country:paracel islands

Exclusive: U.S. warship sails near islands Beijing claims in South China Sea - U.S. officials
▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-military-exclusive/exclusive-u-s-warship-sails-near-disputed-island-in-south-china-sea-u-s-off

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3811/18678758313_da9d876d1e.jpg

L’illustration de Reuters, plus ancienne, est ainsi légendée :
USS Chafee, a US Navy destroyer which operates 100 percent on biofuel, sails about 150 miles (241 km) north of the island of Oahu during the RIMPAC Naval exercises off Hawaii July 18,2012.
Nous sommes donc en présence d’un vrai #destroyer_bio…

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Tuesday, three U.S. officials told Reuters, prompting anger in Beijing, even as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks Chinese cooperation in reining in North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.

The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. But it was not as provocative as previous ones carried out since Trump took office in January.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Chafee, a guided-missile destroyer, carried out normal maneuvering operations that challenged “excessive maritime claims” near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.
[…]
Unlike in August, when a U.S. Navy destroyer came within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, officials said the destroyer on Tuesday sailed close to but not within that range of the islands.

#Mer_de_Chine_méridionale #Paracels

Pour mémoire, le précédent d’août était accompli par l’USS John S McCain, de la même classe Arleigh-Burke, dont il a été depuis abondamment question par ailleurs…

U.S. warship sails near disputed island in South China Sea | Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-southchinasea-navy-idUSKBN19N0O0

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/717/23066863605_dc81351c79.jpg

A U.S. warship sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam on Sunday in an operation meant to challenge the competing claims of all three nations, a U.S. Defense Department official said.

The USS Stethem, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, part of the #Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the official said.

The operation was first reported by Fox News on Sunday.

It was the second “#freedom-of-navigation operation,” or “#fonop,” conducted during the presidency of Donald Trump, following a drill in late May in which a U.S. warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea.

Quand ils ne jouent pas à se faire éperonner en mer du Japon (USS Fitzgerald, DDG62) les destroyers de la classe Arleigh Burke vont jouer les provocateurs en mer de Chine méridionale (USS Stethem, DDG63)

– fin mai 2017 (précédent évoqué dans le texte), le même bâtiment avec 2 petits camarades
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/601383

– en octobre 2016 (sous le précédent président), déjà à #Triton_Island
▻https://seenthis.net/messages/535620

etc.

China launches new cruise ship tour in South China Sea | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-china-ship-idUSKBN16A0A4

A new Chinese cruise ship has embarked on its maiden voyage to the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday, the latest effort by Beijing to bolster its claims in the strategic waterway.

The Changle Princess sailed from Sanya on the southern Chinese island province of Hainan on Thursday afternoon with 308 passengers on a four-day voyage, Xinhua said.

The new ship can carry 499 people and has 82 guest rooms with dining, entertainment, shopping, medical and postal services on board, it added.

Tourists will be able to visit the three islands in the Crescent group of the Paracels, Xinhua said.

China has previously said it plans to build hotels, villas and shops on the Crescent group and has also said it wants to build Maldives-style resorts around the South China Sea, though it is unclear if foreigners will ever be allowed to visit.

U.S. warship challenges China’s claims in South China Sea | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-usa-exclusive-idUSKCN12L1O9

A U.S. navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, drawing a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area.

The U.S. action was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, U.S. officials said.

The Chinese Defense Ministry called the move “illegal” and “provocative,” saying that two Chinese warships had warned the U.S. destroyer to leave.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur challenged “excessive maritime claims” near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The latest U.S. patrol, first reported by Reuters, is expected to anger Beijing and could further escalate tensions over the South China Sea. The destroyer sailed within waters claimed by China, close to but not within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits of the islands, the officials said.

The Pentagon said the Decatur “conducted this transit in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident.” One official said the ship, which sailed near Triton and Woody Islands, was shadowed by three Chinese vessels and that all interactions were safe.

The White House confirmed the Reuters report.

“This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.

It was the fourth challenge that the United States has made to what it considers overreaching maritime claims by China in the South China Sea in the past year, and the first since May.

China state shipping line to launch cruise route in disputed South China Sea | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-cosco-idUSKCN0Z708X

State-owned China COSCO Shipping Corp plans to launch cruise trips in the South China Sea next month, with the first route to travel from Sanya city in the country’s southeast to the disputed Paracel Islands, state media reported on Tuesday.
[…]
In a statement sent to Reuters, China COSCO Shipping said developing tourism services in the South China Sea was part of China’s “One Belt, One Road” strategy and the responsibility of its state enterprises.
[…]
The inaugural COSCO route to the Xisha Islands will be followed by the development of other routes in the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits, with a gradual expansion to international routes, in a bid to build China’s first national cruise brand, the company said.

