South China Sea Islands Dispute; US won't take sides

Beijing rejects island dispute comments

Beijing on Tuesday criticized Manila's attempt to expand the Huangyan Island dispute over the entire South China Sea and rejected Manila's accusation over the freedom of navigation. 

Huangyan Island has been an integral part of China's territory since ancient times, and the Philippines' groundless claim over the island's sovereignty is "the fundamental cause" of the complicated situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said. 

His remarks were made in response to Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who accused China on Monday of "claiming virtually the entire South China Sea". 

"Expanding the Huangyan Island dispute to involve the entire South China Sea makes no sense," Liu said at a daily news conference.

Also on Monday, the foreign secretary said "the message is" that China "can set the rules for anybody".

"I think the current standoff is a manifestation of a larger threat to many nations," del Rosario told ABS-CBN TV network in an interview.

Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez also said that China is posing "a potential threat to freedom of navigation as well as unimpeded commerce in the area".

Beijing on Tuesday responded that freedom of navigation in the South China Sea "has never been an issue", and China's long-term exercise and protection of sovereignty over the island "has never and will not influence" freedom of navigation in the waters.

On the contrary, Manila's recent decision to send a warship to the island and dispatch personnel for a forced inspection of Chinese fishing boats triggered the existing tension, said the Chinese spokesman.

"Manila's moves unavoidably gave rise to massive concerns over security in the related waters," Liu added.

Yang Baoyun, a professor of Southeast Asian studies at Peking University, said Manila's current remarks and stances "show few signs of sincerity" to resolve the dispute.

No country is allowed to misuse international laws to serve its interest, Yang said, adding that Manila did not lay territorial claim to the island until 1997.

Hernandez also said on Monday that Manila planned to exchange views with Washington on the island dispute during the upcoming "2+2" US-Filipino talks, scheduled to start on Monday.

"Generally, a country does not take sides on other countries' sovereignty disputes. And we have noticed that none of the other countries has taken sides on the issue," said Liu, the spokesman.

Manila's standoff against Beijing in the waters of Huangyan Island entered its fifteenth day on Tuesday.

On April 10, 12 Chinese fishing boats were harassed by a Philippine warship while taking refuge from harsh weather in a lagoon near the island. Two Chinese patrol ships in the area later came to the fishermen's rescue, and the warship left.

The Chinese fishermen returned home, but the standoff remains. There were still two Philippine vessels and one Chinese ship in the waters on Tuesday.

Xinhua News Agency on Monday reported that two Chinese vessels, a Fishery Administration ship and a Chinese Maritime Surveillance ship, left the area on Sunday.

"The withdrawal of the two ships proves once again that China is not escalating the situation as some people said, but de-escalating the situation," said Zhang Hua, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines.

China is ready to settle this incident through friendly diplomatic consultations, Zhang added.

(Source: China Daily)

US won't take sides in South China Sea dispute

Updated: 2012-05-02 12:24 By Zhao Shengnan (China Daily) 

The United States said on Monday that it would not take sides in the Huangyan Island standoff between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea and reiterated support for a diplomatic resolution to the territorial dispute.

Washington does not take sides on competing sovereignty claims there, but has a national interest in maintaining freedom of navigation as well as peace and stability, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, after meeting top diplomatic and defense officials from the Philippines.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin attended the 2+2 dialogue with their US counterparts, Clinton and Leon Panetta, in Washington.

"The United States supports a collaborative diplomatic process by all those involved for resolving the various disputes that they encounter," Clinton said. "We oppose the threat or use of force by any party to advance its claims."

Gazmin alluded to tension with China over islands in the South China Sea as he called for the need to "intensify our mutual trust to uphold maritime security and the freedom of navigation".

"We should be able to work together to build a minimum, credible defense posture for the Philippines, especially in upholding maritime security," Gazmin said.

The Philippines and China have been embroiled in the Huangyan Island dispute, with both nations stationing vessels there for nearly three weeks to assert their sovereignty.

