Filippine

[Andrea75]

China Stalls Move to Quell Asia Disputes Over Territory

 

China, with its ally Cambodia, on Monday once again stalled plans by Southeast Asian nations to develop a system for resolving disputes in the South China Sea, the strategic and energy-rich waterway where China is at odds with various countries regarding competing territorial claims.

At a private meeting between China’s prime minister, Wen Jiabao, and the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Hun Sen, Cambodia’s leader and the host of the meeting here, read a statement that it was the consensus of the group that the issue of the South China Sea would not be “internationalized.”

But representatives of other countries in the organization disputed the Cambodian statement, which was disclosed by participants and later confirmed by Chinese officials. It was the second time in four months that China appears to have influenced Cambodia, a beneficiary of Chinese development and military aid, to put forward its case. In July, the association failed to issue a communiqué at the end of its conference of foreign ministers after Cambodia refused to allow any mention of the South China Sea.

In an interview Tuesday on the sidelines of the Asean meeting in Phnom Penh, the president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, said the Philippines objected to the stand by the Cambodian leader. “We don’t think there is a consensus,” Mr. Aquino said. “We stated that we deserve the right to protect our national interests.” He added: “Not to be flippant about it, if you cross your national borders then it becomes an international situation. And if the solution will come through the international tribunal of the laws of the sea, that makes it another a new entity.”

In essence, Mr. Aquino said, “Our position has always been that a multilateral problem does not lend itself to a solution on a bilateral basis.”

Mr. Aquino said that four member countries within the 10-member Asean group were involved in territorial disputes with China, making it impossible for the approach advocated by Cambodia, with China’s backing. “Multilateral problems should have a multilateral solution,” he said.

In an effort to ease tensions, Mr. Aquino said that the Philippines had invited the four countries to come to the Philippines to discuss possible solutions.

 

qui si possono trovare 2 cartine della zona con dettagli Territorial Claims

[Andrea75]

L'accordo tra il governo di Manila e il Moro Islamic Liberation Front

 

Lunedì 15 ottobre il governo di Manila, presieduto da Benigno Aquino III, e i portavoce del Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) hanno dichiarato di aver siglato un accordo per una tregua duratura che ponga fine alle ostilità nell'isola meridionale di Mindanao. Le trattative per tale intesa, che non è la prima tra le parti, avevano subito un'accelerazione nel mese di aprile grazie al definitivo passo indietro da parte del MILF sulla volontà di creare uno Stato indipendente a maggioranza musulmana nel Sud del Paese, la Repubblica di Mindanao.

 

Mindanao è la maggiore isola nella parte meridionale dell'arcipelago delle Filippine, una zona a maggioranza musulmana che racchiude la maggior parte delle risorse naturali del Paese, tra cui ingenti miniere aurifere, ed è sotto esplorazione per la ricerca di idrocarburi vista la prossimità ad altre aree molto ricche come lo Scarborough Shoal. L'isola, però, non ha mai potuto godere di uno sviluppo economico congruo alle proprie potenzialità a causa della situazione di conflitto al suo interno che dura da più di 40 anni e ha causato circa 120 mila vittime. Il costante scenario insurrezionale l'ha slegata completamente dal resto del Paese che ha fatto registrare una crescita economica del nel 2010 del 7,6%, con una flessione al 3,7% nel 2011. Infatti, episodi di guerriglia da parte sia del MILF che di altre milizie minori, come attentati e rapimenti a scopo di estorsione hanno negli anni impedito la stabilità minima per attirare investimenti sia nel settore estrattivo (si parla di risorse minerarie per un valore più 1.000 miliardi di dollari) che in quello mercantile, nonché gli investimenti nel settore agricolo, giacché la fertilità della terra nell'isola attira l'attenzione di diverse compagnie saudite e degli Emirati Arabi che vi si vorrebbero inserire.

 

Il MILF è gruppo di guerriglia islamico sunnita che, come accennato, ha combattuto il governo delle Filippine per ottenere l'indipendenza del Mindanao. Esso nacque formalmente nel 1984, fondato da alcuni fuoriusciti del più antico Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), che già dal 1969 compiva operazioni di guerriglia per creare uno Stato indipendente per l'etnia Moro, separata culturalmente dal resto del Paese e unita alle Filippine solamente dal periodo coloniale in poi.

[Andrea75]

Posizione cinese Wen elaborates on China's stance over regional situation, South China Sea at EAS summit

 

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday elaborated on China's position on regional situation and the South China Sea issue.

At a closed-door session of the East Asia Summit held here, Wen said that in contrast with some other regions in the world where disputes, conflicts or even wars have persisted in the past decades, East Asia has generally remained peaceful and stable.

The situation, Wen said, has created favorable conditions for economic development in the region.

Citing the host country as a fine example, the Chinese premier said Cambodia has taken on a new look after 20 years of hard work of the Cambodians in peaceful circumstances.

"At the current East Asia Summit, we make concerted efforts to seek cooperation in order for more countries to take better advantage of East Asia's economic development," he said.

China welcomes the constructive efforts made by various countries to promote cooperation in East Asia and values the favorable conditions of peace, stability, prosperity and development in the region, Wen said.

China disapproves of any attempt at the summit to highlight territorial and maritime disputes and exaggerate tense atmosphere, he said.

In response to the mentioning of the Huangyan Island at the East Asia Summit, Wen said that the Huangyan Island is an integral part of Chinese territory and that its sovereignty is indisputable.

China's actions to defend the island's sovereignty are legitimate and necessary, and China's stance on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent, he said.

China, as a continental and maritime country, attaches importance to the peace, stability, free navigation and security in the South China Sea, Wen said, adding that free navigation and security are fully guaranteed in the sea.

China hopes that the international sea routes across the South China Sea would be better used as the world economy recovers, he said.

China, Wen said, pursues good neighborliness and remains committed to safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea. China has also properly handled some emergencies which were not initiated by China, he said.

China and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on important principles and reached consensus when signing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea 10 years ago, including agreeing not to internationalize the South China Sea issue, Wen said.

At the China-ASEAN summit, Wen said, he has conducted fruitful discussions with leaders of ASEAN countries, hoping to implement the declaration in a comprehensive and effective manner and build up consensus so as to create conditions for the start of talks on the drafting of a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

China, Wen said, is ready to work with other countries to strive to maintain the hard-won cooperative atmosphere and make unremitting efforts to promote lasting peace and prosperity in East Asia.

