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A/S 800 million, O/S 600 million as May 13 2016
10Q out. Any better? If someone understand better than me?
Did anybody see this in any other drug store beside the Walmart? like RiteAid, wallgreen, Duanne etc.
I don't Like the last 2 reports the one it says that in the middle of 2017 will know the result from talking, that means we have to wait another year?
Japan and the Philippines have begun talks for the transfer of two large coast guard ships to Manila, to help patrol the disputed South China Sea, a Japanese foreign ministry official said on Friday, as part of a deal on defense equipment.
The two brand-new 90-metre (295-ft) multi-role response vessels will be in addition to ten 44-metre (144-ft) mid-sized coast guard ships, worth 8.8 billion pesos ($188.52 million), that Japan is set to start delivering next week.
"Both governments are looking into the possibility of getting two more vessels, this time the bigger ones," Masato Ohtaka, deputy spokesman of Japan's foreign ministry, told journalists in Manila.
"We're in the middle of dialogue between the two sides, they are still discussing details and we need a little more time."
The ship delivery figured in an 80-minute meeting between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday in southern Davao City.
"We talked about how Japan can help the Philippines in capacity building, particularly with regards to maritime security," Ohtaka added.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea where about $5 trillion worth of trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the sea believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.
Japan has no claim in the South China Sea but it is in dispute with China over small islands in the East China Sea.
China says it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the area it claims and has refused to recognize the court ruling handed down last month in a case brought by the Philippines.
Japan urged China to adhere to the ruling, saying it was binding, prompting a warning from China not to interfere.
ALSO IN SOUTH CHINA SEA
Foreign ministers of Japan, China, South Korea likely to meet next week: media
China, ASEAN aim to complete framework of South China Sea rules next year
Photos suggest China built reinforced hangars on disputed islands: CSIS
China says new satellite will help safeguard interests at sea: China Daily
"We are very concerned," Ohtaka said, adding that developments in the East China Sea could parallel those in the South China Sea, where Beijing has stepped up the constant presence of its coast guard ships.
Japan last week reported a flurry of incursions by Chinese vessels into waters Tokyo sees as its own near the disputed East China Sea islands it controls. China is reported to have put up radar and surveillance facilities in the area.
"It's not getting better in the East China Sea," Ohtaka added.
($1=46.6800 Philippine pesos)
(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
SOUTH CHINA SEA | Wed Aug 17, 2016 12:11am EDT
China, ASEAN aim to complete framework of South China Sea rules next year
China and a grouping of Southeast Asian nations aim to finish by the middle of next year a framework for a code of conduct to ease tension in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Wednesday.
Since 2010, China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been discussing a set of rules aimed at avoiding conflict among rival claimants in the busy waterway.
Last month, an arbitration court in the Hague ruled that China had no historic title over the South China Sea and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court's authority.
But Beijing has been keen to get diplomacy back on track since.
Meeting in northeastern China, the two sides agreed to get the framework for the code of conduct done by mid-2017, and also approved guidelines for a China-ASEAN hotline for use during maritime emergencies, the official China Daily said.
They also agreed that a pact on unplanned maritime encounters, signed in 2014 by countries in the region, applied to the South China Sea, the newspaper added.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said documents on the hotline and unplanned encounters would be presented for final approval to leaders in Laos next month at a meeting between China and ASEAN members, the paper said.
"There is another achievement - we reached broad consensus on pushing forward the negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea," it quoted Liu as saying.
"All sides agreed to raise the frequency of the negotiations in a situation without interference, and seek to finish a draft framework of the code of conduct by the middle of next year," he added.
This is the third meeting on the code this year.
ALSO IN SOUTH CHINA SEA
Foreign ministers of Japan, China, South Korea likely to meet next week: media
Japan in talks to deliver two coast guard ships to Philippines
Photos suggest China built reinforced hangars on disputed islands: CSIS
China says new satellite will help safeguard interests at sea: China Daily
"It shows that as the situation in the South China Sea is getting more and more complicated, especially with the interference of external forces, ASEAN countries and China have realised that we have to grasp the key to the South China Sea issue in our own hand," Liu said.
China has blamed the United States and its allies in the region, such as Japan and Australia, for stoking tension in the South China Sea.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Today too 0002, I think R/S is on the way and this is to bad.
I think all sounds good, the only question is how long will take to finalize it. my prediction till the end of the year or sooner.
