Tag: China

Supporting that U.S. involvement may make the situation worse China urged the United States on Wednesday to leave the South China Sea dispute to the claimant states, saying that U.S. involvement may make the situation worse, its most direct warning to Washington in recent weeks.Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai's comments to a small group of foreign reporters ahead of a meeting with U.S. officials in Hawaii this weekend come amid the biggest flare-up in regional tension in years over competing maritime sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.Tension has risen in the region in the past month on concern that China is becoming more assertive in its claim to waters believed to be rich in oil and gas.Part of the waters are also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam."The United States is not a claimant state to the dispute in the South China Sea and so it's better for the United States to leave the dispute to be sorted out between claimant states," Cui said."While some American friends may want the United States to help in this matter, we appreciate their gesture but more often than not such gestures will only make things more complicated," he ...

Ports in southern China are preferred Hong Kongs status as one of the worlds leading maritime centres is not under threat, but change is coming. At the start of April this year container giant Maersk cut its calls at the port of Hong Kong by a quarter, from around 30 per week to 22-23. The reason? The carrier said it would be transferring most of the calls to a terminal at the port of Nansha near Guangzhou in southern Mainland China which is partly owned by sister company APM Terminals.The transfer was a huge blow both to Modern Terminals, which handles most of Maersks calls at Hong Kong, and to Hong Kongs status as the regions leading container hub. More blows could follow.The port lost its status as the worlds largest container port back in 2004 and was ranked third according to 2009 throughput totals, some distance behind Singapore and Shanghai. The ports of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, located over the border in Mainland China, were fourth and sixth in the rankings.Last year the port of Hong Kong handled 23.7m teu, again putting it in third place although the figure was still below the record set in 2008 pre-global financial crisis.The ...

The two countries have a history of border disputes This month, NPR is examining the many ways China is expanding its reach in the world - through investments, infrastructure, military power and more.As China flexes its economic and military muscle, it's bumping elbows with Asia's other big and fast-growing power: India.China's hunger for energy from the Middle East and resources from Africa brings it into the Indian Ocean. And some defense analysts in India are watching uneasily as China develops commercial ports in some of India's neighbor countries.To understand India's concerns about China, it helps to remember that the two countries have a history of border disputes, and that they fought a brief but ferocious war over territory in 1962.Indian Concerns Over 'String Of Pearls'Long-time members of India's military establishment spend a lot of time thinking about China's new military, and its strategic aims.Arun Kumar Singh, a retired Indian vice admiral, habitually refers to China's military as "he.""He wants to keep us in a state of imbalance, because he wants us to be boxed up in South Asia, though we are the second-largest and possibly the largest, or the fastest-growing economy in the world today," Singh says.As a navy man, ...

Guidance provided on Implementation of Regime of Agreement We refer Members to previous circulars on the Regulations of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution from Ships (the Regulations) and the postponement of the requirement that owners/operators of (a) any ship carrying polluting and hazardous cargoes in bulk or (b) any other vessel above 10,000 gt enter into a pollution clean up contract with a Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) approved pollution response company before the vessel enters a PRC port.These requirements were postponed pending additional rules to be issued by the MSA. These Detailed Rules on the Implementation of the Regime of Agreement for Ship Pollution Response have now been issued by the China MSA on 20 May 2011 with an accompanying Notice and mandatory contract which owners/operators must enter into with a clean up contractor as approved by the China MSA. A copy of the mandatory, model contract which includes the different levels of contractors (as contained in Attachment III to the contract) is contained in the Annex to this Circular.Approved clean up contractors will be categorised by the MSA in accordance with their qualifications and response capabilities and will be assigned ...

The new generation of 10,000 TEU container vessels The new generation of 10,000 TEU container vessels contracted in China by Seaspan represents major improvements in energy efficiency, cargo capacity, operational efficiency and emission reductions. The new features have been developed in a collaboration between Seaspan, the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group, MARIC and DNV. The order for seven 10,000 TEU container vessels plus 18 options which was signed in Shanghai on 8 June is the biggest ever container contract entered into in China. The vessels will be built to DNV class. The Seaspan container ship hull lines have been optimised for a speed range of 18-22 knots. In this range, the fuel consumption has been reduced by 16-27% compared to contemporary similar-size ship series presently operated by the industry. Compared to current 10,000 TEU container vessels in operation or presently being built, the improvements due to new design features are substantial. The cargo capacity is increased by 10% while the fuel consumption is reduced by 20%. The new hull design enables the vessels to carry minimum amounts of ballast water while in operation. The vessels are designed to reduce the emissions to air by approximately 20% in order to meet the future ...