 

... e replica filippina EDITORIAL - The ASEAN way

 

 

Last July in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations failed to hammer out a joint statement at the end of their annual meeting for the first time in 45 years. The failure reportedly stemmed from Cambodia’s refusal to include in the joint statement a reference to territorial disputes between China and several ASEAN members including the Philippines.

Yesterday, ASEAN leaders themselves failed to reach a consensus during their summit in Phnom Penh on ways of resolving maritime territorial disputes with China. President Aquino emphasized that the Philippines would continue bringing the dispute to multilateral and international venues for resolution. Beijing, supported by Phnom Penh, wants the disputes to be resolved bilaterally.

The latest developments in Cambodia, current holder of the revolving ASEAN chair, further shakes up the so-called ASEAN way of consensus building in confronting problems. China is laying claim to nearly all the waters around it, which cover vital shipping lanes and areas believed to be rich in mineral resources. The waters are shared by many countries, which should make territorial disputes a regional concern requiring multilateral resolution.

So far the only general consensus on the dispute is that it should be resolved peacefully. ASEAN and China are trying to agree on a Code of Conduct among claimants in the disputed areas. There are existing international mechanisms that can govern efforts to resolve overlapping claims. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is a starting point. Both the Philippines and China are signatories to UNCLOS, which allots a 200-mile exclusive economic zone from a country’s coastline. As long as certain quarters refuse to see the territorial dispute as a multilateral issue, ASEAN will find itself increasingly unable to reach a consensus.

[Andrea75]

sti' cinesi Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan protest map of territorial claims in new Chinese passports

 

A Chinese man holds up a Chinese passport with details on a page that shows dashes which include the South China Sea as part of the Chinese territory outside a passport office in Beijing, China, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. The Philippines has protested China’s depiction of its claims over the entire South China Sea in an image of a map printed on newly issued Chinese e-passports.

 

China has enraged several neighbors with a few dashes on a map, printed in its newly revised passports, that show it staking its claim on the entire South China Sea and even Taiwan.

Inside the new passports, an outline of China printed in the upper left corner includes Taiwan and the sea, hemmed in by the dashes. The change highlights China’s longstanding claim on the South China Sea in its entirety, though parts of the waters also are claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

China’s official maps have long included Taiwan and the South China Sea as Chinese territory, but the act of including those in its passports could be seen as a provocation since it would require other nations to tacitly endorse those claims by affixing their official seals to the documents.

Ruling party and opposition lawmakers alike condemned the map in Taiwan, a self-governed island that split from China after a civil war in 1949. They said it could harm the warming ties the historic rivals have enjoyed since Ma Ying-jeou became president 4 1/2 years ago.

“This is total ignorance of reality and only provokes disputes,” said Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the Cabinet-level body responsible for ties with Beijing. The council said the government cannot accept the map.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters in Manila that he sent a note to the Chinese Embassy that his country “strongly protests” the image. He said China’s claims include an area that is “clearly part of the Philippines’ territory and maritime domain.”

The Vietnamese government said it had also sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi, demanding that Beijing remove the “erroneous content” printed in the passport.

In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry said the new passport was issued based on international standards. China began issuing new versions of its passports to include electronic chips on May 15, though criticism cropped up only this week.

“The outline map of China on the passport is not directed against any particular country,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday.

It’s unclear whether other South China Sea neighbors will respond in any way beyond protesting to Beijing. China, in a territorial dispute with India, once stapled visas into passports to avoid stamping them. Taiwan does not recognize China’s passports in any case; Chinese visitors to the island have a special travel document.

China maintains it has ancient claims to all of the South China Sea, despite much of it being within the exclusive economic zones of Southeast Asian neighbors. The islands and waters are potentially rich in oil and gas.

There are concerns that the disputes could escalate into violence. China and the Philippines had a tense maritime standoff at a shoal west of the main Philippine island of Luzon early this year.

The United States, which has said it takes no sides in the territorial spats but that it considers ensuring safe maritime traffic in the waters to be in its national interest, has backed a call for a “code of conduct” to prevent clashes in the disputed territories. But it remains unclear if and when China will sit down with rival claimants to draft such a legally binding nonaggression pact.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam are scheduled to meet Dec. 12 to discuss claims in the South China Sea and the role of China.

[Andrea75]

Chinese police plan to board ships in disputed seas

 

Police in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan will board and search ships which enter into what China considers its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Thursday, a move which could raise tensions further.

The South China Sea is Asia's biggest potential military trouble spot with several Asian countries claiming sovereignty.

New rules, which come into effect on January 1, will allow Hainan police to board and seize control of foreign ships which "illegally enter" Chinese waters and order them to change course or stop sailing, the official China Daily reported.

"Activities such as entering the island province's waters without permission, damaging coastal defense facilities and engaging in publicity that threatens national security are illegal," the English-language newspaper said.

"If foreign ships or crew members violate regulations, Hainan police have the right to take over the ships or their communication systems, under the revised regulations," it added.

China's assertion of sovereignty over the stretch of water off its south coast and to the east of mainland Southeast Asia has set it directly against Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also lay claim to parts.

China occasionally detains fishermen, mostly from Vietnam, who it accuses of operating illegally in Chinese waters, though generally frees them quite quickly.

Hainan, which likes to style itself as China's answer to Hawaii or Bali with its resorts and beaches, is the province responsible for administering the country's extensive claims to the myriad islets and atolls in the South China Sea.

The newspaper said that the government will also send new maritime surveillance ships to join the fleet responsible for patrolling the South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas and straddling shipping lanes between East Asia and Europe and the Middle East.

The stakes have risen in the area as the U.S. military shifts its attention and resources back to Asia, emboldening its long-time ally the Philippines and former foe Vietnam to take a tougher stance against Beijing.

China has further angered the Philippines and Vietnam by issuing new passports showing a map depicting China's claims to the disputed waters.

[Andrea75]

Vietnam Says China Must Avoid Trade Weapon in Maritime Spat

 

... il Vietnam

Vietnam said China should avoid using trade as a weapon in maritime disagreements after diplomatic tensions led to a slump in exports from Japan when Chinese consumers boycotted the goods of its Asian neighbor.

“Economic force should not be applied in the case of settlement of territorial disputes,” which should be addressed through international law, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh said in a Nov. 28 interview in Hanoi. He said he had “observed” Japan’s conflict with China. Japan reported last month that its exports to China tumbled 12 percent.

