Page 5 - South China Sea

China angry over US aid to Taiwan, says island putting itself in 'danger'

China on Wednesday blasted the latest package of US military assistance to Taiwan on Wednesday, saying that such funding was pushing the self-governing island republic into a dangerous situation. The US Senate late Tuesday passed USD 95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. The package included USD 8 billion for Taiwan, meant to counter the threat of invasion by China, which claims the entire island as its own territory and has threatened to take it by force if necessary. The mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office said the aid seriously violates US commitments to China and sends a wrong signal to the Taiwan independence separatist forces. Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian added that Taiwan's ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, which won a third four-year presidential term in January, is willing to become a pawn for external forces to use Taiwan to conta

US, Philippine forces launch combat drills in disputed South China Sea

American and Filipino forces launched their largest combat exercises in years Monday in a show of allied firepower near the disputed South China Sea that has alarmed Beijing. The annual exercises by the longtime treaty allies will run until May 10 and involve more than 16,000 of their military personnel, along with more than 250 French and Australian forces. While the Philippine military maintains that the Balikatan Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder trainings are not directed at a particular country, some of their main conflict scenarios are set in or near the disputed South China Sea, where Chinese and Philippine coast guard and accompanying ships have figured in a series of increasingly tense territorial faceoffs since last year. In encounters in disputed areas, Chinese coast guard vessels have resorting to water cannons, blocking and other dangerous maneuvers that have caused injuries to Philippine navy personnel and damaged supply boats. The Philippine military said a key focu

From AUKUS to Philippines: This week's events will keep China on its toes

US, UK and Australia slated to begin discussions on bringing new members into their AUKUS security pact to deter China in the Indo-Pacific

US, Japan, Oz and Philippines to stage military drills in S China Sea

The United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines will hold their first joint naval exercises, including anti-submarine warfare training, in a show of force Sunday in the South China Sea where Beijing's aggressive actions to assert its territorial claims have caused alarm. The four treaty allies and security partners are holding the exercises to safeguard the rule of law that is the foundation for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region and uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, they said in a joint statement issued by their defence chiefs Saturday. China was not mentioned by name in the statement, but the four countries reaffirmed their stance that a 2016 international arbitration ruling, which invalidated China's expansive claims on historical grounds, was final and legally binding. China has refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected the ruling and continues to defy it. The Philippines brought its disputes with China to international arbitration in 2013 aft

Taiwan detects 7 Chinese naval vessels, 3 military aircraft encircling it

Since September 2020, China has increased its use of grey zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan

After China visit, Indonesia prez-elect vows to strengthen ties with Japan

Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto said he wants to further strengthen relations with Japan as he met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday on the heels of a visit to China. Subianto, who's currently defence minister, told Kishida that the two countries are longtime friends who have built a cooperative relationship, and that he hoped to further strengthen the relationship. Japan has been seeking closer ties with Southeast Asian countries, especially in maritime security and defence, in the face of China's increasingly assertive military presence. Subianto, who will succeed Joko Widodo in October, chose Beijing for his first official overseas trip after his February election victory in a bid to emphasise steady ties with China amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, where China and the Philippines have had repeated high-seas confrontations. In his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Subianto pledged a continued friendly policy toward China. Chi

Chinese coast guard ships blast Philippine boat with water cannon

Two Chinese coast guard ships fired at a Philippine supply boat with water cannon on Saturday in the latest confrontation near a disputed South China Sea shoal, causing heavy damage to the wooden vessel, Philippine officials said. It was not immediately clear if the Philippine navy crew was injured, or whether their damaged boat, the Unaizah May 4, managed to maneuver past the Chinese coast guard blockade to deliver supplies to Philippine forces manning a territorial outpost in the nearby Second Thomas Shoal. It's the second time this month the Unaizah May 4 has been damaged during an attempt to resupply the outpost. The shoal has been occupied by a small contingent of Philippine navy personnel on a marooned warship since the late 1990s, but has recently been surrounded by Chinese coast guard and suspected militia vessels in an increasingly tense territorial standoff. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the ...

