The Malaysian prime minister says his country is not going to give in to Chinese demands to stop drilling for oil in the South China Sea:
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday that Malaysia will not bow to demands by China to stop its oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea as the activities are within the country’s waters. Anwar said Malaysia would continue to explain its stance following China’s accusations in a protest note in February to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing that Kuala Lumpur had infringed on its territory.
Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it was investigating the leak of the diplomatic protest note that was published by a Filipino media outlet on Aug. 29. “We have never intended in any way to be intentionally provocative, unnecessarily hostile. China is a great friend, but of course we have to operate in our waters and secure economic advantage, including drilling for oil in our territory,” Anwar said in a televised news conference from Russia, where he is on an official visit.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer published the diplomatic note in which Beijing reportedly demanded that Malaysia immediately halt all activities in an oil-rich maritime area off Sarawak state on Borneo island. The report said China had accused Malaysia of encroaching on areas covered by its 10-dash line, Beijing’s controversial map showing its claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea. The diplomatic note also expressed Beijing’s displeasure over Malaysia’s oil and gas exploration activities near the Luconia Shoals, which is near to Sarawak, it said.
You can read more at the link.
The Chinese are significantly escalating their provocations against the Philippines military as they try and resupply troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal:
The Philippines military chief demanded Wednesday that China return several rifles and equipment seized by the Chinese coast guard in a disputed shoal and pay for damage in an assault he likened to an act of piracy in the South China Sea. Chinese personnel on board more than eight motorboats repeatedly rammed then boarded the two Philippine navy inflatable boats Monday to prevent Filipino navy personnel from transferring food and other supplies including firearms to a Philippine territorial outpost in Second Thomas Shoal, which is also claimed by Beijing, according to Philippine officials.
After a scuffle and repeated collisions, the Chinese seized the boats and damaged them with machetes, knives and hammers. They also seized eight M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, navigation equipment and other supplies and wounded a number of Filipino navy personnel, including one who lost his right thumb, two Philippine security officials told The Associated on Tuesday. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the sensitive conflict publicly.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link, but it is easy to imagine how this can escalate because the Philippines military next time will probably come in more forcibly to defend their resupply boats against the Chinese piracy.
This is how a future conflict with China could get started by a nation in the South China Sea sinking a Chinese ship and facing retaliation that draws the U.S. into the conflict:
Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre is seen at the Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin Shoal, at the South China Sea, April 23, 2023. A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, June 17, 2024, China’s coast guard said. (Aaron Favila/AP)
A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, China’s coast guard said, in the latest flare-up of escalating territorial disputes that have sparked alarm. The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, part of a territory claimed by several nations. The Philippines says the shoal falls within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and often cites a 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidating China’s expansive South China Sea claims based on historical grounds.
The Chinese coast guard said the Philippine craft “ignored China’s repeated solemn warnings … and dangerously approached a Chinese vessel in normal navigation in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision.” “The Philippines is entirely responsible for this,” the coast guard said in its statement on the social media platform WeChat. Meanwhile, the Philippine military called the Chinese coast guard’s report “deceptive and misleading,” and said it would “not discuss operational details on the legal humanitarian rotation and resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal, which is well within our exclusive economic zone.”
It used the Philippine name for the shoal, where Filipino navy personnel have transported food, medicine and other supplies to a long-grounded warship that has served as Manila’s territorial outpost.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
This is actually surprising that the ROK issued a statement against China on this issue. It will be interesting to see if China responds:
South Korea’s foreign ministry expressed deep concerns Thursday over the collision between Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, a region long plagued by persistent territorial disputes.
“Our government is deeply concerned about the dangerous situation caused by the collision between the Chinese and Philippine vessels and use of water cannons against the Philippine vessels in the South China Sea,” the ministry spokesperson, Lim Soo-suk, said in a press briefing.
“We support the maintenance of peace, stability and rules-based order in the South China Sea, as well as the freedom of navigation and overflight based on the principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
The Philippines Coast Guard earlier said a Chinese Coast Guard ship caused damage to one of its ships attempting to deliver supplies to Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ayungin Shoal, by Manila on Tuesday. China’s use of water cannons also caused injuries to four Filipino crew members.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but from a ROK perspective it would not be in their interest for China to gobble up the entire South China Sea and claim it as Chinese territory. This is because the majority of ROK energy imports comes through the South China Sea and if China takes it over it could stop energy and other exports through the waterway.
Here is how the U.S. Army is trying to remain relevant in a near peer conflict with China:
About a year from now, the Army plans to practice rapidly deploying 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers from the mainland through Western Pacific islands and into nations around the East and South China Seas for training that will send a message to China.
The first “Defender Pacific” — the Pentagon’s most significant exercise for the region in 2020 — is expected to be followed by an even bigger version involving more than 10,000 mainland soldiers.
Gen. Robert Brown, who stepped down Friday as commander of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, likes to point out that the United States is in a state of strategic “hyper-competition” with China and Russia.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