China’s emergence as the largest export destination for markets from Japan to South Korea offers it a potential lever as frictions escalate over such claims as the Diaoyu, or Senkaku, islands in the East China Sea and the Spratlys in the South China Sea, which are estimated to hold energy reserves. Vietnamese officials plan to meet Dec. 12 with Southeast Asian counterparts to discuss ways of addressing conflicts with China.

Vinh said his nation was open to exploiting jointly oil and gas in areas that Vietnam claims and that lie outside its exclusive economic zone. He said it “cannot accept” any move by China National Offshore Oil Corp., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer, to tap resources in areas with rival claims. An exclusive economic zone refers to an area of sovereignty stretching 200 nautical miles from a country’s coastal baseline, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

 

... l'India

Not all China’s neighbors share Vietnam’s concern at China using commerce as a foreign-policy tool. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said Chinese use of economic power to push its goals in Asia was acceptable as long as it didn’t break laws.

“Don’t we all use our economic muscle?” Khurshid said in an interview in his office in New Delhi on Nov. 30. “What is economic muscle for if not to use it to create an advantage for your people? So long as it’s not illegitimate, so long as it doesn’t violate principles of international law.”

[Andrea75]

segnalo questo paper sui rapporti USA - Taiwan, riguardo alla vendita di armamenti Taiwan: Major U.S. Arms Sales Since 1990

 

This report, updated as warranted, discusses U.S. security assistance to Taiwan, or Republic of China (ROC), including policy issues for Congress and legislation. Congress has oversight of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), P.L. 96-8, which has governed arms sales to Taiwan since 1979, when the United States recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) instead of the ROC. Two other relevant parts of the “one China” policy are the August 17, 1982, U.S.-PRC Joint Communique and the “Six Assurances” to Taiwan. U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have been significant. The United States also expanded military ties with Taiwan after the PRC’s missile firings in 1995-1996. However, the U.S.-ROC Mutual Defense Treaty terminated in 1979.

At the last U.S.-Taiwan annual arms sales talks on April 24, 2001, President George W. Bush approved for possible sale diesel-electric submarines, P-3 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft (linked to the submarine sale), four decommissioned U.S. Kidd-class destroyers, and other items. Bush also deferred decisions on Aegis-equipped destroyers and other items, while denying other requests. Afterward, attention turned to Taiwan, where the military, civilian officials, and legislators from competing political parties debated contentious issues about how much to spend on defense and which U.S. weapons to acquire, despite the increasing threat (including a missile buildup) from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The Pentagon also has broadened its concern from Taiwan’s arms purchases to its defense spending, seriousness in self-defense and protection of secrets, joint capabilities, operational readiness, critical infrastructure protection, and innovative, asymmetrical advantages. Blocked by the Kuomintang (KMT) party in the Legislative Yuan (LY) that opposed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s president (2000-2008), the Special Budget (not passed) for submarines, P-3C ASW aircraft, and PAC-3 missile defense systems was cut from $18 billion in 2004 to $9 billion (for submarines only) in 2005. In March 2006, Taiwan’s defense minister requested a 2006 Supplemental Defense Budget (not passed) in part for submarine procurement, P-3Cs, and PAC-2 upgrades (not new PAC-3 missiles). In June 2007, the LY passed Taiwan’s 2007 defense budget with funds for P-3C planes, PAC-2 upgrades, and F-16C/D fighters. In December 2007, the LY approved $62 million to start the sub design phase. After the KMT’s Ma Ying-jeou became President in May 2008, he resumed cross-strait talks while retaining the arms requests. But he cut the defense budget until an increase in 2012.

Attention also turned to U.S. decisions on pending arms sales. In 2008, congressional concerns mounted about a suspected “freeze” in President Bush’s notifications to Congress on arms sales. On October 3, 2008, Bush finally notified Congress. However, he submitted six of the eight pending programs (not a “package”) for a combined value of $6.5 billion.

Despite the concerns in 2008, President Obama repeated that cycle to wait to submit formal notifications for congressional review all at one time (on January 29, 2010) of five major

programs with a total value of $6.4 billion and again (on September 21, 2011) of three major programs with a total value of $5.9 billion, including upgrades for Taiwan’s existing F-16A/B

fighters. Like Bush, President Obama did not notify the submarine design program (the only one pending from decisions in 2001) and has not accepted Taiwan’s formal request for new F-16C/D fighters (pending since 2006). In 2012, Taiwan requested two excess U.S. Perry-class frigates.

Legislation in the 112th Congress includes H.Con.Res. 39 (Andrews), H.R. 2583 (Ros-Lehtinen), S. 1539 (Cornyn), H.R. 2918 (Ros-Lehtinen), H.R. 2992 (Granger), H.R. 4310 (McKeon), and S. 3254 (Levin). See “Major Congressional Action” for details and other congressional actions.

[Andrea75]

Indian navy ready to deploy to South China Sea as tensions climb

 

India has declared itself ready to deploy naval vessels to the South China Sea to protect its oil-exploration interests there, a potential new escalation of tensions in a disputed area where fears of armed conflict have been growing steadily.

India's naval chief made the statement on Monday just as Vietnam's state oil and gas company, Petrovietnam, accused Chinese boats of sabotaging an exploration operation by cutting a seismic cable being towed behind a Vietnamese vessel.

Petrovietnam said the seismic vessel, Binh Minh 02, had been operating outside the Gulf of Tonkin when the cable was severed on Friday. It had earlier been surveying the Nam Con Son basin further south -- an area where Indian state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has a stake in a Vietnamese gas field.

Indian Navy Chief Admiral D.K Joshi said that, while India was not a territorial claimant in the South China Sea, it was prepared to act, if necessary, to protect its maritime and economic interests in the region.

"When the requirement is there, for example, in situations where our country's interests are involved, for example ONGC ... we will be required to go there and we are prepared for that," Joshi told a news conference.

"Now, are we preparing for it? Are we having exercises of that nature? The short answer is yes," he said.

Petrovietnam posted on its website comments made by the deputy head of exploration, Pham Viet Dung, to a journalist from Vietnam's Petrotimes that the seismic cable was quickly repaired and the survey resumed the following day.

"The blatant violation of Vietnamese waters by Chinese fishing vessels not only violates the sovereignty ... of Vietnam but also interferes in the normal operations of Vietnamese fishermen and affects the maritime activities of Petrovietnam," Dung was quoted as saying.

