Lu Kang News

The U.S. military said one of its warships sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal claimed by China in the South China Sea on Sunday, angering Beijing at a time of tense ties between the world's two biggest economies.The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and Taiwan.China struck a more aggressive tone in its trade war with the United States on Friday. The tough talk capped a week that saw China unveil new retaliatory tariffs in response to a U.S.

A U.S. Navy destroyer this week sailed near the Scarborough Shoal, a disputed lagoon claimed by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Saturday, and Beijing vowed to take “necessary measures” to protect what it said was its sovereignty. China’s foreign ministry said USS Hopper missile destroyer came within 12 nautical miles off Huangyan island, better known as the Scarborough Shoal and subject to a rival claim by the Philippines, a historic ally of the United States. It was the latest U.S.

Japan’s defense minister criticized China on Monday for sailing an advanced stealthy nuclear submarine close to disputed islands claimed by Japan and China, saying the action had stoked tension. The submarine, which Japan detected in the East China Sea, was a 110 meter-long Shang-class vessel, which is able to dive deeper and for longer than older boats and is armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defence. “Operating a submerged submarine close to another country’s territory goes against the norms of international rules…

Two bodies, black box recovered from tanker before sinking; Iran says remaining 29 crew, passengers presumed dead. A stricken Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea on Sunday in the worst oil ship disaster in decades has produced a large oil slick, Chinese media and Japanese authorities said on Monday, as worries grew over damage to the marine ecosystem. The tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608) had been adrift and ablaze after crashing into the freighter CF Crystal (IMO:9497050) on Jan. 6. Strong winds had pushed it away from the Chinese coast, where the incident happened, and into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Japan Coast Guard said oil had spread over an area 13 km (8.1 miles) long and 11 km (6.8 miles) wide…

A stricken Iranian oil tanker continued exploding on Friday, hampering rescue efforts, Chinese state media reported, as Japan's Coast Guard said the ship drifted away from the Chinese coast and into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The ship, which has been ablaze for almost a week since it collided with another vessel on Saturday night in the East China Sea, was about 286 km (178 miles) northwest of Sokkozaki on the island of Amami Oshima as of 0700 GMT on Friday, the Japan Coast Guard said in a statement.

Body of crew member found on board; casualty might be worst tanker oil spill since 1991 and concerns grow that tanker may explode, sink. Rescue crews wrestled to bring a blaze on an Iranian oil tanker off China's east coast under control on Monday as fire raged for a second day following a collision with a grain ship, while the body of one of the 32 missing crew members was found on aboard. Concerns were growing that the tanker, which hit a freight ship on Saturday night in the East China Sea and burst into flames, may explode and sink, the official China Central Television (CCTV) said on Monday, citing experts on the rescue team. Poor weather continued to hamper the rescue work, Lu Kang, a spokesman at China's foreign ministry, told a regular news briefing.

A U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors. China said its warships had warned the U.S. ship and it lodged "stern representations" with the United States. China said it remained resolutely opposed to so-called freedom of navigation operations. The U.S.

China on Monday welcomed U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' suggestion that diplomacy should be the priority in the South China Sea, and that major U.S. military action was not being considered to contend with China's assertive behaviour there. Mattis, speaking in Tokyo on Saturday, blamed China for "shredding the trust of nations in the region", but also played down any need for U.S. military manoeuvres in the disputed waters of the South China Sea and instead called for open lines of communication. The comments, his most complete on the issue to date, came after analysts had said other remarks made by President Donald Trump's administration had suggested the possibility of U.S. military action, or even a naval blockade.

Singapore welcomes Hong Kong pledge on handling of dispute. Singapore's defence minister on Monday said the nine armoured vehicles seized in Hong Kong could not be detained or confiscated, but that he welcomed Hong Kong's pledge for the dispute to be handled in line with its laws. Hong Kong customs seized the troop carriers in November as they were being shipped to Singapore from Taiwan after military exercises on the island that Beijing regards as a breakaway province, sparking tension between Singapore and China. Beijing, which regained sovereignty over the former British colony of Hong Kong in 1997, then warned countries against maintaining military ties with Taiwan. The vehicles were Singapore property, said Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, answering questions in parliament.

Chinese ships are no longer at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and Philippine boats can resume fishing, the Philippine defence minister said on Friday, calling the Chinese departure a "welcome development". Philippine fishermen can access the shoal unimpeded for the first time in four years, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, capping off a startling turnaround in ties since his country rattled China by challenging its maritime claims at an international tribunal. The departure of the Chinese coast guard ships comes after President Rodrigo Duterte's high-profile visit to Beijing and his repeated requests for China to end its blockade of the shoal, a tranquil lagoon rich in fish stocks.

Unimpeded access for first time in 4 yrs. Ships' departure follows Philippine president's visit to China. Chinese ships are no longer at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and Philippine boats can resume fishing, the Philippine defence minister said on Friday, calling the Chinese departure a "welcome development". Philippine fishermen could access the shoal unimpeded for the first time in four years, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, capping off a startling turnaround in ties since his country rattled China in 2013 by challenging its maritime claims at an international tribunal. The departure of the Chinese coastguard comes after President Rodrigo Duterte's high-profile visit to Beijing and follows his repeated requests for China to end its blockade of the shoal…

The U.S. Navy destroyer that sailed near Chinese-claimed islands in the South China Sea last week was under orders from the Third Fleet headquarters in San Diego, a first aimed at bolstering U.S. maritime power in the region, two sources said. The USS Decatur on Friday challenged China's "excessive maritime claims" near the Paracel Islands, part of a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which Beijing has territorial disputes with its neighbours. It was the first time such a freedom of navigation operation has been conducted without the Japan-based Seventh Fleet in command and was a test of changes aimed to allow the U.S. Navy to conduct maritime operations on two fronts in Asia at the same time, two sources told Reuters. The sources spoke on condition that they were not identified.

