Philippines accuses Beijing of aggressive tactics in South China Sea
Beijing's coast guard conducts operations to exercise its sovereignty in the South China Sea. (AP pic)
MANILA : The Philippines' fisheries bureau said the lives of a civilian crew were put at risk when the Chinese coast guard fired water cannons and sideswiped one of its vessels while it conducted marine research around a disputed South China Sea reef.
The bureau of fisheries and aquatic resources condemned what it said was the 'aggressive interference' of the Chinese coast guard against the Datu Sanday and a second ship in Wednesday's incident, saying its vessels had not previously been subjected to water cannons in the area.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on today's statement by the bureau.
Sandy Cay is close to Thitu Island, the largest and most strategically important of the nine features the Philippines occupies in the Spratly archipelago, where China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have a presence.
Last month, China said its coast guard had landed on Sandy Cay as part of operations to exercise its sovereignty. The Philippines has denied Beijing has seized control of the disputed reef.
China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
China sharpens rare earth controls in trade war strategy
BEIJING: China has signalled for more than 15 years that it was looking to weaponise areas of the global supply chain, a strategy modelled on longstanding American export controls Beijing views as aimed at stalling its rise. The scramble in recent weeks to secure export licences for rare earths, capped by Thursday's telephone call between U.S. and Chinese leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, shows China has devised a better, more precisely targeted weapon for trade war. Industry executives and analysts say while China is showing signs of approving more exports of the key elements, it will not dismantle its new system. Modelled on the United States' own, Beijing's export licence system gives it unprecedented insight into supplier chokepoints in areas ranging from motors for electric vehicles to flight-control systems for guided missiles. 'China originally took inspiration for these export control methods from the comprehensive U.S. sanctions regime,' said Zhu Junwei, a scholar at the Grandview Institution, a Beijing-based think tank focused on international relations. 'China has been trying to build its own export control systems since then, to be used as a last resort.' After Thursday's call, Trump said both leaders had been 'straightening out some of the points, having to do mostly with rare earth magnets and some other things'. He did not say whether China committed to speeding up licences for exports of rare earth magnets, after Washington curbed exports of chip design software and jet engines to Beijing in response to its perceived slow-rolling on licences. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a crucial component in EV motors. In April it added some of the most sophisticated types to an export control list in its trade war with the United States, forcing all exporters to apply to Beijing for licences. That put a once-obscure department of China's commerce ministry, with a staff of about 60, in charge of a chokepoint for global manufacturing. The ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' questions sent by fax. Several European auto suppliers shut down production lines this week after running out of supplies. While China's April curbs coincided with a broader package of retaliation against Washington's tariffs, the measures apply globally. 'Beijing has a degree of plausible deniability – no one can prove China is doing this on purpose,' said Noah Barkin, senior adviser at Rhodium Group, a China-focused U.S. thinktank. 'But the rate of approvals is a pretty clear signal that China is sending a message, exerting pressure to prevent trade negotiations with the U.S. leading to additional technology control.' China mines about 70% of the world's rare earths but has a virtual monopoly on refining and processing. Even if the pace of export approvals quickens as Trump suggested, the new system gives Beijing unprecedented glimpses of how companies in a supply chain deploy the rare earths it processes, European and U.S. executives have warned. Other governments are denied that insight because of the complexity of supply chain operations. For example, hundreds of Japanese suppliers are believed to need China to approve export licences for rare earth magnets in coming weeks to avert production disruptions, said a person who has lobbied on their behalf with Beijing. 'It's sharpening China's scalpel,' said a U.S.-based executive at a company seeking to piece together an alternative supply chain who sought anonymity. 'It's not a way to oversee the export of magnets, but a way to gain influence and advantage over America.' DECADES IN THE MAKING Fears that China could weaponise its global supply chain strength first emerged after its temporary ban of rare earth exports to Japan in 2010, following a territorial dispute. As early as 1992, former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was quoted as saying, 'The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths.' Beijing's landmark 2020 Export Control Law broadened curbs to cover any items affecting national security, from critical goods and materials to technology and data. China has since built its own sanctions power while pouring the equivalent of billions of dollars into developing workarounds in response to U.S. policies. In 2022, the United States put sweeping curbs on sales of advanced semiconductor chips and tools to China over concerns the technology could advance Beijing's military power. But the move failed to halt China's development of advanced chips and artificial intelligence, analysts have said. Beijing punched back a year later by introducing export licenses for gallium and germanium, and some graphite products. Exports to the United States of the two critical minerals, along with germanium, were banned last December. In February China restricted exports of five more metals key to the defence and clean energy industries. Analysts face a hard task in tracking the pace of China's approvals following the Trump-Xi call. 'It's virtually impossible to know what percentage of requests for non-military end users get approved because the data is not public and companies don't want to publicly confirm either way,' said Cory Combs, a critical minerals analyst with Trivium, a policy consultancy focused on China.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
China's rare earth weapon changes contours of trade war battlefield
