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development and strategic interaction between major powers. Source: The Japan Times, 17 April 2013 China points finger at US over Asia-Pacific tensions China's defense ministry made a thinly veiled attack on the United States on 16 April for increasing tensions in the Asia-Pacific by ramping up its military presence and alliances in the region, days after the top U.S. diplomat visited Beijing. China is uneasy with what the United States has called the "rebalancing" of forces as Washington winds down the war in Afghanistan and renews its attention further east. China says the policy has emboldened Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam in long standing territorial disputes with Beijing. China faces "multiple and complicated security threats" despite its growing influence, the Ministry of Defense said in its annual white paper, adding that the US strategy meant "profound changes" for Asia. "There are some countries which are strengthening their Asia Pacific military alliances, expanding their military presence in the region and frequently make the situation there tenser," the ministry said in the 40-page document, in a clear reference to the United States. Such moves "do not accord with the developments of the times and are not conducive towards maintaining regional peace and stability", ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told reporters. The official People's Liberation Army Daily went further, saying in a commentary on 15 April that China needed to beef up its defenses to deal with a hostile West bent on undermining it. "Hostile Western forces have intensified their strategy to westernize and split China, and employed every possible means to contain and control our country's development," it said. On 15 April, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defended the re-orientation of U.S. foreign policy towards Asia as he ended a trip to the region dominated by concerns about North Korea's nuclear program. While China has been angered by North Korea's behaviour, including its third nuclear test in February, it has also made clear it considers U.S. displays of force in response to Pyongyang's behavior to be a worrisome development. Source: Reuters, 16 April 2013 Chinese navy continues highsea training The "Lanzhou" guided missile destroyer under the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) performed a training mission in the Western Pacific Ocean on 14 April. From their last return to Sanya after the completion of high sea training mission on 3 April to their leaving Sanya for the high sea training again on 10 April, both the "Lanzhou" warship and the "Hengshui" warship had only seven days to rest and recuperation. The continuous high sea training missions are not only a great test on the reliability of equipment but also a tempering on the physical and mental training level for personnel. Despite time pressure, everything from logistics supply to personnel preparation, equipment support and many others was going orderly and smoothly. "Such a short time of rest and recuperation is not a problem for our logistics department," said Fan Hai, deputy captain of the "Lanzhou" warship. In contrast to the ship service department, the electromechanical department seems slightly busier with managing the main engines of the ship, the power stations and the sea water desalination equipment. During the 7 days, they were busy with various types of mechanical maintenance. "After the last highsea training, the overall performance of equipment is still excellent," said Qi Yao, electromechanical chief of the "Lanzhou" warship. Source: China Military Online, 16 April 2013 Japan, Vietnam to hold maritime security talks in May Japan and Vietnam have agreed to hold maritime security talks in May in Hanoi to accelerate maritime cooperation amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the East China Sea and South China Sea, government sources said Saturday. The two nations are expected to exchange views on Japan’s possible provision of patrol vessels to Vietnam during the first-ever bilateral talks on maritime security, the sources said. Vietnam has expressed hope that Japan will provide patrol boats as part of Hanoi’s efforts to improve its maritime security capabilities. The two sides are expected to confirm their stand against China’s maritime assertiveness and the need for abiding by international law to ensure maritime security, one of the sources said. Senior officials Produced and Published by Observer Research Foundation 6
from Japan’s foreign and defense ministries will take part in the talks, the sources said. Japan sees Vietnam “as a strategic partner that shares common interests,” a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. In the talks, Japan is expected to provide a briefing on China’s increasing maritime activities around the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, including occasional entries of official Chinese ships into Japan’s territorial waters around the islands, which are claimed by China, the sources said. Vietnam is expected to touch on the dispute with China over sovereignty of the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea. Source: The Japan Times, 15 April, 2013 Japan, Taiwan agree on fishing zone near disputed islands Almost 4 years since their last fishery talks, Japan and Taiwan have agreed on principle to allow fishing trawlers in an area inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, near the highly disputed Senkaku Islands. They new agreement will temporarily put on hold the ownership claims of both countries over the islands in the East China Sea, which is also being claimed by China. Under this new agreement, both countries will consent to designate an area in the EEZ as jointly managed waters where reciprocal fishing is authorized. Before this decision, the two have had two rounds of preparatory talks held last November and early March to help iron out the differences before the upcoming 17th round of bilateral talks. The formal talks are now scheduled for Wednesday at the earliest, wherein the new deal will be signed. Both sides agreed to hasten the process so the policies can be put into place as soon as possible. Since fishery talks began in 1996, Japan and Taiwan have had 16 rounds of successful negotiations. Talks stalled after 2009 due to the renewed claims over ownership of the Senkakus, called Diaoyutais by the Taiwanese. China, calling the islands Diaoyu, also claims the resource-rich but uninhabited islands as its own, sorely affecting relations with Japan. The islands are currently under the administration of Japan, which led to the issues with Taiwanese fishermen, who consider the area around the islands to be their fishing grounds, but are constantly chased away by the Japanese Coast Guard. This new agreement with Japan will protect the livelihood of the said fishermen, as well as lead to the strengthening of bilateral relations between Japan and Taiwan. Source: The Japan Daily Press, 10 April, 2013 China to boost maritime training, says PLA Navy's Jiang Weilie A top People's Liberation Army Navy officer says training on the high seas will become routine for China's growing fleets but that does not mean it is changing its defence policy. Rear Admiral Jiang Weilie, commander of the South Sea Fleet, told Xinhua on the amphibious assault ship Jinggangshan, which has been taking part in drills in the western Pacific for two weeks that training on the high seas was common among many countries' navies. "A developing and growing Chinese navy does not mean China's near-sea defence policy has changed," Xinhua quoted Jiang as saying. "With the help of airborne early-warning aircraft … we have explored new ways of training the navy's aviation force and vessels to co-operate in combat in faraway seas, with the use of information technologies," Jiang said. The 57- year-old said combat training on the high seas would become routine for the Chinese navy in the future. Meanwhile, Liu Cigui , the chief of the civilian State Oceanic Administration told the People's Daily that China will "maintain regular patrols in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea" to safeguard the country's territorial sovereignty. "China's maritime law enforcement used to be loose and inefficient," Liu said, praising last month's restructuring that integrates marine surveillance, police coastguards, fishery and the customs antismuggling unit into one maritime law enforcement agency. Macaubased military affairs commentator Antony Wong Dong said Jiang's remarks were targeted largely at neighbouring countries that had territorial disputes with China, such as Vietnam and the Philippines. Wong said the PLA Navy's successful training posed a real threat to those countries. "Jiang's hidden message is that the navy will fully back up the Chinese government and show off its real fighting power in case sovereignty disputes cannot be settled through Produced and Published by Observer Research Foundation 7
Page 1 and 2: Vol. II, Issue 5 - May 2013 THE ISS
Page 3 and 4: MEDIA WATCH Chinese officials fill
Page 5: the Senkakus, five other ships —
Page 9 and 10: In accordance with international la
Page 11 and 12: the Indo-Pacific region. He pointed
Page 13 and 14: there would be an accommodation mad
Page 15: Perspective”, CNAS, 9 January 201

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