China on Monday highlighted remarks made by the Philippine president about de-escalating the tension over the island, urging the Philippines to "match its words with deeds" and return to the proper pathway of diplomatic solutions.

Speaking of the tension, Philippine President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III said he had issued instructions to his military, telling them not to intensify the issue.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin stressed that there is no change in China's stance of using diplomatic channels to peacefully resolve the issue, which was triggered when a Philippine warship harassed Chinese fishermen and raised concerns over China's sovereignty of the island.

The Philippine officials also stressed diplomacy when asked what aid they had requested from Washington, saying that Manila sought to bring the South China Sea issue to international legal bodies.

Clinton reaffirmed the US commitment to the 60-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines, calling the Philippines a country "at the heart" of the new US strategy toward the Asia-Pacific.

Washington would help improve the Philippines' "maritime presence and capabilities" with the transfer of a second high-endurance (coast guard) cutter this year, Panetta said.

The US emphasis on neutrality and a diplomatic resolution would encourage Manila to be more restrained on the Huangyan Island issue, said Fan Jishe, a US studies expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Washington doesn't want territorial disputes between its Asian allies and China to be obstacles to China-US relations," he said.

Xinhua and Reuters contributed to this story.

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Politics is part of life, leave it to the professional, says Michelle Yeoh

KUALA LUMPUR: As much as she loves portraying Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi in The Lady, Datuk Michelle Yeoh says she has no interest in joining Malaysian politics.

The politically-inclined celebrity will, however, be back in the country to cast her vote in her hometown of Ipoh for the general election.

Yeoh: I believe in good causes, but will leave politics to the professionals.

“Being an actor is hard enough,” the Malaysian superstar reiterated during an interview with The Daily Chilli, a news portal for The Star.

“I believe in good causes, but will leave politics to the professionals. Politics is part of life. To make a difference in your country, you have to cast your vote,” she opined.

Citing that she finds it hard to transform herself from a public figure to a politician, Yeoh added:

“It will be a difficult transition for me. I don't have the guts. Politics is about compromise. There is no right or wrong. That's why we have different political parties.”

Yeoh was in town to promote The Lady, a Luc Besson film on the personal struggle of Suu Kyi.

During her whirlwind promotional tour here, the good-hearted actress graced charity screenings for Swiss Watch Extraordinaire, Richard Mille and the Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepeneurs Association.

Distributed by GSC Movies, The Lady will be released in selected cinemas here and in Penang, Ipoh and Malacca on May 3.

By NOORSILA ABDUL MAJID newsdesk@thestar.com.my

Beware of Aussie's “Asian dogs and pussies” attacking Chinese and Indian!

SYDNEY—Australia’s Mandarin-speaking ex-leader Kevin Rudd on Tuesday weighed into the case of two Chinese students who were burned and beaten in Sydney, sparking a media storm in their homeland, reports said.

Police confirmed that a 29-year-old man “suffered a fractured cheekbone and nose… as well as burns from a lit cigarette” during a robbery by six youths on a train in southern Sydney on Monday.

“A second male victim also suffered burns to the face during the alleged robbery,” police said in a statement.

One of the victims was identified as a Chinese blogger named Xuan studying for a masters degree in Sydney, who posted about the graphic attack on the microblogging site Sina Weibo.

“A gang of hooligans attacked us. Our noses are fractured and our bodies are covered in blood,” wrote Xuan, according to a translation in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

“My friend’s cheekbone was crushed. They attacked us with glass and burnt us with lit cigarettes. My face is burnt and totally disfigured. Worst of all, I really hated their racist comments.”

Xuan claimed the group taunted them as “Asian dogs and pussies” and when his friend tried to wipe the blood from his nose “a teenaged girl stuffed my friend’s mouth with her tampon removed from her pants.”