Indonesia is actively involved in resolving territorial disputes in the South China Sea, President Joko Widodo said in a prepared state address on Tuesday.
An arbitration court in the Hague last month ruled that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court's authority.
"Indonesia continues to be actively involved in conflict resolution in the South China Sea through peaceful negotiations after," Widodo said, referring directly to the ruling.
"We continue to push for peaceful resolutions to international conflicts," he said in a speech marking Indonesia's independence day, which falls on Wednesday.
Widodo also called for police and judicial reform to boost legal certainty in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
(Reporting by Hidayat Setiaji; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
WORLD NEWS | Fri Aug 12, 2016 12:54am EDT
Philippines seeks formal talks with China amid South China Sea tensions: Ramos
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos gestures as he speaks to journalists during a trip to Hong Kong, China after the Hague court's ruling over the maritime dispute in South China Sea, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos gestures as he speaks to journalists during a trip to Hong Kong, China after the Hague court's ruling over the maritime dispute in South China Sea, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
By Venus Wu | HONG KONG
The Philippines special envoy to China, Fidel Ramos, said on Friday that Manila wants formal discussions with China to explore pathways to peace and cooperation after a meeting with former Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu Ying.
Ramos was speaking near the end of a trip to Hong Kong undertaken in an attempt to rekindle ties with China, which have been soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea.
In a statement signed by Ramos and Fu, they said their "informal discussions focused on the need to engage in further talks to build trust and confidence to reduce tensions to pave the way for overall cooperation."
The statement added that China welcomes Ramos to visit Beijing at some point as the special envoy of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June and has signalled a greater willingness to engage with China than his predecessor.
"It's not really a breakthrough in a sense that there is no ice here in Hong Kong to break but the fish we eat... are cooked in delicious recipes," Ramos told reporters, having earlier referred to his visit as a fishing expedition.
An arbitration court in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court's authority to rule on the matter.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits.
The statement added that both Beijing and Manila would seek to promote fishing cooperation, marine preservation, and tourism though it made no specific mention of the South China Sea or the ruling. No time frame was given for possible talks.
Ramos said neither side asserted their own sovereignty over disputed areas in the South China Sea such as the Scarborough Shoal and Mischief Reef.
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"There was no discussion on that particular aspect except to mention equal fishing rights," said Ramos.
The statement said the discussions were carried out in a private capacity, and Ramos said later other back channel discussions with China were underway.
China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, denying Philippine fishermen access. This was among the factors that prompted Manila to seek arbitration.
Ramos was Philippines president from 1992 to 1998, when China occupied the submerged Mischief Reef.
(Reporting by Venus Wu; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Paul Tait and Christian Schmollinger)
WORLD NEWS | Fri Aug 12, 2016 12:54am EDT
Philippines seeks formal talks with China amid South China Sea tensions: Ramos
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos gestures as he speaks to journalists during a trip to Hong Kong, China after the Hague court's ruling over the maritime dispute in South China Sea, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos gestures as he speaks to journalists during a trip to Hong Kong, China after the Hague court's ruling over the maritime dispute in South China Sea, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
By Venus Wu | HONG KONG
The Philippines special envoy to China, Fidel Ramos, said on Friday that Manila wants formal discussions with China to explore pathways to peace and cooperation after a meeting with former Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu Ying.
Ramos was speaking near the end of a trip to Hong Kong undertaken in an attempt to rekindle ties with China, which have been soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea.
In a statement signed by Ramos and Fu, they said their "informal discussions focused on the need to engage in further talks to build trust and confidence to reduce tensions to pave the way for overall cooperation."
The statement added that China welcomes Ramos to visit Beijing at some point as the special envoy of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June and has signalled a greater willingness to engage with China than his predecessor.
"It's not really a breakthrough in a sense that there is no ice here in Hong Kong to break but the fish we eat... are cooked in delicious recipes," Ramos told reporters, having earlier referred to his visit as a fishing expedition.
An arbitration court in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court's authority to rule on the matter.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits.
The statement added that both Beijing and Manila would seek to promote fishing cooperation, marine preservation, and tourism though it made no specific mention of the South China Sea or the ruling. No time frame was given for possible talks.
Ramos said neither side asserted their own sovereignty over disputed areas in the South China Sea such as the Scarborough Shoal and Mischief Reef.