Tensions have simmered in the South China Sea for many years but have escalated this year as an increasingly powerful China, which sees virtually the entire sea as its territory, begins to assert its long-standing offshore claims more vigorously.

Parts of the South China Sea are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. The region, Asia's biggest potential military troublespot, is believed to be rich in oil and gas -- and more than half the world's oil-tanker traffic passes through it.

[Andrea75]

China says Vietnam must stop South China Sea oil work

 

Vietnam must immediately stop its unilateral oil exploration in disputed areas of the South China Sea, China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Vietnam expelled Chinese fishing boats from waters near China's southern Hainan province, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular briefing on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear when the incident took place.

The vast waters of the South China Sea are rich in oil and gas and are contested by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, while Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also lay claims to parts of it.

Last Friday a Vietnamese ship in the waters had a cable it was pulling cut by two Chinese fishing ships.

[Andrea75]

... si stanno formando alleanze strategiche? Philippines sees Japan as balance to China ambitions

 

A stronger Japan would act as a counterbalance to the military rise of China, something that is worrying smaller Asian nations as tensions grow over conflicting territorial claims in the region, the Philippines said on Monday.

Rivals claims to the South China Sea, and its likely oil and gas wealth, have made it Asia's biggest potential flashpoint. China claims the largest area, putting it at loggerheads in particular in recent months with Vietnam and the Philippines.

Other claimants are Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

"(We are looking for Japan) to support the peaceful process of resolving the issues here and to be one of the partners as far as security alliances and partnership is concerned," Foreign Ministry spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a statement.

He said no one country has the capacity to address the security requirements of the region, and it is in the Philippines' interest to have stronger alliances.

The comments echo those of Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper published on Monday, when he said that Japan "could be a significant balancing factor."

The dispute is testing the unity of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and also dragged the United States into the debate just as it is pushing to raise an already strong military profile in the region.

On Tuesday, the Philippines will hold strategic talks with the United States, its closest security ally, on ways to strengthen their alliance, including increasing rotational presence of U.S. forces in its former colony.

Carlos Sorreta, foreign ministry assistant secretary for American affairs, said the increased U.S. presence in Asia and Pacific region "sends the right signal that states must behave in a reasonable and lawful way".

Last week, Vietnam claimed that Chinese fishing boats sabotaged one of its oil and gas research vessels, while the Philippines and China were involved in a two-month-long standoff earlier this year at Scarborough Shoal near the Philippine coast.

Adding to tension, authorities in China's Hainan island have passed laws allowing police to search vessels deemed to be operating illegally in what it considers its Hainan's waters, drawing protests from its neighbours and concern from the United States.

Asked about the Philippine comments on Japan as a balancing force, China's foreign ministry said the idea of "containment" was out of date.

"Now it's no longer the era of the Cold War. The issue of one country containing another one does not exist," spokesman Hong Lei told a regular briefing.

Another Philippine foreign ministry official said Manila does not share the concerns of some others in the region of Japan's military past because it has shown in the years since World War Two that it has become a democratic and responsible member of the international community.

Japan will hold a general election on December 16 that is expected to be won by the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). LDP leader Shinzo Abe has promised to loosen limits on the military in Japan's pacifist constitution and stand up to China over disputed isles in the East China Sea.

[Andrea75]

U.S. military to increase presence in Philippines

 

U.S. and Philippine officials are expected to agree on an increase in the number of U.S. military ships, aircraft and troops rotating through the Philippines, Filipino officials said, as tensions simmer with China over its maritime claims.

Senior U.S. and Philippine officials met on Wednesday in Manila to discuss strengthening security and economic ties at a time of growing tension over China's aggressive sovereignty claims over vast stretches of the disputed South China Sea.

Philippine defense and diplomatic officials said they expected to see more U.S. ships, aircraft and troops for training exercises and disaster and relief operations.

"What we are discussing right now is increasing the rotational presence of U.S. forces," Carlos Sorreta, the foreign ministry's Assistant Secretary for American Affairs, told reporters. A five-year joint U.S.-Philippine military exercise plan would be approved this week, he added.

The size of the increase in the U.S. military assets in the Philippines, a former U.S. colony, was unclear.

But it comes as the Philippines, Australia and other parts of the region have seen a resurgence of U.S. warships, planes and personnel under Washington's so-called "pivot" in foreign, economic and security policy towards Asia announced last year.

U.S. and Philippine officials say there is no plan to revive permanent U.S. military bases in the Philippines - the last ones were closed in 1992 - and that the increased presence would help provide relief during disasters such as a typhoon last week that killed more than 700 people.

"The increase rotation presence is in areas where we have been traditionally exercising," said Sorreta. "There are other areas for example where we have been experiencing more disasters. So we might be expanding exercises there."

Wary of Washington's intentions, China is building up its own military. Its claims over most of the South China Sea have set it directly against U.S. allies Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also claim parts of the mineral-rich waters.

One U.S. official said Washington was not ready to wade directly into the territorial dispute in the South China Sea and instead would focus on strengthening security ties with long-standing allies such as the Philippines.

"I don't think you'll see any real movement on the South China Sea," the U.S. official said.

"I'm sure it will come up, but we aren't trying to step in and 'solve' that issue. We really want the solution to be done by the claimants themselves and are hoping the Code of Conduct discussions move forward," said the official, referring to a Code of Conduct aimed at easing the risk of naval flashpoints.

Sorreta told Reuters the Philippines also favored an increased deployment of U.S. aircraft and ships "so we can make use of them when the need arises", citing last week's typhoon. He said they would also welcome more U.S. humanitarian supplies.

[Andrea75]

Japan scrambles fighter jets over disputed islands

 

Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese government plane briefly entered airspace over disputed East China Sea islands, officials say.

Government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said that Japan mobilised F-15 jet fighters when the Chinese Oceanic Administration plane was observed.

Japan "immediately protested" to China, Kyodo news agency quoted him as saying.

The islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, have been a long-standing source of tension.

The Chinese plane was spotted at around 11:00 local time (02:00 GMT), Mr Fujimura said.

Japan's coast guard also reported that Chinese surveillance ships were seen in waters near the islands earlier in the day.

Japan controls the islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan. Close to strategically important shipping lanes, the waters around the islands also offer rich fishing grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits.

The Japanese government's acquisition of three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in September sparked both diplomatic and public protests in China.

Since then Chinese ships have been sailing in and out of waters around the islands, prompting warnings from Japan.

