China won't budge on South China Sea sovereignty

[Lodestar]

Source: Aljazeera

Beijing has conducted massive development in the disputed sea over the past two years and is accused of militarisation.



China's foreign minister took a hard line on Tuesday on the country's claims to virtually all the South China Sea, saying Beijing won't permit other nations to infringe on what it considers its sovereign rights in the strategically vital area.

Wang Yi, speaking to reporters at an annual news conference in Beijing, said another nation's claim to freedom of navigation in the region doesn't give it the right to do whatever it wants - an apparent reference to the United States, which has sent naval ships past reefs where China has engaged in island-building.

"The South China Sea has been subject to colonial invasion and illegal occupation and now some people are trying to stir up waves while some others are showing off forces," Wang said.

"However, like the tide that comes and goes, none of these attempts will have any impact. History will prove who is merely the guest and who is the real host."



Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/china-won-budge-south-china-sea-sovereignty-160308034024267.html

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Beijing targets US pacific commander as carrier sails South China Sea


The commander of the US Pacific Command (Pacom) came under political fire from China last week following recent comments critical of Beijing’s military encroachment in the South China Sea.

The communist party-affiliated Global Times, in a front page report, accused Pacom’s Adm. Harry Harris of “China bashing” and “making waves in the South China Sea” for comments accusing China of regional hegemony made during recent speeches and congressional testimony.

The publication, often used as an official outlet for hardline anti-US propaganda, then issued a veiled threat that harsh comments from the admiral were creating stepped up competition between the United States and China and could lead to conflict.

“If two nuclear powerhouses engage in a competition to test each other’s willpower, the whole world will face the repercussions,” Global Times stated March 4.

cont'd
http://atimes.com/2016/03/beijing-targets-us-pacific-commander-as-carrier-sails-south-china-sea/


IT'S ABOUT OIL AND GAS RESERVES (primarily)....surprise surprise!

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[Lodestar]

1. Armed Clash in the South China Sea

Contingency Planning Memorandum No. 14



The risk of conflict in the South China Sea is significant. China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines have competing territorial and jurisdictional claims, particularly over rights to exploit the region's possibly extensive reserves of oil and gas. Freedom of navigation in the region is also a contentious issue, especially between the United States and China over the right of U.S. military vessels to operate in China's two-hundred-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). These tensions are shaping—and being shaped by—rising apprehensions about the growth of China's military power and its regional intentions. China has embarked on a substantial modernization of its maritime paramilitary forces as well as naval capabilities to enforce its sovereignty and jurisdiction claims by force if necessary. At the same time, it is developing capabilities that would put U.S. forces in the region at risk in a conflict, thus potentially denying access to the U.S. Navy in the western Pacific.

Of the many conceivable contingencies involving an armed clash in the South China Sea, three especially threaten U.S. interests and could potentially prompt the United States to use force.

cont'd
http://www.cfr.org/world/armed-clash-south-china-sea/p27883

[Lodestar]

2. The Geopolitics Unfolding In The South China Sea

Found this article which offers a perspective on the geopolitical gamesmanship unfolding between China and U.S. in that region and the TPP. Actually the whole article covers much
wider trends geopolitically that makes for some very interesting reading:
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IS, TPP, South China Sea: The 2016 Geopolitical Outlook

excerpt:

Issue #5: TPP – Trouble in the South China Sea

Since 1979, when Deng Xiaoping set China on its current course of modernization, the country has seen remarkable economic growth. In 1979, China was around 2.3% of global GDP; as of 2014, it was 16.5%, just above the U.S. reading of 16.3%.6 As China’s economy has expanded, its geopolitical influence has as well.

To some extent, tensions between China and the U.S., along with China’s neighbors, are a classic example of the risks that come when a new power rises in a region. China wants to expand its power and insists that the U.S., the incumbent superpower, accommodate its rise.

The dynamics of this situation play out in a number of ways. The Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ), a trade agreement that includes a dozen nations in the Pacific Rim, excludes China. The U.S. is trying to establish the rules of regional trade and assumes that, eventually, China will join the TPP and be forced to abide by the U.S. trade framework.

At the same time, China is working to create a new infrastructure bank for Asia, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as a competitor for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. The Obama administration strongly opposed the creation of the AIIB; despite U.S. pressure, numerous nations, including some G-7 partners, decided to join the bank, a blow to the administration’s foreign policy.

China fears the U.S. is trying to prevent it from projecting power in the region. This is probably true. Although America welcomes China’s “peaceful rise,” the assumption among U.S. policymakers is that China would eventually democratize as its economy grew. Historically, many developing nations use authoritarian systems in their early development. However, domestic political pressure to give citizens a greater voice and the need to allow markets to allocate investment usually forces strongmen to democratize. In general, successful states manage this transition to democracy; those that can’t tend to see their growth stall. For example, South Korea made the transition; Pakistan did not.

However, China represents a different case. In these other cases, these states did not necessarily have a developed ideology. In China, the communist ideology has become one of the bases of legitimacy. Most authoritarian regimes become cults of personality that don’t outlive the dictator. Although China clearly has personality cults in its history, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has become the primary conduit of political power. It’s not obvious if any of the CPC members really believe in Marx anymore, but they all say they do; perhaps this belief system remains in order to keep the power structure in place. In addition, the ability to deliver economic growth has bolstered the CPC’s legitimacy. For now, the CPC leadership seems to believe it has created a new paradigm of market capitalism with non-democratic governance that is superior to market capitalism with democracy.


China is trying to project power in the Far East and Southeast Asia. It is rapidly building its navy. The “Silk Road” program of creating land and sea bridges to Europe and the Middle East appears to be due to fears that the U.S. Navy could block China’s trade by sealing off the Strait of Malacca and the first island chain surrounding the country. Extensive road-building through Pakistan is part of this program.

In the South China Sea, China has begun an aggressive dredging program to build up coral atolls and use them to claim sovereignty and create potential military bases to project power in the region. As one would expect, other nations in the area are quite concerned about this activity. The Philippines, for example, appears to be welcoming the U.S. back after forcing the closures of American military bases in the early 1990s.

The Obama administration has been testing Chinese resolve by sending U.S. Navy ships close to these artificial islands. Thus far, these actions have been well-telegraphed and the militaries on both sides have been courteous, avoiding any unexpected escalations. Nevertheless, anytime militaries are in close proximity, mistakes can happen.

The other major worry is that the Xi government is trying to manage a critical economic transition from relying on investment and exports for growth to depending on consumption to expand. Other nations have struggled with this transition.9 If growth slows more than the government wants, it will be tempted to distract Chinese citizens with a “foreign adventure.”

http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/12/tpp-china/

[Duckfan]

3. The Chinese are very.....

juejiang (stubborn).

I guess they want to increase the Co2 in Beijing.

Very unhealthy air is apparently not good enough.