China protests US Senate resolution on sea row

MANILA, Philippines - Beijing has filed a formal complaint with Washington over the US Senate’s issuance of a resolution condemning the use of force and coercion in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.

By issuing Resolution No. 167, the US Senate is “sending the wrong message” and making the regional situation “more complicated,” China’s foreign ministry said in a report in the state-owned news agency Xinhua posted on the Chinese government’s official web portal.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Thursday Beijing is strongly opposed to the US Senate resolution and “has lodged solemn representations to the US side.”

In the Xinhua report, Hua asked the US senators to “respect the facts and correct their mistakes.”

“The above resolution proposed by a minority of senators took heed of neither history nor facts, unjustifiably blaming China and sending the wrong message,” a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.

Through the Senate resolution passed Monday, the US government reaffirmed its “strong support” for a peaceful resolution of “of territorial, sovereignty and jurisdictional disputes in the Asia-Pacific maritime domains.”

A China Daily report said the resolution is putting pressure on China regarding its maritime spat with its smaller neighbors.

China is flexing its naval might in the region to strengthen its claim over Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and Panatag shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Senkaku is known to China as Diaoyu Islands, while it calls Panatag Shoal Huangyan Island.

Resolution backed

 Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said the passage of the resolution “demonstrated the US leadership.”

He also thanked US Sen. Robert Menendez (Democrat, New Jersey), chairman of the foreign relations committee, for shepherding the resolution.

“While the US has no direct stake in the dispute, it is important for the US that freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce, and the observance of international laws are guaranteed,” Cuisia said.

“We also welcome the US Senate’s support for the Philippines’ action to seek arbitration, consistent with our commitment to settle the disputes in a peaceful manner,” he said.

US Senate Resolution 167 also urges countries contesting ownership of parts of the West Philippine Sea and East China Sea to create and approve a code of conduct to avoid conflicts.

Menendez filed the resolution on Monday, along with senators Marco Antonio Rubio (Republican, Florida) and Ben Cardin (Democrat, Maryland).

“The territorial disputes at play in the Asia-Pacific region today are not about the past, but very much about the future of a region poised to serve as an epicenter for global economic development for the twenty first century,” Menendez said.

The resolution also cited hostile Chinese actions in the West Philippine Sea and the East China Sea.

Apart from the US Senate resolution, a commitment by Washington to raise its military assistance to the Philippines has provided some comfort to some lawmakers.

“It (increased military aid) will help but what is not quantifiable is the commitment of the US to help us with our security situation based on the MDT and VFA,” Sen. Gregorio Honasan said in a text message. He was referring to the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement.

“It presumes that we have clear security and economic foreign policies in place,” he added.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said it’s about time the country gets help from friends in boosting its defenses. He said defense spending has not improved significantly since the previous Arroyo administration.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III said the US assurance was a welcome development but stressed it’s still too early to celebrate. “Let’s wait until words are replaced with actions,” Sotto said.

The foreign affairs department announced on Thursday that the US is set to increase its military aide to the Philippines from $30 million to $50 million in the next fiscal year.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the increase is the highest since US troops last set foot in the Philippines in 2000.

Del Rosario said the Philippines may acquire a third Hamilton-class cutter to boost its maritime defense.

The Hamilton-class high endurance cutter is the largest and newest warship in the Philippine Navy. The first two ships were acquired for free under the excess defense articles (EDA) arrangement, where Washington provides equipment no longer in use. The Philippines spent $25 million, however, to refurbish them.

Unstoppable buildup

As the Philippines scrambles to build a credible maritime defense, China reiterated its plan to boost its military might to protect its “core interests.”

“We love peace and will remain on a path of peaceful development, but that doesn’t mean giving up our rights, especially those involving the nation’s core interests,” said Chinese president Xi Jinping in a report in the China Daily on Wednesday.

The report said Xi made the pledge while chairing a group study session of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee discussing a roadmap for China’s bid to become a maritime power.

The report said Xi acknowledges “converging interests” with other countries in oceanic development.

The president said China is committed to “use peaceful means and negotiations to settle disputes and strive to safeguard peace and stability.”

But Xi stressed in the report that China is prepared to cope with “complexities,” as well as enhance its capacity to safeguard “maritime rights and interests.”

He was also quoted as saying that the country would adhere to the policy of “shelving disputes and carrying out joint development” of areas over which China exercises sovereign rights.

In another China Daily report, the Chinese navy boasted of having penetrated the “first island chain blockade” and gained access to the Pacific Ocean by sailing through major corridors including northern Philippines.

The report said five Chinese warships finished the “historic trip” four days before the 86th founding anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army.

The Chinese navy’s operations came amid an assurance from Ambassador Ma Keqing that Beijing cherishes its relations with its neighbors, particularly the Philippines.

Ma said that while current bilateral relations have suffered some setbacks due to maritime disputes, overall ties remain strong.

“The Chinese navy has the capability to cut the first island chain into several pieces,” said Du Wenlong, a senior researcher at the PLA’s Academy of Military Science. “Now the chain is fragmented.”

The “first island chain” refers to the first major archipelagos off the East Asian continental mainland, including Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and the northern Philippines.

In the 1950s, Washington came to regard the chain as an important barrier to contain China and other communist countries.

The United States and allied countries installed a strong military presence and advanced weapons at bases in the area.

In the report, the Chinese warships entered the Pacific through the Soya Strait, known in Russia as La Perouse Strait, between the Russian island of Sakhalin and the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The Chinese vessels passed through the strait to train in the West Pacific after a joint naval drill with Russia in the Japanese Sea. It was the first time the Chinese navy conducted high-sea training right after a major drill.

On July 25, the ships crossed the Miyako Strait between Japan’s Miyako and Okinawa islands on their return voyage to Qingdao, headquarters of the North China Sea Fleet. 

Japan sent frigates and aircraft to monitor the Chinese fleet at a short distance.

Ministry of National Defense spokesman Geng Yansheng called for calm, saying any country has the right to navigate the waters and channels in the western Pacific Ocean.

Wu Dahui, a military and international studies expert at Tsinghua University, viewed it as proof of the growing capability and confidence of the Chinese navy. “It has crossed all the strongest parts on the chain,” he said.

Li Li, a researcher at the PLA’s National Defense University, said going through the Soya Strait meant much more than giving China new access to the Pacific.

“Japan has been highly uneasy about the passage because the PLA navy usually enters the Pacific through waterways such as the Miyako Strait and the Osumi Strait, which are all in the South,” she said.

Ou Jianping, a senior expert at the National Defense University, said in an online discussion with military enthusiasts on July 26 that the Chinese navy must develop into a blue-water navy because almost all of the aggression against China in modern times came from the sea.

“We should view China as a maritime state,” Ou said. –With Christina Mendez