South China Sea Forum

[艹艹艹]

China upset at disputed islands mention in Japan-U.S. meeting


China's Foreign Ministry expressed concern on Monday after Japan got continued U.S. backing for its dispute with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

A joint Japanese-U.S. statement after the weekend meeting in the United States said the two leaders affirmed that Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan security treaty covered the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China was "seriously concerned and resolutely opposed", adding that the islands had been China's inherent territory since ancient times.

"No matter what anyone says or does, it cannot change the fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China, and cannot shake China's resolve and determination to protect national sovereignty and territory," Geng told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

The United States and Japan should watch what they say and do and stop making the wrong comments to avoid complicating the issue and affecting regional peace and stability, he added.



(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Diaoyu island is in the East China Sea, not in the South China Sea.

 

[cochine]

US NAVY WANTS STRONGER PRESENCE IN SOUTH CHINA SEA
Posted on February 14, 2017

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United States Navy officials and the U.S. Pacific Command on Monday expressed desire to propose a stronger presence in South China Sea like sailing near Beijing’s artificial islands in the disputed Spratlys Islands.

The Navy Times has mentioned several US naval officials seeking to possibly sail also to the Paracel Islands, where China has been building a military presence.

U.S. Navy may be planning a freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPS, near disputed islands in the South China Sea. FONOPS is viewed by many in the Navy’s leadership as a standard mission, the report added.

Previous administration in the U.S. government under Barack Obama did not allow the Navy to engage in FONOPS, part of his policy of caution and avoidance of extra confrontation with Beijing. But that policy could change under U.S. President Donald Trump.

Advocates of the operation think FONOPS could remove ambiguity from U.S. policy in the South China Sea.

In recent years, while the Navy suspended the operations, China began to aggressively build in the Spratly Islands, installing military-grade runways and deploying surface-to-air weaponry, according to satellite images.

Diaoyu island is in the East China Sea, not in the South China Sea.

China's Foreign Ministry expressed concern on Monday after Japan got continued U.S. backing for its dispute with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

 

[JustHappened]

Yes. Indeed. Pacific is huge. You are right. There is problem and trouble everywhere in south /east with the Yanks

USS Coronado littoral combat ship starts maintenance in Singapore

Following a four-day underway in the South China Sea , littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) pulled into Sembawang Wharves in Singapore for a scheduled maintenance period starting Feb. 3.

That was reported by press service of United States Pacific Command (USPACOM).

At sea the crew conducted training exercises designed to maintain operational proficiency while executing emergency procedures at sea. The crew flexed the ship’s capabilities with unit-level training, casualty drills, flight operations and engineering equipment operational testing.

“It’s been an extremely productive few days at sea and the sense of enthusiasm on the deck plates was evident throughout,” said Cmdr. Scott Larson, commanding officer, USS Coronado. “The team completed essential training that will pay significant dividends during future operational tasking.”
Specific events included small boat operations, live-fire gunnery exercises, damage control drills, and over 20 combined hours of manned and unmanned flight operations.

USS Coronado (LCS-4) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship. She is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after Coronado, California. The contract was awarded to General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works in May 2009 for the construction of LCS-4.

 

[艹艹艹]

Yes. Indeed. Pacific is huge. You are right. There is problem and trouble everywhere in south /east with the Yanks

USS Coronado littoral combat ship starts maintenance in Singapore

Following a four-day underway in the South China Sea , littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) pulled into Sembawang Wharves in Singapore for a scheduled maintenance period starting Feb. 3.

That was reported by press service of United States Pacific Command (USPACOM).

At sea the crew conducted training exercises designed to maintain operational proficiency while executing emergency procedures at sea. The crew flexed the ship’s capabilities with unit-level training, casualty drills, flight operations and engineering equipment operational testing.

“It’s been an extremely productive few days at sea and the sense of enthusiasm on the deck plates was evident throughout,” said Cmdr. Scott Larson, commanding officer, USS Coronado. “The team completed essential training that will pay significant dividends during future operational tasking.”
Specific events included small boat operations, live-fire gunnery exercises, damage control drills, and over 20 combined hours of manned and unmanned flight operations.

USS Coronado (LCS-4) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship. She is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after Coronado, California. The contract was awarded to General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works in May 2009 for the construction of LCS-4.

