Post by jo on Oct 26, 2023 2:11:47 GMT -5
From our side of the world --
South China Sea Incident: A Maritime Collision Ignites Diplomatic Standoff
© Provided by BNN Breaking
In the early morning hours of October 22, an unsettling drama unfolded in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. A pair of Philippine vessels, BRP Cabra and Unaizah Mae 2, journeyed towards Ayungin Shoal on a resupply mission for soldiers stationed at BRP Sierra Madre. Their voyage, however, was disrupted by a jarring encounter with China Coast Guard and maritime militia ships. The impact left the Philippine vessels with minor damage, a tense diplomatic standoff in its wake, and raised the stakes in this geopolitical chessboard.
Violating Sovereign Waters: A Game of Maritime Intimidation
The incident took place within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – a maritime space recognized and protected under international law. The Philippines' accusation against China was clear: a violation of their sovereignty and a blatant interference in their legitimate activities within their own maritime zones. Conversely, China put forth its own narrative, asserting that the Philippine vessels were operating in its territorial waters and accusing the Philippines of illegally grounding its warship in the contested waters.
This incident forms yet another grim chapter in a larger narrative of aggressive and provocative behavior by China in the South China Sea. China's assertion of its territorial claims has been marked by the construction of artificial islands, militarizing them with missile systems, and thereby challenging the sovereignty of neighboring countries.
A Diplomatic Chessboard: Allies, Treaties, and Defense Alliances
As tension escalates, the Philippines has not been left to face this maritime Goliath alone. The United States, under the aegis of the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, has expressed its support, with US lawmakers condemning China's maritime intimidation. The Biden administration's decision to increase joint patrols with the Philippines and other partners in the South China Sea has been met with approval. It's not just diplomatic words; the US has been actively conducting freedom of navigation operations in the region to challenge China's excessive maritime claims.
The Philippines, in turn, is seeking to strengthen its defense alliance with the US. With four potential sites for new US military bases in the north, close to Taiwan and the South China Sea, the Philippines is also conducting joint patrols and resupply missions with other countries, including the US, Australia, Japan, and Canada. It is considering expanding these multilateral activities to include more countries that have an interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
The Aftermath: A Call to Defend Territory and International Law
In the wake of the collisions, the Philippines has been spurred into action to defend its territory and assert its rights under international law. Diplomatic actions have taken shape with the summoning of the Chinese ambassador and filing a diplomatic protest. Yet, the Philippines is prepared to go beyond diplomacy and defend its territory if necessary.
The South China Sea, a cauldron of geopolitical competition, is a region rich in natural resources, including oil and gas reserves, and a major shipping route for global trade. The recent incidents underscore the critical need for a rules-based order in the South China Sea to maintain peace and stability in the region.
The Philippines sought recourse through international arbitration in 2016, resulting in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidating China's claims in the South China Sea. However, China has refused to accept the ruling and continues to assert its claims through its actions in the region.
In conclusion, the recent collisions between Philippine and Chinese ships do not just represent isolated incidents in the South China Sea. They are stark reminders of the ongoing disputes, the urgent need to defend territorial rights, and the paramount importance of international cooperation and a rules-based order to maintain regional peace and stability.
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From REUTERS, reporting on an Editorial Opinion from the Wall Street Journal!
South China Sea Incident: A Maritime Collision Ignites Diplomatic Standoff
© Provided by BNN Breaking
In the early morning hours of October 22, an unsettling drama unfolded in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. A pair of Philippine vessels, BRP Cabra and Unaizah Mae 2, journeyed towards Ayungin Shoal on a resupply mission for soldiers stationed at BRP Sierra Madre. Their voyage, however, was disrupted by a jarring encounter with China Coast Guard and maritime militia ships. The impact left the Philippine vessels with minor damage, a tense diplomatic standoff in its wake, and raised the stakes in this geopolitical chessboard.