BEIJING: China has signalled for more than 15 years that it was looking to weaponise areas of the global supply chain, a strategy modelled on longstanding American export controls Beijing views as aimed at stalling its rise. The scramble in recent weeks to secure export licences for rare earths, capped by Thursday's telephone call between U.S. and Chinese leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, shows China has devised a better, more precisely targeted weapon for trade war. Industry executives and analysts say while China is showing signs of approving more exports of the key elements, it will not dismantle its new system. Modelled on the United States' own, Beijing's export licence system gives it unprecedented insight into supplier chokepoints in areas ranging from motors for electric vehicles to flight-control systems for guided missiles. 'China originally took inspiration for these export control methods from the comprehensive U.S. sanctions regime,' said Zhu Junwei, a scholar at the Grandview Institution, a Beijing-based think tank focused on international relations. 'China has been trying to build its own export control systems since then, to be used as a last resort.' After Thursday's call, Trump said both leaders had been 'straightening out some of the points, having to do mostly with rare earth magnets and some other things'. He did not say whether China committed to speeding up licences for exports of rare earth magnets, after Washington curbed exports of chip design software and jet engines to Beijing in response to its perceived slow-rolling on licences. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a crucial component in EV motors. In April it added some of the most sophisticated types to an export control list in its trade war with the United States, forcing all exporters to apply to Beijing for licences. That put a once-obscure department of China's commerce ministry, with a staff of about 60, in charge of a chokepoint for global manufacturing. The ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' questions sent by fax. Several European auto suppliers shut down production lines this week after running out of supplies. While China's April curbs coincided with a broader package of retaliation against Washington's tariffs, the measures apply globally. 'Beijing has a degree of plausible deniability – no one can prove China is doing this on purpose,' said Noah Barkin, senior adviser at Rhodium Group, a China-focused U.S. thinktank. 'But the rate of approvals is a pretty clear signal that China is sending a message, exerting pressure to prevent trade negotiations with the U.S. leading to additional technology control.' China mines about 70% of the world's rare earths but has a virtual monopoly on refining and processing. Even if the pace of export approvals quickens as Trump suggested, the new system gives Beijing unprecedented glimpses of how companies in a supply chain deploy the rare earths it processes, European and U.S. executives have warned. Other governments are denied that insight because of the complexity of supply chain operations. For example, hundreds of Japanese suppliers are believed to need China to approve export licences for rare earth magnets in coming weeks to avert production disruptions, said a person who has lobbied on their behalf with Beijing. 'It's sharpening China's scalpel,' said a U.S.-based executive at a company seeking to piece together an alternative supply chain who sought anonymity. 'It's not a way to oversee the export of magnets, but a way to gain influence and advantage over America.' DECADES IN THE MAKING Fears that China could weaponise its global supply chain strength first emerged after its temporary ban of rare earth exports to Japan in 2010, following a territorial dispute. As early as 1992, former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was quoted as saying, 'The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths.' Beijing's landmark 2020 Export Control Law broadened curbs to cover any items affecting national security, from critical goods and materials to technology and data. China has since built its own sanctions power while pouring the equivalent of billions of dollars into developing workarounds in response to U.S. policies. In 2022, the United States put sweeping curbs on sales of advanced semiconductor chips and tools to China over concerns the technology could advance Beijing's military power. But the move failed to halt China's development of advanced chips and artificial intelligence, analysts have said. Beijing punched back a year later by introducing export licenses for gallium and germanium, and some graphite products. Exports to the United States of the two critical minerals, along with germanium, were banned last December. In February China restricted exports of five more metals key to the defence and clean energy industries. Analysts face a hard task in tracking the pace of China's approvals following the Trump-Xi call. 'It's virtually impossible to know what percentage of requests for non-military end users get approved because the data is not public and companies don't want to publicly confirm either way,' said Cory Combs, a critical minerals analyst with Trivium, a policy consultancy focused on China.
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy figure Joshua Wong hit with fresh charge over alleged foreign collusion
HONG KONG, June 6 — Hong Kong authorities once again arrested prominent activist Joshua Wong on Friday and charged him with conspiracy to collude with a foreign country under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Wong, 28, was originally set to be released in January 2027 from a 56-month jail sentence he is serving under the same law for conspiracy to commit subversion after he participated in an unofficial primary election. Taken to the West Kowloon magistrates' courts, Wong faced a new charge of conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security. The former student pro-democracy activist, who wore a blue shirt and appeared noticeably thinner than before, replied, 'Understand,' when the clerk read out the charge and details of the offence. Wong did not apply for bail, and the case was adjourned to August 8. Before returning to custody, he waved, shrugged, and shook his head in the direction of the public gallery. In a statement, Hong Kong's national security police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of the offence, as well as for 'dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence'. A charge sheet seen by Reuters accuses Wong of having conspired with exiled activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organizations, or individuals outside China to impose sanctions or blockades. Such actions against Hong Kong or China, along with other hostile activities targeting them, took place in 2020, between July 1 and November 23, it added. The National Security Law, which punishes offences such as acts of subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism, with terms of up to life in jail, was imposed by Beijing on the former British colony in 2020. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the law is necessary to restore stability following anti-government protests in 2019. But some Western governments have criticised it as being used to suppress free speech and dissent. — Reuters
