This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/world/asia/deal-could-reduce-chance-of-conflict-in-contested-pacific-seas.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Pacific Rim Deal Could Reduce Chances of Conflict in Contested Seas | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| TAIPEI, Taiwan — A naval code of conduct approved by more than 20 nations around the Pacific, including China, Japan and the United States, could reduce the risk of accidental encounters spiraling into conflict, experts said. But Beijing’s firm rejection Wednesday of President Obama’s comments about islands claimed by both China and Japan underscored the maritime tensions that continue to trouble Asia. | TAIPEI, Taiwan — A naval code of conduct approved by more than 20 nations around the Pacific, including China, Japan and the United States, could reduce the risk of accidental encounters spiraling into conflict, experts said. But Beijing’s firm rejection Wednesday of President Obama’s comments about islands claimed by both China and Japan underscored the maritime tensions that continue to trouble Asia. |
| The Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea was endorsed Tuesday by naval officials from the United States, China and Japan and other states at a symposium in the northeastern Chinese port city of Qingdao, China’s state-run Xinhua news service reported. | The Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea was endorsed Tuesday by naval officials from the United States, China and Japan and other states at a symposium in the northeastern Chinese port city of Qingdao, China’s state-run Xinhua news service reported. |
| The agreement comes at a time of growing concern about territorial disputes between China and some of its neighbors. China claims islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. Several countries, including China, Vietnam and the Philippines, have overlapping claims in the South China Sea. | The agreement comes at a time of growing concern about territorial disputes between China and some of its neighbors. China claims islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. Several countries, including China, Vietnam and the Philippines, have overlapping claims in the South China Sea. |
| Mr. Obama, who arrived in Japan on Wednesday to begin an Asia trip that will also include South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, told a Japanese newspaper that the disputed islands fall under the United States-Japanese mutual defense treaty. “And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands,” he said in a written response to The Yomiuri Shimbun. | Mr. Obama, who arrived in Japan on Wednesday to begin an Asia trip that will also include South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, told a Japanese newspaper that the disputed islands fall under the United States-Japanese mutual defense treaty. “And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands,” he said in a written response to The Yomiuri Shimbun. |
| A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said Wednesday that China was “firmly opposed to treating the U.S.-Japan security treaty as applying to the Diaoyu Islands.” | |
| “The United States should respect the facts, in a responsible manner abide by its commitment not to choose sides over a territorial sovereignty issue, be cautious on words and deeds and earnestly play a constructive role for peace and stability in the region,” Mr. Qin said during a regularly scheduled news conference. | “The United States should respect the facts, in a responsible manner abide by its commitment not to choose sides over a territorial sovereignty issue, be cautious on words and deeds and earnestly play a constructive role for peace and stability in the region,” Mr. Qin said during a regularly scheduled news conference. |
| Encounters between military vessels in the region have triggered concerns about the risk of escalation. | Encounters between military vessels in the region have triggered concerns about the risk of escalation. |
| Last year, a Chinese Navy vessel cut within about 100 yards of the Cowpens, an American cruiser that had been monitoring China’s aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in the South China Sea. | Last year, a Chinese Navy vessel cut within about 100 yards of the Cowpens, an American cruiser that had been monitoring China’s aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in the South China Sea. |
| Chinese and Japanese vessels in the East China Sea have also had several potentially dangerous encounters in recent years. In 2013, Japan said Chinese warships used radar that helps to target weapons on a Japanese military vessel and a helicopter near the disputed islands. In an interview on Tuesday, the same day the rules were approved, Adm. Wu Shengli, the commander in chief of the Chinese Navy, said the tensions with Japan remained serious and the risk of incidents at sea could not be excluded. | Chinese and Japanese vessels in the East China Sea have also had several potentially dangerous encounters in recent years. In 2013, Japan said Chinese warships used radar that helps to target weapons on a Japanese military vessel and a helicopter near the disputed islands. In an interview on Tuesday, the same day the rules were approved, Adm. Wu Shengli, the commander in chief of the Chinese Navy, said the tensions with Japan remained serious and the risk of incidents at sea could not be excluded. |
| “Nothing can be excluded,” Admiral Wu said in the interview with Phoenix Television, a satellite service based in Hong Kong. “That’s what we often call accidental discharge when cleaning a gun. The gun is an objective fact, but what we need to study is how to avoid accidental discharge when cleaning a gun.” | “Nothing can be excluded,” Admiral Wu said in the interview with Phoenix Television, a satellite service based in Hong Kong. “That’s what we often call accidental discharge when cleaning a gun. The gun is an objective fact, but what we need to study is how to avoid accidental discharge when cleaning a gun.” |