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"There was no discussion on that particular aspect except to mention equal fishing rights," said Ramos.
The statement said the discussions were carried out in a private capacity, and Ramos said later other back channel discussions with China were underway.
China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, denying Philippine fishermen access. This was among the factors that prompted Manila to seek arbitration.
Ramos was Philippines president from 1992 to 1998, when China occupied the submerged Mischief Reef.
(Reporting by Venus Wu; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Paul Tait and Christian Schmollinger)
Green.... This is my favor and lucky color
This one of 8/9 Tue.early morning sound good?
World | Tue Aug 9, 2016 2:30am EDT Related: WORLD, CHINA
Philippines envoy 'optimistic' about ice breaking China trip
HONG KONG | BY VENUS WU
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos speaks to journalists during a trip to Hong Kong, China after the Hague court's ruling over the maritime dispute in South China Sea, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos speaks to journalists during a trip to Hong Kong, China after the Hague court's ruling over the maritime dispute in South China Sea, August 9, 2016.
REUTERS/TYRONE SIU
Former Philippines President Fidel Ramos on Tuesday named the head of a Chinese government think-tank among the experts and officials he hoped to meet on a trip to rekindle ties with China soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea.
On July 12, an arbitration court in the Hague ruled that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there, infuriating China, which had dismissed the case.
"I've always been a very optimistic person, always looking for the best results," Ramos told reporters in Hong Kong. "But of course that also depends on the attitude of the Chinese officials."
Ramos gave no details of his itinerary or of those he planned to meet, except for Wu Shicun, who heads the National Institute for South China Sea Studies think-tank, based on China's southern island of Hainan.
Asked about others, such as China's former deputy minister for Foreign Affairs Fu Ying, Ramos said he did not know yet.
"They all have links with Beijing, because some of them are already retired but elevated to the parliament as chairman of this and that committee."
Ramos said he sought to improve economic and tourism links, such as by allowing "more fishing in the common fishing ground" of the Scarborough shoal in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
"The idea is to use the South China Sea as a place to save lives, but not to kill people or to destroy lives," he added.
China's 2012 seizure of the Scarborough Shoal, denying Philippine fishermen access, was among the factors that prompted Manila to seek arbitration.
But China has ignored the court's ruling that none of its reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits.
Ramos, 88, who described his role as an "icebreaker", is known for an impromptu duet of Elvis Presley's 'Love Me Tender' with former Chinese president Jiang Zemin at a 1996 banquet.
His trip represents "the first concrete step" in engagement for both sides and "could open a new chapter in settling disputes", China's state news agency, Xinhua, said in a commentary.
Ramos was Philippines president from 1992 to 1998, when China occupied the submerged Mischief Reef.
(Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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Thank you Gnoonster
World | Sat Aug 6, 2016 6:26am EDT Related: WORLD, CHINA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
China conducts 'combat patrols' over contested islands
Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters/File Photo
Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. U.S....
China's air force sent bombers and fighter jets on "combat patrols" near contested islands in the South China Sea, in a move a senior colonel said was part of an effort to normalize such drills and respond to security threats.
The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the disputed waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled last month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea.
The air force sent several H-6 bombers and Su-30 fighter jets to inspect the airspace around the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, Senior Colonel Shen Jinke of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force said, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The patrols included surveillance and refueling aircraft, Xinhua said, although it did not say when they occurred.
"The Air Force is organizing normalized South China Sea combat patrols, practising tactics ... increasing response capabilities to all kinds of security threats and safeguarding national sovereignty, security and maritime interests," Shen said.
China has refused to recognize the ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines.
A dispute over the shoal, 124 nautical miles northwest of the Philippines mainland, was one of Manila's main reasons for bringing international legal action against China in 2013.
Beijing has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries and Japan for the decision to be adhered to and has released pictures of aircraft flying over the shoal since the ruling.
China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stoking tension through its military patrols in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.
China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have rival claims in the South China Sea.
The United States has conducted freedom of navigation patrols close to Chinese-held islands, to Beijing's anger, while China has been bolstering its military presence there.
(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Ed Davies)
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This Saturdays new report beside Japan and China says something for china and Philipine. Any body understand what this means?
