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Activities of the Claimants

China

Submersible Jiaolong sets sail for deep-sea mission

China’s manned submersible the Jiaolong, aboard its support ship Xiangyanghong-9, has left a port in Jiangsu province, for a deep-sea mission. It will conduct research on the sea's currents, its rich marine life and environment. The whole voyage will take more than 110 days.

18 Chinese maritime ships operating in the South China Sea

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About 18 Chinese vessels are intruding into Philippine territory, raising the need to pour more resources to defense spending, a security official said June 13th. Vicente Agdamag, Deputy Director-General of the National Security Council Secretariat, said the deployment of the ships is in line with China’s aim to consolidate its control over the South China Sea. “Right now, there are 18 maritime surveillance ships operating in our area,” Agdamag said during the Air Force’s Air Power Symposium 2013 in Pasay City. He recommended increasing the investment for defense by 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in order to “be at par with our neighbors and more importantly to develop a modicum of a credible defense capability to protect our maritime and strategic interest”.

Vietnam

Vietnam calls for compliance with UNCLOS

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Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Le Hoai Trung made the statement while attending the 23rd meeting of State Parties to the UNCLOS, which was opened in New York on June 10th and would last until 14th. As for most of the East Sea’s coastal states, which are developing countries and States Parties to the UNCLOS, incomes created from the use and exploitation of this sea make important contribution to the economies of these coastal states, including Vietnam, Trung said. In the East Sea, the ambassador said, fishing is a traditional means of living for millions of people, most of them are poor. Therefore, it is responsibility for all governments to provide safe and stable conditions for fishermen when they operate at sea to make their living. The ambassador emphasized that conducting unilateral actions, such as imposing fishing bans or using military or para-military ships to enforce the domestic laws in disputed areas shall not only violate the UNCLOS but also further complicate the situation. The official also introduced to the meeting Vietnam’s maritime law, which has been effective since January 1, 2013, and affirmed that the law is totally conformable with the UNCLOS.

The Philippines

No new Chinese structures, but 4 ships in Panatag – expert

Rommel Banlaoi of the Philippine Association of Chinese Studies said reports about the supposed buildup in Scarborough Shoal are not true. “It’s a false report,” Banlaoi told The STAR. “(There are) no new structures (in Panatag Shoal). Three CMS (Chinese maritime surveillance) vessels and one FLEC (Fisheries Law Enforcement Command) vessel are in the vicinity,” he said. Banlaoi said building structures in Panatag Shoal could further complicate the territorial row in the South China Sea.

Aquino vows to defend territory, sovereignty

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III vowed June 12th the Philippines will not back down from any challenge to its sovereignty and territory amid a sea dispute with China. He said in a speech marking the 115th anniversary of the country's independence from Spain that the Philippines has not claimed territory that clearly belongs to another country but only asks that "our territory, rights and dignity be respected." "Aggression does not run in our veins, but neither will we back down from any challenge," Aquino said.

Philippines thanks US senators for draft resolution condemning China’s territorial claims

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez on June 14th welcomed US Senate Resolution 167, filed June 10th in an effort to ease tensions in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. “We understand that the resolution has yet to undergo the necessary congressional process before it is passed by the US Senate, nonetheless, we extend our appreciation on the mere fact that some US senators have deigned it necessary to express their views on a fundamental issue that affects the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region,” Hernandez said in a statement.

Philippines to receive 2nd warship from US

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Amid rising tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the Philippines will soon get its second Hamilton-class cutter, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, by the first week of August, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said June 10th. The Philippines first acquired the 48-year-old Hamilton-class cutter, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, from the US Coast Guard in 2011 while the 45-year-old BRP Alcaraz was acquired by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) last May 22nd, 2012 for P450 million.

The U.S.