| Military analysts say the lack of formal “rules of the road” for encounters between vessels of major navies in the Pacific increases the risk that an incident at sea could escalate sharply, possibly causing loss of life and triggering diplomatic crises. A code on interactions between warships could help reduce unintended conflict. In the United States Navy, codes of conduct are reviewed by watch officers on ships, including on the bridge and the combat information center, as part of shipboard training to help avoid incidents at sea. | Military analysts say the lack of formal “rules of the road” for encounters between vessels of major navies in the Pacific increases the risk that an incident at sea could escalate sharply, possibly causing loss of life and triggering diplomatic crises. A code on interactions between warships could help reduce unintended conflict. In the United States Navy, codes of conduct are reviewed by watch officers on ships, including on the bridge and the combat information center, as part of shipboard training to help avoid incidents at sea. |
| “Over all I think it’s a very positive development, but it remains to be seen how effectively it will be implemented,” Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said of the code of conduct approved Tuesday. | “Over all I think it’s a very positive development, but it remains to be seen how effectively it will be implemented,” Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said of the code of conduct approved Tuesday. |
| The rules would help countries “effectively manage and control maritime crises, reduce misjudgments, and avoid incidents of mutual interference and collisions when on the high seas,” Zhang Junshe, a researcher with the Chinese Navy, told The Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military. | The rules would help countries “effectively manage and control maritime crises, reduce misjudgments, and avoid incidents of mutual interference and collisions when on the high seas,” Zhang Junshe, a researcher with the Chinese Navy, told The Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military. |
| “I’m an optimist, I think it’s significant,” said M. Taylor Fravel, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies international security and territorial disputes in Asia. “It appears to specify in some detail standard operating procedures for ships and airplanes when they come into close contact with each other. Even though it’s not legally binding, if the navies and air forces — navies in particular — choose to abide by it, it will still have achieved the intended effect of reducing risks, misperceptions, inadvertent escalation, etc.” | “I’m an optimist, I think it’s significant,” said M. Taylor Fravel, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies international security and territorial disputes in Asia. “It appears to specify in some detail standard operating procedures for ships and airplanes when they come into close contact with each other. Even though it’s not legally binding, if the navies and air forces — navies in particular — choose to abide by it, it will still have achieved the intended effect of reducing risks, misperceptions, inadvertent escalation, etc.” |
| The Western Pacific Naval Symposium had discussed a code on sea encounters for more than a decade. China had objected to previous versions over concerns about foreign military vessels in its exclusive economic zone, waters within 200 nautical miles from a nation’s coast. | The Western Pacific Naval Symposium had discussed a code on sea encounters for more than a decade. China had objected to previous versions over concerns about foreign military vessels in its exclusive economic zone, waters within 200 nautical miles from a nation’s coast. |
| The code endorsed Tuesday is nonbinding and is a less substantial protocol than earlier bilateral agreements on incidents at sea, said Sam Bateman, a research fellow at the Australian National Center for Ocean Resources and Security at the University of Wollongong and a retired Royal Australian Navy commodore. | The code endorsed Tuesday is nonbinding and is a less substantial protocol than earlier bilateral agreements on incidents at sea, said Sam Bateman, a research fellow at the Australian National Center for Ocean Resources and Security at the University of Wollongong and a retired Royal Australian Navy commodore. |
| Mr. Bateman said that he had not seen the final version of the code but that previous drafts were “not much more than sort of a set of principles for exchanging messages and keeping clear of each other,” Mr. Bateman said. | Mr. Bateman said that he had not seen the final version of the code but that previous drafts were “not much more than sort of a set of principles for exchanging messages and keeping clear of each other,” Mr. Bateman said. |
| Naval chiefs in Qingdao praised the agreement. Admiral Wu called the new rules a “document of milestone significance,” The Liberation Army Daily reported. | Naval chiefs in Qingdao praised the agreement. Admiral Wu called the new rules a “document of milestone significance,” The Liberation Army Daily reported. |
| Adm. Harry B. Harris, commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, said the code was “an important step forward to reduce tension on the sea in the region,” the state-run China Daily reported. | Adm. Harry B. Harris, commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, said the code was “an important step forward to reduce tension on the sea in the region,” the state-run China Daily reported. |