South China Sea islands are only for civilian use, says Chinese general | World Defense

South China Sea islands are only for civilian use, says Chinese general

Redheart

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South China Sea islands are only for civilian use, says Chinese general | World news | The Guardian

Beijing sought to soothe tensions over its South China Sea claims, saying it will avoid the use of force in the region as the US ponders sending war ships close to territory claimed by the Asian giant.

Speaking at a defence forum in Beijing, General Fan Changlong, who is vice-chair of China’s central military commission, pledged that the country would “never recklessly resort to the use of force, even on issues bearing on sovereignty”.

“We have done our utmost to avoid unexpected conflicts,” he added.

The US says that China’s transformation of South China Sea reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military facilities presents a threat to freedom of navigation, and defence officials have hinted they may soon use naval forces to test Chinese claims.

But Fan said that the projects were mainly intended for civilian use and “will not affect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea”.

“Instead, they will enable us to provide better public services to aid navigation and production in the South China Sea.”

The argument is one Beijing has made many times before, but satellite images of the islands published by the US think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies have shown as many as three runways on the islands that could accommodate fighter jets, raising concerns about China’s true intentions.

Speaking in Washington earlier this week, Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said the US would continue to sail wherever international law allowed.

Gary Roughead, former US chief of naval operations, told the forum the scale of the building of ports and airfields in the seas by China raised legitimate concerns.

“I do not see an influx of tourists clamouring to visit these remote outposts,” he said.

Following Fan’s remarks, Malaysian defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein, whose country is a claimant in the South China Sea, said the “statement was reassuring to us all”, but cautioned that the best way to address concerns was the establishment of a code of conduct for claimants in the region.
 

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In fairness to China, they have a good point in that statement that the Spratlys are for civilians only. However, their stay there is still debatable and their structures there are questionable. And in order to avoid any armed conflict, I guess China has to stand up and owe to their actions there otherwise the US is intent on having to show their muscle as a bullying tactic against China in the Spratlys islands.
 

T-123456

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And who is going to buy this bs from the Chinese?
They want the oil and gas deposits in the South-China Sea,nothing else.
 

Scorpion

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And who is going to buy this bs from the Chinese?
They want the oil and gas deposits in the South-China Sea,nothing else.

Who does the island belong to?
 

T-123456

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Who does the island belong to?
Who knows?
Take a look at the claims and the so called ''economic zones''(claims) by country.

20120428_asm906.0.png


These are the disputed islands(groups),

Karta_CN_SouthChinaSea.PNG

Territorial disputes in the South China Sea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Everything you need to know about the South China Sea conflict – in under five minutes
Q&A: South China Sea dispute - BBC News
 

UAE

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There is no way for Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam to stand against China. The island has been swallowed by China already. Not even the UN as a whole can do anything about it.
 

T-123456

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There is no way for Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam to stand against China. The island has been swallowed by China already. Not even the UN as a whole can do anything about it.
Thats where the US and Japan come in,China can ''bully'' the smaller countries but what will happen when they all form a pact with support from the US and Japan?
As you might know,the US ''shifted'' its interests from the ME to that region.
Japan has decided to play a more active instead of the passive military role it used to play in the region.
Who knows what will happen?
Btw,the UN is a big joke.
 

T-123456

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New US CNO: South China Sea Is 'Everybody’s Sea'

635811434275962360-Richardson-151018-N-SF508-804b.JPG


WASHINGTON — Adm. John Richardson, in office as the US Navy’s chief of naval operations (CNO) for just over a month, has spent nearly half of that time on a world tour, traveling to Hawaii, Japan, South Korea, the Persian Gulf and Italy to gauge the state of global seapower and meet his international counterparts.

He’s also been assessing the activities of the Russian and Chinese navies, both of which are challenging the international scene in numerous ways. Richardson, in an interview Thursday with Defense News, was asked about a Chinese admiral’s claim in early September about one tension point, the South China Sea, where China has been building island bases and where territorial disputes involve several nations.