US Senate Files Resolution On Asia-Pacific Territorial Row

On June 10th, U.S. senators Robert Menendez, Benjamin Cardin, Marco Rubio and Bob Corker, filed Senate Resolution 167. condemning the use of threat and force by feuding countries in the region, particularly China. U.S. Senate Resolution 167, which has been referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, is expected to undergo the required congressional hearings before it passes the U.S. Senate. It reaffirms Washington's support for the amicable settlement of territorial row in the whole region. The resolution is seeking a united stand from the U.S. Senate to condemn "the use of coercion, threats, or force by naval, maritime security, or fishing vessels and military or civilian aircraft in the South China Sea and the East China Sea to assert disputed maritime or territorial claims or alter the status quo."

Regional Snapshots

4 Indian warships in Manila for goodwill visit

A flotilla of four Indian naval ships arrived in Manila on June 12th for a four-day goodwill visit to the Philippines. The guided missile frigate Satpura, guided missile corvette Kirch, guided missile destroyer Ranvijay, and fleet tanker Shakti docked at Pier 15 of Manila’s South Harbor and will stay until June 16, according to the Indian Embassy in Manila.

19th CARAT Malaysia Begins

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The 19th annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and the Malaysian Armed Forces commenced with the arrival of a U.S. Navy task group to Kuantan Naval Base, June 15th. The task group includes the guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) with embarked Destroyer Squadron 7 staff, the dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) with embarked USMC Landing Force, the diving and salvage ship USNS Safeguard (T-ARS 50), and making her debut as a CARAT particiapnt, the littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1). Continuing through June 23, CARAT Malaysia 2013 consists of ten days of shore-based and at sea training events designed to address shared maritime security concerns, develop relationships, and enhance interoperability among participating forces.

Taiwan, Philippines agree to avoid further shootings

Taiwan and the Philippines have agreed to avoid use of force when policing their fishing grounds to prevent a recurrence of the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine coast guard officers in May, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on June 15th. The agreement was reached at a first preparatory meeting held in Manila a day earlier to pave the way for bilateral fishery talks, the ministry said in a press statement. The two sides signed the minutes of the preparatory meeting, pledging to avoid the use of force and violence when maintaining order in the overlapping waters of the two countries' exclusive economic zones (EEZs), the statement said.

Commentaries & Analyses

Taipei-Manila row: Three possible scenarios

ByCharles I-hsin Chen

There are three possible scenarios arising from the dispute between Taiwan and the Philippines over the Taiwanese fisherman's shooting death in waters claimed by both sides. In the first scenario, the Philippines fully accepts Taiwan's four demands - apology, punishment, compensation and negotiation - without conditions, while Taiwan accordingly eases up on its show of military muscle and ends sanctions. Yet, this is the least likely scenario. Besides feeling no pain from Taipei's sanctions, Manila has no incentive to risk another failure similar to the one that occurred in the Scarborough Shoal stand-off a year ago. And without positive responses from Manila, Taipei will not find a way to back down gracefully. So the most likely will be the second scenario: Taiwan uses up all its political and economic leverage, while the Philippines does not retreat, or takes an even harder stance. The two countries may fall into a vicious circle of tensions, which, as argued in the article, will hurt Asean's reputation for resolving disputes. Taiwan may be forced to enhance its military capacity in Taiping Island - the largest island among the Spratly Islands - which may trigger more tensions in nearby waters. The best scenario would be the third one: Both Taiwan and the Philippines calm their nationalist surge while trying to negotiate a practical fishery agreement. This agreement will draw a clear maritime boundary in their overlapping territorial waters. It can also benefit Asean countries by offering a workable resolution that can serve as a model for similar maritime disputes. This scenario, however, will require a greater consensus among claimant countries that are keen to apply a common code of conduct in the South China Sea. Unfortunately, tensions are still high, but there will be a chance for the crisis to become a turning point that can lead to a happy ending. Let's all pray for it and try to make it happen.

