People's Republic of China (PRC) : News & Discussions
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Philippines calls Chinese ships 'illegal' near disputed island
Philippines calls Chinese ships 'illegal' near disputed island
AFP•April 4, 2019
An aerial view of a reef near Thitu island, which is held by the Philippines (AFP Photo/Ted ALJIBE)
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The Philippines on Thursday branded as "illegal" the recent presence of hundreds of Chinese ships near a disputed island in the South China Sea -- a rare public rebuke of Beijing by Manila, which has backed off their once tense territorial standoff.
Control over the South China Sea is a point of regional contention because trillions of dollars of goods pass through it, and rich petroleum reserves are thought to sit deep beneath its waters.
Under President Rodrigo Duterte, however, Manila has largely set aside its previously confrontational stance on China's claims in favour of seeking trade and investment from Beijing.
Pag-asa, also called Thitu island, is held by the Philippines, but in the first three months of the year at least 275 Chinese fishing and coast guard vessels were sighted in the area, the Philippines military said.
"The presence of Chinese vessels near and around Pag-asa (island)... is illegal," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.
"Such actions are a clear violation of Philippine sovereignty," it added.
The DFA statement said the "swarming tactics" raised questions about the ships' intent, which critics have speculated is an effort to pressure the Philippines over infrastructure work it is doing there.
"Such actions, when not repudiated by the Chinese government, are deemed to have been adopted by it," the statement added.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told journalists Manila and Beijing met on Wednesday and "exchanged views frankly, amicably and constructively" on the issue.
"They (both sides) also reiterated that they would continue to cooperate and discuss measures to promote trust," he said.
China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have all staked claims to various islands and reefs as well as waterways in the sea.
Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo said on Monday the Philippines had filed a diplomatic protest over the presence of the ships.
But in a speech a day later, the president said China "just wants to be friends with us."
He has been criticised at home for taking too soft a stance on China and getting little of the billions of dollars in investment promised by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The US has aimed to shore up its relationship with its long-time ally the Philippines.
During a visit to Manila in March, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to defend the Philippines from "armed attack" in the South China Sea, a pledge Philippine leaders had long sought.
Philippines calls Chinese ships 'illegal' near disputed island
AFP•April 4, 2019
An aerial view of a reef near Thitu island, which is held by the Philippines (AFP Photo/Ted ALJIBE)
More
The Philippines on Thursday branded as "illegal" the recent presence of hundreds of Chinese ships near a disputed island in the South China Sea -- a rare public rebuke of Beijing by Manila, which has backed off their once tense territorial standoff.
Control over the South China Sea is a point of regional contention because trillions of dollars of goods pass through it, and rich petroleum reserves are thought to sit deep beneath its waters.
Under President Rodrigo Duterte, however, Manila has largely set aside its previously confrontational stance on China's claims in favour of seeking trade and investment from Beijing.
Pag-asa, also called Thitu island, is held by the Philippines, but in the first three months of the year at least 275 Chinese fishing and coast guard vessels were sighted in the area, the Philippines military said.
"The presence of Chinese vessels near and around Pag-asa (island)... is illegal," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.
"Such actions are a clear violation of Philippine sovereignty," it added.
The DFA statement said the "swarming tactics" raised questions about the ships' intent, which critics have speculated is an effort to pressure the Philippines over infrastructure work it is doing there.
"Such actions, when not repudiated by the Chinese government, are deemed to have been adopted by it," the statement added.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told journalists Manila and Beijing met on Wednesday and "exchanged views frankly, amicably and constructively" on the issue.
"They (both sides) also reiterated that they would continue to cooperate and discuss measures to promote trust," he said.
China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have all staked claims to various islands and reefs as well as waterways in the sea.
Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo said on Monday the Philippines had filed a diplomatic protest over the presence of the ships.
But in a speech a day later, the president said China "just wants to be friends with us."
He has been criticised at home for taking too soft a stance on China and getting little of the billions of dollars in investment promised by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The US has aimed to shore up its relationship with its long-time ally the Philippines.