In those remarks, Vice Adm. Yuan Yubai, commander of the Chinese Navy’s northern fleet, said, “the South China Sea, as the name indicated, is a sea area that belongs to China. And since the Tang Dynasty a long time ago, the Chinese people have been working and producing around the sea area.”

In that Sept. 14 address, Yuan also spoke of China’s efforts to become a guarantor of safe passage over international waters — a role long embraced by the US.

Richardson isn’t buying it.

“What is coming into clear focus is that the defendant of the guarantor of prosperity and access is the system of rules and norms that we all abide by,” Richardson said. “It’s interesting that some of the folks that are making contrary claims now … are the very nations who prosper the most under the current system of international rules and norms.”

Richardson spoke from Venice, Italy, where he was attending a regional seapower symposium.

“You talk about coalition approaches, national approaches. I would advocate for a system that is inclusive, that levels the playing field as much as possible. That doesn’t talk in terms of my sea or your sea. That is everybody’s sea. You know 30 percent of the world’s trade goes through the South China Sea. Nobody owns that. It’s open. It’s international waters.”

The US Navy has been preparing for a South China Sea demonstration cruise close to China’s newly constructed artificial islands. According to Pentagon sources, the destroyer Lassen has been on standby to make the transit, but so far hasn’t done so. Asked about when that would happen, Richardson declined to provide details.
New US CNO: South China Sea Is 'Everybody’s Sea'
 

Lieutenant

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New US CNO: South China Sea Is 'Everybody’s Sea'

635811434275962360-Richardson-151018-N-SF508-804b.JPG


WASHINGTON — Adm. John Richardson, in office as the US Navy’s chief of naval operations (CNO) for just over a month, has spent nearly half of that time on a world tour, traveling to Hawaii, Japan, South Korea, the Arabian Gulf and Italy to gauge the state of global seapower and meet his international counterparts.

He’s also been assessing the activities of the Russian and Chinese navies, both of which are challenging the international scene in numerous ways. Richardson, in an interview Thursday with Defense News, was asked about a Chinese admiral’s claim in early September about one tension point, the South China Sea, where China has been building island bases and where territorial disputes involve several nations.

In those remarks, Vice Adm. Yuan Yubai, commander of the Chinese Navy’s northern fleet, said, “the South China Sea, as the name indicated, is a sea area that belongs to China. And since the Tang Dynasty a long time ago, the Chinese people have been working and producing around the sea area.”

In that Sept. 14 address, Yuan also spoke of China’s efforts to become a guarantor of safe passage over international waters — a role long embraced by the US.

Richardson isn’t buying it.

“What is coming into clear focus is that the defendant of the guarantor of prosperity and access is the system of rules and norms that we all abide by,” Richardson said. “It’s interesting that some of the folks that are making contrary claims now … are the very nations who prosper the most under the current system of international rules and norms.”

Richardson spoke from Venice, Italy, where he was attending a regional seapower symposium.

“You talk about coalition approaches, national approaches. I would advocate for a system that is inclusive, that levels the playing field as much as possible. That doesn’t talk in terms of my sea or your sea. That is everybody’s sea. You know 30 percent of the world’s trade goes through the South China Sea. Nobody owns that. It’s open. It’s international waters.”

The US Navy has been preparing for a South China Sea demonstration cruise close to China’s newly constructed artificial islands. According to Pentagon sources, the destroyer Lassen has been on standby to make the transit, but so far hasn’t done so. Asked about when that would happen, Richardson declined to provide details.
New US CNO: South China Sea Is 'Everybody’s Sea'

As long as the sea borders are not delimited the sea indeed is for everyone. Did China block the maritime movement in that area?
 

T-123456

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As long as the sea borders are not delimited the sea indeed is for everyone. Did China block the maritime movement in that area?
I dont think so.
 
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