sabah State) in exchange for Malaysian support for Manila’s arbitration case over the South China Sea. The media reports were quickly denied by the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs, which noted the total absence of any reference to such a deal in the note that set off the firestorm. Recently, President Benigno Aquino III had to reiterate that his administration was not dropping the claim, prompting Malaysia to summon the Philippine Charge d’Affaires. Tiếp tục đọc “Sabah’s Shadow on the South China Sea”
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