The Philippines' territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea has not caused Manila to rebalance diplomatic ties with either its ally, the United States, or neighbouring China, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Wednesday. An arbitration court in the Hague infuriated China in July by ruling that China had no historical title over the South China Sea and that it had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with various actions there. "We want to make close friendship with China. It does not mean that we'll weaken our friendship with the United States," Yasay told Reuters during a break in a meeting of the senate foreign relations committee. On Tuesday evening, President Rodrigo Duterte said he expects talks with China over the maritime dispute within a year.

China's coastguard has prevented Filipino boats from fishing around the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal, Philippine officials said on Friday, after Beijing kept a promise to ignore a court ruling voiding its vast South China Sea claims. 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. Military officials and fishermen in northwest province of Pangasinan said Chinese coastguard vessels remained in place at Scarborough and were still preventing fishermen from entering the shoal's lagoon. Many boats had stayed away until the situation was clearer, officials said.

China said on Thursday it had issued a formal protest after Australia announced it would continue to exercise its right to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea following a court ruling against China's claims. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague concluded this week that China had no historic claim to the waters and it had violated the Philippines' economic and sovereign rights. China rejected the ruling, having declined to participate in the case saying the court had no jurisdiction. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop urged all South China Sea claimants to resolve their disputes peacefully, saying Australia would keep exercising its international rights to freedom of navigation and overflight, and support the right of others to do the same.

China expressed thanks on Tuesday for the dozens of countries it says have offered support for its position on a case brought by the Philippines over Chinese claims in the South China Sea, saying they are speaking out to uphold justice. China has stepped up its rhetoric ahead of an expected ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the Philippine case. China refuses to recognise the case and says all disputes should be resolved through bilateral talks. The Chinese government says more than 40 countries have offered support for its position, the latest being the African nations of Sierra Leone and Kenya. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said certain unidentified countries had been trying to blacken China's name over the South China Sea…

China scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday as a U.S. navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea, a patrol China denounced as an illegal threat to peace which only went to show its defence installations in the area were necessary. Guided missile destroyer the USS William P. Lawrence travelled within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef, U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban said. The so-called freedom of navigation operation was undertaken to "challenge excessive maritime claims" by China…

Carter says U.S. promoting Asian peace and security. The chief U.S. defense official visited an American aircraft carrier transiting the disputed South China Sea on Friday, as China said one of its top military officers had visited islands and reefs in the region to oversee building work. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter flew to the nuclear-powered USS John C. Stennis for a two-hour visit as it sailed 60 to 70 miles west of the Philippines island of Luzon. While there, he dismissed China's characterization of a more robust U.S. military presence in the region as being the cause of heightened tensions. "What's new is not an American carrier in this region," Carter said aboard the Stennis, where he met U.S. troops and observed flight operations.

China's trade with North Korea rose in the first quarter in spite of tough new international sanctions this year targeting Pyongyang's banned nuclear program, including curbs on coal imports. Imports from the isolated country, consisting mainly of coal and clothes, rose 10.8 percent from a year earlier, customs spokesman Huang Songping said on Wednesday. China's exports to North Korea in the first quarter rose 14.7 percent from a year earlier in yuan terms, Huang told a news conference. China is North Korea's only major ally and most important trade partner. Exports consisted of electromechanical products, labor-intensive and agricultural products.

China reacted with anger Tuesday after the Group of Seven foreign ministers released a statement a day earlier voicing strong opposition to “unilateral actions” in the East and South China seas. "China is strongly dissatisfied with relevant moves taken by G-7," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. His statement added: “We urge the Group of Seven member states to honor their commitment of not taking sides on issues involving territorial disputes and respect the efforts by regional countries, stop all irresponsible words and actions, and make constructive contribution to regional peace and stability. A two-day meeting of G7…

Energy company Pertamina plans to explore for oil and gas in areas close to Indonesia's maritime border in the South China Sea to assert the country's territorial rights, the upstream director of the state-owned company said. "The government needs to have activities around the borders and one of Pertamina's strategies is to support this," Syamsu Alam told Reuters in an interview on Monday. He said Indonesia had lost sovereignty over two disputed islands in the past because it was not developing those areas. "So, like the South China Sea and the borders in North Kalimantan, we need to have some activities there," he said. China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea…

Energy company Pertamina plans to explore for oil and gas in areas close to Indonesia's maritime border in the South China Sea to assert the country's territorial rights, the upstream director of the state-owned company said. "The government needs to have activities around the borders and one of Pertamina's strategies is to support this," Syamsu Alam told Reuters in an interview on Monday. He said Indonesia had lost sovereignty over two disputed islands in the past because it was not developing those areas. "So, like the South China Sea and the borders in North Kalimantan, we need to have some activities there," he said. China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea…

A U.S. Navy officer with access to sensitive U.S. intelligence faces espionage charges over accusations he passed state secrets, possibly to China and Taiwan, a U.S. official told Reuters on Sunday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the suspect as Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin, who was born in Taiwan and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, according a Navy profile article written about him in 2008. A redacted Navy charge sheet said the suspect was assigned to the headquarters for the Navy's Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, which oversees intelligence collection activities. The charge sheet redacted out the name of the suspect and the Navy declined to provide details on his identity.