Obama Ramps Up Response to China South Sea Aggression

http://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/idINKCN0XB0R7?irpc=932

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0ZS02U

An arbitration court ruled on Tuesday that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it has breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with its actions, infuriating Beijing which dismissed the case as a farce.

China, which boycotted the hearings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, vowed again to ignore the ruling and said its armed forces would defend its sovereignty and maritime interests.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said shortly before the ruling was announced that a Chinese civilian aircraft successfully carried out calibration tests on two new airports in the disputed Spratly Islands.

And China's Defence Ministry announced that a new guided missile destroyer was formally commissioned at a naval base on the southern island province of Hainan, which has responsibility for the South China Sea.

"This award represents a devastating legal blow to China's jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea," Ian Storey, of Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, told Reuters.

"China will respond with fury, certainly in terms of rhetoric and possibly through more aggressive actions at sea."

China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

Finding for the Philippines on a number of issues, the panel said there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within its so-called nine-dash line, which covers much of the South China Sea.

It said China had interfered with traditional Philippine fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal, one of the hundreds of reefs and shoals dotting the sea, and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights by exploring for oil and gas near the Reed Bank, another feature in the region.

None of China's reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone, it added.

China's Foreign Ministry comprehensively rejected the ruling, saying its people had more than 2,000 years of history in the South China Sea, that its islands did have exclusive economic zones and that it had announced to the world its "dotted line" map in 1948.

"China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by those awards. China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on those awards," it said.

However, the ministry also repeated that China respected and upheld the freedom of navigation and overflight and that China was ready to keep resolving the disputes peacefully through talks with states directly concerned.

China's Defence Ministry said in a bilingual Chinese and English statement shortly before the ruling was made public that the armed forces would "firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime interests and rights, firmly uphold regional peace and stability, and deal with all kinds of threats and challenges.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the case had been a farce from beginning to end and put the dispute into dangerous territory of worsening tensions and confrontation.

But Wang, in comments carried by state media, struck a more conciliatory tone too, saying the time had now come to put things back on the right track and noting the new Philippine government's sincerity in taking steps to demonstrate its willingness to improve ties.

The ruling also said China had caused permanent harm to the coral reef ecosystem in the Spratlys, charges China has always rejected.

The judges acknowledged China's refusal to participate, but said they sought to take account of China's position on the basis of its statements and diplomatic correspondence.

"The award is a complete and total victory for the Philippines ... a victory for international law and international relations," said Paul Reichler, lead lawyer for the Philippines.

Vietnam said it welcomed the ruling.

Taiwan, which had maintained the island it occupies, Itu Aba, is legally the only island among the hundreds of reefs, shoals and atolls scattered across the seas, said it did not accept the ruling, which had seriously impaired Taiwan's territorial rights.

GROUND-BREAKING RULING

The ruling is significant as it is the first time that a legal challenge has been brought in the dispute, which covers some of the world's most promising oil and gas fields and vital fishing grounds. [bit.ly/29AlvXc]

It reflects the shifting balance of power in the 3.5 million sq km sea, where China has been expanding its presence by building artificial islands and dispatching patrol boats that keep Philippine fishing vessels away.

The United States and China often conduct military exercises in the area and regularly accuse each other of militarizing the region.

"Our experts are studying the award with the care and thoroughness that this significant arbitral outcome deserves," Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay told a news conference, reading from a prepared statement.

"We call on all those concerned to exercise restraint and sobriety. The Philippines strongly affirms its respect for this milestone decision as an important contribution to the ongoing efforts in addressing disputes in the South China Sea."

Japan said the ruling was legally binding and final.

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:Wall Street and the Western banking elites are lining up the United States and China for confrontation. We finished off the communists, so we needed a new enemy--enter the Muslims. Now we need another new enemy, enter the Chinese, though the elites are also playing the Russian Federation card pretty hard, also.

Warfare and military expenditures are good for business. Except today, you need to worry about someone pulling a nuclear trigger. Power politics and power economics is the game--they do not care how much tragedy it brings upon humanity. What they really are aiming for is a world government controlled by themselves.

Banker James Warburg revealed his group's plans to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 17, 1950: “We shall have world government whether or not you like it. By conquest or consent.”

And they OWN HRC.....a proven Hawk. Hey, it's just good business, right?

China is simply filling a void and taking advantage of the current situation. Hell... even iran is able to run over obama.

Before seagoat accuses me of proposing a military option... that isn't the point. Its that obama doesn't project any stregnth or conviction and actually lays out his plans for all to see. I don't think he could control a middle school classroom... much less hostile countries acting provacatively and aggressively. He's basically a timid weak sauce leader... unsuited to be commander and cheif. But who could've known? Its not like he had any suitable record or executive experience... or economic experience considering that he was elected during a significant economic downturn. The only explainatin for voting for him had to be blind faith.

Too funny.  The world's second largest economy is going to be dictated to by colonial powers who have invaded their country, and who just 75 years ago had the most brutal invasion of them all.  A defensive nation who has no history of colonialism or expansion is now a power because President Obama is weak......there has to be a bigger dunce hat, or at least some guidance on how some can go sit in the corner of the classroom.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0ZV06F

The Chinese are the aggressors here. They want the oil, gas, minerals and fish that other countries in the region also claim. This may be the underlying reason for the proposed TPP (which I oppose). So, the Hague has ruled against them and they're choosing to ignore the finding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/world/asia/south-china-sea-dispute-arbitration-explained.html