During a visit to Manila in March, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to defend the Philippines from "armed attack" in the South China Sea, a pledge Philippine leaders had long sought.
Arrest of woman at Mar-a-Lago raises questions about Chinese espionage
Jenna McLaughlin
National Security and Investigations Reporter
,
Yahoo News•April 10, 2019
In this artist sketch, Yujing Zhang, left, listens during a hearing on Monday. ( Photo: Daniel Pontet via AP)
More
WASHINGTON — At next week’s bond hearing for a Chinese woman who was arrested after gaining entry to Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private club in Florida, a central question may be whether there’s a risk that Yujing Zhang represents a security threat, or simply a befuddled private citizen looking to network.
When Zhang tried to enter Mar-a-Lago on March 30, she was carrying two Chinese passports, a laptop, four cellphones and what the U.S. government describes as a USB drive laced with “malware.” Though Zhang has not been charged with espionage, federal prosecutors revealed in court on Monday that law enforcement had also discovered an unusual stash of technology in her hotel room, including thumb drives, five extra SIM cards, a device used to detect hidden cameras and around $8,000 in cash.
The government has tried to paint a dark portrait of those details, though her lawyers are arguing there may be more innocuous explanations. For example, the defense submitted court exhibits including photocopies of Zhang’s two Chinese passports, one expired, which contained her valid U.S. 10-year visa, and the other current. In fact, the U.S. government advises foreigners to carry both passports with them in these cases — expired and current — which is what Zhang appeared to do.
“That is very common and is an accepted practice,” Robert Adler, Zhang’s public defender, wrote in an email to Yahoo News. “And her B1/B2 visa could have only been obtained after an interview with our State Department.”
Adler declined to comment on any specifics of the ongoing case.
But Zhang, according to prosecutors, told an inconsistent story about the reason for her visit to the private club, where she was not a member: She first said she wanted to visit the pool, and then she claimed a Chinese friend had invited her to attend an event, seek business contacts and speak to associates of the Trump family about U.S.-China economic relations.
Zhang’s visit has also raised questions about the security of the club, which Trump uses frequently for both vacation and business.
Boaters pass President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. (Photo/J. David Ake/AP)
More
While ultimately stopped by a receptionist, Zhang was able to bypass U.S. Secret Service, and the FBI is reportedly probing if she is connected to recently arrested Li “Cindy” Yang, who owned a massage parlor suspected of human trafficking and who allegedly offered to sell access to the president through social events at the Florida golf club. Yang has denied knowing Zhang.
The FBI is reportedly bulking up a counterintelligence investigation that now includes Zhang, according to the Miami Herald.
Trump said he is “not concerned at all,” declaring the Zhang incident a “fluke.”
Experts on Chinese espionage and foreign affairs were hesitant to speak specifically about Zhang’s case because of the limited information available. However, the case may be an example of how “squishy” — or ambiguous — Chinese intelligence operations are by design, often utilizing everyone from amateurs to experts, one China expert told Yahoo News.
“If this was a Chinese intel operation, it’s aggressive and clumsy,” said one former intelligence officer who worked on China issues. “Which would also not be surprising.”
Peter Mattis, a former intelligence officer and now a research fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, has cautioned that Chinese espionage operations are often wrongly assumed to be very sophisticated. “Instead, the Chinese intelligence threat for many years has come from the scope, scale, and potential impact of Beijing’s collection efforts,” he wrote.
A flawed metaphor emerged in the 1980s about how China employs a large number of amateurs to collect small “grains of sand” or bits of information in order to gather intelligence, according to Mattis. But in fact, he argues that “multiple professional systems” operate alongside more amateurish efforts.
It’s unclear whether Zhang was gathering grains of sand, or doing something else entirely, but her efforts were clearly not sophisticated.
The federal court building in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Photo: Saul Martinez/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
More
Whether Trump’s frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago is a security concern is a matter open for debate. The Government Accountability Office in February 2019 said the Secret Service had processes in place to protect the president while visiting the resort.
