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Malaysia-China conflict; news and updates
Topic Started: Sun May 18, 2014 8:26 pm (254 Views)
Flipzi
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photo credit: theborneopost.com

James Shoal

In January 25, 2014, China shamelessly and arrogantly invaded James Shoal, which is lying about 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Bintulu, on the Continental shelf of Borneo, the shoal is 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the Malaysian coast. It is about 1,800 kilometers (1,100 mi) from the Chinese mainland.

James Shoal, also called Zengmu Reef in Greater China and Beting Serupai in Malaysia, is a small bank in the South China Sea, with a depth of 22 metres (72 ft). It is claimed by the People's Republic of China, Malaysia, and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

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Territorial dispute
The shoal, also claimed by Malaysia, is the southernmost feature of China as claimed by the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army Navy visited the shoal in May 1981, again in 1994, and in March 26, 2013. On April 20, 2010, Marine Surveillance Ship-83 placed a sovereignty stele in the maritime area of the shoal to mark it as Chinese territory.

On 29 January 2014, four Chinese warships (one aircraft carrier and three destroyers) returned to Zengmu Reef to conduct military drills and perform an oath swearing ceremony to protect China's sovereignty over the disputed territory. The Malaysian Defence Ministry claimed that these drills took place in international waters away from the Malaysian EEZ hence no formal protest was made.

Oil and gas reserves
As of 2014, active exploration and development of oil and gas fields by Malaysia is underway around the James Shoal with several production facilities erected in the surrounding area.

More about James Shoal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Shoal

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Chinese ships patrol area contested by Malaysia

BEIJING Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:17am GMT

(Reuters) - Three Chinese ships on Sunday patrolled the James Shoal, an area also claimed by Malaysia, and soldiers and officers on board swore to safeguard its sovereignty, in the latest sign of Beijing's territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea.

The group was made up of an amphibious landing craft, the Changbaishan, and two destroyers, state news agency Xinhua said.

"During the ceremony held in the Zengmu Reef area, soldiers and officers aboard swore an oath of determination to safeguard the country's sovereignty and maritime interests," Xinhua said. Zengmu Reef is the Chinese term for James Shoal.

Xinhua said the fleet commander Jiang Weilie "urged soldiers and officers to always be prepared to fight, improve combat capabilities and lead the forces to help build the country into a maritime power".

China is in an increasingly angry dispute with its neighbours over claims to parts of the potentially oil and gas-rich South China Sea. China lays claim to almost the whole of the sea, which is criss-crossed by crucial shipping lanes.

Beijing regards the James Shoal as the southernmost part of the country's territory.

Last March, Malaysia protested against the incursion of four Chinese ships in James Shoal, about 80 km (50 miles) off Sarawak on Borneo island. Chinese sailors fired guns in the air during the visit to the shoal. In April, a Chinese maritime surveillance ship returned to James Shoal to leave behind steel markers to assert its claim.

China upset the Philippines and the United States this month when rules went into force demanding fishing boats seek permission to enter waters under the jurisdiction of China's southern province of Hainan, an area the provincial government says covers much of the South China Sea.

Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines also claim other parts of the South China Sea. China has a separate dispute with Japan in the East China Sea.

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Ron Popeski)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/26/uk-china-malaysia-idUKBREA0P06X20140126


Related stories;

The Beting Serupai incident
http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/the-beting-serupai-incident-1.256312

Loss of James Shoal could wipe out state’s EEZ
http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/02/05/loss-of-james-shoal-could-wipe-out-states-eez/

Chinese navy exercises 'surprise' neighbours
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/03/201332762124185963.html
Edited by Flipzi, Sun May 18, 2014 9:44 pm.
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
Manila, Philippines
getflipzi@yahoo.com

http://z6.invisionfree.com/flipzi

" Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them!"

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Flipzi
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China's military moves to seize Malaysia's James Shoal

Web Log - January, 2014

China has sent three armed ships to patrol the region around James Shoal in waters belonging to Malaysia that China has indicated in the past that it plans to seize. The shoal is named Zengmu Reef by the Chinese. According to Xinhua:

"During the ceremony held in the Zengmu Reef area, soldiers and officers aboard swore an oath of determination to safeguard the country's sovereignty and maritime interests.
[The fleet commander] urged soldiers and officers to always be prepared to fight, improve combat capabilities and lead the forces to help build the country into a maritime power."

If looking at the above map makes you think that James Shoal is awfully far away from China to be claiming it, then you would be right.