 

[Mustanghino]

credo che si può cambiare il titolo al TOPIC: appare chiaro che qui si linkano tutte le pretese cinesi verso aree d'interesse nel sud-est asiatico

[Andrea75]

questo paper è già stato postato in precedenza in questa discussione: si tratta di un aggiornamento (la data è del 10 dicembre) Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China

 

This report presents policy and oversight issues for Congress arising from (1) maritime territorial disputes involving China in the South China Sea (SCS) and East China Sea (ECS) and (2) an additional dispute over whether China has a right under international law to regulate U.S. and other foreign military activities in its 200-nautical-mile maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

China is a party to multiple maritime territorial disputes in the SCS and ECS, including, in particular, disputes over the Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, and Scarborough Shoal in the SCS,

and the Senkaku Islands in the ECS. Maritime territorial disputes involving China in the SCS and ECS date back many years, and have periodically led to incidents and periods of increased

tension. The disputes have again intensified in the past few years, leading to numerous confrontations and incidents, and heightened tensions between China and other countries in the

region, particularly Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

In addition to maritime territorial disputes in the SCS and ECS, China is involved in a dispute, particularly with the United States, over whether China has a right under international law to

regulate the activities of foreign military forces operating within China’s EEZ. The dispute appears to be at the heart of multiple incidents between Chinese and U.S. ships and aircraft in

international waters and airspace in 2001, 2002, and 2009.

The issue of whether China has a right under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to regulate foreign military activities in its EEZ is related to, but ultimately

separate from, the issue of maritime territorial disputes in the SCS and ECS. The two issues are related because China can claim EEZs from inhabitable islands over which it has sovereignty, so accepting China’s claims to islands in the SCS or ECS could permit China to expand the EEZ zone within which China claims a right to regulate foreign military activities.

The EEZ issue is ultimately separate from the territorial disputes issue because even if all the territorial disputes in the SCS and ECS were resolved, and none of China’s claims in the SCS and ECS were accepted, China could continue to apply its concept of its EEZ rights to the EEZ that it unequivocally derives from its mainland coast—and it is in this unequivocal Chinese EEZ that most of the past U.S.-Chinese incidents at sea have occurred.

China depicts its maritime territorial claims in the SCS using the so-called map of the nine dashed lines that appears to enclose an area covering roughly 80% of the SCS. China prefers to discuss maritime territorial disputes with other parties to the disputes on a bilateral rather than multilateral basis, and has resisted U.S. involvement in the disputes. Some observers believe

China is pursuing a policy of putting off a negotiated resolution of maritime territorial disputes so as to give itself time to implement a strategy of taking incremental unilateral actions that

gradually enhance China’s position in the disputes and consolidate China’s de facto control of disputed areas. China’s maritime territorial claims in the SCS and ECS appear to be motivated by a mix of factors, including potentially large undersea oil and gas reserves, fishing rights, nationalism, and security concerns.

The United States does not take a position (i.e., is neutral) regarding competing territorial claims over land features in the SCS and ECS. The U.S. position is that territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully—without coercion, intimidation, threats, or the use of force—and that claims of territorial waters and EEZs should be consistent with customary international law of the sea, as reflected in UNCLOS. U.S. officials have stated that the United States has a national interest in the preservation of freedom of navigation as recognized in customary international law of the sea and reflected in UNCLOS. The United States, like most other countries, believes that coastal states under UNCLOS do not have the right to regulate foreign military activities in their EEZs. If China’s position on the issue—that coastal states do have a right under UNCLOS to regulate the activities of foreign military forces in their EEZs—were to gain greater international acceptance under international law, it could substantially affect U.S. naval operations not only in the SCS and ECS, but around the world.

Maritime territorial and EEZ disputes involving China in the SCS and ECS raise a number of policy and oversight issues for Congress, including the following:

• the risk that the United States might be drawn into a crisis or conflict over a territorial dispute involving China, particularly since the United States has bilateral defense treaties with Japan and the Philippines;

• the risk of future incidents between U.S. and Chinese ships and aircraft arising from U.S. military survey and surveillance activities in China’s EEZ;

• the impact of maritime territorial and EEZ disputes involving China on the overall debate on whether the United States should become a party to UNCLOS;

• implications for U.S. arms sales and transfers to other countries in the region, particularly the Philippines, which currently has limited ability to monitor maritime activity in the SCS on a real-time basis, and relatively few modern ships larger than patrol craft in its navy or coast guard;

• implications for the stationing and operations of U.S. military forces in the region, and for U.S. military procurement programs;

• implications for interpreting the significance of China’s rise as an economic and military power, particularly in terms of China’s willingness to accept international norms and operate within an international rules-based order;

• the impact on overall U.S. relations with China and other countries in the region;

and

• the effect on U.S. economic interests, including oil and gas exploration in the SCS and ECS by U.S. firms, and on international shipping through the SCS and ECS, which represents a large fraction of the world’s seaborne trade.

Decisions that Congress makes on these issues could substantially affect U.S. political and economic interests in the Asia-Pacific region and U.S. military operations in both the Asia-Pacific

region and elsewhere.

Legislation in the 112th Congress concerning maritime territorial and EEZ disputes involving China in the SCS and ECS includes S.Res. 217 and S.Res. 524, both of which have been agreed to by the Senate; S.Amdt. 3275 to S. 3254; H.R. 6313; H.Res. 532; and H.Res. 616.

 

... riassumo, in estrema sintesi, i motivi di tanto interesse per queste acque contese:

Oil and gas reserves and mineral deposits / Fishing rights / Nationalism / Shipping lanes / Security buffer zones / Ballistic missile submarine bastion

 

... segnalo inoltre il link (non recente come data, ma comunque aggiornato) ad una pagina web dell'organismo ONU che è stato investito della disputa:

Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) Outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines: Submissions to the Commission

 

La posizione ufficiale cinese - 2009 e Aggiornamento del 2011

 

La posizione ufficiale del Viet Nam - 2009 e Aggiornamento del 2011

 

La posizione ufficiale delle Filippine - 2009

Modificato 18 Dicembre 2012 da Andrea75

[Andrea75]

... alleanze strategiche in funzione anti-cinese In China's shadow, ASEAN leaders look to India for maritime security

 

Southeast Asian nations and India vowed on Thursday to step up cooperation on maritime security, a move that comes amid tension with China in the potentially oil- and gas-rich South China Sea.