Todd Madison, a former U.S. Secret Service special agent who was a part of former President Bill Clinton’s protective division, wrote in an email to Yahoo News that “security professionals charged with protecting presidents, and public officials in general, must strike a delicate balance of maintaining their accessibility to the public, while also ensuring they remain out of harm’s way.”
Protecting the commander in chief has evolved over time, and the introduction of technology and increasing ease of connecting with the president and his family members makes the Secret Service’s job more difficult.
“Rapidly evolving technology can increase security risks in unexpected ways,” wrote Madison, who is now an associate managing director with corporate investigations firm K2 Intelligence.
This isn’t the first time concerns have been raised about security at Mar-a-Lago.
Following a chemical attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017, the president and a good portion of his Cabinet were gathered at Trump’s “Winter White House,” or Mar-a-Lago — where he announced over dessert to Chinese President Xi Jinping he was “launching 59 missiles into Syria,” according to a recollection from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
While the decision to make the strike was made in a private room, Trump and his advisers were seen reviewing sensitive documents about Syria over dinner at the Florida resort.
Jenna McLaughlin
National Security and Investigations Reporter
,
Yahoo News•April 10, 2019
In this artist sketch, Yujing Zhang, left, listens during a hearing on Monday. ( Photo: Daniel Pontet via AP)
More
WASHINGTON — At next week’s bond hearing for a Chinese woman who was arrested after gaining entry to Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private club in Florida, a central question may be whether there’s a risk that Yujing Zhang represents a security threat, or simply a befuddled private citizen looking to network.
When Zhang tried to enter Mar-a-Lago on March 30, she was carrying two Chinese passports, a laptop, four cellphones and what the U.S. government describes as a USB drive laced with “malware.” Though Zhang has not been charged with espionage, federal prosecutors revealed in court on Monday that law enforcement had also discovered an unusual stash of technology in her hotel room, including thumb drives, five extra SIM cards, a device used to detect hidden cameras and around $8,000 in cash.
The government has tried to paint a dark portrait of those details, though her lawyers are arguing there may be more innocuous explanations. For example, the defense submitted court exhibits including photocopies of Zhang’s two Chinese passports, one expired, which contained her valid U.S. 10-year visa, and the other current. In fact, the U.S. government advises foreigners to carry both passports with them in these cases — expired and current — which is what Zhang appeared to do.
“That is very common and is an accepted practice,” Robert Adler, Zhang’s public defender, wrote in an email to Yahoo News. “And her B1/B2 visa could have only been obtained after an interview with our State Department.”
Adler declined to comment on any specifics of the ongoing case.
But Zhang, according to prosecutors, told an inconsistent story about the reason for her visit to the private club, where she was not a member: She first said she wanted to visit the pool, and then she claimed a Chinese friend had invited her to attend an event, seek business contacts and speak to associates of the Trump family about U.S.-China economic relations.
Zhang’s visit has also raised questions about the security of the club, which Trump uses frequently for both vacation and business.
Boaters pass President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. (Photo/J. David Ake/AP)
More
While ultimately stopped by a receptionist, Zhang was able to bypass U.S. Secret Service, and the FBI is reportedly probing if she is connected to recently arrested Li “Cindy” Yang, who owned a massage parlor suspected of human trafficking and who allegedly offered to sell access to the president through social events at the Florida golf club. Yang has denied knowing Zhang.
The FBI is reportedly bulking up a counterintelligence investigation that now includes Zhang, according to the Miami Herald.
Trump said he is “not concerned at all,” declaring the Zhang incident a “fluke.”
Experts on Chinese espionage and foreign affairs were hesitant to speak specifically about Zhang’s case because of the limited information available. However, the case may be an example of how “squishy” — or ambiguous — Chinese intelligence operations are by design, often utilizing everyone from amateurs to experts, one China expert told Yahoo News.