There were many passengers and staff on the train, he added, but nobody intervened to help and another woman targeted by the gang even encouraged them to rob Xuan and his friend saying “they are Asian and they have got money.”

Xuan’s post about the attack was reposted on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, more than 10,000 times according to the Herald, and Australia’s ex-PM and former foreign minister Kevin Rudd also spoke up on the site.

Weibo newcomer Rudd wrote that he would “try to approach the police and department of education” about the incident, the Herald said.

Australia has gained an unwelcome reputation for violence against international students in recent years, with a string of attacks involving Indian students in southern Melbourne triggering diplomatic tensions.

There was intense publicity in India about the assaults, which included the stabbing murder of accounting graduate for his mobile phone, and Canberra conceded that some of the violence was racially motivated. - AFP

'This city is so dangerous': outrage in China over Sydney train assault 

Peter Cai

Will try to approach police ... a screen grab of Kevin Rudd's message on Weibo. 

A terrifying gang assault on Sydney train passengers has left two international students seriously injured and caused a media storm in China.

The alleged robbery, including racist taunts, drew a social media pledge from former foreign affairs minister Kevin Rudd and led to emergency talks at Sydney's Chinese consulate general.

Police said six people, aged 14 to 18, robbed passengers on a train between Central and Rockdale about 12.30am yesterday.

A picture from Xuan's blog. >>

Officers were called to Rockdale station about 15 minutes later, where they arrested three men, two aged 18 and one 19, a 14-year-old boy and two girls, aged 16 and 17.

They were all charged with a number of robbery and assault offences.

Yesterday's attack came just days after two safety warnings from the Chinese embassy in Canberra for citizens travelling in Australia. Many Chinese students studying in Australia have expressed their fear over growing violence directed against them.

One of the victims of the attack, known as Xuan, suffered from a fractured nose and burns from a lit cigarette.

The international student from China, seeking a master's degree at the University of Technology, Sydney, was travelling with a friend from Central to Rockdale when the attack happened.

A translation from Xuan's blog on the Chinese social media site Weibo reads: “I really wish all of this is just a nightmare. However, the smell of blood in my mouth and body pains reminds me that this city is so dangerous.

“A gang of hooligans attacked us. Our noses are fractured and our bodies are covered in blood. My friend's cheekbone was crushed. They attacked us with glass and burnt us with lit cigarettes. My face is burnt and totally disfigured! Worst of all, I really hated their racist comments.

“They were calling us Asian dogs and pussies while they were beating us. When my friend tried to wipe blood from his nose, a teenaged girl stuffed my friend's mouth with her tampon removed from her pants.”

Another woman passenger, who was also targeted by the thieves, allegedly told the attackers to “rob them, they are Asian and they have got money”.

Xuan and his friend were treated at St George Hospital in Sydney's south-west.

He said he would now take leave from study and return to China.

The incident has caused outrage in the Chinese student community across the country and Xuan's initial post was re-tweeted more than 10,000 times. Thousands of Chinese students have expressed their disgust online.

The incident has made headlines acrosss China, including on the popular news sites Sina News and the English language Shanghai Daily.

Chinese consular officials have also publicly expressed their support for the students. Fairfax Media understands that officials met at the Consulate General in Sydney this morning to discuss the incident.

Mr Rudd, a new Weibo user, told one of his online followers, writing in Chinese, that he “will try to approach the police and department of education"on behalf of the victims.

This website has sought comment from Mr Rudd's office.

One Sydney-based international student said: "Australia is known for its tolerance and multi-culturalism. Yet there is still a tiny minority who discriminate against the international students, especially the younger people."

"You can accept people with different sexual orientations. But why can't you accept people from different cultural backgrounds?"

Xuan also expressed his anger and disappointment at the lack of help from train staff and other passengers.

“Though there were no police on the train, there were many other people and train staff. It even stopped once at Wolli Creek, but nobody helped us!”

Peter Cai is The Age's Asian Affairs Reporter