The United States launched a war in the South China sea region,
Have you ever heard of the “Vietnam War”?
It was a very cruel war！

 

[cochine]

The United States launched a war in the South China sea region,
Have you ever heard of the “Vietnam War”?
It was a very cruel war！

In this case, its called "Sino-American war",

 

[cochine]

US nuclear-powered fast attack submarine now in Philippines

February 14, 2017 PNA Nation 0

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The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS Louisville (SSN 724) on Tuesday arrived in Subic Bay for a brief port call that highlights the strong community and military connections between the Philippines and the United States, the US Embassy in Manila said.

The Louisville crew will participate in a series of community service projects and sporting events during the crew’s visit to the Philippines.

The ship will also use the stop to conduct some minor maintenance with the assistance of Filipino companies.

The Philippines is a longstanding treaty ally of the United States with a history of partnership of more than 70 years.

The American and Philippine militaries have worked closely together on areas of mutual interest such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter terrorism, cybersecurity and maritime security.

Louisville is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

 

[艹艹艹]

US nuclear-powered fast attack submarine now in Philippines

February 14, 2017 PNA Nation 0

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The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine USS Louisville (SSN 724) on Tuesday arrived in Subic Bay for a brief port call that highlights the strong community and military connections between the Philippines and the United States, the US Embassy in Manila said.

The Louisville crew will participate in a series of community service projects and sporting events during the crew’s visit to the Philippines.

The ship will also use the stop to conduct some minor maintenance with the assistance of Filipino companies.

The Philippines is a longstanding treaty ally of the United States with a history of partnership of more than 70 years.

The American and Philippine militaries have worked closely together on areas of mutual interest such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter terrorism, cybersecurity and maritime security.

Louisville is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese bank setting up a branch in the Sansha city

Vietnamese fisherman are welcome to open foreign accounts using RMB.

The United States launched a war in the South China sea region,
Have you ever heard of the “Vietnam War”?
It was a very cruel war！

That's a Turk member who has opened perhaps 100 accounts after each new one got banned upon heavy insult (mostly in Turkish) and unfounded claims. I guess originally he was called hurshit. The guy has some crazy idea about German secret service doing nasty things.

Better leave ignored.

 

[cochine]

Last update 23:53 | 31/01/2017


Former Australian defence official urges East Sea navigation freedom
Former Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Angus Houston has underscored the importance of ensuring maritime freedom and safety of navigation in the East Sea.

China's illegal construction in the East Sea


During the Australia-US-Japan security cooperation conference in Canberra on January 31, Houston, who led the ADF from 2005-2011, also called for solutions to territorial disputes in line with international law and preventing unilateral actions that threaten regional peace and stability.

Commenting on militarised islands, the former official warned of the likelihood of China’s permanent presence in the East Sea and expansion of its military presence to the south near Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

He urged the US to maintain strong presence in the Indian Ocean and Pacific.

Meanwhile, former Japanese Defence Minister Satoshi Morimoto also expressed concern over policies towards Asia-Pacific under the new US administration led by President Donald Trump.

VNA

 

[GS Zhou]

The PLA Navy fleet of Destroyers Changsha, Haikou, and Replenishment Ships Luoma Lake today finished their week-long military drills in South China Sea.

The fleet is now on the way sailing to East India Ocean.


海军南海舰队远海训练编队完成南海预定课目训练

来源：新华社作者：曾涛　曾行贱责任编辑：李爱明2017-02-17 15:52
2月17日，由导弹驱逐舰长沙舰、海口舰和综合补给舰骆马湖舰组成的海军南海舰队远海训练编队，组织直升机组进行联合防空、巡逻警戒等多课目实战化训练，并圆满完成带有战术背景条件下的立体综合补给，标志着编队已结束在南海相关海域的预定课目训练。

“航行一路、训练一路、总结一路、提高一路。这次在南海相关海域进行的例行训练，极大提高了编队综合作战能力，达到了预期训练目的。”编队指挥员、南海舰队副司令员俞满江介绍，在组训过程中，他们始终紧贴实战，要求各参演兵力群实时获取战场态势、判断情况、定下决心，通过一系列“背靠背”对抗演练，检验了部队主战兵力精确打击、防空反导、舰机协同突击等战法。另一方面，针对编队装备新、体系全的特点，突出战法训法研究，强化问题导向，紧抓战术动作基础，通过理论创新牵引提高训练实际效益，检验编队整体作战能力。