“If this was a Chinese intel operation, it’s aggressive and clumsy,” said one former intelligence officer who worked on China issues. “Which would also not be surprising.”
Peter Mattis, a former intelligence officer and now a research fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, has cautioned that Chinese espionage operations are often wrongly assumed to be very sophisticated. “Instead, the Chinese intelligence threat for many years has come from the scope, scale, and potential impact of Beijing’s collection efforts,” he wrote.
A flawed metaphor emerged in the 1980s about how China employs a large number of amateurs to collect small “grains of sand” or bits of information in order to gather intelligence, according to Mattis. But in fact, he argues that “multiple professional systems” operate alongside more amateurish efforts.
It’s unclear whether Zhang was gathering grains of sand, or doing something else entirely, but her efforts were clearly not sophisticated.
The federal court building in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Photo: Saul Martinez/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
More
Whether Trump’s frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago is a security concern is a matter open for debate. The Government Accountability Office in February 2019 said the Secret Service had processes in place to protect the president while visiting the resort.
Todd Madison, a former U.S. Secret Service special agent who was a part of former President Bill Clinton’s protective division, wrote in an email to Yahoo News that “security professionals charged with protecting presidents, and public officials in general, must strike a delicate balance of maintaining their accessibility to the public, while also ensuring they remain out of harm’s way.”
Protecting the commander in chief has evolved over time, and the introduction of technology and increasing ease of connecting with the president and his family members makes the Secret Service’s job more difficult.
“Rapidly evolving technology can increase security risks in unexpected ways,” wrote Madison, who is now an associate managing director with corporate investigations firm K2 Intelligence.
This isn’t the first time concerns have been raised about security at Mar-a-Lago.
Following a chemical attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017, the president and a good portion of his Cabinet were gathered at Trump’s “Winter White House,” or Mar-a-Lago — where he announced over dessert to Chinese President Xi Jinping he was “launching 59 missiles into Syria,” according to a recollection from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
While the decision to make the strike was made in a private room, Trump and his advisers were seen reviewing sensitive documents about Syria over dinner at the Florida resort.
It's funny how everyone thinks China is so nice and sweet compared to the US and NATO, mostly because they don't speak Chinese or have a clue what actually goes on in China.
Largely agree with that. But do define "everyone", Indians are a large chunk of humanity(and thus "everyone") and "nice and sweet" isn't what comes to mind when we think of China.
That "nice and sweet" & "big and fluffy panda" image is largely an image curated by western "sources" bought and paid for by the Chinese largely for the Western and their domestic audience.
I don't believe language is the problem. How many westerners speak an Indian language(any one) ? Yet most westerners seem to know of India's social and economic evils(real or perceived).
India, much like NATO and US doesn't pay anybody to do an "image building", nor do we hide away our evils as we are fundamentally more open societies, thus we are left having a very poor image of each other where as the real devils just puts on some make up and everybody thinks they are sweet.
Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea
Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea
CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
,
Associated Press•April 30, 2019
FILE - In this file photo taken Saturday, May 24, 2014, China's Harbin (112) guided missile destroyer takes part in a week-long China-Russia "Joint Sea-2014" navy exercise at the East China Sea off Shanghai, China. A Russian naval task force has arrived in the northern Chinese port of Qingdao ahead of joint naval exercises that reinforce the growing bond between Beijing and Moscow. (AP Photo)
BEIJING (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:
___
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at developments in the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts in the region.
___
US WARSHIPS SAIL THROUGH TAIWAN STRAIT
Taiwan's defense ministry says a pair of U.S. warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait over the weekend, in a move likely to spark protest from Beijing.
The ministry said the ships made the passage on Sunday, sailing from south to north through the waterway that divides the self-governing island from mainland China.
Beijing frequently objects to the movement of foreign military vessels in the strait based on its claim to Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.
China has been increasingly willing to protest actions by foreign militaries in areas it considers its home waters or spheres of influence. That especially applies to the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety.
