‘Phl-Japanese effort to contain China futile’

WASHINGTON – China’s most outspoken anti-US military official, Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan, has advised Taiwan to abandon the US as its main weapons supplier and buy arms from Beijing instead, Washington Times columnist Miles Yu reported.

The implicit message seems to suggest that Taiwan should use Chinese-made weapons to fight Japan or the Philippines, which are disputing along with China and Taiwan ownership of a few tiny islands in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, Yu said on Friday.

He said Chinese state-run media have reacted harshly to Japan’s move to sell coastal patrol ships to the Philippines, calling the arms transfer an insidious clown act by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Benigno Aquino.

This is a futile effort to contain China, according to the Chinese media.

Abe in a recent visit to the Philippines said Tokyo would help build up Manila’s capability for coastal surveillance and defense by providing 10 patrol vessels to the Philippine Coast Guard.

Meanwhile, Dean Cheng, a research fellow in Chinese Political and Security Affairs in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation think tank, said Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, who is also the president of China, recently emphasized the importance of maritime power.

This is not a newfound interest but instead reflects a long-standing and growing focus on that domain, he said.

It also underscores why ongoing tension as China presses maritime territorial claims against its neighbors in the East China Sea and the South China Sea is not simply a passing issue but likely to be a long-standing concern.

As the Chinese incorporate their new aircraft carrier and commission a variety of new surface combatants, these developments portend a continued strengthening of Chinese power in an area where it most directly comes into contact with American interests in the region – the sea, Cheng added.

‘Avoid aggravating conflicts’

China has warned that maritime disputes with some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could overshadow Beijing’s ties with the regional group.

A report of the state-owned China Daily said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday called on countries involved in the South China Sea issue to avoid aggravating conflicts, as he pointed to the Philippines for continuing to add fuel to its maritime dispute with China.

Addressing a high-level forum between China and the ASEAN in Bangkok, Wang said at the moment, one of Beijing’s top priorities is to “insist on properly handling differences through peaceful ways.”

“We hope the relevant countries can also uphold this spirit, walk face to face with us and not take any further actions that might complicate matters. And especially not misjudge the situation and remake mistakes,” Wang said. – With Pia Lee-Brago