Reuters: Clinton warns against coercion in South China Sea dispute

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/03/us-china-usa-clinton-idUSBRE8820CI20120903

Clinton warns against coercion in South China Sea dispute

China and its neighbors in Southeast Asia must move to draw up a code of conduct in coming months to help resolve disputes in the South China Sea, and should refrain from threats and coercion that have sent tension skyrocketing, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday.

Clinton, visiting Indonesia ahead of a trip to China this week, said she would tell Beijing and other claimants that it was essential to get faltering diplomacy back on track and move toward a deal.

"The United States does not take a position on competing territorial claims over land features, but we believe the nations of the region should work collaboratively together to resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation, without threats and certainly without the use of force," she said.

Beijing's assertion of sovereignty over a vast stretch of the South China Sea has set it directly against Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also lay claim to other parts of the region, making it Asia's biggest potential military troublespot.

China has resisted proposals for a multilateral code of conduct, preferring to try to negotiate disputes with each of the far less powerful individual claimants.

It has also stepped up its activity in the region, including establishing a military garrison on a disputed island, and accused Washington of seeking to stir up trouble far from home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/asia/in-beijing-clinton-to-discuss-island-disputes.html?_r=1

In Beijing, Clinton to Discuss Island Disputes

As tensions mount between China and its neighbors over islands in nearby strategic waterways, China has scored some subtle victories, making the United States and its friends increasingly uneasy about the potential for violent confrontations.

China’s dispute with Japan over potentially energy-rich islands in the East China Sea, and with the Philippines over an island that China has effectively blocked to Filipino vessels, will be central in talks between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese leaders in Beijing on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday, American and Chinese officials said.

I don't hear much about this issue, but it seems China is having a lot of territorial disputes lately.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/05/31/world/asia/Territorial-Claims-in-South-China-Sea.html?ref=asia

China and Japan have been also been disputing over uninhabited islands too which are supposedly resource-rich

Should be interesting to see what happens

Wow I had no idea the disputed area was so far away from China.. It's on the other side of vietnam from China.

I blame Brunei.

(Had to.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/world/asia/singapores-prime-minister-warns-china-on-view-of-us.html?smid=tw-share

Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns China on View of U.S.

In an unusual public airing of strategic problems surrounding China’s rise, the prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, warned China on Thursday that it should view the United States not as a declining power, but as a nation with the ability to innovate and bounce back.

Speaking at the Central Party School, the prestigious training ground for new members of the Communist Party, Mr. Lee also suggested that China try to solve its maritime disputes in the South China Sea regionally, through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, rather than country by country.

Mr. Lee’s appearance at the Communist Party school came after China effectively shattered Southeast Asian unity on how to deal with disputes in the South China Sea, a tactic that shocked Washington and Singapore alike.

At a meeting in Cambodia in July that was attended by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, China managed to quash an agreement on the South China Sea among members of Asean. Some Southeast Asian officials said they believed that China was emboldened by a belief that the United States was a waning power that lacked the clout to keep Asean unified.

In his speech, Mr. Lee said Asean “has to take and state a position which is neutral, forward-looking and encourages the peaceful resolution of issues.”

“For Asean not to address it would severely damage its credibility,” he continued. Moreover, Asean and China should start talks on a code of conduct designed to help resolve conflicts, soon, he said.

This was a position put forward by Mrs. Clinton during her visit to Beijing this week, which so far the Chinese have resisted.

Hmmm, interesting move and timing.

Hope it doesn't escalate....

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/09/201291135939441608.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount

China sends ships in islands row with Japan

China has sent two patrol ships to a group of islands at the centre of a territorial row with Japan, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday after Tokyo said it would nationalise them.

Xinhua said the two marine surveillance ships had reached the waters around the Diaoyu islands - known in Japan as the Senkaku islands - to "assert the country's sovereignty".

The move came hours after the Japanese ambassador to Beijing was summoned to the foreign ministry to protest Japan's decision to buy three of the islands. The islands will be formally owned by Japan's Coast Guard, that country's government said.

Wen Jiabao, the Chinese prime minister, said the islands were "an inherent part of China's territory" and vowed his country would "never ever yield an inch" on its sovereignty.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/13/us-china-japan-islands-idUSBRE88C1LG20120913

China patrol ships enter Japan waters: Japan Coast Guard

Two Chinese patrol ships entered Japanese territorial waters near disputed islets claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo on Friday, Japan's Coast Guard said, marking the latest incident in a long-running dispute between China and Japan.

