SouthChinaSea.com | Website on the South China Sea

SCSC - After having used Cambodia as a card to disturb the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July 2012, Beijing joyfully believed that their plot to prevent discussions on the East Sea issue was a success. From then on, they have hectically intensified their lobbies to persuade the ASEAN Member States and other countries to exclude discussions on the East Sea issue from international and regional fora.

Such short joy lasts no long. What have happened is opposite to Beijing’s expectation. Since early 2013, the issue of the East Sea has become a prominent topic not only at the official political fora but at the discussions of scientific workshops in a number of countries in Asia, America and Europe as well.

SCSC - On 7 and 8 January 2013, the Global Times said Ma Keqing, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines met with the Inquirer Global Nation, a Filipino newspaper and proposed that China and the Philippines “set aside disputes and pursue joint development in the South China Sea”.

The Global Times later said that “the Government of the Philippines showed little interest in China’s proposal” and cited a comment by the Head of the Nanyang Research Institute of Xiamen University, China that “the proposal of setting aside disputes and pursuing joint development was initiated by Deng Xiaoping. China always pursues this policy but gains no support from neighboring countries”.

SCSC - Every spring and Tet that comes, countless children of Vietnam who are far away from home like me experience this inconsolable nostalgia for the Motherland, especially the nostalgia for the hallowed Hoang Sa archipelago.

Viet Nam is the country that has realistically occupied, exercised sovereignty peacefully and continuously over the Hoang Sa archipelago since the beginning of the 17th century.

SCSC - Following the closing remarks by General Secretary of China Communist Party, President Xi Jinping at the National People’s Congress on 17 March 2013, a wave of nationalism has arisen in China under the banner of the Chinese dream of “a great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” that President Xi Jinping had repeatedly quoted in his address.

Recently, many articles about the “Chinese dream” have been published on newspapers and web pages to affirm China’s peaceful rise policy and explain that its pursuit of the Chinese dream would bring about peace and opportunities to the world.

SCSC - Since the beginning of 2013, China’s law enforcement forces at sea have for a dozen times chased and suppressed Vietnamese vessels conducting normal fishing operation in the traditional fishing ground of Viet Nam’s Hoang Sa Islands.

It is worth noting that China’s navy also took part in this unlawful deed, the typical incident of which is Chinese “WANNING 786” navy ship firing to burn Vietnamese fishing boat No. QNg 96382 TS near Lincoln island in Hoang Sa on 20 March 2013.

SCSC - The East Sea issue made 2012 a difficult and challenging year for ASEAN. The Association’s unity was manoeuvred by Beijing, and it will be further tested in 2013 as the East Sea issue is believed to be among heated topics in ASEAN, ARF and EAS meetings as well as meetings between ASEAN and its partners.

As the Chair of ASEAN in 2012, a Cambodia ‘bought off’ by Beijing sought to exclude the East Sea issue from the agenda and documents of the relevant meetings of the Association in Cambodia at the expense of ASEAN unity. However, as the East Sea issue has become an international matter involving the interests of countries within and outside the region, Beijing’s attempt was unsuccessful.

SCSC - The ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting and the first ASEAN Summit of 2013 is to be convened in Brunei at the end of this April. These events take place amidst complex developments of the situation in the East Sea, especially since the beginning of 2013.

The Philippines’ initiation of proceedings against China to the Arbitral Tribunal under Annex VII of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea opens up a new avenue for the settlement of disputes in the East Sea via legal means while putting China in a difficult situation to fight in the legal front.

Amidst all the regional concerns about North Korea, the Senkaku dispute between China and Japan has continued to fester. This past week, the situation has escalated, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry specifically stating that the Senkakus are a “core interest.”

General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that the Chinese had used this term in his discussions with them as well. [READ MORE]...

SCSC - Like other leaders around the world, on the occasion of the 2013 New Year, Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered a speech on the national television sending his New Year wishes to all the Chinese people in both China and around the globe and expressing China’s determination to pursue the peaceful development path.

He said that China would have a “good start” this year after achieving all development goals as stated in the report of the 18^th Party Congress of the China Communist Party.

The rough waters that roiled the South China Sea in 2012 are not giving way to smooth sailing in 2013. Despite a springtime push for diplomatic progress, present conditions point to the likelihood of protracted, simmering confrontation throughout this year and well beyond.

The search for new momentum on both general stability and specific initiatives such as a Code of Conduct is likely to founder on enduring obstacles. [READ MORE]...