In a vision statement agreed at a summit in New Delhi, India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) set their sights on a new "strategic partnership" that would bring closer political, security and economic cooperation.

Significantly, they underlined the need for freedom of navigation, a contentious issue because of competing claims with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea, though there was no mention of China in their statement.

In speeches, the Philippines and Vietnam referred to tensions in their region, but India's foreign minister sought to distance New Delhi from the wrangling over the South China Sea.

"There are fundamental issues there that do not require India's intervention," External Affairs Minister Salman Kurshid told a news conference, adding that issues of sovereignty "need to be resolved between the countries concerned".

An ASEAN summit ended in acrimony last month over China's assertiveness in the South China Sea, with its leaders failing to agree on a concluding joint statement.

The South China Sea has become Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint as Beijing's sovereignty claim over a huge, looping area has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves. Malaysia and Brunei, also members of ASEAN, as well as Taiwan also claim parts of the sea.

Other members of ASEAN include Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Laos.

Last month, China announced a plan to board and search ships that illegally enter what it considers its territory in the South China Sea, prompting ASEAN's secretary-general to warn that the move could spark naval clashes.

"At this time of rising concerns about maritime issues, the need to maintain a high level of maritime security and freedom of navigation offers us ... an opportunity for enhanced cooperation," Philippines Vice President Jejomar Binay said.

 

INDIAN OCEAN ROUTES

Although India has no territorial claim in the region, it is hungry for energy and is exploring for oil and gas with Vietnam in an area contested by China. In future, it is expected to ship liquefied natural gas from Russia through the Malacca Straits.

This month, India's navy chief said he was ready to deploy vessels to the South China Sea to protect exploration interests there if needed. Last year, an Indian navy ship was challenged for entering 'Chinese waters' off the coast of Vietnam.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the summit that closer maritime cooperation with India was needed because 70 percent of the world's traffic in petroleum products passes through the Indian Ocean from the Middle East to East Asia.

"While the center of the global economy is shifting eastward, the Indian and Pacific Oceans have been and will become even more important in providing the vital sea routes for trade and commerce," Yudhoyono said.

The New Delhi summit underscored India's growing role in one of the world's fastest-growing regions.

Twenty years after India launched a 'Look East' diplomatic push to promote trade with a neglected neighboring region, the relationship is finally beginning to gain traction. Annual trade has nearly doubled in four years and India's growing economic clout make it appealing as a balance to other Asian powers.

However, China's trade relations and links with ASEAN are far deeper than India's.

Ian Storey, senior fellow of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said many ASEAN nations want to see all major powers playing a role in their region so it is not dominated by one or two players, in particular China.

"So that presence by India in Southeast Asia would provide them additional hedging options," he said.

[Andrea75]

... le tensioni non sono esclusivamente con la Cina Tensions Between Japan and South Korea Complicate Picture for U.S.

 

The sighs of relief in Washington have almost been audible. As the United States forges ahead with efforts to counter China’s influence in Asia, Japan and South Korea this week both elected conservative, pro-American leaders, raising hopes that the United States and its two closest Asian allies can work together on the vexing security issues roiling this economically vibrant region.

All those issues, that is, except one: Tokyo and Seoul’s emotionally charged relations with each other. On Friday, Japan’s next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, announced he would send a special envoy to Seoul to mend ties. However, analysts remain skeptical that tensions will end with right-wing governments in power.

The strains between its two closest partners in the region have already proved a headache for the United States, which has been pressing the two export powerhouses to take a bigger role in regional security to ease its own budgetary pressures. But the neighbors remain hamstrung by history, and even a relatively small deal on intelligence sharing unraveled this summer amid a dispute over how to view Japan’s harsh colonization of the Korean Peninsula before World War II.

“The U.S. might think it’s great to have two conservative governments, but these are two allies that can’t even sign a minor agreement,” said Daniel C. Sneider, a researcher on East Asian diplomacy at Stanford University.

The question, then, is whether the United States can effectively deal with China’s rise if the allies, who host about 75,000 American troops and sailors, find it so hard to work with each other.

Even with those worries, the elections were seen as a victory for Washington as it struggles to contain a nuclear-armed North Korea and counter China’s military buildup.

In both elections, the winners defeated opponents who raised at least some alarms in Washington. In Japan, a blowout victory by the Liberal Democrats on Sunday ensured the prime ministership will go to Mr. Abe, a nationalist who has vowed to restore close military cooperation with the United States that frayed under a left-leaning government during a dispute over an American base. One of the losers was a party led by Shintaro Ishihara, known for railing against his nation’s servility to Washington and for provoking a territorial spat with China that the United States fears being dragged into.

In South Korea, Park Geun-hye won on Wednesday with promises to keep the close bonds that the incumbent, Lee Myung-bak, cultivated with the Obama administration, a relationship that analysts in both countries say is the best ever by leaders of the two nations. Ms. Park defeated a liberal candidate who wanted an immediate restart of extensive aid to North Korea that some feared would undermine United States-led sanctions against the North’s nuclear program.

The Obama administration quickly embraced both victors. After a phone call with Mr. Obama, Mr. Abe announced that he would go to Washington in January for the first visit abroad as prime minister, and Ms. Park’s aides said her first presidential visit abroad would also most probably be to the United States.

The new leadership is a particular relief for the United States after a decade in which both countries have sometimes bridled at Washington’s hold on them, with public sentiment seeming to veer at times between viewing the large American military as a welcome protection and an affront to national dignity.

The United States has benefited from China’s increasingly sharp-elbowed approach to its neighbors, especially Japan, with whom it is in a dispute over islands in the East China Sea. “In both Japan and South Korea, the perception of China has changed to being a threat, and that has made the U.S. seem much more favorable as a source of security,” said Narushige Michishita, a security affairs expert at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo.

While South Korea has less direct tension with China, Korean experts said Chinese support of Pyongyang, even after the 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship for which the South blamed the North and a deadly rocket attack that year on a South Korean island, has fueled a pro-American mood that may have played a role in Ms. Park’s election.

Mr. Abe has promised to reinterpret his nation’s antiwar Constitution to allow Japan’s military, seen as Asia’s most technologically advanced, to aid American forces in combat. The United States has welcomed Mr. Abe’s calls to expand security ties with other democracies in the region, like Australia and India, as a way to offset China’s growing presence. But analysts say Japan will need to reverse a decline in military spending before Washington is convinced that Tokyo is doing enough to keep China’s aspirations in check.

