Tag: Singapore

Less politics more marine diplomacy – a fix for South China Sea?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Territorial wrangling over who owns the South China Sea has strangled local marine life, say scientists, urging China and the Philippines to set aside political differences and work to save the fish, coral and plants that live border-free.

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Since 2013, China has built artificial islands that cover more than 3,000 acres of the Spratlys, according to U.S.-based policy organisation Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

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A study last December by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative also blamed China’s dredging and clam harvesting for destroying almost 20,000 acres of reefs in the South China Sea.

Less politics more marine diplomacy – a fix for South China Sea?

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) is part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Gregory Poling is director of the AMTI. The same Poling that told the U.S. government-funded Voice of America that “Vietnam’s use of cutter suction dredgers is much more environmentally destructive than its previous dredging methods.”

According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Vietnam occupies around 50 outposts, The Philippines occupies nine, Malaysia occupies five, and China occupies seven in the disputed Spratly Islands.

Previously:

China unveils evidences showing Philippine grounded warship at Ren’ai Jiao destroys coral reefs, endangers marine organism

Experts warn of Philippines scheming for ‘new arbitration’ on South China Sea + More

Vietnamese Poachers using Cyanide and Dynamite Fishing in the Philippines’ EEZ

Philippine Coast Guard clarifies ‘assertive transparency’ tact

China unveils evidences showing Philippine grounded warship at Ren’ai Jiao destroys coral reefs, endangers marine organism

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Source

While Manila mulls over filing a case against China with so-called “solid evidence of the damaged coral reefs caused by Chinese actions,” China, on Monday, released a report based on an unprecedentedly extensive and detailed on-site ecosystem survey around Ren’ai Jiao (also known as Ren’ai Reef), with solid evidence showing that the grounded warship has caused damage to the coral reefs and environmental pollution in the South China Sea.

China unveils evidences showing Philippine grounded warship at Ren’ai Jiao destroys coral reefs, endangers marine organism

Related:

(Full text in English) “Investigation Report on the Illegal “Beach” Warship Destroying the Coral Reef Ecosystem in Ren’ai Reef”

Experts warn of Philippines scheming for ‘new arbitration’ on South China Sea + More

Philippines rejects China’s accusation of environmental damage in South China Sea

China has in turn dredged sand and coral to build artificial islands in the South China Sea, which it says is normal construction activity on its territory, but which other nations say is aimed at enforcing its claim to the waterway.

A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies last year found China’s construction activity buried more than 4,600 acres (1,861 acres) of reef.

China claims almost all of the vital waterway, where $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Greg Poling, from the front CSIS, claims that Vietnam is also building artificial islands.

Experts warn of Philippines scheming for ‘new arbitration’ on South China Sea + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

While reiterating that the arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration exceeded its jurisdiction and made an illegitimate ruling, Chinese experts warned on Monday that the Philippines is scheming for “new arbitration” on the issue, which would undermine regional peace and stability.

Experts warn of Philippines scheming for ‘new arbitration’ on South China Sea

Related:

Philippines should use legal, moral leverage in West Philippine Sea – expert

Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University, said China is using an “asymmetrical” strategy through military might in asserting its claims in the region.

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He also expressed support for the Philippine government’s plan to file another case against China, this time over the environmental destruction that China has caused in the West Philippine Sea.

PH to complete environmental case vs. China in ‘few weeks’- DOJ

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on May 20, 2024

The Office of Naval Research funded Stanford’s GKC

I’m no expert, but I had a feeling that they would back in April, at least:

Philippine Coast Guard clarifies ‘assertive transparency’ tact

Vietnamese Poachers using Cyanide and Dynamite Fishing in the Philippines’ EEZ

Cultured meat has been approved for consumers for the first time

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Cultured meat has been approved for consumers for the first time

Most cultured meat is made in a similar way. Cells are taken from an animal, often via a biopsy or from an established animal cell line. These cells are then fed a nutrient broth and placed in a bioreactor, where they multiply until there are enough to harvest for use in meatballs or nuggets. A slew of startups have been founded using variations on this approach, in the belief that cultured meat will appeal to flexitarians—people who want to reduce the amount of meat they eat for ethical or environmental reasons, but don’t want to give it up entirely.

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Memphis Meats, which counts Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and traditional meat manufacturer Tyson Foods among its many investors, has teamed up with a number of other firms, including Just and cultured-seafood makers BlueNalu and Finless Foods, to form a lobbying group that is working with US regulators to get their products approved.

China Is a Challenge, But an Asian NATO Is Not the Answer

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

China Is a Challenge, But an Asian NATO Is Not the Answer

First, the US is not threatened militarily by China. No one imagines that a nonexistent Chinese carrier group is going to descend upon Hawaii, conquer the islands, and then head toward the West Coast. There is no evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has such ambitions. Anyway, Beijing would have little success even after an enormous military buildup. Such is the disparity in cost between projecting power across the Pacific and deterring such an attack. Which correspondingly limits Washington’s military options against the PRC.

At stake in East Asia is American influence rather than security. A challenge to the former is not unimportant but is very different than a military threat against the US proper. China poses no meaningful danger to America’s territory, population, prosperity, liberties, or constitutional order. Instead, Beijing is resisting Washington’s attempt to effectively impose the Monroe Doctrine in Asia, that is, to dominate the region up to China’s border.

The limits of Chinese power

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Everything about US-China hinges on the result of the upcoming US presidential election.

Trump 2.0 essentially would turbo-charge its bet on decoupling, aiming to squeeze “malign” China on a multiple Hybrid War front, undermine the Chinese trade surplus, co-opt large swathes of Asia, while always insisting on characterizing China as evil incarnate.

The limits of Chinese power

Related:

China-US relations are in tatters. Can both sides cool their hostile strategies to avoid disaster?

TikTok unveils new website aimed at dispelling ‘rumors & misinformation’ spread by Washington

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

TikTok unveils new website aimed at dispelling ‘rumors & misinformation’ spread by Washington

TikTok has never provided any US user data to the Chinese government, nor would it do so if asked. Any insinuation to the contrary is unfounded and blatantly false,” the website says. It added that user data is stored in Virginia, with a back-up in Singapore, and that there are safeguards to ensure user privacy.

Website:

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