China flexes its might against the Philippines in disputed waters

It was a heart-pounding moment far out in the disputed South China Sea: One of at least five Chinese coast guard ships aggressively approached and sideswiped a Philippine patrol vessel, creating a loud, jarring noise that sent its Filipino crew scrambling to lower rubber fenders to cushion the boat's hull. As the high-seas faceoff unfolded on Tuesday, two Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons against a smaller supply boat carrying a Filipino admiral and his sailors. The high-pressure spray shattered the boat's windshield and mildly injured the admiral and four sailors with glass shards and splinters of debris. "That's very concerning and very worrisome, Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos later told reporters, after witnessing firsthand the Chinese actions against the supply boat Unaizah Mae 4, which he was aboard. As the highest-ranking Filipino military commander overseeing the disputed waters, Carlos joined the trip to ensure that any confrontation would not spiral out of control, th

Chinese coast guard blocks vessels off South China Sea shoal: Philippines

Chinese coast guard ships blocked Philippine vessels from a disputed South China Sea shoal on Tuesday, causing a minor collision, Philippine officials said. The Chinese vessels executed dangerous maneuvers against two Philippine ships that resulted in the collision between a Philippine coast guard vessel and a Chinese coast guard ship, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said. The Philippine boat had minor structural damage, though no more details were available. Tarriela did not say where the confrontation took place but the military earlier said navy personnel would deliver supplies and fresh troops to the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, the site of several skirmishes between the rival claimant nations last year. The territorial disputes in the South China Sea were expected to be high on the agenda of a summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their Australian counterpart this week. Ahead of Wednesday's summit, Philippin

Philippine minister urges neighbours to stand together in South China Sea

Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo urged regional neighbours on Monday to stand together more strongly in upholding the rule of law in the South China Sea, where China is forcefully pursuing territorial claims in conflict with other nations. Manalo spoke at a forum on maritime cooperation on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian leaders' summit in the Australian city of Melbourne at which increasingly assertive moves by China is high on the agenda. Manalo referred to the Philippines' victory over China in a 2016 arbitration ruling in The Hague, Netherlands, that invalidated Beijing's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea. China did not accept the ruling. Manalo said the Philippines pursued the case to uphold the rule of law and to promote the peaceful settlement of such disputes. The shared stewardship of the seas and oceans in the region behooves us to unite in preserving the primacy of international law so we can ensure equitable and sustainable outcomes for all, he

Tensions in S China Sea, violence in Myanmar as Laos takes over Asean chair

Simmering tensions in the South China Sea between China and several Southeast Asian nations now regularly spark direct confrontation. Fighting in Myanmar against the military government that seized power three years ago has grown to the point that most say the country is now in a civil war. Hopes were high that Indonesia might be able to make significant inroads on both issues during its 2023 chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, using its clout as the bloc's largest country, but little progress was made. Now Laos, the bloc's poorest and one of its smallest countries, has taken over the rotating chair. As foreign ministers gather in Luang Prabang for this year's first top-level meetings over the weekend, many are pessimistic that ASEAN can keep its biggest challenges from festering and growing. There were so many expectations when Indonesia started its presidency and some of those expectations fell short, said Shafiah Muhibat, an expert with the Centre for ...

Taiwan issues an air raid alert saying China has launched a satellite

Taiwan's defense ministry issued an alert Tuesday saying China has launched a satellite and urging caution days before the island's elections. Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections Saturday that China has described as a choice between war and peace. In English, the presidential alert sent to residents' mobile phones cautioned there was a missile flyover. The alerts went off in the middle of an international news conference by Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. He clarified it was a satellite launch, told journalists not to worry, and proceeded with the news conference. China views Taiwan, which is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off China's east coast, as a renegade province that must come under its control.

Taiwan says Chinese balloons are harassment and a threat to air safety

Taiwan's Defence Ministry accused China on Saturday of harassment and trying to affect public morale by repeatedly sending balloons over the self-governing island. A ministry analysis found that the paths of the balloons posed a serious threat to international passenger flights, according to a report by Taiwan's official Military News Agency. The ministry called for an immediate end to the activity to ensure flight safety. The ministry urged the people (of Taiwan) to clearly understand the Chinese Communist Party's cognitive combat methods and face it rationally and calmly so as to avoid being affected by it, the report said. The purpose of the balloons is unclear, and a Chinese state media outlet has accused Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party and Taiwanese and American media of hyping what it says are harmless weather balloons. The balloon incidents come ahead of a January 13 presidential election in Taiwan in which the island's relations with China are a major ...

