South China Sea - Official Report

Last Update: June 21




《2017年南海航行状况研究报告》正式出炉

The "2017 South China Sea Navigation Research Report"
was officially released.

The Research Report on the Navigation Status in the South China Sea in 2017 was issued by the China Institute of Navigation and Shanghai Maritime University (SMU).

研究表明，除渔业活动外，南海水域内推荐航路主要适用于通往中国沿海、日韩、 东南亚各国港口之间以及欧美等的商船，航路以西南/东北向为主，总体上根据 季节可分为东线、中线和西线，其中中线是主要航路。“在上述三类商船推荐航线中， 不同季节的航线选择与分布，均远离岛礁区或与岛礁区保持有足够的安全距离。” 黄有方说。[上海海事大学校长黄有方]

Studies have shown that except for fishing activities, the recommended routes in the South China Sea area are mainly suiting merchant ships connecting the ports of China's coastal area, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries with each other and, as well, with Europe and the United States.

The routes are mainly in the southwestern/northeastern direction, and are generally classified according to the season of the year as the eastern line, the central line, and the western line, where the central line is the main route.

“Among the above mentioned three recommended types of merchant shipping routes, choice and distribution of any route during different seasons ensures distance from island reef areas or maintains a sufficient safety distance from the island reef area,” said Huang You Fang. [Huang You Fang is President of Shanghai Maritime University and co-author of the quoted report]

船位数据统计与分析表明，2017年3月和6月南海水域的船舶总数分别为7909艘次和 7502艘次，以大于3万吨级的船舶为主，月船舶数量与2016年基本保持平衡。除天气 (热带风暴)影响和节能控速外，船舶在该水域航行是自由、顺畅的。南海水域商船 推荐航路被过往船舶反复自由选用，水域中船舶的流量、船长、船宽和吃水总体上较大， 船舶平均航速稳定；过往南海船舶的船籍港遍布世界近70个主要航运国家或地区， 航经南海的国家或地区的船舶总运力匹配全球189个国家或地区前50船队总吨位的 92%以上。

The statistics and analysis of the ship's position data show that the total number of ships in the South China Sea waters in March and June 2017 was 7,909 and 7,502, respectively. Ships with a size greater than 30,000 tons were mainly used. The number of ships per month remained basically balanced with that of 2016.

Except from weather related effects (tropical storms) and energy-saving speed control, ships are freely and smoothly sailing in these waters. The recommended merchant shipping routes for the South China Sea have been repeatedly and freely selected by ships coming and going. Flow, length, width and water draught of ships in these waters is comparatively large, and the average speed of the ship is stable.

In the past, the shipping ports of the South China Sea were reached by 70 major shipping countries in the world. The total shipping capacity of national or regional sailing through the South China Sea matched more than 92% of the total tonnage of the top 50 fleets in 189 countries or regions.

[Chinanews 中国新闻网 June 20, 2018]




【中国无人艇南海演练】无人舰队加持AI，厉害了我的国

[China testing unmanned boats in the South China Sea]
The unit of unmanned ships has adopted the artificial
intelligence (AI) that seriously damaged our country.



Formation of unmanned boats showing the Chinese characters
军民 meaning "the army and the people".

Recently and in the vicinity of the Wanshan Island group that belongs to the South China Sea, a unit of 56 unmanned ships has conducted large-scale "multi-boat synergy" technical tests. These unmanned naval vessels use artificial intelligence technology to control and communicate with each other. This test was intended to demonstrate the potential of Chinese "sea drones" in their future maritime military operations.

[SOHU 搜狐 on June 18, 2018]




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Chinese visitor and his requested site: US Tariffs - China Strikes Back.



US visitor and his requested site: 70 Years ago End of World War II.



Spanish visitor and his requested site: Israel - German Submarine Delivery.

South China Sea - Military Build-Up

Important Update added on June 18 !

The South China Sea Conflict simmering between China, its neighbours and the US has come again into the focus of US government and media after China stepped up militarizing that region by allegedly deploying advanced missile systems on the disputed Spratly Islands, according to the Pentagon.

Defense officials disclosed to the Washington Free Beacon that the militarization has raised alarm bells about China's creeping takeover of the strategic waterway used for some $5 trillion annually in international trade.

It is said that the "Pentagon is planning a major response to Chinese hegemony".






[The Washington Free Beacon on June 14, 2018]




Video from a US based military site reporting on China's military build-up in the South China Sea.

美国军事网站报告有军事化在南海【2018年6月16日】




西沙島礁浮潛釣魚超夯　軍事設施敏感排除台港澳遊客

The floating fishing [ platform ] of a Paracel Island reef ... is a military facility
that is sensible to get rid of tourists from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.

[ET Today 大陸—新聞雲, a Taiwanese TV station represented as
well in Hong Kong, Singapore and Mainland China, on May 28, 2018]


Western media recently reported that France and Britain intend to participate in navy drills to be held in the South China Sea later this year in August. This prompted observers in Russia to ask what would be the use of such military drills for European nations and who are not only far away from China and with little influence in the region but are, as well, subject to US pressure when it comes to US protective import tariffs and the consequences of president Trump's abandoning the nuclear treaty with Iran, both US measures threatening Europe's national economies.

