Events related to territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Created by TheRendonGroup on Oct 9, 2011
Last updated: 10/14/11 at 11:01 PM
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President Benigno Aquino III plans to visit China in coming weeks but the friendly gesture doesn't mean the Philippines is backing down from its assertions Chinese forces intruded in its waters, an official said. The presidential trip will likely take place in late August or early September, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Thursday. (AP)
Recent drills by the Chinese navy are routine and not connected to tension over the disputed South China Sea, the country's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday, calling for people to view the exercises in a "rational" way. (Reuters)
A U.S. Senate resolution critical of Beijing's actions in the South China Sea "doesn't hold water" and its sponsors should promote peace in other ways, China said Tuesday. Disputes over the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully through talks between "directly concerned parties," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters, a reference to what Beijing considers to be meddling by Washington. The resolution adopted Monday by the U.S. Senate deplored China's "use of force" in recent incidents between Chinese vessels and those of other claimants in the potentially resource-rich waters. (AP)
China and Vietnam have pledged to resolve a row over competing South China Sea territorial claims "peacefully", Chinese media quoted both sides saying June 26 after tensions spiked over the issue. The neighbors pledged to reach a "peaceful resolution of the maritime dispute between the two countries through negotiations and friendly consultations," a report by China's official Xinhua news agency said. (AFP)
The United States and the Philippines said Friday they would hold joint naval exercises next week in waters close to disputed areas of the South China Sea. Eleven days of manoeuvres will start Tuesday, after a pledge by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday that Washington was ready to provide hardware to the Filipino military amid rising tension at sea with China. (AFP) Photo: AFP
Chinese foreign policy analysts are rejecting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s pledge to support the Philippines, amid rising tensions over maritime territorial disputes involving China and other claimants in the South China Sea. (VOA)
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday the United States was concerned that recent events in the South China Sea could undermine stability and opposed any threat of force to advance territorial claims. Clinton, appearing with the visiting Philippine foreign minister, repeated that the United States had interests in the South China Sea, where China and its neighbors have seen tensions flare over competing maritime sovereignty claims. (Reuters) Photo credit: Reuters
"The coming joint exercise between the Vietnamese and US navies is an annual event," foreign ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga told reporters. She did not give a date for the training but said it would "promote relations between the two navies, carry out humanitarian activities and exchange concerning professional matters, as well as search and rescue operations." (AFP) Photo: VNA
The Philippines is ready to "stand up to any aggressive action in our backyard" following tension with China in the South China Sea, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario warned Thursday. During a joint press conference with Clinton, Del Rosario said the "Philippines has made clear its position on the issue to maintain peace while allowing for the economic development of the area." (AFP) Photo: AFP
China urged the United States on Wednesday to restrain other countries from provoking Beijing in disputes over contested territories in the South China Sea, warning that Washington risks becoming embroiled in an unwanted conflict. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said it would be best if the United States stayed out of the long-standing disputes, but acknowledged that Washington has an interest in freedom of navigation in sea lanes that are vital to trade.(AP)
China said Tuesday its territorial claims in the South China Sea did not interfere with other countries' right to travel in the disputed waters and pledged to resolve the latest spat peacefully. "China's maintenance of sovereignty in the South China Sea and rising interest will never influence the freedom of navigation of other countries in the South China Sea," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters. (AFP)
Vietnam and China have concluded two days of joint naval patrols, including a port call in China, despite a heated spat over disputed territory in the South China Sea, state media said Tuesday. Two boats from each country participated in the patrols Sunday and Monday, sailing more than 300 nautical miles in the Gulf of Tonkin bordering Vietnam and China, Vietnam's People's Army Newspaper said. A demarcation treaty for the area — where rich oil and gas reserves are believed to exist — was signed in 2000. (AP)
The Indonesian Navy and the United States Marine Corps have agreed to expand cooperation in training and education, according to local media report on Tuesday. The agreement was reached after the meeting between Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Soeparno and the new Marine Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia, Miguel A. Avila at the Indonesian Navy Headquarters in Jakarta. (Xinhua)
China’s first aircraft carrier—a remodelled Soviet-era vessel—will go on sea trials next week, a report said Tuesday, amid escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). China’s top military official reportedly confirmed earlier this month that Beijing is building a huge aircraft carrier, the first acknowledgement of the ship’s existence from China’s secretive defense program. (AFP) Photo: AP
Singapore said on Monday that China should clarify its claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea and urged all parties to act with restraint amid the biggest flare-up in regional tension in years over competing maritime sovereignty claims. The rare comment from Singapore, a non-claimant to any of the islands, came as one of China's biggest civilian maritime patrol ships, the Haixun 31, docked in the city-state. (Reuters)
China has dispatched one of its largest maritime patrol ships on a first-ever visit to the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore amid a spike in tensions over disputed territory in the South China Sea. The Haixun-31 left Wednesday and will stay in Singapore for two weeks of exchanges on search and rescue, anti-piracy and port management operations, Chinese state media reported Thursday. (AP)
The Philippines said Wednesday its navy had removed "foreign" markers installed on three reefs and banks in disputed areas of the South China Sea. "They were foreign markers because they were not installed by our military or our government. So we dismantled them because they are part of Philippine territory," Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Tonsay told AFP. (AFP) Photo credit: US Navy SEALs
The U.S. Navy and Southeast Asian naval forces have begun 10 days of attack drills aimed at combating pirates, terrorists and smugglers in Asia's maritime trouble spots. Philippine navy spokesman Lt. Col. Omar Tonsay says the annual drills that started Tuesday will involve a U.S. warship with about 100 sailors and counterpart forces from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. (AP)
Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Tuesday the country needed help from longtime ally the United States in its increasingly tense dispute with China over rival claims in the South China Sea. "Of course they (China) are a superpower, they have more than 10 times our population. We do not want any hostilities to break out," Aquino told reporters when asked about recent Chinese actions in the disputed waters. (AFP)
China has criticized the U.S. over a senator's call for multilateral negotiations to resolve festering territorial disputes in the South China. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei says only those countries with territorial claims in the vast resource-rich waters should get involved in such discussions. (AP)
The United States supports the Philippines in its claim to certain areas in the disputed Spratly Islands, US Ambassador Harry Thomas said Tuesday. "I want to assure you that on all subjects, we, the United States, are with the Philippines," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event launching the country's renewable energy programme. (DPA)
Philippine President Benigno Aquino's office said Monday it was renaming the South China Sea as the "West Philippine Sea", as tensions with Beijing mount over the disputed area. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the foreign affairs and defence departments recently began using the term West Philippine Sea instead of the South China Sea, and the president's office had decided to follow suit. (AFP)
Vietnam put on a show of military strength in the tense South China Sea on Monday, risking the ire of Beijing in the face of a deepening maritime rift with its powerful neighbor. A successful first barrage of naval artillery, lasting about four hours, took place about 40 kilometres (25 miles) off Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, said a naval officer in Danang city who asked not to be named. (AFP) Photo credit: AFP/Vietnam News Agency
A US senator on Monday urged Congress to condemn China over a growing number of maritime rifts, saying that Washington has been too weak-kneed over rising tensions in the South China Sea. Jim Webb, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia, said he was introducing a bill that would denounce China for the use of force and urge it to seek a peaceful resolution to disputes. (AFP) Photo credit: AFP
Taiwan is planning to deploy missile boats in the South China Sea and tanks on disputed islands as regional tensions mount over territorial differences, a military spokesman said Sunday. Taiwan's defence ministry said it feared coastguards now stationed in the Spratlys, claimed by several nations, and the Pratas islands, claimed by China, may not be sufficiently heavily-equipped to handle potential conflicts. (AFP) Photo credit: AP
Dozens of Vietnamese protested outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi for the second weekend in a row on Sunday, as a maritime dispute raised tensions between the two communist neighbours. About 50 people with Vietnamese flags sang patriotic songs and held signs proclaiming Vietnamese sovereignty over two South China Sea archipelagos which are at the centre of a long-running dispute with Beijing. (AFP) Photo credit: AFP
A navy fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will conduct a training drill in west Pacific international waters in mid- to late June, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Chinese Defense Ministry. (Xinhua) Photo credit: Xinhua
The Philippines has accused China of aggressively violating an agreement aimed at preventing clashes in the disputed Spratly Islands, the latest in a series of complaints about Chinese incursion in the area claimed by six countries. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Tuesday that the latest confrontation in South China Sea islands close to Philippine shore is the most serious challenge to efforts to resolve the dispute peacefully since 1995, when China forcefully took over Manila-claimed Mischief Reef. (AP) Added
China on Tuesday accused the Philippines of harming its maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, in sharp retaliation to claims by Manila that Beijing is undermining regional peace. The Philippines said over the weekend that China dispatched vessels to intimidate rivals in disputed areas of the South China Sea, violating "maritime jurisdiction" and undermining "the peace and stability of the region." (AFP) Photo credit: Chinese foreign ministry
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Saturday that clashes may erupt in the South China Sea unless nations with conflicting territorial claims adopt a mechanism to settle disputes peacefully. "There are increasing concerns. I think we should not lose any time in trying to strengthen these mechanisms that I’ve been talking about for dealing with competing claims in the South China Sea," he said. (AFP)
The Philippines is preparing to file a protest with the United Nations over what it calls China's escalating aggression in disputed areas in the South China Sea, the government said Friday. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it has recorded at least five incidents of Chinese incursions into Philippine territories in the South China Sea from February to May. (DPA)
China on Thursday denied Philippine allegations that its ships intruded into a Manila-claimed area of the South China Sea's disputed Spratly Islands to construct new structures and fortify its claim in the potentially oil-rich region. Philippine officials said Wednesday that they have summoned a Chinese diplomat in Manila to protest and seek an explanation for the recent Chinese construction activities at a reef that were monitored by Manila's military. (AP)
The United States is not looking to "hold China down" but wants to forge a stronger dialogue with Beijing's expanding military, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. Speaking to reporters aboard his plane en route to Singapore, Gates said he was encouraged by recent signs of progress in security ties with China even amid a military buildup. (AFP) Photo credit: AFP
China has hit back at claims it violated Vietnam's marine sovereignty in a new spat over disputed areas of the South China Sea, accusing Hanoi of harming Beijing's interests in the region. China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu responded late Saturday that Vietnam had been carrying out oil and gas operations in territorial waters under Beijing's own jurisdiction. (AFP) Photo credit: AP
Vietnamese official has accused China of threatening a boat that was conducting research for potential oil drilling sites within Vietnam's territorial waters. The official Vietnam News Agency quoted Do Van Hau, deputy director general of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, or PetroVietnam, as saying three Chinese patrol boats damaged equipment being used to carry out a seismic survey in the South China Sea on Thursday. (AP) Photo credit: Reuters
The Philippine military says two unidentified foreign fighter jets have been spotted flying near an area claimed by the country in the South China Sea, but that they made no hostile move. The pilots were unable to identify the jets and their markings since they were at such a high altitude. (AP) Photo credit: omeroscar
Two Vietnamese fishermen were shot and wounded in disputed South China Sea waters, a police chief said Thursday, citing the victims' relatives. Relatives of the sailors told police that the shooters wore uniforms of the Philippines but a military spokesman in Manila said there were no reports of incidents in the Spratlys. (AFP)
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