South China Sea Strategies for other nations (Not China)

[Blackstone]

This ruling will have major repercussion years to come. Biggest losers might be Japan and United States because of their reef holdings in the Pacific Ocean.

No chance US and Japan would lose any holdings they don't wish to, because that's not how great powers behave. Not now, not yesterday, and most likely not tomorrow.

 

[Blackstone]

Some pearls of wisdom from the soon to be ex-Congressman and ex-Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee, the Honorable J. Randy Forbs (who lost the Republican primary contest to a Trump supporter). As expected, it's long on talk and short on action.

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Today’s ruling of the UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunal on the territorial disputes between the Philippines and China offers two paths forward for China, and the Asia-Pacific region more broadly. How China chooses to respond to the tribunal’s judgement, which sided against Beijing’s claims on key counts, will do much to determine the course of Asian security and the post-1945 international order in the decades to come.

Since World War II, the United States and its global partners have sought to cement an international framework that prizes peaceful resolution of disputes, adherence to international laws and norms, and rejects the use of coercive force to achieve national objectives. This order, built out of the ashes of two devastating world wars, has contributed mightily to the growing prosperity of China and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the absence of open warfare between Great Powers over the past seventy years.

Despite China’s repeated claims of wishing to become a “responsible stakeholder” on the world stage, China’s recent behavior represents the most serious threat to this order since the collapse of the Soviet Union. China’s economic clout, expanding military reach and capabilities, and Orwellian insistence that it is always the victim of others’ aggressive intentions pose an especially difficult challenge for an international system.

This challenge has been particularly acute in managing Beijing’s territorial disputes with its neighbors. From the East China Sea to the South China Sea to China’s disputed land borders with India, Beijing has undertaken a systematic campaign to change the facts on the ground through coercion. Whether constructing artificial features in the South China Sea to strengthen its claims, declaring illegitimate Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, or repeatedly engaging in provocative militarily behavior near the Indian territory of Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing has repeatedly shown itself to subscribe to the “might-makes-right” school of international politics.

Today’s ruling is a fundamental rebuke to Beijing, not simply on the facts of the case but simply by the manner in which the decision was reached. The Philippines’ decision to bring its claims before the UNCLOS tribunal is in keeping with the principles and values that have animated the United States and its partners in the postwar world. That a small, developing nation like the Philippines can successfully appeal to international law and norms against the Chinese colossus is a powerful rebuttal to the famous words of China’s former foreign minister, who

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that “China is a big country and other countries are small countries, and that’s just a fact” in justifying Beijing’s belligerency.

Should China choose to ignore this ruling, it will show once and for all the hollowness of its pledges to act as a constructive member of the international community. But it will also pose a serious threat to the international order itself: the world’s second-largest economy and largest military openly repudiating the liberal international order, including the peaceful resolution of disputes. The consequences for international security will be profound, and Beijing’s response will be watched intently in Moscow, Tehran and Pyongyang.

Now is the time for the United States to stiffen its resolve in preparation for China’s potential refusal to accept the ruling, or perhaps to even seek a military solution to its disputes with Manila. The administration’s dispatch of two Carrier Strike Groups to the region in recent weeks has been the appropriate response thus far. Should China respond rashly to the ruling, Washington should leave no doubt about its intention to stand with our treaty allies and partners to resist aggression and uphold both our values and interests.

The tribunal decision is an inflection point in the history of China’s rise, representing the most notable clash yet between the values animating the post-1945 international system and Beijing’s revisionist approach to world affairs. While it is up to China how it chooses to respond to this decision, the United States has only one option: to stand resolutely with our friends in the Philippines and across the region in defense of universal values and the belief that no country, no matter the size of its military or GDP, is above the law.

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower & Projection Forces Subcommittee and Co-Chairman of the Congressional China Caucus.

 

[Brumby]

Trade union protests China sinking Vietnamese fishing boat

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The Vietnam Fisheries Trade Union (VFTU) objected to Chinese vessels attacking Vietnamese fishing boats in a statement on July 11.