Violating Sovereign Waters: A Game of Maritime Intimidation
The incident took place within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – a maritime space recognized and protected under international law. The Philippines' accusation against China was clear: a violation of their sovereignty and a blatant interference in their legitimate activities within their own maritime zones. Conversely, China put forth its own narrative, asserting that the Philippine vessels were operating in its territorial waters and accusing the Philippines of illegally grounding its warship in the contested waters.
This incident forms yet another grim chapter in a larger narrative of aggressive and provocative behavior by China in the South China Sea. China's assertion of its territorial claims has been marked by the construction of artificial islands, militarizing them with missile systems, and thereby challenging the sovereignty of neighboring countries.
A Diplomatic Chessboard: Allies, Treaties, and Defense Alliances
As tension escalates, the Philippines has not been left to face this maritime Goliath alone. The United States, under the aegis of the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, has expressed its support, with US lawmakers condemning China's maritime intimidation. The Biden administration's decision to increase joint patrols with the Philippines and other partners in the South China Sea has been met with approval. It's not just diplomatic words; the US has been actively conducting freedom of navigation operations in the region to challenge China's excessive maritime claims.
The Philippines, in turn, is seeking to strengthen its defense alliance with the US. With four potential sites for new US military bases in the north, close to Taiwan and the South China Sea, the Philippines is also conducting joint patrols and resupply missions with other countries, including the US, Australia, Japan, and Canada. It is considering expanding these multilateral activities to include more countries that have an interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
The Aftermath: A Call to Defend Territory and International Law
In the wake of the collisions, the Philippines has been spurred into action to defend its territory and assert its rights under international law. Diplomatic actions have taken shape with the summoning of the Chinese ambassador and filing a diplomatic protest. Yet, the Philippines is prepared to go beyond diplomacy and defend its territory if necessary.
The South China Sea, a cauldron of geopolitical competition, is a region rich in natural resources, including oil and gas reserves, and a major shipping route for global trade. The recent incidents underscore the critical need for a rules-based order in the South China Sea to maintain peace and stability in the region.
The Philippines sought recourse through international arbitration in 2016, resulting in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidating China's claims in the South China Sea. However, China has refused to accept the ruling and continues to assert its claims through its actions in the region.
In conclusion, the recent collisions between Philippine and Chinese ships do not just represent isolated incidents in the South China Sea. They are stark reminders of the ongoing disputes, the urgent need to defend territorial rights, and the paramount importance of international cooperation and a rules-based order to maintain regional peace and stability.
*******************************************************************************
From REUTERS, reporting on an Editorial Opinion from the Wall Street Journal!
The Wall Street Journal
Meanwhile, China Trouble in the Pacific
Opinion by The Editorial Board
•
16h
The U.S. is putting military assets into the Middle East to deter a larger war, but other parts of the world aren’t receding into calm. The latest sparks in the Pacific demand a real bipartisan effort to pour U.S. hard power west of the international dateline to deter a provocation from China.
Over the weekend in the South China Sea, a Chinese coast guard vessel collided with a Philippine boat that was attempting to resupply military personnel on the Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. Beijing regularly harasses Philippine vessels as it tries to exert control over the islands.
China has assets that include coast guard vessels, civilian boats and an increasingly large and sophisticated navy. The Pentagon says in a new report that the People’s Liberation Army Navy runs 370 ships deep, up from an estimate of 340 ships a year ago.
Americans are aware that Beijing may try to swallow Taiwan, but the Philippines incident is a reminder that China’s ambitions are bigger than Taipei and include dominating the region and dictating rules to the world. Beijing could provoke a conflict with the Philippines or Japan, and the U.S. is bound by treaty to defend both.
Related video: China, Philippines boats clash in South China Sea (Reuters)
disputed waters of the South China Sea on Sunday as
Current Time 0:04
/
Duration 1:14
Reuters
China, Philippines boats clash in South China Sea
Beijing is taking more military risks. The Pentagon this month released details about China’s “sharp increase in coercive” behavior in the East and South China Seas. The Pentagon cited 180 dangerous incidents since autumn 2021—“more in the past two years than in the decade before that.” One PLA jet fighter harassed an American aircraft, “clearly armed and closing to just 30 feet away,” and lingering for more than 15 minutes.