自2月10日起航以来，编队克服南海海域恶劣海况影响，精心操纵舰艇，坚持组织演练，成功组织开展了联合防空、舰机协同、编队突击、航行补给等一系列实战环境条件下的综合演练。

同时，编队坚持发挥政治工作的服务保证作用，通过思想发动、战时政工课题演练、举行向国旗宣誓仪式等工作，做到政治工作与军事训练同频共振，有效锤炼了官兵战斗意志，增强了编队各级指战员指挥协同和应急处置能力，提升了编队远海训练实战化水平。

据悉，远海训练编队下步将进入东印度洋，组织反恐反海盗、武力营救等课目训练。（曾涛　曾行贱）

 

[cochine]

Carrier Strike Group 1 Conducts South China Sea Patrol
Story Number: NNS170218-01Release Date: 2/18/2017 8:03:00 AM
By From Carrier Strike Group One Public Affairs

SOUTH CHINA SEA (NNS) -- Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1's Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), and aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, began routine operations in the South China Sea, Feb. 18.

Prior to their operations in the South China Sea, ships and aircraft from within the strike group conducted training off the islands of Hawaii and Guam to maintain and improve their readiness and develop cohesion as a strike group. The strike group recently enjoyed a port visit to Guam and after departing the Marianas, conducted operations in the Philippine Sea.

"The training completed over the past few weeks has really brought the team together and improved our effectiveness and readiness as a strike group," said Rear Adm. James Kilby, commander, CSG 1. "We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region."

Vinson last deployed to the Western-Pacific in 2015 and conducted a bilateral exercise with the Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Malaysian Air Force in the South China Sea. Vinson first operated in the South China Sea in 1983 and in total, has operated there during 16 previous deployments over its 35 year history.

While deployed, the Carl Vinson CSG will remain under U.S. 3rd Fleet command and control, including beyond the international dateline, which previously divided operational areas of responsibility for 3rd and 7th Fleets. Third Fleet operating forward offers additional options to the Pacific Fleet commander by leveraging the capabilities of 3rd and 7th Fleets. This operational concept allows both numbered fleets to complement one another and provide the foundation of stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

CVW-2 includes the "Black Knights" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 4, the "Blue Hawks" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78, the "Bounty Hunters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2, the "Blue Blasters" of VFA-34, the "Kestrels" of VFA-137, the "Golden Dragons" of VFA-192, the "Black Eagles" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113, the "Gauntlets" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136 and the "Providers" of Fleet Logistic Support Squadron (VRC) 30.


For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Commander, Carrier Strike Group 1, visit www.navy.mil/local/csg1/.

 

[TaiShang]

5.7-km bridge to connect artificial islet in south China
(Xinhua) 08:47, February 19, 2017

　　The rendering of the multi-functional bridge [Photo: CCTV]

Construction started Saturday on a multi-functional bridge that will connect China's southernmost province of Hainan to a nearby man-made islet.

The bridge will be 27.5 meters wide and 5,666 meters long, spanning over sea north of the provincial capital Haikou to link to the Ruyi Islet, a tourism project still under construction, according to the 2nd Engineering Company of the China Railway 18th Bureau Group, a major contractor of the bridge.

The bridge will have six main functions: road, a tramway, and being a corridor for water, electricity, natural gas and optical fiber.

The sea under the bridge has an average depth of 10 to 15 meters, and the construction could be challenged by strong wind, thick fog and tides, according to the company.

He Changsong, project manager at the company, said the bridge was designed to resist super typhoons and earthquakes of more than magnitude 8.

The sail-shaped bridge is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2019.

 

[cochine]

US carrier group patrols in disputed waterway
By Reuters/Matthew Tostevin February 19, 2017 | 01:03 pm GMT+7

Sailors man the rails as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier departs on deployment from Naval Station North Island in Coronado, California, U.S. January 5, 2017. Photo by Reuters/Mike Blake
Friction between the United States and China over trade and territory under U.S. President Donald Trump have increased concerns that the troubled sea could become a flashpoint.
A United States aircraft carrier strike group has begun patrols the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls East Sea, amid growing tension with China over control of the disputed waterway and concerns it could become a flashpoint under the new U.S. administration.

China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned Washington against challenging its sovereignty in the South China Sea.

