Weekly News 14 - 21/11

- ( Financial Times 18/11 )  Obama declares Asia a ‘top priority’ : planned cuts in defence spending will not affect America’s military presence in east Asia, as the US seeks to play a  larger role  in shaping the region’s future. - ( New York Times 17/11 )  Beijing Is Wary of Obama's Assertive China Policy:  While Beijing's public response to President Barack Obama's more muscular China policy...

14/11/2011

Weekly News 14 - 21/11

  - (Economic Times 13/11) China tensions stoke Vietnam naval ambitions: Facing an emboldened and heavily armed China in a territorial stand-off, Vietnam is looking to swell its naval reputation with enhanced firepower and renewed pride in its maritime past.  - (New York Times 12/11) Obama Sees an Opening on China Trade: “We’re going to be going through some tough fiscal positions back home,”...

14/11/2011

Weekly News 21 - 28/11

- (Foreign Policy 28/11) Not just one pivot: Time to acknowledge Obama’s broad redefinition of U.S. national security policy. - (Financial Times 27/11) America is back in the Pacific and will uphold the rules: - ( Reuters 30/11 )  China military denounces U.S.-Australia defense upgrade, warning that such moves could erode trust and fan Cold War-era antagonism. - ( Arirang News 1/12 )  South...

22/11/2011

Will the Guidelines to Implement the DOC Lessen Tensions in the South China Sea? An Assessment of Developments Before and After Their Adoption, by Carlyle A. Thayer

This paper looks at developments affecting security in the South China Sea prior to and after the adoption of the Guidelines to Implement the Declaration on Conduct in the South China Sea on July 20, 2011. The first part of the paper provides a comparative assessment of China’s aggressive assertiveness in relations with the Philippines and Vietnam and their responses prior to the adoption of the Guidelines....

25/11/2011

Issues and Interests in the South China Sea, by Rodolfo C. Severino

The issues involved in the South China Sea disputes and clashes of interests in it are extremely complex. They include legal, technical, domestic political, international political, strategic, and economic considerations. Unfortunately, in their effort to make things understandable to their readers, viewers or listeners, or out of their own ignorance, or both, the mass media contribute to the confusion,...

25/11/2011

Opening remark by Amb. Dang Dinh Quy, President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

Ha Noi, 3-5 November 2011 Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, On behalf of the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and the Viet Nam Lawyers Association, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all of you who have come to participate in the Third International Workshop on “The South China Sea: Cooperation for Regional Security and Development” in Viet Nam.

28/11/2011

Testing the Temperature: The Global Significance of the South China Sea Dispute, by Geoffrey Till

Two different approaches to the complex and difficult South China Sea issue have become clear. One, expressed consistently and strongly by the Chinese, is that the issue should be seen only as a local issue, not a global one. Beijing reacted strongly to Hillary Clinton’s expression of the US interest at the ASEAN summit in Vietnam in July 2010.[1] On his official web-site, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi...

29/11/2011

America “Returns” to Asia: The South China Sea, by Bronson Percival

China has presented the United States with a golden opportunity to reaffirm a principled stand on South China Sea issues and thus strengthen its alliances and partnerships with other states in Asia.  Beijing’s excessive claim and assertive behavior by elements of China’s maritime agencies in the South China Sea have alienated many governments in the rest of Asia.  In the South China Sea, Beijing is...

29/11/2011

To Level up the Cognitive Differences in History and Law: Paving the Way for Cooperation between China and Nations around the South China Sea, by Su Hao, Ren Yuan-Zhe

As is known to all, China is a country with an ancient civilization, and Chinese people have been developing frontier regions and expanding boundaries, laboring and working, living and breeding in this land for thousands of years, and have, consequently, developed a historically integrated territory and institutionalized territorial management. The South China Sea is the sea area which was discovered...

30/11/2011

Weekly News 5 - 12/12

- (Project Syndicate 6/12) Obama’s Pacific Pivot: whatever the outcome of the defense-budget debates, “we are going to make sure that we protect the capabilities that we need to maintain our presence in the Asia-Pacific” region. - (Jakarta Post 8/12) US offered F-16s ‘to anticipate rising China’: ‘The US expects Indonesia to help them counter China if anything bad happens in the South China Sea,’...

05/12/2011