& _; F$ K7 g- H- }! H- {7 jOver the past twelve months, China has been carrying out calculated acts of naval harassment in the South China Sea. This is just the latest from Communist China, a country which -- for several years -- has declared much of the South China Sea as its exclusive economic zone. This has threatened the other countries (nine in all) of the region who have overlapping claims to the 1.35 million square miles of water. 2 R2 X& t: W( j/ }; DNot even the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed by China and the ten member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has helped in reaching a peaceful resolution to this dispute. China needs to receive a clear message that their continued harassment will no longer be tolerated. ( e# l2 [. h: N. w; YThat is why Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and I introduced a measure calling upon the Communist Chinese government to stop harassing ships on the high seas while sailing through the South China Sea. As highlighted in our resolution, China’s unacceptable acts include: ; Z* g" L3 Y; kTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。February 25, 2011: A Chinese frigate fires warning shots at three Filipino fishing boats near the Jackson Atoll near Palawan Island, Philippines. www2.tvboxnow.com5 f+ _- I5 [4 ^' Z C# w
March 2, 2011: Two Chinese maritime patrol vessels threaten to ram a Philippine government energy research vessel conducting a seismic survey in the Reed Bank area near Palawan Island. May 2011: China announces a unilateral fishing ban for the northern part of the South China Sea from May to August. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb6 s0 p' y# y$ C
May 2011: Vietnam alleges that Chinese naval vessels fired on four Vietnamese fishing vessels near East London Reef and Cross Island. & i d; I! E8 z& utvb now,tvbnow,bttvbMay 2011: Chinese vessels lay steel posts and a buoy in the Amy Douglas Bank, southwest of Reed Bank, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones. 公仔箱論壇. M* S5 f) h& l9 R! e) J
May 11, 2011: Two unidentified fighter jets, alleged to be Chinese, are sighted near Palawan Island. $ R; K9 {/ S- y& M- R- r
May 26, 2011: A maritime security vessel from China cuts the towed survey cables of an exploration ship from Vietnam, the BINH MINH, in the South China Sea in waters near Cam Ranh Bay. This use of force occurred within 200 nautical miles of Vietnam, in an area recognized by international law as its Exclusive Economic Zone.1 z" e9 R" t. j
June 9, 2011: Three vessels from China, including one fishing vessel and two maritime security vessels ran into and disabled the cables of another exploration ship from Vietnam, the Viking 2. The incident also occurred within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.公仔箱論壇% q" e5 G3 \$ `. t
Clearly, the number of incidents over the past 12 months has increased, as Beijing becomes more confident in violently asserting its claims to fishing and oil resources in the area. Commentators in the region uniformly believe that this “pattern of assertive behavior” by China is “another indication that the South China Sea dispute continues to trend in a negative direction.” ) \+ Y& d! ~ w公仔箱論壇Seeing this negative trend, which threatens the freedom of navigation as well as the national security interests of the United States and its allies in the region, we introduced a Senate resolution. It is simple: Communist China, halt your aggressive behavior and return to the pledge you made in 2002 to resolve this dispute peacefully. TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。! l6 K4 H# z( ?- O0 `: j! q* Q
I understand that the Chinese Embassy has been working hard to defeat this resolution or water it down, but facts are stubborn things. And the fact is that only the Communist Chinese have engaged in a set of violent and dangerous actions against its South China Sea neighbors. This must stop. ! E0 F4 l W( U! ETVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Our resolution puts their deplorable actions on record. It reaffirms our strong support for a peaceful resolution of this dispute while supporting the continuation of operations by the United States Armed Forces to assert and defend freedom of navigation rights in international waters and air space in the South China Sea. 7 P$ ~/ f4 e8 A9 v J {& Z1 o公仔箱論壇The Senate must act swiftly and decisively on this measure to signal our support for our allies and register our strong displeasure with China’s actions. In so doing, the Senate would be on record as supporting freedom and a peaceful resolution to the dispute. 2 m2 L+ c! O7 ^3 `( m1 M; W( p3 DSenator James M. Inhofe, serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He is also a senior Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.作者: aa00 時間: 2011-6-23 12:29 PM
Source: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL公仔箱論壇4 F. f/ g' v* U
7 H" @1 M( j3 \1 y9 o2 o- f/ x. G
Unkept Promises to Taiwan ' y* L0 {+ ~# v; h, Z& {4 \www2.tvboxnow.com ; L' H, B2 M6 x1 qtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb ' I, V0 n) Y. u; y$ v$ G, m
: {) ~1 m: w3 r: A1 oPoliticians from both parties in Congress are pushing for the U.S. to sell badly needed F-16 fighters to the Taiwanese Air Force. But so far the Obama Administration isn't budging; only the upgrading of Taiwan's older F-16s looks likely. So lawmakers are turning to a new pressure point: A push to upgrade the Taiwan Relations Act. 9 A% @& C% @( w) r4 Otvb now,tvbnow,bttvb / f8 g) P/ D8 XTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said last week that she will introduce the amending legislation. While it may have little chance of passing, it could serve a useful purpose of putting the spotlight on America's failure to live up to its promises.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb; P6 }7 [% g" y) d4 w
TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。1 z) s1 l$ ^9 n" ~1 W4 p9 X
The law requires the U.S. to sell arms needed for Taiwan's defense, but Beijing has succeeded in intimidating successive Administrations into deferring those sales. As a result, the island's armed forces would no longer be able to maintain air superiority in the event of a Chinese attack.公仔箱論壇( w. Z/ Q8 K7 H! @* g5 T+ R
www2.tvboxnow.com0 A% N# o- X$ T, I* h) e
The problem is not just China's increasingly advanced and numerous fighters, but also its nearly 2,000 ballistic missiles that could hit Taiwanese airfields. China's Army Chief of Staff Gen. Chen Bingde visited Washington last month and denied that such missiles were deployed along the coast—an assertion that was met with ridicule in the U.S. and Taiwan.www2.tvboxnow.com% @' K6 Q' M% Y# m; ~# k
. ~- A+ \: p' ~. ^$ i3 j
The Chinese will no doubt complain loudly about any proposed change to the TRA, just as they do when even modest arms sales to Taiwan are approved. Beijing has suspended military-to-military ties with the U.S. twice in the last three years over such sales. But it is the U.S. that encourages such histrionics by reinforcing the impression that it will eventually allow its abandonment of Taiwan to become a fait accompli. ) O) x: |* w4 r3 Y. G8 t8 N! R) M/ H# Swww2.tvboxnow.com . F2 {' n* c& y2 W% ]' l
A better strategy would be to set a long-term objective for returning Taiwan to a viable position of being able to defend itself, so that it could negotiate with the mainland from a position of strength. This would require reaching a bipartisan consensus on a program of future sales that would come into effect as long as China's offensive buildup continues. Future Administrations could then minimize the politicking by hewing to this program. ; D% I4 s2 B" z7 {1 @( O
1 f j/ W8 x, q; f+ x' d
We suspect that once Beijing was conditioned to understand that its threats to hold the entire bilateral relationship hostage to this one issue were no longer working, the outbursts would subside. Perhaps then more constructive negotiations between China and Taiwan would proceed. ( y/ |5 ]5 r0 H" P( s" u: o8 T
