A U.S. Admiral is warning of new activity near another disputed island in the South China Sea:
The United States has seen Chinese activity around a reef China seized from the Philippines nearly four years ago that could be a precursor to more land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Navy chief said on Thursday.
The head of U.S. naval operations, Admiral John Richardson, expressed concern that an international court ruling expected in coming weeks on a case brought by the Philippines against China over its South China Sea claims could be a trigger for Beijing to declare an exclusion zone in the busy trade route. Richardson told Reuters the United States was weighing responses to such a move. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.
Richardson said the U.S. military had seen Chinese activity around Scarborough Shoal in the northern part of the Spratly archipelago, about 125 miles (200 km) west of the Philippine base of Subic Bay. "I think we see some surface ship activity and those sorts of things, survey type of activity, going on. That's an area of concern ... a next possible area of reclamation," he said. Richardson said it was unclear if the activity near the reef, which China seized in 2012, was related to the pending arbitration decision.
Asked about Richardson's statement, Lu Kang, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said it was hypocritical for the United States to criticize China for militarizing the region when it carries out its own naval patrols there. "This is really laughable and preposterous," he said. [...] Richardson said he was struck by how China's increasing militarization of the South China Sea had increased the willingness of other countries in the region to work together.
China recently opened up a tsunami alert center, which has also been linked to its claims of jurisdiction in the disputed waters. Japan's ruling party has urged the Prime Minister to seek international arbitration over Chinese drilling activities.
Related Stories
China is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but that won't stop it from ignoring this ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague:
An international tribunal in The Hague delivered a sweeping rebuke on Tuesday of China's behavior in the South China Sea, including the construction of artificial islands, and found that its expansive claim to sovereignty over the waters had no legal basis.
The tribunal also said that Beijing had violated international law by causing "severe harm to the coral reef environment" and by failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from harvesting endangered sea turtles and other species "on a substantial scale."
The landmark case, brought by the Philippines, was seen as an important crossroads in China's rise as a global power. It is the first time the Chinese government has been summoned before the international justice system, and the decision against it could provide leverage to other neighboring countries that have their own disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.
"It's an overwhelming victory. We won on every significant point," said the Philippines' chief counsel in the case, Paul S. Reichler. "This is a remarkable victory for the Philippines."
But while the decision is legally binding, there is no mechanism for enforcing it, and China, which refused to participate in the tribunal's proceedings, reiterated on Tuesday that it would not abide by it. "The award is invalid and has no binding force," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "China does not accept or recognize it."
Now the U.S. can feel properly justified as it continues to do nothing. This news is also reported at Time , Reuters, The Guardian , and The Washington Post . Full response at Xinhua.
Previously: China Builds Artificial Islands in South China Sea
U.S. Spy Plane Deploys to Singapore Amid South China Sea Tensions
China Places Surface-to-Air Missile Launchers on Disputed Island
U.S. Admiral Warns of New Activity Near Reef Seized by China
The West Protests as the Chinese Military Continues to Operate in the South China Sea
(Score: 5, Informative) by Dunbal on Saturday March 19 2016, @01:36PM
According to America, only America can have bases all over the world.
(Score: 2, Touché) by khallow on Saturday March 19 2016, @03:12PM
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Saturday March 19 2016, @08:49PM
You'd better ask China that: think they'd have a BIT of a problem......
But yeah: do it, then see what the Chinese response is. Could either bring an international response or war. Meh... whatever... ooooooh, something about Trump!lookatthatheissuchaKardashian.....shiny!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Saturday March 19 2016, @09:47PM
Well yes, but how many did they build without asking if the owner of the area had any objections?
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Saturday March 19 2016, @11:58PM
How many "agreements" did they get by using extortion?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday March 20 2016, @12:49AM
Wait... how'd we get to talking about Microsoft leaning on companies using linux???
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 5, Insightful) by fishybell on Saturday March 19 2016, @01:42PM
I know it's not the most eyeball-catching headline, but I wish at least one article about what China's doing included talk of how damaging and willful this direct destruction of entire ecosystems is. They want the south-China sea partly for the economic value of the fishing, but if they bury all the reefs under sand, there won't be any other fish to catch. The whole thing devolves (further) into just a dick measuring contest.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday March 19 2016, @02:49PM
I'll admit that I was not thinking of environmental impact at all when I was in submission mode, even with the word "reef" in the headline. I guess cmn32480 was, given the dept. line.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Saturday March 19 2016, @08:51PM
Man, hope they don't go up against Africa..... you know.... yikes!
War: no problem.
Dick measuring contest: ..................................................................................shit.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Saturday March 19 2016, @11:15PM
You'd really like to think so, don't you?
How about the strategic influence on the majority of oil traffic routes [businessinsider.com.au]?
How about the oil [economist.com] reserves [smh.com.au] there (warning: autoplay video clip embedded. Relevant, but still on autoplay).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 20 2016, @12:44AM
Taiwan has always been a bee in their bonnet. After the South China Sea is consolidated, look for renewed action north of Taiwan at Senkaku Islands. Just like a surrounded piece on a Go board, Taiwan will be captured.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 19 2016, @02:38PM
Asked about Richardson's statement, Liu Kang, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
Epic.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 19 2016, @09:56PM
A code of conduct has been proposed.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-07/13/content_15579101.htm [chinadaily.com.cn]
See also http://contributor-covenant.org/ [contributor-covenant.org].