 

 

... nel frattempo Chinese ships enter Japanese waters near disputed islands

 

Three Chinese ships entered into Japanese territorial water near the disputed Senkaku Islands on Friday morning and were staying despite a warning from a Japanese Coast Guard ship, the coast guard said.

The move continues a dispute between the nations that stretches back decades.

Last week, Japan scrambled fighter jets near the small islands in the East China Sea after a Chinese plane was seen there.

Chinese government ships have repeatedly entered the waters around the remote, rocky islands since the Japanese government announced in September it was buying several of the islands from private owners.

Japanese Coast Guard vessels have engaged in games of cat and mouse with the Chinese ships, with both sides broadcasting messages to one another insisting they have territorial sovereignty over the area.

Analysts say that by sending its own patrols into the area, China is challenging Japan's de facto control of the islands, which has been the status quo for the past 40 years.

Modificato 21 Dicembre 2012 da Andrea75

[Andrea75]

... accordo di pace in vista??? http://blogs.defensenews.com/intercepts/2012/12/taiwan-and-china-move-closer-to-peace-accord/

 

 

Local news reports indicate China is pushing Taiwan harder on a peace accord that would abolish any attempt by Taiwan “secessionists” to abandon unification and declare independence. However, unless China reduces and/or eliminates the 1,500 short-range ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan, any deal looks unlikely.

According to the Talk of the Day, as reported by the Central News Agency, China is pushing beyond the dozen or so economic and trade agreements signed since 2008 to something more political in nature.

Sun Ya-fu, deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office under China’s State Council, publicly urged the two sides at a seminar on December 15 in Taipei to sign a peace accord to “jointly share the duty and obligation of avoiding national secession.”

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Deputy Minister Chang Hsien-yao responded by urging China to treat the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in a “pragmatic manner.”

 

[Andrea75]

... dispute territoriali anche con la Corea del Nord per alcune montagne http://thediplomat.com/2012/12/23/baekdu-mountain-chinas-other-territorial-dispute/

 

 

With disputes brewing in the East and South China Seas, there is another piece of territory in Asia that could pose some serious problems...

... in a little discussed row, China and North Korea have simmered over the jurisdiction surrounding Baekdu Mountain (referred to as Changbai Mountain in China). The site is a sacred area for many Koreans. Historical records point to Baekdu as the site where Korea’s first kingdom, Gojoseon, was established. The area is also important to modern North Korean history because the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has glorified the site as the birthplace of its former Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Il (Soviet documents record his birth as having taken place in Russia). The mountain is also associated with Korea’s resistance movement against Japanese colonialism during World War II.

Baekdu, an active volcanic mountain, straddles the border between China and North Korea. Both sides agreed to split the land surrounding Baekdu in 1962 (some say 1963) and currently share administration over the mountain and the lake surrounding it.

Unfortunately, this agreement — which was signed during the Sino-Soviet dispute when Moscow and Beijing were both courting Pyongyang’s favor — has not put an end to the matter. In recent years Beijing has been rapidly developing the area including building an airport and ski resort, moves that some believe are aimed at bolstering its claims of sovereignty over the area. China stirred up further controversy in 2008 when it applied for the region to be considered a UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. Further inflaming the issue, there were reports around the same time that said Beijing was considering entering a bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics on the contested site.

[Andrea75]

Japan Mulls U.S. Spy Drones for Marine Surveillance http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130104/DEFREG03/301040004/Report-Japan-Mulls-U-S-Spy-Drones-Marine-Surveillance?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

 

 

Japan is considering introducing U.S. spy drones to boost surveillance of its territorial waters near islands in the East China Sea at the centre of a bitter dispute with Beijing, Kyodo News said Dec. 31.

The Japanese defense ministry hopes to introduce the unmanned Global Hawk aircraft by 2015 “in a bid to counter China’s growing assertiveness at sea, especially when it comes to the Senkaku Islands”, the news agency said, citing unnamed government officials.

Beijing has been sending maritime patrol vessels into waters around the Japanese-controlled islands, which China claims as Diaoyu, since Tokyo nationalized the chain in September.

China is apparently seeking to prove that it can come and go in the area at will, and on Monday three of Beijing’s ships were spotted in the waters around the islands, according to Japan’s coastguard, in the latest perceived incursion.

An earlier report on Dec. 31 said China has transferred two destroyers and nine other former navy vessels to its maritime surveillance fleet.

 

[Andrea75]

... inserisco qui la notizia in quanto nell'articolo vengono citate le tensioni con la Cina:

 

SDF spending targeted to rise in fiscal 2013 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20130107a1.html

 

 

 

The government has decided it will increase defense spending for the first time in 11 years in light of the territorial tensions with China, sources say.

The government, led by the Liberal Democratic Party, wants to raise spending in fiscal 2013 to at least ¥4.77 trillion — the same as in the initial fiscal 2009 budget — the last one it formulated before becoming an opposition party, the sources said Saturday.

Defense expenditures in the initial fiscal 2012 budget drafted by the Democratic Party of Japan-led government before it was ousted last month stood at ¥4.71 trillion.

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who also heads the LDP, is thinking of increasing the number of Self-Defense Forces troops and upgrading their equipment at a time when China is stepping up airborne and maritime surveillance and other activities around the Japan-administrated Senkaku Islands that it claims sovereignty to in the East China Sea, the sources said. China calls the islands Diaoyu.

The most that Japan has ever budgeted for defense spending was ¥4.96 trillion in the initial budget drafted for fiscal 2002.

In addition to the plan to increase spending, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera has said Abe's government will review the long-term basic defense program that was adopted — along with a midterm defense buildup program — in 2010 by the previous administration led by the DPJ.

Kitera, Yang hold talks

BEIJING — Japan's new ambassador to China, Masato Kitera, held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing over the weekend.

While both sides declined to reveal the details of their talks on Saturday, Kitera is believed to have stressed the need for the two countries to avoid emergency situations amid the territorial row over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, which also China also claims.

 

[Andrea75]

US drone found off Philippines http://asian-defence-news.blogspot.it/2013/01/us-drone-found-off-philippines.html

 

 

 

 

 

PHILIPPINE navy officials say a suspected American drone has been found floating in the ocean, prompting them to deploy a ship with ordnance experts after fishermen reported the object may have been a bomb.

The three-metre orange BQM-74e drone marked "Navy" was found by a Filipino diver and fishermen off Masbate Island on Sunday and has been turned over to local navy authorities, Philippine navy officer Captain Jason Rommel Galang said, adding it was not clear why the unmanned aerial vehicle ended up off Masbate.

