China's SCS Strategy Thread

[Iron Man]

Sewage ponds?

 

[PanAsian]

Genuine intent or setting China up for the fall?

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

WORLD NEWS | Fri Aug 12, 2016 7:02am EDT
Philippines seeks formal talks with China amid South China Sea tension: Ramos

By Venus Wu | HONG KONG
The Philippines wants formal negotiations with China to explore pathways to peace and cooperation, the Southeast Asian nation's special envoy, Fidel Ramos, said on Friday, after a meeting with former Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu Ying.

Ramos was speaking near the end of a trip to Hong Kong undertaken in a bid to rekindle ties with China, which have been soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

An arbitration court in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court's authority.

"Informal discussions focused on the need to engage in further talks to build trust and confidence to reduce tensions to pave the way for overall cooperation," Ramos and Fu said in a joint statement on Friday.

They added that China welcomed Ramos to visit Beijing as the special envoy of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June and has signaled a greater willingness to engage with China than his predecessor.

"It's not really a breakthrough in a sense that there is no ice here in Hong Kong to break but the fish we eat... are cooked in delicious recipes," Ramos, who had earlier referred to his visit as a fishing expedition, told reporters.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits.

The statement added that both Beijing and Manila would seek to promote fishing cooperation, marine preservation, and tourism but made no specific mention of the South China Sea or the ruling, and did not set a time frame for possible talks.

Ramos said neither side asserted its own sovereignty over disputed areas in the South China Sea, such as the Scarborough Shoal and Mischief Reef.

"There was no discussion on that particular aspect, except to mention equal fishing rights," said Ramos.

The statement said the discussions were held in a private capacity, and Ramos said later other back channel talks with China were underway.

"We hope this type of exchange can assist China and the Philippines in returning to dialogue and improving relations," China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement on the ministry's website.

China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, denying Philippine fishermen access, one of the factors that prompted Manila to seek arbitration.

Ramos was president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998, when China occupied the submerged Mischief Reef.

(Reporting by Venus Wu; Additional reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Paul Tait and Christian Schmollinger)

 

[Blackstone]

Genuine intent or setting China up for the fall?

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Genuine or nefarious doesn't matter, because it ends pretty much the way Beijing wants it. China stated clearly SCS was a "core interest," before Manila embarked on confrontational track, and China's stance hasn't changed in the least. If anything, China's grip of the SCS is even stronger than before the non-PCA tribunal indulged in playing international politics.

Chi-roe Doctrine is taking shape before our eyes.

 

[vincent]

No one knows what these hexagonal structures the Chinese keep building in the South China Sea are for

They are shield generators!!!

 

[solarz]

They are shield generators!!!

Nah, they're maintenance hangars for giant wasp mechas.

 

[Jeff Head]

They are shield generators!!!

Hehehe...maybe it is something like the SIno version of AEGIS ashore.

 

[Equation]

Sewage ponds?

I thought about that, but why make it hexagon shape when a rectangular shape can do just the same? Plus that would save a lot of time and money as a waste treatment plant.

 

[plawolf]

Hexagon structure should have greater structural strength than standard rectangle structures in withstanding storms (smaller frontal surface area that could possibly face strong winds/waves head on, and can also lend support to more neighbouring cells), there are good reasons why bees and wasps adopt such a structure for their hives over rectangles.

These are probably water or fuel storage silos. Although I sure some silly pundits will try to put a far more threatening spin on them by trying to imagine them as so sort of weapons related structure or system.

 

[Newchina2014]

Things are changing very fast......

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Speaking at the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party last month, Xi Jinping delivered what Western analysts are calling an "incendiary speech" in which he called for a military union with Russia that would render NATO "powerless" and "put an end to the imperialist desires of the West."

Could anyone following Chinese news confirm whether Xi did say something like that during the 95th annniversary ?

 

[A.Man]

Things are changing very fast......

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Speaking at the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party last month, Xi Jinping delivered what Western analysts are calling an "incendiary speech" in which he called for a military union with Russia that would render NATO "powerless" and "put an end to the imperialist desires of the West."

Could anyone following Chinese news confirm whether Xi did say something like that during the 95th annniversary ?

Out of the topic! Please moving the post to a place for its propaganda!