Beijing: Island building in South China Sea ‘almost complete’

By Katie Hunt and Vivian Kam, CNN

Updated 12:09 AM ET, Wed June 17, 2015

Hong Kong (CNN)China’s foreign ministry says it will soon complete controversial land reclamation on some islands and reefs in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

However, the ministry also said in a statement released Tuesday that it planned to build facilities on the artificial islands it has created and these would perform several tasks — including military defense. Tiếp tục đọc “Beijing: Island building in South China Sea ‘almost complete’”

China gives more details on South China Sea facilities

BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese government on Wednesday rolled out more details of the building work it is undertaking in the disputed South China Sea, listing lighthouses, communications stations and other facilities for civilian and emergency use.

Tiếp tục đọc “China gives more details on South China Sea facilities”

Massive island-building and international law

June 15, 2015

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”

Biển Đông dậy sóng tại Hội nghị Liên Hiệp Quốc

TNTại Liên Hiệp Quốc, đại diện Việt Nam và Philippines đều lên tiếng cảnh báo về hậu quả từ những hoạt động bồi đắp quy mô lớn phi pháp ở Biển Đông.
Trung Quốc xây đại công trình phi pháp ở đá Gạc Ma thuộc Trường Sa - Ảnh: Mai Thanh Hải
Trung Quốc xây đại công trình phi pháp ở đá Gạc Ma thuộc Trường Sa – Ảnh: Mai Thanh Hải

Từ ngày 8 – 12.6 (giờ địa phương) tại trụ sở của Liên Hiệp Quốc ở thành phố New York, Mỹ diễn ra Hội nghị lần thứ 25 các quốc gia thành viên Công ước Liên Hiệp Quốc về luật Biển (UNCLOS) với sự tham dự của 136/167 quốc gia thành viên cùng các nước quan sát viên và nhiều tổ chức quốc tế.

Tiếp tục đọc “Biển Đông dậy sóng tại Hội nghị Liên Hiệp Quốc”

Australia Has a Larger Role to Play in the South China Sea

by  • 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”

China Unlikely to Halt Island Construction in Disputed Sea

War, blocked shipping lanes among scenarios for South China Sea, State report says

The alleged on-going reclamation of Subi Reef by China is seen from Pag-asa Island in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, western Palawan Province, Philippines / AP

The alleged on-going reclamation of Subi Reef by China is seen from Pag-asa Island in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, western Palawan Province, Philippines / AP

BY:
June 9, 2015 5:00 am

Freebeacon – China will continue building islands in the disputed waters of the South China Sea but a major conflict in the region over the dispute is unlikely, according to a State Department security report.

“Beijing will continue to develop contested territories in the South China Sea,” says the internal report by the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC). “Unlike fishing boats or patrol vessels, infrastructure investments, such as land reclamation and the construction of runways and lighthouses, signal a more permanent presence.” Tiếp tục đọc “China Unlikely to Halt Island Construction in Disputed Sea”

G7 says concerned about tensions in the East and South China Seas

KRUEN, Germany (Reuters) – The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations said on Monday they were concerned about tensions in the East and South China Seas and called for countries to abide by international law.

Tiếp tục đọc “G7 says concerned about tensions in the East and South China Seas”

Top Chinese officer pays visit to US: Pentagon

US army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno (L) meets with Fan Changlong, Deputy Chaiman of the Central Military Commission at Bayi Building in Beijing on February 21, 2014
US army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno (L) meets with Fan Changlong, Deputy Chaiman of the Central Military Commission at Bayi Building in Beijing on February 21, 2014 (AFP Photo/Lintao Zhang)

 

Washington (AFP) – A top Chinese military officer began a six-day visit to the United States on Monday amid rising tensions over Beijing’s assertive stance in the South China Sea.

General Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, started his tour in San Diego with a stop at the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and will hold talks on Thursday at the Pentagon with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, officials said. Tiếp tục đọc “Top Chinese officer pays visit to US: Pentagon”

Chinese generals come to the Pentagon

Foreign Policy Situation Report
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
By Paul McLeary with Ariel Robinson

He’s kind of a big deal. One of China’s top military officials, Gen. Fan Changlong, arrived in the United States on Monday for a weeklong trip that will culminate in the full red carpet treatment at the Pentagon.

But while Fan’s public welcome from Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday may be warm, U.S. officials say that behind closed doors, the gloves are going to come off. Carter plans to again deliver the message that Washington doesn’t like the land reclamation efforts that China is undertaking in the South China Sea. Tiếp tục đọc “Chinese generals come to the Pentagon”

Trung Quốc bành trướng trên Biển Đông, ngư dân Philippines đành treo lưới

08/06/2015 09:50

(TNO) Trung Quốc chiếm bãi cạn Scarborough và tăng cường hoạt động xây dựng đảo nhân tạo trái phép trên Biển Đông đã cản trở hoạt động của ngư dân Philippines. Nhiều người đành phải neo tàu, gác lưới tìm công việc khác.

Trung Quốc bành trướng trên Biển Đông, ngư dân Philippines đành treo lưới - ảnh 1

Ngư dân Philippines đi về tay không sau khi đến gần khu vực bãi cạn Scarborough
và bị Trung Quốc dùng vòi rồng và súng xua đuổi – Ảnh: Reuters
Trong nhiều năm qua, Biển Đông là nơi chia sẻ ngư trường của các ngư dân trong khu vực. Tàu cá các nước qua lại tấp nập, ngư dân dừng tàu chia sẻ với nhau những điếu thuốc hay khoai tây hoặc tán gẫu, theo bài viết trên tờ The Washington Post (Mỹ) ngày 6.6.

Tiếp tục đọc “Trung Quốc bành trướng trên Biển Đông, ngư dân Philippines đành treo lưới”

G7 phản đối Trung Quốc cải tạo ồ ạt các đảo trên Biển Đông

(LĐO) V.N – 7:49 PM, 08/06/2015

Lãnh đạo các nước công nghiệp G7 đã bày tỏ sự phản đối mạnh mẽ với việc Trung Quốc cải tạo ồ ạt các đảo nhằm thay đổi hiện trạng ở Biển Đông – Kyodo ngày 8.6 dẫn lời một quan chức Nhật cho biết.

Theo Phó chánh văn phòng Nội các Nhật Hiroshige Seko, tại hội nghị, Thủ tướng Nhật Shinzo Abe đã nhắc tới những hành động của Bắc Kinh ở Biển Đông và Biển Hoa Đông. Ông nói rằng các nhà lãnh đạo G7 “không được để yên cho các nỗ lực đơn phương nhằm thay đổi hiện trạng”. Tiếp tục đọc “G7 phản đối Trung Quốc cải tạo ồ ạt các đảo trên Biển Đông”

In defense of facts in the South China Sea

AMTI – Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s address at this weekend’s Shangri-La Dialogue was generally well received by conference attendees and Asia-security watchers. A few critics have argued that Carter was “just talk.” What none have noted, however, is the fact that the Secretary’s remarks were the latest installation in a series of moves by the administration to articulate a fact-based approach to the South China Sea. This approach is a nuanced one and does not necessarily constitute a “strategy” for countering China’s recent moves. It is, however, a wise way to engage two key audiences to whom Carter was speaking at Shangri-La: other states in the region and China itself. Let me explain.

Tiếp tục đọc “In defense of facts in the South China Sea”

China’s missed opportunity at the Shangri-La Dialogue

US Defense Secretary Gives Keynote Address at Shangri-La Dialogue

 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter delivers his speech about

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter delivers his speech about “The United States and Challenges to Asia-Pacific Security” during the 14th International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue (IISS) Asia Security Summit, May 30, 2015, in Shangri-la

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter delivered the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore Saturday.

Here is the text, as delivered: Tiếp tục đọc “US Defense Secretary Gives Keynote Address at Shangri-La Dialogue”