US Embassy spokeswoman Bettina Malone said efforts were under way to determine if the drone was one of those used in American military air target training exercises and why it was in the waters off Masbate, about 380 kilometres southeast of Manila. The type of drone found was not armed and not used for surveillance, she said.

Masbate is in a region where communist guerrillas have a presence. US counter-terrorism troops, who are barred from local combat, have used surveillance drones to help Filipino soldiers track down al-Qaeda-linked extremists in the country's south.

At least two US drones have been reported to have crashed and were recovered by villagers in the past on southern Mindanao island.

 

... e: U.S. drone found in Philippines launched from Guam http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/news-channels/international-military-news/2013-01/08/content_5173058.htm

 

 

Philippine and U.S. officials confirmed Tuesday the unmanned aerial vehicle found off Masbate Island last weekend was launched from Guam.

　　According to Tina Malone, spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Manila, the U.S. drone with model number BQM 74-E was launched from U.S. warship USS Chafee (DDG 90) during a military exercise called Valiant Shield on September 19, 2012. The drone was later washed ashore off the coast of Masbate.

　　"It appears that ocean currents brought the drone to where it washed ashore last week off Masbate Island," Malone said in a statement.

　　Armed Forces of the Philippines Spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said in a separate statement assured that the reported aerial vehicle was never used in the country.

　　"This was never used within the Philippine territory during our military exercise with the United States. This was probably used somewhere in the Pacific during an exercise," Burgos said.

　　He added that the drone is not a spy drone.

　　"The drone found in Masbate is not a spy plane but an aerial target drone. Its orange color and U.S. Navy logo suggests that it is used primarily to simulate enemy missiles and aircraft during exercises," he said.

　　A diver found the drone Sunday morning and initially mistook the item to be a bomb. The drone was later towed to the Ticao beach. The U.S. drone is now under the custody of the Philippine Navy.

 

[Andrea75]

Japan PM orders stronger surveillance near disputed isles http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/08/us-japan-china-idUSBRE9070BI20130108

 

 

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered his defense minister on Tuesday to strengthen surveillance around islands at the heart of a territorial feud with China, Kyodo news agency reported.

Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki summoned the Chinese ambassador earlier in the day to protest against an "incursion" by four Chinese maritime surveillance ships near the islands, officials said.

"I want you to respond firmly," Kyodo quoted Abe as telling Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera.

The ships entered the area around noon on Monday and left in the early hours of Tuesday, the officials said.

China's State Oceanic Administration confirmed four Chinese marine surveillance ships were patrolling waters near the islands.

But China routinely maintains such ships are in Chinese waters and a Chinese official accused Japan of intrusion.

"Japan has continued to ignore our warnings that their vessels and aircraft have infringed our sovereignty," the Communist Party chief of China's marine surveillance corps, Sun Shuxian, said in an interview posted on the Oceanic Administration's website.

"This behavior may result in the further escalation of the situation at sea and has prompted China to pay great attention and vigilance," Sun was quoted as saying.

Sino-Japanese ties chilled after the Japanese government bought the disputed islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from a private Japanese owner last September.

Japan's Defence Ministry has scrambled F-15 fighter jets several times in recent weeks to intercept Chinese marine surveillance planes approaching the islands.

The hawkish Abe, whose conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) returned to power in a landslide election victory last month, has vowed a tough stance in the territorial feud.

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Misterioso (per ora) speronamento al largo delle coste delle Filippine ...

Cita

Tre pescatori sono morti dopo che la loro barca è stata speronata da un'imbarcazione non identificata vicino alla contestata Scarborough Shoal, al largo delle coste delle Filippine, secondo la Guardia Costiera filippina.
Lo speronamento della FFB Dearyn è avvenuto a 85 miglia nautiche a nord-ovest di Bajo De Masinloc alle 4:20 di Lunedì, ora locale.
Mentre 11 pescatori sono riusciti a fuggire su imbarcazioni più piccole, tre, compreso il capitano della barca, sono rimasti uccisi nell’incidente, secondo un rapporto sull’incidente esaminato da USNI News.

... news.usni.org ... https://news.usni.org/2023/10/03/3-dead-after-fishing-boat-rammed-near-scarborough-shoal-philippine-coast-guard-says ...

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Gli Stati Uniti e le Filippine hanno dato inizio a tre giorni di pattugliamenti congiunti nel Mar Cinese Meridionale ...

Cita

Il 21 Novembre scorso, il Comando Indo-Pacifico degli Stati Uniti, in coordinamento con le Forze Armate delle Filippine, ha avviato pattugliamenti marittimi e aerei congiunti nel Mar Cinese Meridionale.
I pattugliamenti congiunti mirano a “rafforzare la sicurezza regionale e promuovere una partnership senza soluzione di continuità con gli Stati Uniti nella salvaguardia dei nostri interessi comuni”, ha affermato il presidente delle Filippine Ferdinand Marcos.
I pattugliamenti sono stati concordati da entrambe le nazioni attraverso i meccanismi di sicurezza esistenti.

... news.usni.org ... https://news.usni.org/2023/11/21/u-s-philippines-begin-three-days-of-joint-patrols-in-the-south-china-sea ...

 & 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Navi Cinesi hanno speronato navi Filippine e colpito gli equipaggi con i cannoni ad acqua in una serie di incidenti nel Mar Cinese Meridionale ...

Cita

Da Venerdì scorso le Forze Marittime Cinesi hanno danneggiato tre navi Filippine in due incidenti consecutivi nel Mar Cinese Meridionale. 
Venerdì, i cutter della Guardia Costiera Cinese e le navi della Milizia Marittima hanno interrotto il rifornimento dei pescatori Filippini al largo di Scarborough Shoal da parte di navi civili sotto l’egida del "Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources" (BFAR).
Secondo un comunicato stampa della "National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea", le navi offshore multimissione "BFAR BRP Datu Sanday" (MMOV-3002), "BRP Datu Bankaw" (MMOV-3004) e "BRP Datu Tamblot" (MMOV-3005) sono state molestate dai cannoni ad acqua e dai dispositivi acustici a lungo raggio delle Forze Cinesi.

... news.usni.org ... https://news.usni.org/2023/12/10/chinese-ships-ram-philippine-vessels-hits-crews-with-water-cannons-in-series-of-south-china-sea-incidents ...