#Paracels

China says South China Sea among world’s freest shipping lanes | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-southchinasea-idUSKCN0WA0ER

The South China Sea is one of the world’s freest and safest shipping lanes, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday, arguing that Beijing’s control over the disputed waters was justified because it was the first to “discover” them.

China has come under fire from the United States and its allies in recent months over its land reclamation activities in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually.

The U.S. Navy has carried out freedom of navigation exercises, sailing near disputed islands to underscore its rights to operate in the seas.

Those patrols, and reports that China is deploying advanced missiles, fighters and radar equipment on islands there, have led Washington and Beijing to trade accusations of militarizing the region.

The freedom of navigation does not equal the “f_reedom to run amok_”, Wang told his yearly news conference on the sidelines of China’s annual parliament meeting.

“In fact, based on the joint efforts of China and other regional countries, the South China Sea is currently one of the safest and freest shipping lanes in the world,” Wang said.

“China was the earliest to explore, name, develop and administer various South China Sea islands. Our ancestors worked diligently here for generations,” Wang said.

“History will prove who is the visitor and who is the genuine host,” he said, adding that China would “consider inviting” foreign journalists to islands under its control when the conditions are right.

avec une illustration très “neutre” ;-)

http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160308&t=2&i=1123157394&w=644&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXNPEC2705R#.jpg

China’s Island Radar Bigger Threat Than Missiles, CSIS Says - gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/chinas-island-radar-bigger-threat-than-missiles-csis-says

China may be building a high-frequency radar installation in the disputed South China Sea, posing a bigger threat to the balance of power in one of the world’s busiest waterways than previously detected surface-to-air missiles, according to a report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Construction of radar facilities at Cuarteron Reef, the southern-most of the features China claims in the Spratly Islands, appears to be nearly complete, Gregory Poling of CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative wrote. China sparked new questions about its intentions in the South China Sea after surface-to-air missiles were detected earlier this month on Woody Island, part of the #Paracel Islands northwest of the #Spratlys.

“This month’s deployment of HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the Paracels, while notable, does not alter the military balance in the South China Sea,” said Poling. “New radar facilities being developed in the Spratlys, on the other hand, could significantly change the operational landscape.”
[…]
#Shooting_Drones
Admiral Scott Swift, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said last week the latest deployment of HQ-9 missiles was the third time that China had put them on the island, according to a report on U.S. Internet site Military.com. The missiles also have been used in exercises, notably to shoot down a drone, he said.

“There is no difference between China’s deployment of necessary national defense facilities on its own territory and the defense installation by the U.S. in Hawaii,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Monday. China contends that the islands it occupies “have been part of China since ancient times.”

#Spratleys

ARCHEOLOGY AND PATRIOTISM: LONG TERM CHINESE STRATEGIES IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA - Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs

▻http://www.imoa.ph/archeology-and-patriotism-long-term-chinese-strategies-in-the-south-china-sea

Several authors writing about the Chinese claim to the Paracel Islands have dated the first official Chinese expedition to these islands to 1902. However, none of these writers have been able to show any records of this expedition taking place. In fact, Chinese records show that the expedition never happened. Instead, a secret expedition took place decades later to plant false archaeological evidence on the islands in order to bolster China’s territorial claim. The same strategy has been applied in the Spratly islands: the sovereignty markers of 1946 had been placed, in fact, ten years later, in 1956.

#mer_de_chine_méridionale

#Chine #Merdechineméridionale #Géopolitique #Asiedusudest #Conflits #Frontières #Frontières-maritimes

Tensions heighten in South China Sea
►http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jul2012/scse-j26.shtml

By Peter Symonds
26 July 2012

Following the failure of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to agree on a final communiqué at its ministerial summit in mid-July, tensions over the South China Sea have continued to rise, in particular between China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

China announced over the weekend that a military garrison would be added to its recently established “city” of Sansha in the disputed Paracel Islands, provoking sharp criticism from Vietnam and the Philippines. The city of just over a thousand Chinese residents is designed as an administrative centre to bolster Beijing’s claims to the Paracel and Spratly groups, as well as the waters around them.