Tag Archives: China
11 November 2013
The Chinese Foreign Ministry urges states to come back to the negotiating table, after the six-party talks between North and South Korea, China, the US, Russia, and Japan stalled in 2009. Since the end of talks, North Korea has conducted to nuclear tests and China has been lobbying to reopen negotiations in order to ensure security of the Korean Peninsula. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, stated ‘there’s a common interest and shared responsibility to find a resolution to the impasse.’
Source: UPI | China presses for talks with North Korea
4 November 2013
Negotiations held in Hobart, Tasmania by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources failed to reach an agreement to protect the ocean ecosystem in the Antarctic. The United States and New Zealand proposed a 500,000 square mile reserve in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Australia, France, and the European Union proposed a network of protected areas in the eastern Antarctic region. Both proposals were blocked due to the resistance of Russia, China, and Ukraine. Agreement between twenty-four members of the Commission and the European Union is required for the adoption of a proposal.
The resisting states argue that such reserves would cut off their access to fish stocks and undermine the fishing industries. However, fisheries scientists state that the reserves would help protect and restore the ecosystem from depletion caused by overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Yuri Onodera, climate adviser for Friends of the Earth Japan and attendee at the conference, stated, ‘once again, national interests and politics are a hurdle to the international interest of protecting the environment.’
Source: New York Times | Talks on Antarctic Marine Reserve Fail to Reach Agreement
4 October 2013
The United States and Japan have concluded an agreement to broaden their security alliance. The agreement expands Japan’s role in the region, while affirming the US’ determination to remain a dominant presence in the region. It provides a basis for positioning surveillance drones, as well as navy reconnaissance planes, which will be used to patrol waters in the region, including those around disputed islands. Japan will expand assistance to Southeast Asian countries to help them resist Chinese territorial claims. The agreement also calls for trilateral cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan to face common threats, like North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Source: The New York TImes | U.S. and Japan Agree to Broaden Military Alliance
13 September 2013
Wang Guanzhong, Deputy Chief of General Staff of China’s People’s Liberation Army, said during talks with US colleagues on the topic of the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea that ‘This issue should not become a problem between China and the United States, and China hopes that the United States does not become a third party in this issue.’ He further stated that ‘The United States should maintain a consistent stance and policy, not send wrong signals nor support and connive with the relevant country to do as they please.’
Source: Reuters | China military tells U.S. not to encourage Japan over isles
8 September 2013
The New York Times reports that over the past decades, Syria amassed stockpiles of chemical weapons with the help from the Soviet Union, China, Czechoslovakia and Iran, as well as Western European and American suppliers.
Source: The New York Times | With the World Watching, Syria Amassed Nerve Gas