China claims naming South China Sea islands with English names Patricia Lourdes Viray (Philstar.com) - June 4, 2019 - 12:40pm MANILA, Philippines — Distancing itself from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Beijing insisted that artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea have been named a long time ago. Speaking at the 2019 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Chinese Ministry of Defense Security Cooperation Center director Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, talked about the artificial islands in the South China Sea. Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, questioned Zhou's pronouncements at the annual security forum. "(I)f they are artificial islands, where did their names come from?" Koh tweeted June 1. British journalist Bill Hayton, associate fellow at the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House, said that some of the islands in the South … [Read more...] about China claims naming South China Sea islands with English names
Unclos
US-China face-off is not a ‘strategic inevitability’: PM Lee
SINGAPORE: While the “fundamental problem” between the US and China is a mutual lack of strategic trust that bodes ill for compromise or peaceful accommodation, a face-off between the two countries is not a “strategic inevitability”, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.“To go down the present path would be a serious mistake on both sides,” he said.Mr Lee was speaking at the opening of this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday (May 31), which comes amid US-China tensions on the maritime, trade and technological fronts.Both Acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe will be giving speeches at the dialogue.Mr Lee said both sides were “sensitive about being perceived (as) weak”, pointing out that the US wants to show it has come out ahead in any deal, while China, because of its long history with the West, cannot afford to show it is succumbing to Western pressure to accept … [Read more...] about US-China face-off is not a ‘strategic inevitability’: PM Lee
Strategic imperatives for Indonesia’s foreign policy
The presidential election is over, even though the final results will have to wait for the decision by the Constitutional Court by the end of June. It is time to start planning for the next five years. One area that needs careful thinking and debate is foreign policy. It is time for Indonesia, after a focus on strengthening national capacity (economic development) for almost five years, to start deepening its regional and international engagement. That should start with an understanding that Indonesia’s foreign policy must be based on a solid foundation and carried out to shape, manage and respond to the ever-changing external environment in a manner that would effectively advance our strategic national interests. The foundation of our foreign policy is given. Indonesia will never deviate from key principles of foreign policy. Those principles oblige the country to conduct a foreign policy that upholds the bebas-aktif (free and active) principle and plays a role as an … [Read more...] about Strategic imperatives for Indonesia’s foreign policy
AFP marks anniversary of Benham Rise renaming
AFP marks anniversary of Benham Rise renaming Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star) - May 18, 2019 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines-Northern Luzon Command (AFP-Nolcom) celebrated the second anniversary of the renaming of Benham Rise to Philippine Rise on Thursday. Highlighted by a simple flag-raising ceremony at Casiguran Bay aboard the Philippine Navy’s BRP Davao del Sur, the event was followed by the send-off of vessels from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to conduct maritime patrol around the Philippine Rise, a 13-million hectare underwater plateau located in the northeastern seaboard of the country. “The celebration commemorates the second anniversary of the renaming of Benham Rise to Philippine Rise last May 16, 2017 and the sixth year after the Philippine Rise was awarded to the country and it was granted sovereign rites … [Read more...] about AFP marks anniversary of Benham Rise renaming
Lively debate on interpreting laws at maritime conference
Differing interpretations of the international law of the sea took centre stage at a maritime conference yesterday involving academics and navy chiefs from around the world. Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh had a spirited exchange with a Chinese academic over whether the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) had involved input from Asian countries, and if it made a distinction between merchant vessels and warships when it came to rights of innocent passage. During the 6th International Maritime Security Conference, Chinese researcher, Captain (Retired) Tian Shichen, had suggested that there was a distinction between warships and merchant ships with regard to the rights of innocent passage in the territorial sea and cited it as one of the most controversial aspects of Unclos. The research fellow with the Collaborative Innovation Centre of South China Sea Studies at Nanjing University had also questioned whether the existing rules-based order reflects Asian values and … [Read more...] about Lively debate on interpreting laws at maritime conference