World | Sat Aug 6, 2016 1:38am EDT Related: WORLD, JAPAN, EAST CHINA SEA
Japan protests after China coastguard, fishing vessels sail near disputed islets
left2 of 2right
A group of disputed islands, Uotsuri island (top), Minamikojima (bottom) and Kitakojima, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China is seen in the East China Sea, in this photo taken by Kyodo September 2012. Mandatory credit.
REUTERS/KYODO/FILE PHOTO
left1 of 2right
left2 of 2right
left1 of 2right
Japan issued a new protest to Beijing on Saturday after Chinese coastguard ships and about 230 fishing vessels sailed close to what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around disputed islets in the East China Sea, Japan's foreign ministry said.
The latest incident comes amid heightened tensions in Asia, less than a month after an arbitration court in the Hague invalidated China's sweeping claims in the disputed South China Sea, in a case brought by the Philippines.
China has refused to recognize the ruling. Japan called on China to adhere to the verdict, which it said was binding, prompting warnings from Beijing to Tokyo not to interfere.
Three of the six Chinese coastguard ships that were in the so-called contiguous waters on Saturday appeared to be armed, Japan's Coast Guard said.
On Friday, a Japanese foreign ministry official said Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels entered what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around the islets.
Beijing claims the uninhabited, Tokyo-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and occasionally sends its coastguard vessels near them.
A senior Japanese foreign ministry official on Saturday issued a protest to a Chinese embassy official in Tokyo calling on the coastguard ships to leave the area immediately and condemning the action as a unilateral escalation of tensions, the ministry said.
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama on Friday summoned China's ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, to lodge a strong protest, the ministry said.
Chinese officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.
China on Friday accused Japan's new defense minister, Tomomi Inada, of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War Two.
Ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have been plagued by the territorial row, the legacy of Japans' wartime occupation of parts of China and regional rivalry.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Ed Davies)
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Next Friday will hit .10-.15 just for us because we dream it.
Dont trust so much stocks that they dont make SEC filings, most are scam. Beware.
gnooster, good post good report, thanks
Even on Pink sheets Company that releases SEC filings sounds good. I see this one 50-75 cents if not $1.00 by Oct. and then will sky if profit and sales are good and I believe it is good because the product works. Works only if the diabetic who takes it makes the right diet as well, which he likes his health.
Is this report any good?
WORLDPOST
The end of ASEAN?
07/31/2016 10:57 pm ET | Updated 44 minutes ago
Richard Javad Heydarian
Academic, policy adviser, and author of “Asia’s New Battlefield: US, China, and the Struggle for Western Pacific”
2016-08-01-1470020059-9574410-thediplomat_20150325_213943.jpg
“All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down,” Friedrich Nietzsche once claimed. Words do matter — and international diplomacy, they can sometimes spell the difference between neglectful chaos and principled order.
After securing a landmark legal victory against China in the South China Sea, the Philippines is struggling to amass regional support. As far as Southeast Asian countries’ official pronouncements are concerned, the verdict — which aligns maritime claims, particularly by China, with modern international law — never happened.
Though the ruling is binding under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, its enforcement is largely dependent on the international community’s commitment to ensuring compliance among concerned parties.
The recently concluded Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) revealed divisions rather than unity on the issue. After days of tense discussions among member countries, the regional body failed to come up with any meaningful statement on the Philippines’ arbitration case against China.
At best, Asean managed to come out with a communique, which essentially reiterated past diplomatic cliches on the necessity of negotiating a legally binding Code of Conduct and echoed key elements of the US-Asean Sunnylands summit earlier this year.
While this is not the first time that the regional body has struggled to assert any semblance of geopolitical heft, there is growing concern that Asean is fast fading into oblivion in key East Asian affairs. The regional body has failed to leave any meaningful imprint on one of the most urgent and potentially disastrous conflicts in modern history.
Where is the love?
For four decades, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) commendably established the foundations of a nascent security community in Southeast Asia, where the threat of war among neighboring states has teetered on the verge of impossibility. In the past two decades, the regional body has tirelessly sought to create a broadly peaceful, rule-based and inclusive regional security architecture.
Yet, the rise of China and its growing assertiveness isn’t only disturbing the regional security architecture, but also undermining the ASEAN’s internal cohesion and quest for centrality in East Asian affairs.
If ASEAN continues to fail to rise to the occasion, the South China Sea disputes will precariously descend into a full-fledged Sino-American great power rivalry and/or highly lopsided bilateral deals between Beijing and its far weaker South-east Asian neighbours.
