Peaceful Solution News

China is behaving like a "bully" with its militarisation of islands in the South China Sea, Republican U.S. Senator John McCain said on Tuesday, activity Washington must confront with its allies to find a peaceful solution. In a speech in Sydney, McCain said China was asserting itself globally, best illustrated by militarising artificial islands in the South China Sea, a claim repeatedly rejected by Beijing. "I think it is very clear that the Chinese by filling in these islands are militarising them and that is in violation of international law," the Arizona senator said. McCain's comments are set to escalate tensions between the United States and China just days before delegates from both countries are scheduled to attend a regional security conference in Singapore.

China said on Tuesday it had "irrefutable" sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea after the White House vowed to defend "international territories" in the strategic waterway. White House spokesman Sean Spicer in his comments on Monday signaled a sharp departure from years of cautious U.S. handling of China's assertive pursuit of territorial claims in Asia. "The U.S. is going to make sure that we protect our interests there," Spicer said when asked if Trump agreed with comments by his secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson. On Jan. 11, Tillerson said China should not be allowed access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea.

Less than a fortnight after forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar swept into four of Libya's oil ports, tankers are loading, production has jumped, and momentum has shifted firmly in the divisive former general's favour. For Haftar's opponents, and for Western powers, the move on the ports was alarming. Haftar and his backers in eastern Libya have been in a stand-off for months with a unity government in Tripoli, blocking any parliamentary vote to endorse it and challenging the U.N.-mediated deal to unify Libya. How Haftar and his allies will use control of the country's major oil exports - whether to leverage political advantage under that U.N. deal, or to extend military control across Libya - is still uncertain. But risks to stability are clear.

Western countries including the United States, France and Britain said in a joint statement on Wednesday they were concerned by mounting tension around the Zueitina oil terminal in Libya. Washington, Paris, London and the governments of Germany, Spain and Italy urged a return to government control of all oil and gas installations and called on all parties "to abstain from any act of hostility and avoid all actions that could damage or disrupt energy infrastructure". Zueitina is one of three eastern oil ports blockaded by Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG). The PFG has signed a deal to reopen the ports with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, but forces loyal to a separate government based in eastern Libya have threatened to block a resumption of exports.

Satellite images show new missiles on Woody Island; China says entitled to necessary self defence facilities. China has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of the disputed islands it controls in the South China Sea, Taiwan and U.S. officials said, ratcheting up tensions even as U.S. President Barack Obama urged restraint in the region. Taiwan defence ministry spokesman Major General David Lo told Reuters on Wednesday the missile batteries had been set up on Woody Island. The island is part of the Paracels chain, under Chinese control for more than 40 years but also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. A U.S. defence official also confirmed the "apparent deployment" of the missiles, first reported by Fox News.

French oil major Total has moved all expatriate staff based in Tripoli out of Libya following heavy fighting at the North African country's biggest airport in recent days, a spokeswoman said on Friday. "Following what happened at the airport, we have pre-emptively relocated expatriate staff based in Tripoli away from Libya," the spokeswoman told Reuters. She declined to say how many staff had been affected or their destination, citing security reasons. Local workers remain in Libya and there are still expatriates working on the offshore fields, she said. Since 2013, Total has moved some of its Libya-based staff to Malta following fighting in the Arab nation.

Technical problems have delayed the reopening of Libya's eastern Zueitina oil export terminal after the government reached a deal with rebels to end an eight-month blockade of the port, a minister said on Sunday. Two weeks ago, the Tripoli government reached an agreement with rebels in the restive east to end their occupation of four oil ports which had halted vital exports. Under the plan, the Hariga and Zueitina ports were due to open immediately while the larger Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals would resume oil exports within a month. But justice minister Salah al-Merghani said Hariga port located in Tobruk in the far east would be the only one to start operations due to technical problems at Zueitina.