Beijing accuses Tokyo over patrol planes for Philippines

BEIJING: Beijing on Thursday accused Tokyo of interfering in the South China Sea after Manila said it would lease five Japanese military planes to patrol areas it claims in the heavily disputed waters.

Beijing claims almost all of the strategically vital South China Sea, and is embroiled in a separate row with Tokyo over disputed islands in the East China Sea that has seen relations between the Asian powers sour badly in recent years.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Wednesday that Manila would lease five TC-90 training aircraft from Japan to “help our navy patrol our territory”, pointing out the disputed area in particular.

Obama, SE Asian leaders seek resolution to maritime disputes

Source: San Diego Tribune

RANCHO MIRAGE, California: US President Barack Obama and the leaders of Southeast Asia called Tuesday for peaceful resolution of the region’s maritime disputes as they concluded a summit in California. 

Obama told a news conference that disputes must be resolved by legal means, including a case brought by the Philippines challenging China’s sweeping claims over most of the South China Sea. China has refused to take part in the proceedings, but Obama said parties to the UN law of the seas are obligated to respect the ruling, expected later this year. 

Obama has been hosting 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, in the US for the first time. That sends a subtle message to China that the US remains an important force in the region. But the leaders’ joint statement after two days of talks avoided direct reference to China, reflecting the careful path that Asean members tread in their diplomacy with the world powers. 

Taiwan president visits island in disputed South China Sea

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s president, defying criticism from key ally the United States, visited to an island holding in the disputed South China Sea on Thursday and called for peaceful development in the increasingly tense region. 

Accompanied by about 30 staff members, Ma Ying-jeou (MAH YEENG JOH) left the capital Taipei early in the morning aboard an air force C-130 cargo plane bound for Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba. Taiping lies in the Spratly island group, an area where Taiwan shares overlapping claims with China, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. The city state of Brunei also claims a part of the South China Sea. 

Taiping is the largest naturally occurring island in the area, but has recently been eclipsed in size by man-made islands created by China out of reefs and shoals. 

China given second warning by Vietnam

HANOI: Vietnam has issued its second rebuke in a week to Beijing, accusing its northern neighbour of “threatening peace” after more Chinese aircraft landed on a contested reef in the South China Sea.

Chinese state media on Wednesday said two civilian planes landed on one of the islands in the Fiery Cross reef in the disputed Spratly Islands, which are claimed by Hanoi but controlled by Beijing.

Philippines Congress proposes retail bond to fund military modernisation

Congress on Monday asked the Philippine government to study a proposal to issue a P150 billion ($3.2 billion) retail bond to fund a long-term military modernization plan to secure its strategic reserves in the South China Sea.

Arnel Ty, deputy minority leader at the lower house of Congress, said Congress will ask the Treasury to consider a bond issue to enable Filipinos to save and at the same time help secure the Philippines’ maritime borders against China’s rapid expansion in the South China Sea.

China lands 1st civilian plane on disputed islands, sparks neighbors' military fears

A test flight by a civilian plane landed on an island in the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. It’s the first time the country has done so in the disputed Spratly Islands. Tensions are now high with neighboring Vietnam and the Philippines.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the weekend the test flight of a non-military aircraft was intended to check if the runway meets civilian aviation standards and fell “completely within China's sovereignty,” according to Reuters.

China restructures army aimed at efficiency

China has introduced major changes to the structure of its military as part of efforts to reinforce its armed forces and maximize their efficiency vis-à-vis potential threats.

President Xi Jinping said three new units were created “to realize the Chinese dream of a strong military, and a strategic step to establish a modern military system with Chinese characteristics.”

He said the Chinese army needs to optimize its structure and composition, expedite its transformation from a regional defense force to an international combat one.

Amid maritime disputes, China confirms building second carrier

BEIJING (Dec 31): After months of speculation, China confirmed on Thursday that it is building a second aircraft carrier to go with an existing one bought second-hand, as neighbours worry about Beijing's new assertiveness to claims in the South China Sea.

Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said the carrier had been designed in China and was being built in the port of Dalian. Foreign military analysts and Chinese media have for months published satellite images, photographs and news stories purporting to show the second carrier's development.

Beijing sends three new ships to S. China Sea

BEIJING - China has deployed three new ships to naval forces stationed in the South China Sea over the weekend, suggesting an enhanced capability for maritime support in the disputed waters, the media reported yesterday.

This came amid speculation that China has started mass production of its first stealth fighter, the J-20.

The three ships - transport and supply ship Luguhu, electronic reconnaissance ship Haiwangxing and pelagic survey ship Qianxuesen - began servicing the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy stationed in the Spratly Islands last Friday, according to Navy Today, the PLA Navy's official magazine.

Malaysia lodges diplomatic protest against intrusion at Beting Patinggi Ali

ALOR STAR, Aug 15, 2015 - Malaysia will continue to send diplomatic protests against the intrusion of Chinese coast guard ships in Malaysian waters near Beting Patinggi Ali, Sarawak, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim today.

Shahidan, who is in charge of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the National Security Council (NSC), said the republic’s ships had been in Malaysian waters for more than two years.

Malaysia Stamps Sovereignty over Layang Layang Island with Postal Code

LAYANG-LAYANG  - Pos Malaysia Bhd has launched a special postal code for Layang Layang island, one of the world's best diving destinations.

The 88005 special postal code symbolises Malaysia's sovereignty over the remote island located 300km from Sabah or one hour by air from Kota Kinabalu.

Vietnam eyes Western warplanes, patrol aircraft to counter China

Vietnam is in talks with European and U.S. contractors to buy fighter jets, maritime patrol planes and unarmed drones, sources said, as it looks to beef up its aerial defences in the face of China's growing assertiveness in disputed waters.

The battle-hardened country has already taken possession of three Russian-built Kilo-attack submarines and has three more on order as part of a $2.6 billion (1.69 billion pounds) deal agreed in 2009. Upgrading its air force would give Vietnam one of the most potent militaries in Southeast Asia.

"Sea Row Overtakes All National Security Concerns"

MANILA, Philippines, May 8 -- With threats from communist and Muslim rebels significantly reduced, preserving the Philippines’s sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea is now the country’s biggest security concern, the government’s top security adviser told a Senate panel yesterday.

National Security Adviser Cesar Garcia made the observation during a hearing by the Senate committee on national defense and security on China’s island building activities in the West Philippine Sea.

US, Philippines Agree on Base Rotations Along South China Sea

US Marines storming the beach (Pic Source: US DoD)

April 27 -- US forces would have access to at least eight bases in the Philippines -- including two near a hotly contested island group claimed by China -- under a new bilateral defense agreement, according to a Philippine media report.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gregorio Catapang told Manila's ABS-CBN News that during an October meeting, he and Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Locklear identified eight bases that the US would send troop rotations through. The rotations would happen in accordance with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a bilateral document signed last year that gives the US military the most access it has had since the Philippines ordered the US to leave its former bases in the 1990s.

Military: China puts Philippines in a 'very difficult situation'

Reclamation and construction on Mischief (Panganiban) Reef in the South China Sea are seen in this recent aerial photo released by the Philippines Armed Forces on April 20, 2015. (Source: AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is now in a "very difficult situation" and is in danger of losing access to some of its territories because of China's massive reclamation in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the military said Monday.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. said the Philippines would be cut off from Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Pag-Asa Island if China reclaims Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, an area located 135 miles west of Palawan.