Lacking regional backing, the Philippines is struggling to translate its de jure victory into de facto gains on the ground in accordance with international law. There seems to be a growing feeling in China that the diplomatic tide has turned, rendering the Philippines arbitration case as inconsequential as possible.
As far as regional integration is concerned, dynamism is a hallmark of survival and internal coherence. Asean’s shortcomings lie in its institutional design. The decades-long “Asean way” of consensus-based decision making has handed de facto veto power to each member country.
Proposals for adopting an “Asean Minus X” or Qualified Majority voting modality on sensitive politico-security issues are yet to gain enough traction, but have become more urgent than ever.
In principle, this should not be a source of concern, provided member states are committed to agreed-upon principles and are willing as well as capable of transcending parochial interest to empower collective bargaining power.
In reality, however, the Asean unanimity-based decision-making tradition has created institutional paralysis, preventing the regional body from achieving any modicum of unity on sensitive geopolitical issues such as the South China Sea.
Feckless Regionalism
Since 2012, Asean has suffered repeated diplomatic setbacks, mainly due to certain member countries’ unwillingness to stand up to China, which has, in turn, stepped up its efforts to win loyalty among poor and dependent South-east Asian countries by offering large-scale loans.
The regional body’s role as the engine of broader integration in the Asia-Pacific theatre has also come under question. Last year, even the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus failed to issue a final statement, thanks to the unwillingness of certain regional states to place maritime disputes on the table.
Earlier this year, Asean set a new (low) precedent when it withdrew a joint statement right after a special meeting in Kunming, Yunnan, between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his South-east Asian counterparts. Instead of convincing China to scale back its assertiveness in adjacent waters, the regional body found itself staring into an abyss of diplomatic impertinence.
Once again, Asean fell into disarray because it could not secure unanimity on the South China Sea issue. Shortly after, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen went so far as lambasting other Asean countries for making his country walk a diplomatic tightrope, while dismissing the Philippines’ arbitration case against China as a “political conspiracy”.
One cannot also ignore the palpable impact of China’s intimidation tactics, with no less than Chinese President Xi Jinping warning that the “Chinese people don’t fear trouble” when it comes to securing territorial integrity in adjacent waters. After conducting a week-long naval exercise in disputed waters ahead of the arbitral award on July 12, China deployed a nuclear-capable H-6K bomber over the contested Scarborough Shoal, which lies just above 100 nautical miles off the Philippine coast.
It did not take long before the Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army also unveiled its latest military hardware, including its much-touted “carrier-killer” anti-ship ballistic missiles. In response, America as well as major Asean members collectively called for patience and calm rather than compliance with the arbitration ruling.
Against this troubled backdrop, the latest meeting among Asean foreign ministers fell short of producing any meaningful diplomatic outcome. There was neither a mention of the Philippines’ historic arbitration case nor any breakthrough in negotiating a legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
Member states also could not agree on implementing provisional and urgent measures, such as an immediate freeze on reclamation activities and other forms of provocative behaviour, which violate the spirit and letter of the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, as well as the Six Point Principles on the maritime disputes.
For now, it seems that not only has China managed to tame the response of the international community, but Asean itself also has missed a historic opportunity to reassert any semblance of relevance in the South China Sea.
Failing to embrace wholesale institutional innovation, the only way forward is ‘ASEAN minilateralism‘, where likeminded and influential countries in the region coordinate their diplomatic and strategic calculations vis-à-vis the South China Sea disputes.
Key ASEAN countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia can, on a bilateral basis and on individual basis, release statements that communicate their disappointment with China’s activities in the area and communicate their willingness to step up their ‘minilateral’ cooperation if China doesn’t relent and respect the spirit, if not the letter, of the verdict.
An earlier version of this piece appeared on The Straits Times.
Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Richeydarian
More: China South China Sea The Hague Asean Unclos
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World | Thu Jul 28, 2016 3:11pm EDT Related: WORLD, CHINA, RUSSIA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
China says to hold drills with Russia in South China Sea
Any good for us this one on 7/28 ?
China and Russia will hold "routine" naval exercises in the South China Sea in September, China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday, adding that the drills were aimed at strengthening their cooperation and were not aimed at any other country.
The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the contested waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled this month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticized its environmental destruction there.
China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in the case.
