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US
to get wider access to South China Sea for military warships and
aircraft
The
US has expanded negotiations with Manila and is seeking to build
facilities and storage sites in the Philippines, as well as gain
greater access to bases for its aircraft and warships. Bases the US
is considering are all facing the South China Sea.
RT,
16
July, 2013
Talks
for greater US military presence in the South China Sea comes as the
territorial dispute between China and the Philippines is heating up.
Since February, the Philippine military has complained that Chinese
navy and government vessels have increased their presence in the
disputed area.
Ambassador
Jose Cuisia this week told reporters that the Philippines plans to
provide the US with greater access to its bases on a temporary and
rotational basis, which would bolster its defense. Although Manila
will not provide permanent basing rights to the US, it would allow
the US to have a wider presence in the South China Sea.
The
1998 Visiting Forces agreement allows US forces to maintain a
rotational presence in the Philippines, but Washington is now looking
to expand upon that and fund its own facilities.
“We
need to expand (the 1998 pact) further because we may have to build
some additional facilities,” Cuisia said during a press conference
in Manila. Such facilities would be funded for “joint use” and
would allow the US to store its military equipment and supplies in
the Philippines. Cuisia claims that such facilities would allow the
country to be prepared for potential humanitarian aid and disaster
relief efforts.
“Then
whenever it’s needed it’s so much easier to use that equipment
because it’s already there,” Cuisia said.
Facilities
and military bases that the US wants to use for its aircraft and
warships are facing the South China Sea, which would allow Washington
to operate its warships and aircraft near the disputed territory.
(L-R)
Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio, Philippine
Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia, US Assistant Secretary of Defense
Mark Lippert and US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and
Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell (AFP Photo / Jay Directo)
The
Philippine military last month told Reuters that it plans to restore
air and naval bases at Subic Bay, which is a former US Navy facility
that would provide the US with a strategic location in the region.
Military and diplomatic sources this month told Reuters that all of
the military facilities that the US is requesting greater access to
are facing China.
The
US has already used Subic Bay for ship visits, and US defense
contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries last year set up an
operation to service US Navy ships. James Hardly, Asia-Pacific editor
for HIS Jane’s Defense Weekly, told the New York Times that this
might be an indication that the US will keep its warships and
aircraft in the Philippines in the long run.
“Certainly
the buildup in Subic by companies that expect to support the US
military suggests and expectation that this is going to be a semi
permanent presence,” he said.
Carl
Baker, program director of the Pacific Forum of the Center for
Strategic and International Studies, told Voice of America that talks
of a base-sharing plan is another indicator that the US may be
creating a permanent presence in the Philippines.
“I
think that’s sort of the model that they’re following,” he
said. “So they can put people on these bases on a more permanent
basis without calling it ‘permanent basing.’”
News
of the expanded US presence in the Philippines may ignite further
anger in Chinese officials as tensions between the two Asian nations
remain high. In late 2012, the US announced that it would increase
its number of troops, aircraft and ships that rotate through the
Philippines – a statement that angered Chinese officials and
prompted Chinese media to describe the Philippines as troublemakers
seeking conflict. At the time, Chinese Communist Party Chief Xi
Jinping urged his military to prepare for a struggle.
The
Philippines is currently locked in a dispute with China over claims
in the South China Sea, in particular the resource-rich Scarborough
Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal. Cuisia told reporters that informal
talks between Manila and Washington have reached the ministerial
level, and that both sides are hoping to strike a deal before
President Benigno Aquino steps down in 2016.
Chinese
navy powers into new waters
By
Brendan O'Reilly
17
July, 2013
.
Chinese
warships have for the first time traversed La Perouse Strait,
threading the narrow gap between Japan's Hokkaido and Russia's
Sakhalin, and entered the open waters of the North Pacific Ocean.
After completing week-long joint naval drills with the Russian Navy,
the Chinese vessels could have taken a direct route to the south back
to their home port of Qingdao. Instead, Beijing is sending a clear
signal to Tokyo by sending China's increasingly sophisticated
maritime assets on a circuit around the Japanese home islands.
This
decision to take a circuitous route home comes on the heels of
another symbolic projection of Chinese naval power. Last week,
Chinese craft joined Russian vessels for the "Joint Sea 2013"
exercises in the Sea of Japan, off the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok.
The two navies conducted three days of joint drills involving
logistical collaboration and live-fire exercises.
These
maneuvers were almost certainly directed at Tokyo and Washington.
Both China and Russia face territorial disputes with Japan, and the
two powers are America's only credible geopolitical rivals.
