A Chinese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Greek-flagged cargo ship near the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea on Thursday, according to China’s foreign ministry.
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Satellite photographs taken in late July show China appears to have built reinforced aircraft hangars on its holdings in disputed South China Sea islands, a Washington-based research group said.
As Wang put it, repeating the standard Chinese position, “the Manila-initiated arbitration case is nothing more than an abuse of global law and the deeply biased ruling on the case should have no place whatsoever in future bilateral talks over the South China Sea issue between China and the Philippines”. China has claimed most of the sea, through which around $5 trillion in maritime trade passes every year, while the other countries have competing claims.
The South China Sea has always been believed to be rich in a variety of mineral and other resources, leading to several countries, including China, to lay claim on the entirety of the region or parts of it.
Officials say Vietnam has moved mobile rocket launchers to several islands in the South China Sea.
“The situation surrounding the Japan-China relationship is significantly deteriorating”, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said in a statement Tuesday.
In April, two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers made a historic port call at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam, which has strategic importance, as it fronts the South China Sea. That fishing fleet deployment is based on China’s claim to sovereignty over the Senkakus, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu Islands.
Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry said the information was “inaccurate” without elaborating, but officials maintained they do have the right to move military equipment on their own sovereign soil.
Many Chinese analysts speculated that the United States would exploit the unfavourable ruling for China and consequently enhance its military presence in the South China Sea. “Other countries should not use force or threat of force in South China Sea”, Thanh said.
Siemon Wezeman, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Institute, told the news agency: “When Vietnam acquired the EXTRA system, it was always thought that it would be deployed on the Spratlys… it is the flawless weapon for that”.
EXTRA rounds are highly accurate up to a range of 150 km (93 miles), with different 150 kg (330 lb) warheads that can carry high explosives or bomblets to attack multiple targets simultaneously.
Hackers were found to have used Internet protocol addresses based in countries including China, the US and Russian Federation, it said in an e-mailed response to questions at the time.
Earlier, a commentary published in Xinhuasaid that Ramos’ visit brought “a whiff of hope” for future negotiations over the South China Sea.
Last year’s joint vision statement issued by India and the United States with regard to developments in the Asia-Pacific region could also figure in the talks in Hanoi.
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“The eggs and larvae of fish that spawn in the Spratlys are carried by the currents to the coasts of China, Vietnam, Luzon, Palawan, Malaysia, Brunei, Natuna Islands, as well as the Sulu seas”, he said.