"This is a routine exercise between the two armed forces, aimed at strengthening the developing China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership," China's defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a regular monthly news conference.
"The exercise is not directed against third parties."
China and Russia are veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council, and have held similar views on many major issues such as the crisis in Syria, putting them at odds with the United States and Western Europe.
Last year, they held joint military drills in the Sea of Japan and the Mediterranean.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest played down the significance of the exercises even though he conceded that the South China Sea was "a sensitive diplomatic topic right now".
"I don't know what exercises they are planning, but in the same way the United States and China have a military-to-military relationship, I'm not surprised that Russia and China are seeking to build upon their military-to-military relationship as well," he told a regular briefing.
China has recently taken part in U.S.-led multinational naval drills in the Pacific and a U.S. defense official said he did not expect the China-Russia exercises to affect U.S. military activity or behavior in the South China Sea.
“We're not concerned about the safety of U.S. vessels in the region as long as interactions with the Chinese remain safe and professional, which has been the case in most cases,” the official said.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stoking tension in the region through its military patrols, and of taking sides in the dispute.
The United States has sought to assert its right to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea with its patrols and denies taking sides in the territorial disputes.
Russia has been a strong backer of China's stance on the arbitration case, which was brought by the Philippines.
Yang said China and Russia were comprehensive strategic partners and had already held many exercises this year.
"These drills deepen mutual trust and expand cooperation, raise the ability to jointly deal with security threats, and benefit the maintenance of regional and global peace and stability," he said.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by John Ruwitch and Brenda Goh; Editing by Robert Birsel and James Dalgleish)
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Hammer1, I hope and I wish
Does any one knows when the R/S will take place? As of may 13/2016 There was 599 million O/S shares and 800 million Authorized, last r/s 1/8/2016 1:120. Be careful people don't believe everything that you hear or read, and if it sounds too good to be true it probably isn't true. And in order to buy pink sheets stock better contact your broker. On this one I lost $4.000 from the r/s I bought again last week at .015 and I feel I am over. Do your own DD before you invest on any pennies stock mostly on pink sheets. Good luck.
Was empty the self on most Walmarts from the first shipping, today restocked
World | Tue Jul 26, 2016 4:51pm EDT Related: WORLD, CHINA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
U.S. says backs resumption of China-Philippines talks on South China Sea
VIENTIANE | BY SIMON WEBB AND MANUEL MOGATO
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he supported the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, following an international court ruling against Beijing over the dispute earlier this month.
China did not participate in and has refused to accept the July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, based in The Hague, in which U.S. ally Manila won an emphatic legal victory.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi had asked Kerry to lend his support for bilateral talks to restart between Manila and Beijing in a meeting between the two in the Laos capital of Vientiane on Monday.
"The foreign minister said the time has come to move away from public tensions and turn the page," Kerry told a news conference. "And we agree with that ... no claimant should be acting in a way that is provocative, no claimant should take steps that wind up raising tensions."
The court ruling has exacerbated tensions between the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which are pulled between their desire to assert their sovereignty while fostering ties with an increasingly assertive Beijing.
China scored a diplomatic victory on Monday when ASEAN dropped any reference to the ruling from a joint statement at the end of the bloc's foreign ministers' meeting in the face of resolute objections from Cambodia, China's closest ASEAN ally.
Kerry, who was due to travel to the Philippines later on Tuesday, said he would encourage Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to engage in dialogue and negotiations with China when the two meet in Manila on Wednesday.
Duterte has already appointed former President Fidel Ramos to visit Beijing and begin informal talks to resolve the dispute, a Philippine Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday.
Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told reporters in Vientiane that the dispute was not between China and the United States but between China and the Philippines.
"We would like to pursue bilateral relationships in so far as the peaceful resolution of the dispute is concerned that is between the China and the Philippines. The others are not concerned with that dispute," Yasay told reporters.
PEACE AND STABILITY
Wang, who met Kerry on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering in Laos, said on Tuesday he would welcome Ramos' visit.
The Chinese foreign minister also told his U.S. counterpart that China and ASEAN had agreed the dispute should get back on to the "correct" track of being resolved by direct talks with the parties concerned, according to a foreign ministry statement released on Tuesday.
China "hopes the United States side takes actual steps to support the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines, and supports the efforts of China and ASEAN to maintain regional peace and stability", Wang said.
Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stoking tensions in the region through its military patrols, and of taking sides in the dispute, accusations Washington denies.
In an address to foreign ministers, including Kerry, at the gathering in Vientiane, Wang criticized the United States, Japan and Australia for a joint statement on the issue they released late on Monday.
The statement "continued to hype up the South China Sea issue and play up tensions," he said. "Now is the time we will test whether you are protectors of peace or agitators."
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, a senior U.S. administration official said at the end of a visit to China by National Security Adviser Susan Rice that she had emphasized all parties should take steps to reduce tensions and use the ruling to reinvigorate regional diplomacy.
Rice also told Chinese officials, including a top military officer, that U.S. military operations were designed to contribute to peace and stability, including in the South China Sea, the U.S. official said.
"Those operations are lawful, they will continue, they've been longstanding, and again they're designed to impart confidence and stability," he added.
Kerry had said earlier that China's dismissal of the international court ruling as "illegitimate" presented a challenge when the international community, including the United States, sees it as legally binding and a matter of law.
"So we still have a task ahead of us ... which is to try to work going forward to make sure that we are resolving the issues through diplomacy and the rule of law," he said.
Admiral John Richardson, the head of U.S. naval operations, said at a news conference in Washington that he would be very concerned if China were to declare an air defense zone over the South China Sea or carry out reclamation activity around the Scarborough Shoal after the international court ruling.
Richardson said he raised the issue with Chinese officials during his visit to China last week.
(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Michael Martina in Vientiane and Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Idrees Ali in Washington; editing by Alex Richardson and Richard Chang)
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Those who lives close or visit regular the Walmart check the shelf where the Glucose Health is. Are less and less each time?
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GLUC is the only pinksheets stock that they release SEC Filings on time. That means soon will be on OTCBB with also good news.
And this is today's (Saturday)
World | Sat Jul 23, 2016 8:26am EDT Related: WORLD, CHINA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
Kerry to urge ASEAN to find diplomatic ways to ease South China Sea tensions
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will urge Southeast Asian nations in meetings in Laos next week to explore diplomatic ways to ease tensions with China over the South China Sea following an international court ruling denying China's claims.
Kerry travels to Laos' capital Vientiane on Monday for meetings of foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of South East Asia Nations where tensions between China and several ASEAN members, in particular the Philippines and Vietnam, over the South China Sea is expected to dominate talks.
"The Secretary will reinforce our hope that ... the parties will now turn to constructively engaging in a effort to find diplomatic ways to peacefully interact in the South China Sea," a senior U.S. official told reporters ahead of the trip.
The annual ASEAN gathering will be the first since the July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in a claim brought by the Philippines that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea.
China has angrily rejected the verdict and pledged to pursue claims that conflict with those of several smaller neighbours. China has also blamed the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a vital waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.
Citing international rules, the United States has conducted freedom-of-navigation patrols close to Chinese-held islands where China has been bolstering its military presence, which has exacerbated tensions.
The U.S. official said it was important that ASEAN members "speak out and represent what common ground they found on issues", including the South China Sea, as they negotiate wording for a joint statement at the end of the meeting.
Laos has close political and economic ties with China
The official added: "I'd put a little more value on the conversation that happens among the ministers themselves than I do in the often lengthy and torturous prose that is pulled together by the staff afterwards."
Kerry will also discuss economics and trade, efforts to combat climate change, counter-terrorism and North Korea during his meetings.
The ASEAN meeting is one of the few occasions where the U.S. secretary of state and senior North Korean officials are in the same room. The 27-nation ASEAN Regional Forum includes the United States, North Korea, Russia, Singapore, Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Australia, China, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Asked whether Kerry plans to meet his North Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the meeting, the U.S. official said: "Other than the ordinary milling around and passing in the hall there are no plans for a meeting between the secretary and the North Korean foreign minister."
North Korea has pressed ahead with its nuclear and missile development despite increasing international pressure. Earlier this month, Washington imposed sanctions against the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, for human rights abuses, a move Pyongyang called a "declaration of war."
"The North Korean foreign minister will again hear not only from the secretary of state but also from others in the room, that the world is not prepared to accept North Korea as a nuclear state," the U.S. official said.
The international community was prepared to pursue talks with Pyongyang "but not if North Korea continues to threaten and wilfully flout its international obligations and its own commitments," the official added.
(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Robert Birsel/Jeremy Gaunt)
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