The Chinese ships have not followed the coast guard's order to go out of the territorial waters, a Japan coast guard official said.

Tension flared last month when Japan detained a group of Chinese activists who had landed on the islands, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/09/201291445921803663.html

China sends six ships to disputed islands

Six Chinese ships have sailed into waters around a disputed archipelago, with Beijing saying they were there for "law enforcement" around islands Japan nationalised earlier this week.

The move, dubbed "unprecedented" by Tokyo, came on Friday as it was reported Japanese nationals had been physically attacked in China, marking the latest stage in a deteriorating row between Asia's two biggest economies.

Japanese living or visiting China were warned to take extra precautions after assaults and harassment were reported to the consulate in Shanghai, a base for Japanese businesses and a popular tourist destination.

Tokyo summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest what it insists is an incursion into territorial waters around islands it controls, called Senkaku, but claimed by Beijing as Diaoyu.

Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas, reporting from Hong Kong, said protesters in Beijing have called for a boycott of Japanese products to defend their country’s interests.

Ok, I'm getting nervous now.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/15/us-china-japan-idUSBRE88E01I20120915

Anti-Japan protests erupt in China over islands row

Thousands of protesters besieged the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday, hurling rocks and bottles at the building as police struggled to keep control, amid growing tensions between Asia's two biggest economies over a group of disputed islands.

Paramilitary police with shields and batons barricaded the embassy, holding back slogan-chanting, flag-waving protesters who at times appeared to be trying to storm the building.

"Return our islands! Japanese devils get out!" some of the protesters shouted. One of them held up a sign reading: "For the respect of the motherland, we must go to war with Japan."

As tensions escalated, and reports emerged of other protests around China, Japan said its foreign minister had cut short a visit to Australia, arriving back in Tokyo on Saturday morning to deal with the situation.

Crazy extremists. Someone should put a wall around them.

....oh wait.

:evilg:

http://tealeafnation.com/2012/09/japanese-adult-film-actress-tries-online-diplomacy-but-word-order-gets-in-the-way/

Japanese Adult Film Actress Tries Online Diplomacy, But Word Order Gets In the Way

As netizen comments flooded in, a wide range of emotion was visible, from those proclaiming their love for Ms. Aoi to those calling her a “Japanese dog.” A majority, however, were negative. Many referred to Japanese war crimes in Nanjing, China, during World War II. Many others took aim at Aoi’s broken Chinese, while a great many noted that her first tweet should not have called for “Japanese-Chinese” friendship–rather, China should have been listed first. Ms. Aoi took the latter commentary to heart, reversing the order in her subsequent tweet after only seven minutes.

But Aoi’s linguistic turnabout did not appear to placate netizens. Indeed, by the time she issued her second tweet, more extreme (and obscene) tweets had seemingly drowned out many of the encouraging voices that initially responded to Aoi’s first overture. One netizen kept it clean, writing only, “One mountain does not have room for two tigers.” [2]

https://twitter.com/limlouisa

Here are the pictures from Weibo of anti-Japanese protests in 20 Chinese cities pic.twitter.com/Ol03juZY

3:25 AM

https://twitter.com/freemoren

@limlouisa our estimate is around 40 cities. Many 2nd & 3rd tier cities have protests as well

3:27 AM

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/us-china-japan-idUSBRE88F00H20120917

China tensions force Japanese companies to retreat

Some Japanese firms have temporarily shut factories and shops in China after angry protests over a territorial dispute, with Chinese state media warning on Monday that Japan could suffer another "lost decade" if trade ties sour.

The volley of warnings from Chinese officials and papers came after a weekend of protests across dozens of cities, some violent. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda urged Beijing to ensure Japan's people and property were protected.

The Japanese government is warning its citizens about large-scale protests in China on Tuesday, when China marks its official memorial day for Japan's war-time occupation of parts of China.

"I'm not going out today and I've asked my Chinese boyfriend to be with me all day tomorrow," said Sayo Morimoto, a 29-year-old Japanese graduate student at a university in Shenzhen.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party, which rarely allows street protests, opened the door to the display of public anger after Japan's decision last week to buy disputed East China Sea islands, which Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu, from a private Japanese owner.

