The US Department of State proposed on Friday that Asian nations not build new outposts or expand existing ones in the South China Sea to help lower the risk of a conflict as tensions mount in its resource-rich waters.
Meanwhile, the US Senate passed a resolution urging all nations to refrain from “destabilizing activities” and expressing US commitment to freedom of navigation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Speaking at a Washington think tank, senior State Department official Michael Fuchs voiced great concern over the “increasingly tenuous situation” as an assertive China and five of its neighbors vie for control of tiny islands and reefs in waters with plentiful fisheries and potential hydrocarbon reserves.
Fuchs said no claimant was solely responsible for the tensions, but criticized a pattern of “provocative” behavior by China.
He detailed a proposal for a voluntary freeze on activities that escalate tensions, to flesh out a 2002 declaration by China and the Southeast Asian bloc that calls for self-restraint in the South China Sea. The US is expected to push the proposal at a gathering of Asian foreign ministers in Myanmar next month.
Fuchs said the claimants themselves would need to agree on the terms, but suggested stopping the establishment of new outposts and any construction and land reclamation that would fundamentally change existing outposts. He also proposed that one claimant should not stop another from continuing long-standing economic activities in disputed areas.
Simmering tensions in the South China Sea have spiked since early May, when China deployed a large oil rig close to the disputed Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), triggering a continuing standoff with Vietnam. Taiwan also claims the islands.
In mid-June, the Philippines said it would call for a region-wide moratorium on construction after China began building a school on the largest island in the Paracels to serve the children of military personnel, two years after it established a city there to administer the vast area it claims.
China rejected the suggestion. It says its maritime and territorial claims have a historical basis and it is reluctant to embrace regional solutions for what it views as bilateral disputes. Other claimants are Brunei and Malaysia.
Fuchs said the proposed freeze on activities could help dial down tensions and smooth the way for negotiations on a legally binding — and long-delayed — code of conduct.
China objects to what it considers US interference in the matter.
Washington, which plans US$156 million in assistance for Southeast Asian nations for building their maritime capabilities over the next two years, maintains that it is impartial in the sovereignty disputes, but has an interest in their peaceful resolution.
The bipartisan Senate resolution on Thursday passed calls for the peaceful resolution of territorial and maritime disputes and reaffirms US defense treaty obligations with the Philippines and Japan — which is locked in a separate dispute with China over unoccupied islands in the East China Sea.
Taiwan also claims those islands.
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
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
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