The Biden Administration deserves credit for telling Americans about the growing risks, but it has followed up with a supplemental budget request that treats the Pacific as an afterthought. Last week’s request to Congress includes such worthy priorities as $3.4 billion for building more U.S. submarines but only $2 billion in security assistance for regional partners.
There is no shortage of projects worth funding—stockpiling more weapons in Taiwan; speeding up the island’s deliveries of Harpoon antiship missiles; and large new orders of long-range antiship missiles for U.S. forces.
Yet two regional wars so far haven’t startled Washington into taking real steps to deter China. Former U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Harry Harris was right last week when he said at an American Enterprise Institute event that the U.S. is building military force for the 2030s when the acute challenge is in the 2020s.
Some Republicans argue that the U.S. should pull back from Ukraine and Israel to focus military resources on Asia. But abandoning either one would signal to U.S. allies in the Pacific—and to China—that Washington can’t be counted on in a crisis. That is courting trouble on a third global front.
Many foreign-policy sages said Vladimir Putin wouldn’t really roll into Ukraine or thought that Israel had subdued the threat from Hamas. They were wrong, and war now rages in Europe and the Middle East. War still may be preventable in the Pacific—if President Biden and Congress start to change course.
Meanwhile, China Trouble in the Pacific
Opinion by The Editorial Board
•
16h
The U.S. is putting military assets into the Middle East to deter a larger war, but other parts of the world aren’t receding into calm. The latest sparks in the Pacific demand a real bipartisan effort to pour U.S. hard power west of the international dateline to deter a provocation from China.
Over the weekend in the South China Sea, a Chinese coast guard vessel collided with a Philippine boat that was attempting to resupply military personnel on the Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. Beijing regularly harasses Philippine vessels as it tries to exert control over the islands.
China has assets that include coast guard vessels, civilian boats and an increasingly large and sophisticated navy. The Pentagon says in a new report that the People’s Liberation Army Navy runs 370 ships deep, up from an estimate of 340 ships a year ago.
Americans are aware that Beijing may try to swallow Taiwan, but the Philippines incident is a reminder that China’s ambitions are bigger than Taipei and include dominating the region and dictating rules to the world. Beijing could provoke a conflict with the Philippines or Japan, and the U.S. is bound by treaty to defend both.
Related video: China, Philippines boats clash in South China Sea (Reuters)
disputed waters of the South China Sea on Sunday as
Current Time 0:04
/
Duration 1:14
Reuters
China, Philippines boats clash in South China Sea
Beijing is taking more military risks. The Pentagon this month released details about China’s “sharp increase in coercive” behavior in the East and South China Seas. The Pentagon cited 180 dangerous incidents since autumn 2021—“more in the past two years than in the decade before that.” One PLA jet fighter harassed an American aircraft, “clearly armed and closing to just 30 feet away,” and lingering for more than 15 minutes.
The Biden Administration deserves credit for telling Americans about the growing risks, but it has followed up with a supplemental budget request that treats the Pacific as an afterthought. Last week’s request to Congress includes such worthy priorities as $3.4 billion for building more U.S. submarines but only $2 billion in security assistance for regional partners.
There is no shortage of projects worth funding—stockpiling more weapons in Taiwan; speeding up the island’s deliveries of Harpoon antiship missiles; and large new orders of long-range antiship missiles for U.S. forces.
Yet two regional wars so far haven’t startled Washington into taking real steps to deter China. Former U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Harry Harris was right last week when he said at an American Enterprise Institute event that the U.S. is building military force for the 2030s when the acute challenge is in the 2020s.
Some Republicans argue that the U.S. should pull back from Ukraine and Israel to focus military resources on Asia. But abandoning either one would signal to U.S. allies in the Pacific—and to China—that Washington can’t be counted on in a crisis. That is courting trouble on a third global front.
Many foreign-policy sages said Vladimir Putin wouldn’t really roll into Ukraine or thought that Israel had subdued the threat from Hamas. They were wrong, and war now rages in Europe and the Middle East. War still may be preventable in the Pacific—if President Biden and Congress start to change course.