The U.S. navy said the force, including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, began routine operations in the South China Sea on Saturday. The announcement was posted on the Vinson's Facebook page.

The strike group's commander, Rear Admiral James Kilby, said that weeks of training in the Pacific had improved the group's effectiveness and readiness.

"We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," he was quoted as saying by the Navy News Service.

Friction between the United States and China over trade and territory under U.S. President Donald Trump have increased concerns that the South China Sea could become a flashpoint.

China wrapped up its own naval exercises in the South China Sea on Friday. War games involving its own aircraft carrier have unnerved neighbors with which it has long-running territorial disputes.

China lays claim to almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion worth of trade passes each year.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of the waters that command strategic sea lanes and have rich fishing grounds, along with oil and gas deposits.

The United States has criticized Beijing's construction of man-made islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and expressed concern they could be used to restrict free movement.

 

[RISING SUN]

As US-China ties run into trouble, India eyes bigger Asean role
As the US-China relationship becomes fraught with tension, Asia is doing what it does best — looking for balancing powers to hedge against both an aggressive China and an uncertain America. Over the coming weeks and months, India plans to ramp up its already strong engagement with Asia with an eye to building alliances, hedging and projecting itself as a "leading power" in the region.

Vietnam's foreign minister Pham Binh Minh and vice-president will visit India in the coming weeks.
Malaysia's already embattled PM Najib Razak is also expected to make a trip,
and India expects to host Malcolm Turnbull, the Australian PM, later this year.
The Bangladeshi PM is likely to visit in April,
while foreign secretary S Jaishankar is currently on a tour of Sri Lanka, China and Bangladesh, both as a neighbourhood visit as well as contextualising these relationships within the larger Asian chessboard.

For the countries of the region, the initial days of the Trump administration has been replete with confusing signals. There is a general sense that the US-China relationship will be frosty at best, and the impact of this would be felt in every regional capital. Trump and his top cabinet picks have indicated a more confrontational stance on China's island-building, definitely more aggressive on trade and tariffs, while walking away from the only Obama "pivot" exercise, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Trump administration does not believe, as some do, that undoing TPP will open strategic space for China. It believes that TPP would have had a limited impact in "containing" China and that Asian nations were in any case wary of Beijing's intent and would look to hedge their bets.

On the other hand, after showing some desire to change the US-China template, Trump reaffirmed the "one-China" policy, secretary of state Rex Tillerson moderated his comments on South China Sea and North Korea's recent missile test went off with a mild reproof from Washington. For regional powers, it means two things — they know what to expect from China and are concerned, but they do not know much of what to expect from the new US administration, a cause of equal concern. Philippine defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana told an interviewer last week that China might build on Scarborough Shoal, 300km from Manila, if it felt it would be unchecked.

"If we allow them, they will build," he was quoted as saying. "That's very, very disturbing. Very much (more) disturbing than Fiery Cross because this is so close to us." The Philippines is arguably the closest US ally in the Asean region. Vietnam feels particularly let down with the death of TPP, having banked on its as a political signal.
An unchecked China could revive tensions in South China Sea. While Japan and India remain steady allies, Hanoi is keen to get a better sense of how the US wants to play in that region. This would be one of the top topics of conversation between Vietnamese leaders and their Indian counterparts. India, thus far, appears to be on the right side of the new Trump administration and this gives it an interesting insight into Washington, these countries feel. Malaysia had fallen into China's sphere of influence, particularly after Beijing stepped in to rescue the scam-ridden 1MDB company. Malaysian ports are hosting Chinese submarines, like Sri Lanka, and Malaysia has committed to buying submarines from China as well.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...es-bigger-asean-role/articleshow/57240128.cms

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese Navy carries out counter-attack drill in South China Sea
chinadaily.com.cn/Xinhua | 2017-02-21


Missile destroyers Changsha and Haikou, part of the Chinese Navy's Nanhai Fleet, fire at simulated enemy destroyers during a counter-attack drill in the South China Sea on Feb 19, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

A missile destroyer fires at the simulated enemy during a drill in the South China Sea on Feb 19, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]


A soldier on the missile destroyer Changsha fires flares during a drill in the South China Sea on Feb 19, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Soldiers on a flight deck deploy a floating target to act as the simulated enemy destroyer during a drill in the South China Sea on Feb 19, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]