Bangladesh is planning to build a deep-sea port in Chittagong The Deepwater Port Authority (DPA) in China yesterday expressed hope that they can help Bangladesh build a deep-sea port here.DPA President Wan Daning conveyed this to Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, who is now on an 8-day visit to China, during her tour to the newly built Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai.The foreign minister informed the port officials that Bangladesh is planning building of a deep-sea port in Sonadia, Chittagong.The Bangladesh foreign minister was invited to visit Yangshan Deepwater Port, a mega project of about $10 billion, built on a reclaimed island connected by about a 35-km long sea bridge with the mainland.The DPA president, while briefing Dipu Moni on the latest state-of-the-art facilities, expressed interest to work with Bangladesh in the construction of the deep-sea port, said a press release of the foreign ministry.Foreign Minister Dipu Moni arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday (June 15) on her way to Beijing for an official meeting invited by her counterpart Yang Jiechi.She will hold official talks with the Chinese foreign minister in Beijing on June 22 and will also call on Chinese Vice President Xi JinpingUpon her arrival in Shanghai, the foreign minister ...

A mega project of about $10 billion The Deepwater Port Authority (DPA) in China yesterday expressed hope that they can help Bangladesh build a deep-sea port here.DPA President Wan Daning conveyed this to Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, who is now on an 8-day visit to China, during her tour to the newly built Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai.The foreign minister informed the port officials that Bangladesh is planning building of a deep-sea port in Sonadia, Chittagong.The Bangladesh foreign minister was invited to visit Yangshan Deepwater Port, a mega project of about $10 billion, built on a reclaimed island connected by about a 35-km long sea bridge with the mainland.The DPA president, while briefing Dipu Moni on the latest state-of-the-art facilities, expressed interest to work with Bangladesh in the construction of the deep-sea port, said a press release of the foreign ministry.Foreign Minister Dipu Moni arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday (June 15) on her way to Beijing for an official meeting invited by her counterpart Yang Jiechi.She will hold official talks with the Chinese foreign minister in Beijing on June 22 and will also call on Chinese Vice President Xi JinpingUpon her arrival in Shanghai, the foreign minister was received by ...

China, Vietnam and the Philippines plan to drill for oil in the contested waters Tensions over the South China Sea escalated sharply this week as Vietnam and the Philippines, tacitly backed by the US, made further aggressive moves to assert their claims against those of China in the disputed waters.Despite the growing potential for conflict, Democrat Senator Jim Webb, head of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia, called for an even tougher American line. He introduced a bill on Monday condemning the use of force by naval and maritime security vessels from China in the South China Sea. The bill stated its support for 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.Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on the same day, Webb stated: I think we in our government have taken too weak of a position on this. He cited Secretary of State Hillary Clintons statements last year on the US return to Asia approvingly, but added: Were going to back up those words with substantive action. It doesnt mean, you know, military confrontation per se, ...

20% of all Chinese ship construction and 50% of offshore units built in China are classified by DNV Explaining what his company, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), does is a routine part of Tore Hoifodt's work. That doesn't mean to say it's easy. The Norway-based multinational's business covers a wide range of sectors and is continuously adding more.As senior vice-president and communications director of DNV's Asia-Pacific and Middle East division, Hoifodt has his hands full. He says risk management summarizes DNV's role and categorizes the company's businesses into traditional and emerging segments.More specifically, the company establishes and applies technical standards for industries, offers technology, management, environmental and competency-related services for customers, and provides certifications and classifications to them - all designed to reduce business risk.Although traditional sectors such as shipping, maritime and oil and gas are the pillars of the business, emerging sectors in emerging markets are expected to be the new engine for the international company, which has been around for 147 years. Emerging industries The company, established in 1864 as a classifier of ships, has more recently tapped into carbon capture and storage, emission trading, clean energy and corporate social responsibility. DNV says it will maintain an interest in ...

Due to tensions with Beijing mount over the disputed area Philippine President Benigno Aquino's office said on Monday it was renaming the South China Sea as the "West Philippine Sea", as tensions with Beijing mount over the disputed area.The Philippines and China, along with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims to areas of the South China Sea, most importantly the Spratly Islands that are believed to sit on vast oil and gas resources.Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the foreign affairs and defence departments recently began using the term West Philippine Sea instead of the South China Sea, and the president's office had decided to follow suit."It is incumbent on us to take the cue from them and to refer to South China Sea as West Philippine Sea," he said.Lacierda pointed out other countries had similar practices."All the other nations call the South China Sea based on how they perceive it. Vietnam calls it East Sea so it is but natural for us to call it West Philippine Sea," he said.The area of water to the east of the island nation is already known as the Philippine Sea, so that the new name threatens possible confusion over the western ...