French-made submarine arrives in Malaysia Thursday

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/02/content_11983889.htm

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- A submarine made in France would arrive at Port Klang of Malaysia Thursday, a local newspaperreported on Wednesday.
The submarine was built by the French military shipyard, Direction des Constructions Navales Services in partnership with the Spanish shipyard Navatia, said The New Straits Times.
The submarine would dock at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) basein Port Klang and the Malaysian King, together with some top officials of the Malaysian government, would be present to welcomethe submarine at the port.
The diesel-powered submarine would then leave Port Klang on Friday and it would dock again at the RMN Lumut base in Perak State on Saturday.
The "KD Tunku Abdul Rahman" submarine was named after the Malaysian first prime minister and it could operate alone or in combination with air and sea forces.
Also, the submarine could undertake a wide range of missions, including naval blockades, information gathering and landing or retrieval of commandos.

China forces worth watching: US admiral

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/china-forces-worth-watching-us-admiral-20090902-f72e.html

A US military commander says China's military build-up should be watched very carefully, but has stopped short of calling the emerging superpower a threat.
The head of the US Pacific Command, which patrols the Pacific Ocean from California to China, has held talks in Australia with Defence Force Chief Angus Houston.
Admiral Timothy Keating, whose command covers 51 per cent of the earth's surface, says the US is monitoring China's military build-up.
"I would call them a country whose military development is worth watching very carefully," Admiral Keating told ABC Television on Tuesday night.
"I would not call them a threat."

Vietnam presents report on continental shelf

http://en.vietnamplus.vn/Home/Vietnam-presents-report-on-continental-shelf/20099/2148.vnplus

The Vietnamese government has presented a national report on the limits of its continental shelf which lie 200 nautical miles beyond the country’s baselines in the northern part of the East Sea. The report was presented by the government representatives at the 24th plenary session of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which convened in New York on Aug. 27 and 28.

At the meeting, Vietnam and Malaysia also presented a joint report on the continental shelves of both countries, which extend out over 200 nautical miles from their baselines in the southern part of the East Sea .

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The head delegate noted that the submission does not affect existing sea demarcation or the stance of the concerned countries on territory and sea disputes, including Vietnam ’s claim to sovereignty over the Paracel (Hoang Sa) and Spratly (Truong Sa) islands. Vietnam continues to advocate the settlement of all disagreements related to the East Sea through peaceful negotiations based on international laws, especially the 1982 UN Convention and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

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Earlier on 8th of May, China protested to CLCS that Vietnam and Malaysia claims violated China's sovereignty of 80% of South China Sea. Later Philippine also protested that Malaysia's claim included the disputed state of Sabah and therefore should not be considered.

Indonesian Navy intensifying security of outermost islands

http://www.antara.co.id/en/news/1251733941/indonesian-navy-intensifying-security-of-outermost-islands

Surabaya (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian navy continued intensifying operations to secure the country`s outermost islands in anticipation of possible occupation by foreign countries.

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Tension was rising in the region when Malaysian ships conducted manouvering and infiltrating the waters some time ago.

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China-Vietnam relation from an Australian view

Vibrations from the north

http://inside.org.au/vibrations-from-the-north/

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Differences at sea were much more serious. In January 1974, the Chinese navy attacked and quickly defeated units of the US-supported Republic of Vietnam based on the Paracel Island group, 300 kilometres southeast of Hainan Island. Although Hanoi was deeply embarrassed by China’s occupation of the Paracels, it could not protest given its dependence on Beijing to defeat the South Vietnamese forces. Beijing then declared sovereignty over the entire continental shelf in the South China Sea, which brought it into prospective conflict not only with Vietnam but also with the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. In 1988, Chinese forces sank several Vietnamese naval vessels in the Spratly Archipelago and occupied six islands.

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At first China chose only to challenge Vietnam-sponsored explorations in the Bay of Tonkin waters between Hainan Island and the north central Vietnamese coast. Beijing and Hanoi agreed to draw a line halfway for purposes of awarding exploration contracts, not territorial demarcation. More recently, however, China has started to challenge all Vietnamese oil-related operations on the continental shelf. Beijing’s most effective tactic is to warn foreign companies away from signing contracts with Vietnamese partners. In March of this year, BP withdrew from explorations only eighty kilometres off Vietnam’s south central coastline. In July, Chinese envoys warned Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil firm, that its future mainland business could be jeopardised unless it pulled out of deals with Vietnam.

Early this year, China also dispatched armed patrol vessels with orders to regulate all fishing in the South China Sea down to the twelfth degree latitude. In May, scores of Vietnamese fishing boats were stopped, crews detained, and vessels impounded. Vietnamese websites compared Chinese behaviour with the Somali pirates. Vietnam’s protests to Beijing had little effect, however. Hanoi lacks sufficient patrol vessels to consider protecting fishermen within Vietnam’s 200 nautical mile offshore economic zone, much less beyond.

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In the past there have been calls for an international or multilateral conference to deliberate the future of the South China Sea. If such a conference were to occur, Vietnam might abandon its claims to the Paracels in exchange for recognition of the portion of the Spratlys it currently occupies. China has opposed any internationalisation of the issue, however, and shows no signs of budging from its continental shelf claims. For Hanoi to accept Chinese sovereignty over the continental shelf would mean having its entire coastline boxed in and losing all offshore oil rights.

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Radio Voice of Vietnam launches South China Sea broadcasting services

http://en.vietnamplus.vn/Home/Radio-VOV-launches-East-Sea-broadcasting-services/20098/2067.vnplus

Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) on August 29 officially launched its broadcasting services to the East Sea with the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The launching of VOV radio-broadcasting services to the entire Vietnamese territorial waters is an important move, helping fishermen and soldiers working offshore get easier access to accurate, timely and round-the-clock information about political, economic, social and cultural affairs both in and outside Vietnam, especially forecasts about natural disasters as well as the research and rescue work at sea.

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