Beijing called that a severe violation of its sovereignty and the dispute has triggered a wave of nationalist ire that the Chinese government has sought to both channel and contain.

The overseas edition of the People's Daily, the main newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, warned that Beijing could resort to economic retaliation if the dispute festers, threatening enduring repercussions for Japan.

Wonder if the Chinese will claim portions of the Indian Ocean as their own.. I'm assuming that won't sit well with the Indians.

Speaking of which, I wonder if the Indians will enter this game seeing as they have Oil Research Projects going on off the coast of Vietnam. China is playing a dangerous game.

http://twitter.com/neemaamini/statuses/247451124305645568

These pictures of the anti-Japanese protests occurring throughout China are shocking imgur.com/a/Y7oIp

NSFW, profanity. They're really, really mad.

https://twitter.com/BreakingNews

Nissan Motor Co suspends China production for 2 days starting Sept 17 in wake of anti-Japan protests, sources say - @Reuters

8:34 AM

A buddy of mine is in China for a few years and is getting a little nervous...lots of tension. Signs in shops that say things like "No dogs or Japanese allowed".

We should have just kept those Islands after WW2.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/17/13908056-panasonic-canon-shutter-china-factories-amid-violent-anti-japan-protests?lite&ocid=msnhp

Panasonic, Canon shutter China factories amid violent anti-Japan protests

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/china-japan-heading-towards-war-says-us-defence-secretary-leon-panetta/story-e6frg6so-1226475484583

China, Japan heading towards war, says US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta

I have not seen any disputes in Beijing yet. However i will say that a majority of people here are brainwashed into believing whatever the people tell them to believe. There are so many people, with such little education, that many of them rely on others, or word of mouth to get news. And that word of mouth is usually negative or with money's best interests in mind. The people dont necessarily understand why they deserve these islands. They barely even know what is going on honestly.

I hope it doesnt get too dangerous honestly; there are some great people here. But on the flip side... there are just so many people. This past year i have seen a huge increase in xenophobia. There was an issue with a british expat here about 5 months back. He attempted to abuse a local girl here during a late night binge in a near by bar street. Other locals stopped it and kicked his ass and filmed it. He deserved the beating. That video then caused a huge uproar around here. A new law was made, strengthening the difficulty for foreigners to get in, renew visas, etc. People started to really dislike any foreigners, correlating any foreigner with that guy. I started to get stood up or ripped off by cab drivers on a daily basis. Surprise documentation checkups became frequent. Things started to get a little harder for any foreigner living here all because 1 guy did something stupid while drunk. 1 guy caused a high percentage of 20,000,000 people to get pissed off at every foreigner. Think about that, and you can understand how easy it is for them to start riots regarding these islands that most dont know the name of, location of, or history of; and above all... that none of them will ever see.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/733756.shtml

Fishermen set sail for Diaoyu waters

About 1,000 fishing boats from Zhejiang and Fujian provinces set sail for the waters around the Diaoyu Islands on Monday, after a fishing moratorium in the East China Sea ended a day earlier.

Despite the on-going China-Japan spat over the sovereignty over the islands, the move came amid assurances that fishery authorities would provide the necessary services for Chinese fishermen in the area, a traditional fishing ground.

More than 1,000 Chinese fishing boats fish around the waters of the Diaoyu Islands every year, annually netting more than 150,000 tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. However, Chinese fishing boats have often been harassed and expelled by the Japan Coast Guard.

The Chinese fishery administration department will provide services for fishing in waters near the Diaoyu Islands, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a regular press briefing on Monday.

The Ministry of Agriculture also stated that patrol forces would protect China's sovereignty and the safety of Chinese fishermen's life and property.

The waters around the Diaoyu Islands have been the fishing ground for fishermen in Zhejiang, Fujian and Taiwan for generations, the Ministry of Agriculture stated last week.

The Japan Coast Guard and the National Police Agency said Friday that coast guard officers will be allowed to make arrests and undertake investigations on the islands claimed by Japan, including the Diaoyu Islands, according to the Daily Yomiuri.

https://twitter.com/DanielePinto

Thousands of protesters marching past Japan embassy in Beijing chanting slogans, demanding boycotts and claiming disputed islands.

9:29 PM

Japan's Honda shuts China factories, Nissan and Toyota scale back production as China marks war anniversary with anti-Japan protests.