China appoints new navy chief amid mounting South China Sea tensions

Hu Zhongming was promoted to the rank of general at a ceremony in Beijing attended by President Xi Jinping on Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported

China unveils Hu Zhongming as new naval chief amid rising maritime tensions

Hu Zhongming was promoted to the rank of general at a ceremony in Beijing attended by President Xi Jinping on Monday

People's Bank of China offers record $112 bn of cash as economy struggles

China's economy has struggled this year as a rebound from restrictive Covid Zero policies proved to be weaker than expected and the property crisis deepened

China's Xi meets with Vietnamese PM on second day of visit to shore up ties

Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Vietnam's prime minister and the head of the country's National Assembly on Wednesday, on the second day of his visit to shore up Beijing's relationship with Hanoi after the Southeast Asian nation recently elevated its ties with Japan and the United States. Xi met with Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on Tuesday, and they announced that China and Vietnam would work toward a community with a shared future, in what was seen as a diplomatic concession by Vietnam to Beijing. The two sides signed 36 agreements, mostly about deepening cooperation," ranging from telecommunications to cross-party exchange, according to Vietnamese media reports. Vietnam has resisted using that phrase in the past but wanted to assuage Beijing's concerns after Vietnam designated both the US and Japan as comprehensive strategic partners" in recent months the highest official designation for a diplomatic relationship. Chinese state media says the designation .

US Navy ship 'illegally intruded' South China Sea waters, says PLA

The Chinese military said that an American naval ship had illegally intruded on Monday into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, the site of a hot territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. A Chinese naval force was mobilized to track the USS Gabrielle Giffords during the operation, according to a statement from the People's Liberation Army Southern Theater. The U.S. Navy did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Chinese and Philippine naval and coast guard ships have confronted each other repeatedly around the Second Thomas Shoal in recent months as China tries to prevent the Philippines from resupplying and repairing a rusting warship that it intentionally ran aground in 1999 to serve as a military outpost. Dwarfed by China's military might, the Philippines has sought America's help, agreeing to an expansion of the U.S. military presence in the country earlier this year and launching joint sea and air patrols with the United States la

China warns Australia over naval operations in the South China Sea

A visiting Chinese official on Tuesday warned Australia to act with "great prudence" in deploying warships in the South China Sea after a recent confrontation between the two navies. Liu Jianchao, the Chinese Communist Party's international minister, gave the warning while speaking at a Sydney university during a trip that paves the way for President Xi Jinping's Australian visit, expected to take place next year. Bilateral relations had been improving recently, but took a downturn when Australia accused the Chinese destroyer CNS Ningbo of injuring Australian navy divers with sonar pulses in Japanese waters on November 14. Australia said China disregarded a safety warning to keep away from the Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba. Liu reiterated China's position that the encounter happened outside Japanese territorial waters and that the Chinese warship caused no harm. We do urge the Australian government and also the military to act with great prudence in this area, Liu said at the .

Biden-Xi meet: US lawmakers press for free access to South China Sea

US lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to raise with Beijing the issue of illicit fentanyl trafficking, coercive environment for American businesses and stand up for the military's ability to freely operate in the South China Sea during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Wednesday. They also said Biden should be "adamant" that China "leans on Russia and Iran not to exacerbate the military crises happening around the world". Biden and Xi are scheduled to meet in San Francisco on Wednesday on the sidelines of the APEC Leadership meeting. The White House is calling it a summit. On the Senate floor, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer listed out issues, including fentanyl trafficking and the coercive environment for US businesses in China, that he thought Biden should raise with Xi. "On the Israel-Gaza conflict in particular, we told President Xi that China needs to use its influence on Iran to stop them from acting in any way that would widen the conflict. China shoul