The meeting came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing and marked the first high-level meeting since Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Alaska in March. Sherman met with Wang and Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng.
Archiv: South China Sea
Interesting How the Military ‘Defends’ This Country by Sending Ships 7,000 Kilometers From Canadian Soil
Canada’s navy is running provocative maneuvers in the South China Sea. While they claim to be upholding the „international rules based order“ in these missions, their main partner refuses to recognize the Law of the Sea.
At the end of last month HMCS Calgary passed near the Spratly Islands claimed by both China and the Philippines. In response Chinese vessels shadowed Calgary through the South China Sea.
Biden’s approach to North Korea is the opposite of ‘fire and fury’
(16.04.2021)
Biden set the nonconfrontational tone on North Korea at his March 25 news conference, when he was asked about Pyongyang’s short-range missile tests the previous week. He said that the United States would respond “if they choose to escalate,” but that he was ready for “diplomacy . . . conditioned upon the end result of denuclearization.”
Biden’s stance, suggesting that denuclearization was an eventual goal, not an immediate one, was repeated in a joint U.S.-Japanese-South Korean statement on April 2, which called for progress “towards denuclearization.”
U.S.- Japan Joint Leaders’ Statement: “U.S. – JAPAN GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR A NEW ERA”
(16.04.2021)
President Biden and Prime Minister Suga exchanged views on the impact of China’s actions on peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world, and shared their concerns over Chinese activities that are inconsistent with the international rules-based order, including the use of economic and other forms of coercion. We will continue to work with each other based on universal values and common principles. We also recognize the importance of deterrence to maintain peace and stability in the region. We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea.
US Warship Sails Through Taiwan Strait as Tensions Rise
The US warned China over a dispute with the Philippines in the South China Sea and recent flights in Taiwan’s ADIZ
Indonesia Will Not Join QUAD as It Delicately Balances Relations With All Regional Players
Even Vietnam, which has centuries long animosity with China and more tense relations over the South China Sea, shows no intentions of joining QUAD. Besides the lack of interest from Vietnam, and likely from Indonesia too, QUAD members themselves, at this point in time, have not named any specific candidates to join their anti-China coalition.
Chinese fighters buzz Taiwan’s air defense zone as it appoints new defense minister
National Security Bureau Director-General Chiu Kuo-cheng, who graduated from the US Army War College in 1999, would replace Yen De-fa as defense minister, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang told reporters.
France wades into the South China Sea with a nuclear attack submarine
„This extraordinary patrol has just completed a passage in the South China Sea. A striking proof of our French Navy’s capacity to deploy far away and for a long time together with our Australian, American and Japanese strategic partners,“ she tweeted along with a picture of the two vessels at sea.
US Is Planning Huge Arms Sale to Taiwan
The weapons package would follow a pattern of the Trump administration strengthening ties with Taiwan. In August, US Secretary of Health Alex Azar visited the island, making him the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan since 1979.
Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach is expected to travel to Taiwan for a memorial service honoring former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui this Saturday.
B-1 bombers deploy to Guam as Navy carriers continue readiness training in South China Sea
“This opportunity for two carrier strike groups to train and operate together in the region provides combatant commanders with significant operational flexibility and capabilities that only the U.S. Navy can bring.”
US Navy to send two aircraft carriers and several warships to South China Sea
The US Navy will send two aircraft carriers and several accompanying warships to the South China Sea in the coming days to participate in a military exercise.
The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Groups are conducting dual carrier operations in the Philippine Sea and South China Sea,“ said Lt. Joe Jeiley, a spokesman for the Seventh Fleet.
Army Plans Big Isle Drill with Chinese Soldiers
The event marks the 15th iteration of the exchange, which is now rotated annually between China and the United States. Last year, U.S. Army Pacific troops traveled to Nanjing, China.
US sends carrier through disputed South China Sea amid tensions with Beijing
“The motto of this carrier is peace through strength,” Rear Adm. Karl Thomas told journalists.
Asked what message the carrier’s presence was sending amid new tensions with China, Thomas replied that U.S. military presence helps provide security and stability that foster diplomatic talks between quarreling China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
US and Britain conduct first joint drill in South China Sea
US Navy guided missile destroyer USS McCampbell and Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll conducted operations together in the South China Sea from Friday last week until Wednesday, the two countries said.
The US said the two vessels had practised communication drills, division tactics, and a personnel exchange designed to address common maritime security priorities and enhance interoperability.
Are France and the UK Here to Stay in the South China Sea?
(14.9.2018) The Franco-English joint patrol and the HMS Albion operation exemplified the increased engagement of other external powers in the South China Sea dispute. Southeast Asian states are likely to respond with caution to recent developments.
War Games in the Pacific
German soldiers will soon participate in maneuvers in the Pacific and will be on hand as observers on patrols in the South China Sea, according to announcements by the US Navy and the French Minister of Defense, Florence Parly. At a top-level conference in Singapore last weekend, Parly declared that Paris will dispatch warships to the South China Sea in the next few days and will also navigate through the territorial waters of Islands China claims as its territory. According to Parly, German military observers will embark on these ships. At the same time, German soldiers are preparing their participation in the US led RIMPAC 2018 maneuver, taking place mainly near Hawaii. RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime exercise. During RIMPAC 2016 German soldiers trained in „liberating“ an island, which, according to the scenario, was held by the „Draco“ militia. „Draco“ is the Latin term for „dragon“ – a symbol for China.
U.S. sends B-52 bombers ‘in vicinity’ of South China Sea amid row over militarization of islets
The U.S. Pacific Air Forces, which oversees operations in the region, told The Japan Times that the two nuclear-capable bombers departed a navy facility on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for training “in the vicinity of the South China Sea” prior to returning to Diego Garcia.
China Deploys Long-Range Anti-Ship and Anti-Air Missiles to Spratly Islands For First Time
Intelligence sources told CNBC News that China had placed supersonic YJ-12B anti-ship cruise missiles and HQ-9B anti-air missiles on Fiery Cross, Subi, and Mischief Reefs in the Spratly Islands. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to downplay the significance of the deployment, but the White House Press Secretary said that China would face consequences for the missile emplacements and its continued militarization of its Spratlys features, without elaborating on what those might be.