The US said it would seek to help defuse tensions in the strategic and resource-rich South China Sea as it was set to hold talks with China in Hawaii yesterday.
Tensions in the South China Sea have escalated in recent weeks, with the Philippines and Vietnam alarmed at what they say are increasingly aggressive actions by Beijing in the disputed waters.
“The United States has no intention to fan the flames in the South China Sea and we have a very strong interest in the maintenance of peace and stability,” Assistant US Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters on Friday.
He said he expected the South China Sea disputes to be raised at the US-China meeting in Honolulu, which is part of the two countries’ strategic and economic dialogue. He was to attend the talks.
“We’ve been very clear that the United States does not take a position on sovereignty issues, but we also have strong principles that are long-standing in the maintenance of freedom of navigation, and free and unimpeded legal commerce and the maintenance of peace and stability” said Campbell, the top US diplomat for East Asia.
“Those principles are long-standing and will continue, and we underscore them in all of our interactions in the Asia-Pacific region,” he added. “It is not our desire to see, as I said, these flames fanned. We want recent tensions to subside and cooler heads to prevail.”
Meanwhile, Washington has vowed to boost the Philippines’ intelligence capabilities in the South China Sea, Manila said yesterday.
This comes after the US said on Thursday it was ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of its close, but impoverished ally.
US National Director for Intelligence (NDI) James Clapper made the commitment in a meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario in Washington.
Del Rosario is in the US seeking help for the Philippines’ poorly equipped military.
“The US official pledged to enhance the NDI’s intelligence sharing with the Philippines to heighten the latter’s maritime situational awareness and surveillance in the West Philippine Sea,” a Philippine Foreign Department statement said.
Clapper was quoted as saying that “we’ll do whatever we can to help” as he expressed concern about recent events in the South China Sea.
The “West Philippine Sea” is the term that the Philippine government now uses for the South China Sea to further stress its claim over that area.
Del Rosario was quoted as saying he was “exploring an option” which would allow the Philippines to acquire newer military equipment at a lower cost.
However, he did not say what this option was.
The Philippines had sought to modernize its military following a series of incidents with China in the South China Sea, particularly in the Spratly Islands (南沙群島), a chain of islets believed to sit on vast mineral resources.
However, a spokeswoman for Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said the renewed ties between the US and the Philippines should not agitate China.
Aside from China and the Philippines, Tawain, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also claim all or part of the South China Sea which includes the Spratlys.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source