Post by Wes Gear on Jul 25, 2012 21:18:01 GMT 10
China Sends Troops to Disputed Islands
The Central Military Commission, China’s most powerful military body, has approved the deployment of a garrison of soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army to guard disputed islands claimed by China and Vietnam in the South China Sea, the state-run Xinhua news agency said Sunday.
On Monday, there was a first meeting of the 45 legislators elected over the weekend to govern the 1,100 people who live on the island groups of the Spratlys, the Paracels and the Macclesfield Bank, Chinese authorities told state media. The meeting was the latest escalation of the territorial dispute between China and its neighbors over the island groups, known in Chinese as the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands.
The new legislators will not only govern the island groups, many of which consist of rocks and atolls, but also about 772,000 square miles of the South China Sea over which China claims jurisdiction, state media said.
The troop deployment and elections appeared intended to reinforce China’s claims over the South China Sea and its potential energy resources. The moves came a week after a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at which China, according to diplomats at the meeting, used its influence to stop even a rudimentary communiqué on the South China Sea among the 10 nations.
The establishment of a legislature for islands and the dispatch of soldiers will antagonize Vietnam, which claims the same islands. Vietnam and China have fought since the 1970s over the three island groups; last month, Vietnam passed a law that claimed sovereignty over the Paracels and Spratly Islands. In response, China called the islands its “indisputable” territory.
The Philippines and China have also been involved in a dispute for months over Scarborough Shoal, an area off the coast of the Philippines claimed by both countries.
On Monday, President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines said that his country would not back down from its dispute with China, saying in an address that the nation’s military would get dozens of new aircraft and ships for defense of the shoal, which Manila identifies as Bajo de Masinloc.
“There are those who say that we should let Bajo de Masinloc go,” Mr. Aquino said, according to The Associated Press. “But if someone entered your yard and told you he owned it, would you agree?”
Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also have conflicting claims in the South China Sea, making the area a source of a potential military showdown. With the Spratly, the Paracels and the Macclesfield Bank Islands, China’s State Council approved the establishment of a prefectural-level administration known as Sansha City to replace a lower county level administration last month.
The election of the legislators and their meeting at a first session of a people’s congress appeared to be practical steps to show that China was serious in its drive to put much of the South China Sea under its domain.
The speed of China’s actions was not surprising, said Wu Xinbo, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. “Now the Philippines and Vietnam are both advancing their claims so China must also respond accordingly with its own plan,” Mr. Wu said.
The People’s Liberation Army garrison that was announced over the weekend would most likely be established on Xisha Island, Mr. Wu said. “Xisha is closest to China and the facilities are relatively good,” he said.
In an April report on the South China Sea, the International Crisis Group said that China had delayed establishing Sansha City’s administration to govern the Paracels and Spratlys and appeared more intent on using tourism to assert sovereignty.
www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/world/asia/china-sends-troops-to-disputed-islands.html?_r=1
The Central Military Commission, China’s most powerful military body, has approved the deployment of a garrison of soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army to guard disputed islands claimed by China and Vietnam in the South China Sea, the state-run Xinhua news agency said Sunday.
On Monday, there was a first meeting of the 45 legislators elected over the weekend to govern the 1,100 people who live on the island groups of the Spratlys, the Paracels and the Macclesfield Bank, Chinese authorities told state media. The meeting was the latest escalation of the territorial dispute between China and its neighbors over the island groups, known in Chinese as the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands.
The new legislators will not only govern the island groups, many of which consist of rocks and atolls, but also about 772,000 square miles of the South China Sea over which China claims jurisdiction, state media said.
The troop deployment and elections appeared intended to reinforce China’s claims over the South China Sea and its potential energy resources. The moves came a week after a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at which China, according to diplomats at the meeting, used its influence to stop even a rudimentary communiqué on the South China Sea among the 10 nations.
The establishment of a legislature for islands and the dispatch of soldiers will antagonize Vietnam, which claims the same islands. Vietnam and China have fought since the 1970s over the three island groups; last month, Vietnam passed a law that claimed sovereignty over the Paracels and Spratly Islands. In response, China called the islands its “indisputable” territory.
The Philippines and China have also been involved in a dispute for months over Scarborough Shoal, an area off the coast of the Philippines claimed by both countries.
On Monday, President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines said that his country would not back down from its dispute with China, saying in an address that the nation’s military would get dozens of new aircraft and ships for defense of the shoal, which Manila identifies as Bajo de Masinloc.
“There are those who say that we should let Bajo de Masinloc go,” Mr. Aquino said, according to The Associated Press. “But if someone entered your yard and told you he owned it, would you agree?”
Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also have conflicting claims in the South China Sea, making the area a source of a potential military showdown. With the Spratly, the Paracels and the Macclesfield Bank Islands, China’s State Council approved the establishment of a prefectural-level administration known as Sansha City to replace a lower county level administration last month.
The election of the legislators and their meeting at a first session of a people’s congress appeared to be practical steps to show that China was serious in its drive to put much of the South China Sea under its domain.
The speed of China’s actions was not surprising, said Wu Xinbo, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. “Now the Philippines and Vietnam are both advancing their claims so China must also respond accordingly with its own plan,” Mr. Wu said.
The People’s Liberation Army garrison that was announced over the weekend would most likely be established on Xisha Island, Mr. Wu said. “Xisha is closest to China and the facilities are relatively good,” he said.
In an April report on the South China Sea, the International Crisis Group said that China had delayed establishing Sansha City’s administration to govern the Paracels and Spratlys and appeared more intent on using tourism to assert sovereignty.
www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/world/asia/china-sends-troops-to-disputed-islands.html?_r=1