Last week, China complained to France about a French warship it said had passed through the Taiwan Strait. The April 7 incident marked a rare case of military friction between the two countries, which have previously held joint search and rescue exercises.
The Taiwan Strait enters the South China Sea at its southern end. Control of both waterbodies is considered a linchpin of Chinese naval strategy.
___
CHINA, RUSSIA PREPARE FOR JOINT NAVAL EXERCISES
A Russian naval task force has arrived in the northern Chinese port of Qingdao ahead of joint naval exercises this week that reinforce the growing bond between Beijing and Moscow.
During the drills, the sides will practice maneuvering and communicating and, "perform missile launches and deliver artillery fire at sea and air targets as well as practice search and rescue operations," Russia's state news agency Tass reported.
The Russian squadron is led by the missile cruiser Varyag and also comprises the large landing ships Oslyabya, Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Tributs, along with the corvette Sovershenny, salvage tug Igor Belousov and sea tanker Irkut, Tass said.
China has said the exercise will involve a total of 13 surface ships, 2 submarines, 7 fighter jets, 4 helicopters, and a unit of 80 marines. Tass said aircraft from the Chinese naval aviation force would take part, along with diesel electric submarines from both sides.
Bonded by a common rivalry with the U.S., Moscow and Beijing have forged what they describe as a "strategic partnership," expressing their shared opposition to the "unipolar" world — a term they use to describe perceived U.S. global dominance. Russia has also offered rhetorical support for China's position on its claims in the South China Sea.
Last September, about 3,200 Chinese troops joined Russia's largest-ever war games in Siberia, in which nearly 300,000 Russian troops conducted drills.
___
DUTERTE RAISES SOUTH CHINA SEA IN MEETING WITH XI
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte raised his nation's concerns over territorial disputes in the South China Sea at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing that followed the signing of multi-billion dollar trade agreements.
The official Philippine News Agency said Duterte "reiterated to Xi his resolve to endeavor to make the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) a sea of peace, stability, and prosperity."
"He expounded the need for both countries to exercise restraint and caution to avoid actions that could complicate situations," the agency quoted Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo as saying.
Duterte said in early April that he had few options other than to order troops to "prepare for suicide missions" if a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea comes under threat from China.
Despite such rhetoric, Duterte has generally adopted a non-confrontational approach in territorial spats with Beijing while seeking Chinese infrastructure funds, trade and investment.
He has declined to push a ruling that invalidated China's historical claims to the South China Sea through arbitration proceedings held by a tribunal in The Hague under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The Philippine News Agency quoted Panelo as saying that deals in energy and infrastructure signed during Duterte's visit totaled more than $12 billion, with the potential to create more than 21,000 jobs.
___
CHINA COMPLAINS OVER BRITISH NAVAL OPERATIONS
Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua has blamed British activity in the South China Sea for a downturn in relations in comments at the start of a meeting with British treasury chief Philip Hammond.
Hu's comments Thursday appear to illustrate how China is now willing to permit assertions of its territorial claims to affect ties with nations from outside the region.
In his remarks to Hammond, Hu appeared to reference a mission by a British warship last August.
At the time, China denounced the passage of the British warship HMS Albion close to Chinese-claimed islands in the South China Sea's Paracel group. That development was seen as possibly affecting negotiations on a post-Brexit trade agreement between the sides.
"It is regrettable that since August last year the relations between our two countries witnessed some fluctuations because of the South China Sea issue and a series of institutional dialogues and cooperation projects had to pause," Hu said.
Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea
CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
,
Associated Press•April 30, 2019
FILE - In this file photo taken Saturday, May 24, 2014, China's Harbin (112) guided missile destroyer takes part in a week-long China-Russia "Joint Sea-2014" navy exercise at the East China Sea off Shanghai, China. A Russian naval task force has arrived in the northern Chinese port of Qingdao ahead of joint naval exercises that reinforce the growing bond between Beijing and Moscow. (AP Photo)
BEIJING (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:
___
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at developments in the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts in the region.