9:40 PM

I have not seen any disputes in Beijing yet. However i will say that a majority of people here are brainwashed into believing whatever the people tell them to believe. There are so many people' date=' with such little education, that many of them rely on others, or word of mouth to get news. And that word of mouth is usually negative or with money's best interests in mind. The people dont necessarily understand why they deserve these islands. They barely even know what is going on honestly. [/quote']

I agree with this assessment, but in all honesty this was the plan from the get go by the PRC government. They are claiming land based on historical precedence, similar to if India were to claim all the countries up to Saudia Arabia in the west and Burma/Myanmar to the east, because at one point and time, they were under the Indus Valley Civilization's rule. They are risking going to war with all the ASEAN countries as well as the USA, which is why the PRC needs to step in and take control, but this is unlikely to happen as it was their agenda all along.

And in all honesty, Japan would wipe China off the face of this earth or at worst make it a Pyrrhic victory for the Chinese. This is a dangerous game the Chinese are playing and they are risking an all out war on the Pacific front for some absurd historical reasons..

And in all honesty, Japan would wipe China off the face of this earth or at worst make it a Pyrrhic victory for the Chinese. This is a dangerous game the Chinese are playing and they are risking an all out war on the Pacific front for some absurd historical reasons..

I dunno, I dont think Japan has really many options except to complain loudly. Their economy never recovered from the 90's tanking, China's is still growing. As far as militaries go, I have no idea why you postulate that Japan could win a war against China, unless the U.S. comes to the rescue. Which we're not doing, because we'd have to borrow money from the Chinese to afford it. After all the barking is done, China is the only dog that can bite.

Eh...

comment deleted.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/japanese-businesses-close-as-china-burns-over-anniversary-20120918-264ku.html

Japanese businesses close as China burns over anniversary

About 1000 fishing boats mobilised by China are nearing an island chain controlled by Japan, as the quarrel between the countries resulted in Japanese businesses suspending their Chinese operations.

Chinese fishing boats, which appear suspiciously well-drilled and organised, have clashed with the Japanese Coast Guard over the islands in the past, but never in such numbers.

Japan's Coast Guard reported seeing fishing boats outside the territorial waters of the islands, known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese, Kyodo News reported yesterday.

They may be joined by six Chinese patrol ships, which briefly entered Japanese waters last Friday in a show of defiance. The dispute over the islands, which has been rumbling for decades, intensified last week after Japan announced it had bought some of the archipelago for the nation from a Japanese family.

A number of Japanese businesses have suspended their China operations. Panasonic, Canon, Honda, Mazda and Toyota have halted their factories, while almost 200 7-eleven convenience stores have shut and Uniqlo, the clothes retailer, has removed the signs from its shop and shut its doors.

''I want to leave,'' said a Nissan executive, who declined to be named, in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. ''Protests near my home were horrifying over the weekend.''

Because things aren't crazy enough in China already....

:mad:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gnKootokfYL9yxvlt9m7VKZRMguw?docId=05f27b25ff454c099d37c19845c784d7

Beijing demonstrators damage US ambassador's car

A car carrying the U.S. ambassador to China was mildly damaged after becoming the target of boisterous anti-Japan demonstrators who were expressing outrage over a territorial dispute and marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's invasion of China.

The State Department said in a statement Wednesday that Ambassador Gary Locke was unhurt in Tuesday's incident, and that diplomats have expressed concerns to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The statement said around 50 protesters surrounded Locke's car as he tried to enter the embassy and were eventually removed by Chinese security personnel.

The incident comes amid heightened vigilance for American diplomats following violent attacks on U.S. embassies in Libya, Yemen and Egypt. The statement said embassy officials have asked the Chinese government to do everything possible to protect American facilities and personnel.

We should have just kept those Islands after WW2.

We have a treaty with Japan. If their recognized territory comes under attack, our treaty says we will come to Japan's aid.

So this could quickly turn into a US / China dispute; even while the State Dept is saying we take no sides in territory disputes.

---------- Post added September-19th-2012 at 12:24 PM ----------

[/color]http://freebeacon.com/chinese-general-prepare-for-combat/

Chinese General: Prepare for Combat

Top Chinese general in unusual move tells troops to ready for combat with Japan

China’s most powerful military leader, in an unusual public statement, last week ordered military forces to prepare for combat, as Chinese warships deployed to waters near disputed islands and anti-Japan protests throughout the country turned violent.