South China Sea Strategies for other nations (Not China)

Duterte standing up for the Philippines all around.

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SOUTH CHINA SEA | Sun Oct 16, 2016 | 5:17am EDT
Philippine leader says will raise arbitration case with China, won't bargain

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he would raise a controversial arbitral ruling on the South China Sea with China's leaders, and vowed not to surrender any sovereignty or deviate from the July award by the tribunal in The Hague.

Duterte said his trip to China this week represented a turning point in bilateral ties, but he acknowledged there was some public concern about his rapid rapprochement moves and reassured Filipinos that would not impact on the country's maritime sovereignty.

In comments that will not sit comfortably with the Chinese leadership, Duterte said the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration would be talked about and the parameters of the award would be discussed, but there would be no "hard imposition" of it.

The ruling dealt a blow to China's extensive claims in the South China Sea. Beijing has refused to recognize the case and has chided any country telling it to abide by the ruling.

"I will not bargain anywhere, we will continue to insist that is ours," he told a news conference in his home city of Davao.

"The international tribunal decision will be taken up."

The unpredictable president's moves to strongly engage China, just a few months after an arbitral award that sparked fears in the region of a backlash by Beijing in the South China Sea, mark a striking reversal in Philippine foreign policy since he took office on June 30.

Duterte goes to China on Tuesday with at least 200 members of the Philippine business elite to pave the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance. Among the areas expected to be prioritized are financing for Philippine businesses, farm exports, major infrastructure investments and tourism.

It comes amid a torrent of anti-American comments by Duterte that have cast a cloud over a longstanding relationship with the United States.

While he continues to chastise and hurl abuse at Washington for expressing concern about his bloody war on drugs, he insists his strategic gambit is about abiding by a constitution that enshrines an independent foreign policy.

He spoke of his intention to "intensify" trade ties and work closer with China, but would not avoid discussing what is a bone of contention between them.

"There will be no hard impositions. We will talk, we will maybe paraphrase everything in the judgment and set the limits of our territories, the special economic zones," he said of meeting.

"It will be no bargaining. It is ours and many of you are wanting to ask the question. No bargaining."

Duterte's comments might rattle China, which has spoken glowingly about the new partnership, but may not want to hear about an international ruling that it lost comprehensively, and included the invalidation of the U-shaped "nine-dashed line" featured on Chinese maps and passports.

(Reporting by Martin Petty)
 
video is in youtube under the name
Police Van rams protesters outside US Embassy Manila
(not sure if to link it here, it's of course violent); here's The Guardian story:
Philippines police van rams protesters outside US embassy in Manila
At least three students taken to hospital after vehicle drives into activists who had begun attacking it with batons at anti-US rally

A police van has rammed into protesters as an anti-US rally outside the American embassy in the
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capital, Manila, turned violent.

At least three student activists were taken to hospital after they were run over by the van driven by a police officer, the protest leader Renato Reyes said.

Television footage showed the van repeatedly ramming the protesters as it drove wildly back and forth after protesters had surrounded and started hitting the van with wooden batons they had seized from the police.

In front of horrified crowds, the van suddenly drove backwards then forwards twice over a space of about 20 metres, scattering protesters.

Some demonstrators screamed in surprise, while others hurled stones at the van. One protester called the police “puppies of imperialists” using a loudspeaker.

“There was absolutely no justification for it,” Reyes said of the police tactics. “Even as the president vowed an independent foreign policy, Philippine police forces still act as running dogs of the US.”

Police lobbed teargas and arrested at least 23 protesters who broke through a line of riot police and hurled red paint at the officers and a US government seal at the start of the rally at the seaside embassy compound.

A firetruck doused the protesters with water to push them back, but they took hold of the water hose and confronted officers with rocks and red paint. After breaking through the police corridor, they wrote “US troops out now” and other slogans in red paint on the embassy’s tall fence.

The protesters, made up of students, workers and tribespeople, were demanding an end to the presence of US troops in the country and supporting a call by the president,
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, for a foreign policy not dependent on the US, the country’s treaty ally.

The activists came from the country’s largest leftwing umbrella group, Bayan (Nation), which has organised regular anti-US protests in front of the embassy for decades, most of which are peaceful.

Duterte is on a state visit to China, where he is seeking to repair relations strained under his predecessor over territorial conflicts in the South China Sea. He is also seeking to expand two-way trade and investments and seek financing for infrastructure projects.

Amid an uneasy relationship with the US, Duterte has tried to forge links with China and Russia, bringing uncertainty to his country’s long alliance with America.

The hardline president
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and has since made a succession of anti-American outbursts, calling Barack Obama the “son of a whore” and telling the US president to “go to hell”.

The protesters also opposed the president’s effort to make overtures toward China. “The Philippines will not be dictated on, whether by the US or China,” they said in a statement.

The Philippine national police did not comment immediately.

The violent incidents took place as the police and Duterte are under increased international scrutiny for their alleged role in the killings of thousands of drug suspects and pushers as part of the president’s war on drugs.
source:
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A statement by the US to both Vietnam and China?

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WORLD NEWS | Fri Oct 21, 2016 | 9:38am EDT
Exclusive: U.S. carries out freedom-of-navigation operation in South China Sea - officials

A U.S. navy warship carried out a freedom-of-navigation operation in the South China Sea on Friday near islands claimed by China and two other Asian countries, U.S. officials told Reuters.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur challenged "excessive maritime claims near the Paracel Islands," specifically Triton and Woody Islands, claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam, the U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
 

taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
It seems that the noise of the "arbitration" has died out. I still remember how furosious some people defended the "legality" of that "arbitration" just few months ago.