___
US WARSHIPS SAIL THROUGH TAIWAN STRAIT
Taiwan's defense ministry says a pair of U.S. warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait over the weekend, in a move likely to spark protest from Beijing.
The ministry said the ships made the passage on Sunday, sailing from south to north through the waterway that divides the self-governing island from mainland China.
Beijing frequently objects to the movement of foreign military vessels in the strait based on its claim to Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.
China has been increasingly willing to protest actions by foreign militaries in areas it considers its home waters or spheres of influence. That especially applies to the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety.
Last week, China complained to France about a French warship it said had passed through the Taiwan Strait. The April 7 incident marked a rare case of military friction between the two countries, which have previously held joint search and rescue exercises.
The Taiwan Strait enters the South China Sea at its southern end. Control of both waterbodies is considered a linchpin of Chinese naval strategy.
___
CHINA, RUSSIA PREPARE FOR JOINT NAVAL EXERCISES
A Russian naval task force has arrived in the northern Chinese port of Qingdao ahead of joint naval exercises this week that reinforce the growing bond between Beijing and Moscow.
During the drills, the sides will practice maneuvering and communicating and, "perform missile launches and deliver artillery fire at sea and air targets as well as practice search and rescue operations," Russia's state news agency Tass reported.
The Russian squadron is led by the missile cruiser Varyag and also comprises the large landing ships Oslyabya, Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Tributs, along with the corvette Sovershenny, salvage tug Igor Belousov and sea tanker Irkut, Tass said.
China has said the exercise will involve a total of 13 surface ships, 2 submarines, 7 fighter jets, 4 helicopters, and a unit of 80 marines. Tass said aircraft from the Chinese naval aviation force would take part, along with diesel electric submarines from both sides.
Bonded by a common rivalry with the U.S., Moscow and Beijing have forged what they describe as a "strategic partnership," expressing their shared opposition to the "unipolar" world — a term they use to describe perceived U.S. global dominance. Russia has also offered rhetorical support for China's position on its claims in the South China Sea.
Last September, about 3,200 Chinese troops joined Russia's largest-ever war games in Siberia, in which nearly 300,000 Russian troops conducted drills.
___
DUTERTE RAISES SOUTH CHINA SEA IN MEETING WITH XI
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte raised his nation's concerns over territorial disputes in the South China Sea at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing that followed the signing of multi-billion dollar trade agreements.
The official Philippine News Agency said Duterte "reiterated to Xi his resolve to endeavor to make the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) a sea of peace, stability, and prosperity."
"He expounded the need for both countries to exercise restraint and caution to avoid actions that could complicate situations," the agency quoted Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo as saying.
Duterte said in early April that he had few options other than to order troops to "prepare for suicide missions" if a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea comes under threat from China.
Despite such rhetoric, Duterte has generally adopted a non-confrontational approach in territorial spats with Beijing while seeking Chinese infrastructure funds, trade and investment.
He has declined to push a ruling that invalidated China's historical claims to the South China Sea through arbitration proceedings held by a tribunal in The Hague under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The Philippine News Agency quoted Panelo as saying that deals in energy and infrastructure signed during Duterte's visit totaled more than $12 billion, with the potential to create more than 21,000 jobs.
___
CHINA COMPLAINS OVER BRITISH NAVAL OPERATIONS
Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua has blamed British activity in the South China Sea for a downturn in relations in comments at the start of a meeting with British treasury chief Philip Hammond.
Hu's comments Thursday appear to illustrate how China is now willing to permit assertions of its territorial claims to affect ties with nations from outside the region.
In his remarks to Hammond, Hu appeared to reference a mission by a British warship last August.
At the time, China denounced the passage of the British warship HMS Albion close to Chinese-claimed islands in the South China Sea's Paracel group. That development was seen as possibly affecting negotiations on a post-Brexit trade agreement between the sides.
"It is regrettable that since August last year the relations between our two countries witnessed some fluctuations because of the South China Sea issue and a series of institutional dialogues and cooperation projects had to pause," Hu said.