China is claiming vast areas of the South China Sea, including regions that that have historically belonged to Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and has threatened to use its vast military power to threaten and subdue any neighboring nation that disobeys its orders. This comes just a few days after China escalated tensions by demanding that any foreign fishing vessel ask permission from China's military before fishing in the South China Sea. ( "16-Jan-14 World View -- China threatens military seizure of South China Sea island from Philippines")

China's media have reported a strategy of seizing one island after another, in each case without expecting any actual military confrontation because of its vast military power. China would be counting on the fact that this one-by-one approach would allow gradual seizure of the entire region without triggering a military response from the United States. As weeks go by, it seems that China is becoming more and more bellicose and militaristic. Generational Dynamics predicts that China is rapidly and aggressively preparing for preemptive war against the United States, and is rapidly developing a variety of missile systems with no other purpose than to strike American cities, aircraft carriers, and military installations.

Malaysia Chronicle and Reuters

http://www.generationaldynamics.com/pg/xct.gd.e140129.htm
Edited by Flipzi, Sun May 18, 2014 8:46 pm.
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
Manila, Philippines
getflipzi@yahoo.com

http://z6.invisionfree.com/flipzi

" Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them!"

" People don't care what we know until they know we care."
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CHINA WANTS MORE OIL

It is possible that China wants to drill for oil in James Shoal since this is adjacent to Brunei, which is a known producer of oil.
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Petroleum was discovered in 1929 after several fruitless attempts. Two men, F.F. Marriot and T.G. Cochrane, smelled oil near the Seria river in late 1926.They informed a geophysicist, who conducted a survey there. In 1927, gas seepages were reported in the area. Seria Well Number One (S-1) was drilled on 12 July 1928. Oil was struck at 297 metres (974 ft) on 5 April 1929. Seria Well Number 2 was drilled on 19 August 1929, and, as of 2009, continues to produce oil. Oil production was increased considerably in the 1930s with the development of more oil fields. In 1940, oil production was at more than six million barrels. The British Malayan Petroleum Company (now Brunei Shell Petroleum Company) was formed on 22 July 1922.The first offshore well was drilled in 1957. Oil and natural gas have been the basis of Brunei's development and wealth since the late 20th century.

This small, wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition.[80] Crude oil and natural gas production account for about 90% of its GDP. About 167,000 barrels (26,600 m3) of oil are produced every day, making Brunei the fourth-largest producer of oil in Southeast Asia. It also produces approximately 25.3 million cubic metres (890×106 cu ft) of liquified natural gas per day, making Brunei the ninth-largest exporter of the substance in the world.

Brunei http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunei
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As the area is deep within the state’s territorial waters and its 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) the claim and the incursion is a direct threat to the sovereignty of the nation especially to Sarawak. If a foreign power were to claim the James Shoal, the state’s territorial boundary could be shrunk to its shorelines and coastal waters, resulting in the loss of all its existing oil and gas resources.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/02/05/loss-of-james-shoal-could-wipe-out-states-eez/#ixzz324igwnIB

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CHINA WANTS TO STRENGTHEN HOLD ON ITS BASELESS '9-DASH LINE' CLAIM

Another factor is it wants to build garrison at the edge of the ridiculous and 'baseless' 9-Dash Line to fortify its presence and control.

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ASEAN and the world must not allow China's arrogance and bullying. The world community must resort to economic sanctions until China leaves the area. Allied forces must also prepare for holding a tougher stance against the Chinese bully.


PUSHBACK AGAINST U.S. PRESENCE?

... the reference to "pushback," which is an unequivocal admission of Beijing's unease with the US's increasing military presence under Washington's pivot strategy, is unfounded and erroneous. It would be a mistake for Beijing to conflate the SCS disputes with its strategic rivalry with Washington. The former centres on China's overlapping claims with four Asean states -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, while the latter revolves around the inability of China and the US to establish a modus vivendi in their bilateral ties.

If a "pushback" does exist, it is the Chinese who have been doing the "pushing" on two counts. On the one hand, the American pivot to Asia can largely be explained as a response to Beijing's success in crowding out Southeast Asia at the expense of Washington's standing and influence in the region. Concomitantly, China must also realise that the expansion of its economic and military power in the last two decades had the effect of "pushing" China to the forefront of regional politics. While the region seeks to understand China's strategic intent, Beijing's growing power and influence is creating an uneasy state of uncertainty.

Read more: The Beting Serupai incident - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/the-beting-serupai-incident-1.256312#ixzz324hqBbge
Edited by Flipzi, Sun May 18, 2014 9:58 pm.
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
Manila, Philippines
getflipzi@yahoo.com

http://z6.invisionfree.com/flipzi

" Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them!"

" People don't care what we know until they know we care."
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