Now let me set a "milestone/period" conclusion for it. I have said and am still saying and so far proving to be right. The "arbitration" was and is a farce, null, void. Read the Philippine and China joint declaration at the conclusion of President Duterte's visit.
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40. Both sides exchange views on issues regarding the South China Sea. Both sides affirm that contentious issues are not the sum total of the Philippines-China bilateral relationship. Both sides exchange views on the importance of handling the disputes in the South China Sea in an appropriate manner. Both sides also reaffirm the importance of maintaining and promoting peace and stability, freedom of navigation in and over-flight above the South China Sea, addressing their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and the 1982 UNCLOS.

That is a straight exclusion of any third party in the matter, meaning the "arbitration".:D

It is also exactly what I proposed as the condition of rapprochement between the two sides.
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
A statement by the US to both Vietnam and China?

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It is simply, IMHO, a continuation of what I indicated several times last year and earlier this year.

The US will continue FON operations. Short of serious military intervention, China will not stop such exercises.

At the same time, China will continue to improve its new islands in the SCS. Again, short of serious military intervention, the US will not be able to stop them from doing so.

So the US sails ships through the SCS, and perhaps at some point with an ally or two,

But the Chinese have established and will continue to improve fixed installations in the area. Let's see how far they go with their improvements.

As I said, short of very serious military intervention that would lead to war, neither side is going to stop the other. But it will be interesting to see how much "improvement" the Chinese place on those islands in terms of their ability to be mutually defensive of one another.
 
...

So the US sails ships through the SCS, and perhaps at some point with an ally or two,
...
... as Japan, UK, US Navy chiefs sign maritime cooperation treaty
UK’s Royal Navy is likely to join Japan and U.S. in their South China Sea patrols following a trilateral agreement which the three sides signed in the Pentagon on October 20.

The three chiefs of navy agreed to deeper cooperation in exercises and an increase in combined patrols.

Specific activities would be worked out in follow-on discussions, it was said.

The chiefs met for the first time for such an event to address an “increase in maritime traffic worldwide and current events”.

The result of a half-day session was the signing of an agreement affirming their commitment to increased collaboration and cooperation.

“As Chiefs of three highly capable and like-minded Services, we share a common vision of enhancing the operational effectiveness of our maritime forces through increased cooperation.

“Based on shared national interests and a collective assessment of the future security environment, we recognize this opportunity to strengthen maritime contributions for achieving mutually desired strategic effects,” part of the statement read.

The U.S., Japan and U.K. navies have regularly operated together off East Africa, around Europe and in the Western Pacific. This is now likely to be broadened to include Asian waters.

Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada already said in September this year that Japan would increase its South China Sea activities through joint patrols with the U.S. Navy.
source:
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again US destroyer sails near disputed Paracel Islands
The US Navy (USN) launched another freedom-of-navigation operation (FONOP) in disputed areas of the South China Sea (SCS) on 21 October, US officials confirmed.

USS Decatur (DDG 73), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, sailed near Chinese-controlled Triton and Woody Islands in the Paracels. The patrol, which did not cross the 12 n-mile territorial limit of any of the features, was intended to challenge Chinese claims in the disputed waters, an official told the Navy Times newspaper.

"USS Decatur (DDG 73) conducted this transit in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident," US Department of Defense spokesman Commander Gary Ross was quoted by the paper as saying.

"The United States conducts these routine operations on a regular basis around the world, in full compliance with international law," he added. The operation was first reported by Reuters news agency.

White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said at a news briefing that same day that the purpose of the mission was to "uphold the rights and freedoms of all states under international law" as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, also known as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

"This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law," said the spokesperson.

China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) condemned the move as "illegal and provocative", adding that two Chinese guided missile destroyers warned the US vessel to leave the area.

"This has proved that the US side is the 'troublemaker' in the stability of the South China Sea," MND spokesman Wu Qian was quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper as saying. "China will work together with other nations in the area to firmly defend peace and stability in the South China Sea region," he added.
the rest of the article available from Jane's (not to me though hehe):
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Blackstone

Brigadier
Must be awkward for "Swift Boat" Johnny on soliciting Hanoi to gang up on Beijing with the "rule of law" canard, while scheming for regime change in both countries with the "human rights" strategy. All this in a lame duck administration, with little support from an American public who's increasingly hostile to foreign entanglements. Almost makes me feel bad for the "war hero." Lying sack of sh!t.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. and Vietnam share a commitment to rule of law in the disputed South China Sea.

Kerry was speaking ahead of talks Tuesday with a top figure in Vietnam's ruling communist party, Executive Secretary Dinh The Huynh (din tay hwin).

Vietnam is among governments claiming territory in the South China Sea, where China's assertive behavior and land reclamation has stirred tension.

The meeting comes five months after President Barack Obama visited Vietnam and lifted restrictions on arms sales to the former U.S. enemy. It also takes place as longstanding U.S. ally in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, is strengthening its ties with China.

Kerry said he and Huynh will also discuss human rights — still a sore point in U.S.-Vietnam relations.
 

Janiz

Senior Member
Must be awkward for "Swift Boat" Johnny on soliciting Hanoi to gang up on Beijing with the "rule of law" canard, while scheming for regime change in both countries with the "human rights" strategy.
???

US is trying to 'change regime' in Vietnam?
 
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