The Shangri-La Dialogue: A Wrap-up

ByJoshua Kurlantzick

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In Shangri-La Dialogue, China announced, again, that it would not go to international arbitration to resolve its disputes over waters in the East China Sea and South China Sea. “We don’t see any necessity to resort to an international tribunal,” Qi Jianguo, the PLA deputy chief of staff, told the Shangri-La Dialogue. He left open the vague idea that China and other claimants over disputed waters would handle their disputes through “open-minded channels,” whatever that means. Meanwhile, Philippine officials made sure that they got another public pledge, this time from Hagel, of the U.S.-Philippine treaty alliance, a major deterrent to an escalation of China-Philippines tensions in the South China Sea. And although Singapore, host of the forum, is officially a neutral player in disputes over the South China Sea, and not a formal U.S. treaty ally, Singaporean leaders also made sure that a U.S. Navy littoral ship, the USS Freedom, part of the re-balancing to Asia, was docked in Singapore during the Dialogue, and that Hagel made a visit, to the Freedom. This stands in sharp contrast to Singapore’s approach to military-military cooperation with the United States only a decade ago: At that time, the United States and Singapore did have relatively close mil-mil ties, but Singapore went to great lengths to downplay them publicly. All in all, though the Shangri-La Dialogue serves a useful purpose of getting Asia-Pacific leaders to talk to each other and establish the kind of personal links that could be necessary in averting crises, the region’s arms buildup and tensions continue to rise. Though some observers are hopeful that the current head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Brunei (the chairmanship rotates each year), will be effective in moving ASEAN and China toward real negotiations over the South China Sea, this is doubtful.  It is true that Brunei is a contestant in the South China Sea, and that it has some experienced diplomats, and is also small enough to be viewed as an impartial mediator. But as the subtext of the Shangri-La Dialogue showed, no one in East Asia seems to be in any mood for real concessions —on anything.

A diamond in the South China Sea's rough

By Richard Javad Heydarian

While Japan possesses the hard power and military hardware to keep China's territorial ambitions in relative check, smaller, less-armed countries like the Philippines and Vietnam have proven far more vulnerable. Now, an emerging Japan-led "security diamond" alliance could change the region's big-versus-small country dynamic, including in the contested South China Sea. Stuck between an uncertain US commitment and an expansionist China, the Philippines and Vietnam have limited options. Both Southeast Asian countries have thus sought deeper security ties with Japan, significantly at a time prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks to overhaul his country's strategic orientation, including through potential changes to its pacifist constitution. Both countries fit into Abe's proposed "security diamond" alliance network aimed at checking China's rise. That arrangement is coming into clearer view with Vietnam's former deputy foreign minister Le Luong Minh now heading the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung taking an increasingly pro-active position on resolving South China Sea disputes. Judging by the recent statements of Vietnamese and Filipino leaders, as well as their growing bilateral coordination and pro-active diplomatic approach at the latest ASEAN Summit and recently concluded Shangri-La Dialogue, it is clear that the two Southeast Asian nations are urgently seeking multilateral and regional remedies to their deepening security dilemmas in the South China Sea.

The South China Sea Dispute (Part One): Negative Trends Continue in 2013

By Ian Storey

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From January through May, the South China Sea dispute continued to trend in a negative direction. Consistent with the pattern of developments over the past several years, the dispute continued to be characterized by an action-reaction dynamic in which attempts by one of the claimants—most notably, China, the Philippines and Vietnam—to uphold its territorial or jurisdictional claims led to protests and countermoves from the other claimants. Although the United Nations appointed a panel of judges to examine a Philippine legal challenge to China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, and tentative steps were taken by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to begin talks on a Code of Conduct (CoC), there was little optimism that either of these processes would reduce tensions in the short term or provide an environment conductive to a resolution of the problem in the medium to long term. The action-reaction dynamic, and urgent need to stem ongoing tensions, were brought into sharp relief on May 9 when Philippine authorities shot dead a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters, provoking a major crisis in Philippines-Taiwan relations. The tragic incident was not the first of its kind in the South China Sea nor, sadly, is it likely to be the last. Developments in the first half of 2013 demonstrated that the overall trajectory of the South China Sea dispute keeps moving in the wrong direction. So long as the actions of the principal actors continue to be motivated by nationalist rhetoric, an unwillingness to compromise sovereignty claims and competition over access to maritime resources, there is little prospect that this trend will be reversed any time soon.