When
sending its contingent to these inaugural Sino-Russian maritime
drills, the People's Liberation Army Navy made another yet historic
first by crossing the Tsushima Strait, 65 kilometers wide at its
narrowest, between southern Japan and South Korea. In both the
Tsushima Strait in the south and La Perouse Strait (some 40 km wide
at its narrowest) in the north, more of the narrow waters could fall
within Japan's exclusive territorial waters. However, Japan limits
the range of its maritime sovereignty claims in these waterways to
three nautical miles (5.6 km) rather than the usual 12 nautical miles
in order to allow nuclear-armed America vessels passage through the
strategically vital bottlenecks. [1]
In
the wake of these displays of Chinese maritime capabilities, the
Japanese government has announced a comprehensive plan to identify,
name, and "nationalize" roughly 400 minor outlying islands.
These small islands - some no more than rocky outcrops in the East
China Sea - could be used to clearly demarcate (and perhaps expand)
Japan's territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. The Japanese
government maintains that the total size of Japan's territorial
waters is roughly 4.47 million square kilometers - roughly 12 times
the size of Japan's landmass. [2]
This
move is almost sure to inspire Chinese anger. The focal point of the
recent escalation of tensions between China and Japan was Tokyo's
decision last year to "nationalize" the disputed Senkaku
Islands (known as the Diaoyu in Chinese). If any of the minor islands
set to be identified by the Japanese government are claimed by China,
one can expect another round of intensification in the war of words
in the East China Sea.
Seeing
red in a white paper
In
the tense atmosphere of Sino-Japanese rivalry, words matter. Early
last week, Japan for the first time specifically cited Chinese
actions as threats in its annual defense white paper. This paper
claims that Beijing seeks to "to change the status quo by force,
based on its own assertion", is "engaging in dangerous acts
that could give rise to an emergency situation", and that such
moves are "incompatible with international law." [3]
Tokyo's white paper specifically mentioned as credible dangers
China's investments in submarines and the launching of its first
aircraft carriers.
Beijing
was swift in denouncing the Japanese report. Foreign ministry
spokesperson Hua Chunying asserted Tokyo "maliciously plays up
the 'China threat'" and is seeking to "to create an excuse
for its military build-up". [4]
The
fact is both Beijing and Tokyo are expanding their arsenals and
making significant adjustments to their defense doctrines. The
Japanese government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking to
create a military outfit similar to the United States Marines - a
contingent that can launch seaborne infantry assaults and hold
disputed islands. Furthermore, Abe has called for amending Japan's
US-imposed "peace constitution" to allow for a more
proactive military posture.
Meanwhile,
Beijing has made double-digit increases in military expenditures
almost every year for more than a decade. While this swelling of
China's military budget has largely reflected the rapid expansion of
the overall Chinese economy, Beijing's expenditures on advanced
submarines and ship-killing missiles cause worries for regional
rivals - especially Japan.
Beijing's
decision to send its vessels on the long way home through La Perouse
Strait and around Japan are part of a highly symbolic effort to
expand China's maritime reach. China's current naval posture is
essentially designed to protect the Chinese coast in the event of a
war with America in and around Taiwan. However, in the past several
years Beijing has sought to expand the operational range of Chinese
vessels and create a credible "blue water" fleet. Recent
deployments to aid anti-piracy efforts off the coast of East Africa,
the Chinese participation in last week's "Joint Sea 2013"
drill with Russia, and the choice of an indirect route home from
these joint exercises are all meant to enhance Chinese maritime
prestige.
Domestic
politics are the primary driving force for the rising tensions in the
West Pacific. Elections for Japan's upper house will be held on
Sunday. Prime Minister Abe is seeking to boost his foreign policy
credentials. As it is, Reuters reported on Monday that final surveys
before the vote showed that up to 43% of voters wanted to vote for
Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, which would mean that, along with
coalition partner the New Komeito, the LDP would likely win a
majority in the upper house and bring an end to a "twisted
parliament", where opposition control of the upper house can
stymie policy moves agreed to in the lower house.
While
China's political system somewhat insulates policy makers from
popular opinion, a similar dynamic may be unfolding in the Middle
Kingdom. China's projected economic growth rate is the slowest in 23
years, as the government is cracking down on easy credit to sort out
a volatile "shadow banking" system. Tensions with Tokyo
could prove a tempting diversion if the populace becomes restless
from economic frustrations.
However,
real geopolitical tensions coexist with these domestic distractions.
The current strategic dynamic in East Asia is still largely shaped by
the legacy of World War II. In the nearly seven decades since the end
of that conflict, power has shifted enormously to create the current
unstable climate. China's gross domestic product overtook Japan's
only three years ago and is set to overtake America's within the
decade (barring any truly serious economic calamity).
Meanwhile,
America's economic and fiscal crisis is leading to significant
military cuts, which may force Tokyo to be more self-reliant in
defense. This in turn could inspire further Chinese advances in
military technology. There is a real risk of a regional arms race, a
miscalculation during a show of force, and a major catastrophe.
The
two world wars broke out amid political stubbornness and shifting
geopolitical power and ambitions. As China's sailors return home on
their circular route around Japan, all relevant regional and global
powers would be wise to remember the lessons of history.
Notes:
|
Brendan
P O'Reilly is a China-based writer and educator from Seattle. He is
author of The Transcendent Harmony.
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