“Conflict Between China And Vietnam Is Imminent”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-19/%E2%80%9Cconflict-between-china-and-vietnam-imminent-china-piles-troops-tanks-artillery-and-

China Piles Troops, Tanks, Artillery And APCs Near Vietnam Border

A Bradley Attack Vehicle troop transport of the Chinese military, is seen in Kunming, Yunnan, in Southwest China. Chinese netizens have posted several photos showing the Chinese military moving toward the Vietnamese border. (Weibo.com)

Chinese netizens have been posting photographs of the large movement of the People’s Liberation Army, many of them showing Chinese troops in full combat gear heading to the local train station in Chongzuo, along with military vehicles.

 

One netizen said the Chinese military was taking the train from the Chongzuo station to Pingxiang City, which shares a 60-mile border with Vietnam. The netizen said that the Huu Nghi Border Gate to Vietnam is also now closed.

Why is China doing this? Simple: “One netizen, with the username Zhiyuan0703, echoed a common sentiment on the Chinese social media site, “Conflict between China and Vietnam is imminent.

And just in case the US gets any ideas to support its one time foe, China has already taken measures:

Fang Fenghui, the Chinese military’s chief of the general staff, spoke with reporters at the Pentagon on May 15, alongside U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey.

 

Fang defended China’s oil drilling in disputed waters with Vietnam. He also warned the United States on taking sides, saying through a Chinese translator “there is possibility that these issues could affect or disturb the relationship between the two countries and two militaries.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney reiterated the U.S. stance on China’s oil rig, however, during a May 15 press briefing.

He said China’s oil rig, which the Chinese regime has accompanied with “numerous government vessels” is a “provocative act and it raises tensions in the region, and by raising tensions makes it more difficult to resolve claims over disputed territory in a manner that supports peace and stability in the region.”

Carney said the United States takes no position on the territorial claims, but, “We do take a position on the conduct of the claimants who must resolve their disputes peacefully, without intimidation, without coercion, and in accordance with international law.”

Regarding China’s oil rig and the tensions that have formed around it, Carney said, “We consider that act provocative and we consider it one that undermines the goal that we share, which is a peaceful resolution of these disputes and general stability in the region.”

Chinese troops carrying anti-tank weapons are seen marching in Guangxi Province, near the border with Vietnam. Local netizens report a strong smell of gunpowder. (Weibo.com)

A convoy of Chinese military vehicles are seen in Fangchenggang City in Guangxi, near the Vietnam border. (Weibo.com)

China considers ‘non-peaceful’ measures against Vietnam and the Philippines

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/china-considers-non-peaceful-measures-against-vietnam-and-the-philippines

 

The South China Sea has been a highly disputed area with many nations staking claims to various islands and atolls. — Reuters pic

The South China Sea has been a highly disputed area with many nations staking claims to various islands and atolls. — Reuters pic –

May 16, 2014

BEIJING, May 16 — A state-run Chinese newspaper backed the use of “non-peaceful” measures against Vietnam and the Philippines today, as it considered the possibility of war in the strategically vital South China Sea.

Vietnam is experiencing its worst anti-China unrest in decades following Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig to disputed waters, with at least one Chinese worker killed and more than 100 injured.

“The South China Sea disputes should be settled in a peaceful manner, but that doesn’t mean China can’t resort to non-peaceful measures in the face of provocation from Vietnam and the Philippines,” the Global Times newspaper, which often takes a nationalistic tone, wrote in an editorial.

“Many people believe that a forced war would convince some countries of China’s sincerely peaceful intentions,” the paper added.

Beijing claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, including areas close to the coasts of other littoral states, and the Philippines has provoked its fury by seeking United Nations arbitration in the dispute between the two.

China’s foreign ministry has condemned both Manila and Hanoi, and accused Vietnam’s leaders on yesterday of “indulgence and connivance” with anti-China demonstrators for failing to rein in the protests. — AFP

 

Philippines rebuilds 6 months after Haiyan as typhoon season looms

https://www.devex.com/news/philippines-rebuilds-6-months-after-haiyan-as-typhoon-season-looms-83439

A man tries to rebuild his house that was ruined when Typhoon Haiyan hit Eastern Samar in Novermber 2013.

Photo by: Plan Asia

Six months ago today, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strong storms ever recorded, slammed into the Philippines. 14.1 million people were affected, another 4.1 million displaced, and the losses and damages reached an estimated $14 billion dollars. Over 6,200 people died, and more than 1,000 are still missing.

The world watched as Haiyan tallied horrifying statistics on the extent of devastation and destruction in one of the world’s most vulnerable nations to natural disasters. In fact, when the typhoon struck, the Philippines was still reeling from the effects of Typhoon Bopha at the end of 2012 and a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked the island of Bohol just a month before Haiyan.

Even now, as we take stock of the incredible work that has been done in a very short time, typhoon season is about to start for a nation that suffers about 20 such violent storms each year. If a major typhoon were to hit the Haiyan-affected areas now, we could be looking at a potentially much worse humanitarian situation.

The experience of Haiyan sealed what many development organizations have been asserting for years: that disaster risk is most real to the poor, marginalized and vulnerable sectors of society, including women and children. These are the people who lack the social safety nets and capacities to protect themselves and recover, and are therefore left to suffer the most during disasters, when they face the higher risk of losing whatever is left of their belongings – if not their own lives. In the case of Haiyan, this translated to losing 2.6 million of the country’s poorest households, and leaving 5.9 million children without a home. [Read more…]

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