A fishing boat from Quang Ngai province with six sailors on board was sunk by Chinese vessels on July 9 while fishing near the Paracel (Hoang Sa) Islands.
The statement was issued following an incident in which fishing boat QNg 90479-TS from central Quang Ngai province with six sailors on board was attacked and sunk by Chinese vessels at around 11:00 am on July 9 while fishing near the Paracel (Hoang Sa) Islands.

The Vietnamese boat was steamed towards by two Chinese ships, numbered 46101 and 35103, which then released two speedboats to hound and ram into it. At the same time, a group of Chinese men jumped into the boat and ruthlessly beat its captain, Vo Van Luu, with truncheons, the statement said.

The attack caused damage in the boat’s sides and eventually sunk it, it noted.

The VFTU added that the Chinese vessels also prevented other Vietnamese boats nearby from approaching and rescuing the fishermen on board.

The fishermen were finally saved by another fishing boat from Quang Ngai run by Captain Huynh Van Khanh at 19:00 the same day.

The trade union stated it strongly opposed China’s use of violence against the Vietnamese fishermen that have threatened their lives and caused them heavy economic losses.

It requested Vietnam’s authorities to take prompt actions to protect the fishermen and their properties at sea as well as prevent similar incidents from happening.

It is rather despicable and barbaric act to ram and sink a vessel and then prevent rescue operations.

 

[Blackstone]

Trade union protests China sinking Vietnamese fishing boat

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It is rather despicable and barbaric act to ram and sink a vessel and then prevent rescue operations.

A rather one-sided report by another state-controlled news media, but if it's anywhere near the truth, then it's barbaric behavior and should be condemned. Dearly love to see the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Need to wait for more facts to come out.

Your willingness to take a state-controlled media as gospel is noted, sport.

 

[SamuraiBlue]

Was the ships owned by one of the Chinese Ministries?
From the article it was vague but I got the impression that they were privately owned meaning they are vigilantes in which case the Chinese are required to arrest them and hand them over to Vietnam authorities.
On the other hand if the Vietnam authorities are able to apprehend them and find evidence that they are connected to the PRC government then they are going to be a political storm between the two nations.

 

[MwRYum]

Some pearls of wisdom from the soon to be ex-Congressman and ex-Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee, the Honorable J. Randy Forbs (who lost the Republican primary contest to a Trump supporter). As expected, it's long on talk and short on action.

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The million dollar question is how to enforce it. Not to mention spoken by a nation that itself withdrew from the PCJ and never rectified the UNCLOS, the US play in this is purely due to it has the muscle and the will to use those muscles to muscle in, to fulfill its "blockading China" policy. And with China has not enough nuclear weapon stockpile and delivery system to enact MAD, the US is actually want this "Cold War 2.0" to go hot, "good for business" so to speak.

 

[joshuatree]

Trade union protests China sinking Vietnamese fishing boat

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It is rather despicable and barbaric act to ram and sink a vessel and then prevent rescue operations.

I would agree it's not right but I feel the same as Blackstone, any other independent sources to verify first? Let's not forget, there are pirates of all ethnicities in those waters as well as vigilantes.

 

[Brumby]

I would agree it's not right but I feel the same as Blackstone, any other independent sources to verify first? Let's not forget, there are pirates of all ethnicities in those waters as well as vigilantes.

Vigilantes or state sponsored little green men?

 

[joshuatree]

Vigilantes or state sponsored little green men?

Same can be asked of the other side. Chinese fishermen get harassed too.

The link you provided has a pic but all it shows is a sinking vessel. If the other Vietnamese fishing vessels were supposedly kept at bay yet they could take a photo of the matter, it would make sense to show a pic with one or both of the Chinese vessels involved. I'm rather surprised you're not seeking validation of this incident and just accepting it face value.

 

[Brumby]

Same can be asked of the other side. Chinese fishermen get harassed too.

There is a big difference between being harassed and preventing rescue

The link you provided has a pic but all it shows is a sinking vessel. If the other Vietnamese fishing vessels were supposedly kept at bay yet they could take a photo of the matter, it would make sense to show a pic with one or both of the Chinese vessels involved. I'm rather surprised you're not seeking validation of this incident and just accepting it face value.

I am making judgement based on what had been reported. You are entitled to question the veracity of the incident. Please feel free to validate the story and update us.