These Russians come to the conclusion that France and Britain actually react out of fear to loose the rest of US respect and of transatlantic cooperation. This opinion is being shared by two Chinese sources I found on the internet. Here is one of them:




欧洲为何突然在南海动作频频？俄媒：因为他们弱小

Why is Europe suddenly repeatedly acting in the South China Sea ?
Russian media say: Because they are small and weak !

[SINA Military 新浪军事 on June 16, 2018]


On June 18 the Philippine Daily Inquirer referred to the Philippine politician Roilo Golez, security adviser to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and who had urged an aggressive diplomatic campaign to counter China’s increasing encroachment on Philippine territory in the South China Sea. Here an excerpt from the original article:




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Further information related to the region:




الرئيس روحاني: نسعى لمواصلة التعاون من اجل الحفاظ على الاتفاق النووي

President Rouhani - We take care to continue the
cooperation intended to maintain the nuclear treaty.

Rouhani referred to Iran's intentions with respect to the nuclear treaty in a telephone conversation on Thursday when he congratulated Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on his election as prime minister.

[Al-Manar المنار, Hezbollah TV, Lebanon, on June 14, 2018]

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Singapore - Two Buddies Meeting

Last Update: June 14

The Trump - Kim Summit Presented by North Korean State TV 特朗普金正恩高峰会谈在朝鲜的国家电视

First meeting between US president Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
[ABC Action News, Tampa / Florida, quoting CNN.]




[Straits Times, Singapore]

The " Turbo Agreement ":

Mr Trump and Mr Kim signed a document pledging to work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

But the broad agreement was light on specifics, largely reiterating previous public statements and past commitments.

The statement details the two leaders' plans to cooperate on denuclearisation and peace on the Peninsula. It also reaffirmed the Panmunjom Declaration, signed after the North and South Korean leaders met on April 27, which stated the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) committed to work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

When asked by a reporter what made this time different, Mr Trump said America had a different administration and a different president.

"The sanctions will come off when we are sure that the nukes are no longer a factor," Mr Trump said.

In exchange for Mr Kim handing over his nukes, Mr Trump has committed to providing security for America's old enemy.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials are due to hold follow-up negotiations "at the earliest possible date".

After the meeting, Mr Trump said he had formed a "special bond" with Mr Kim and the relationship with North Korea would be very different.

"This is going to lead to more and more and more.

[ABC News, headquarters Sydney / Australia, on June 12, 2018]




Read the complete document !




美朝就无核化细节没谈拢特朗普金正恩还要“再碰面”

America and North Korea didn't approach details of denuclearization in the
talks between Trump and Kim Jong-un; it is necessary to "meet again".

长期关注朝鲜半岛无核化的学者和前官员对此次会谈结果看法有不小的分歧。 乐观者认为美朝领导人会晤是历史性突破，悲观者认为会谈并未带来实质性 无核化路线图，与美国之前和朝鲜的任何谈判结果相比更加空泛。

Scholars and former officials occupied with the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula are showing a greater difference of views when confronted with the results of the actual talks.

Optimists consider the meeting of the US and North Korean leaders as a historic breakthrough, while pessimists consider that the talks don't bring with them a substantial roadmap to denuclearization, and negotiation results are even more vague in comparison with any results reached before between the US and North Korea.

[CaiJing 财经 "Finance and Economics", China, published on June 12, 2018]




美国共和党议员敦促特朗普对朝鲜要谨慎行事

US Republican lawmakers urge Trump to act cautiously toward North Korea.

Quotations from the English version of the article:

..........

Unlike Trump’s exultant attitude toward the summit, Republican lawmakers used a much more discreet tone to urge Trump to proceed with caution.

“We should not overlook the fact that Kim Jong-un was a butcher and slaughtered his own people. This is very important,” US Senator John Kennedy told reporters.

"Trying to talk to such a person is like hand-feeding a shark. It's not that you can't do this, but that you must be very, very careful," he said.

Although it cannot be immediately determined whether Trump’s performance in Singapore will affect the ongoing mid-term Congressional elections, it is clear that the Republican Party has not fully accepted Trump’s enthusiasm for Kim Jong Eun.

Bob Corker, chairman of the United States Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters: “It's hard to tell if something substantial happened.”

[Reuters, Chinese / English language service on June 13]

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Spotlight on two controversial characters:



June 11 Tweet by Le Monde Diplomatique, Paris, showing an example of London street art.




- Fox News finally tells the truth and calls Trump a "dictator". -
In a Trump TV/Fox News broadcast the right-wing propagandist
Abby Huntsman referred to the upcoming summit as a meeting
between "two dictators", a qualified Freudian slip of the tongue.




Trump Kim: Impersonators buddy up in Singapore - BBC News.

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Visitor to "blueprint news" coming from Rwanda in East Africa.



Visitor from Novi Sad, Serbia, reminding Obama's Speech on Transatlantic Partnership
held in Berlin in July 2008 before he became President of the United States.

G7 Meeting - Tough Talks

Last Update: June 11
including news about the
upcoming talks between
Trump and Kim Jong-un.

US president Trump's recently decreed import tariffs, his withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and his position in the climate change discussion have raised much displeasure and resistance among other global leaders especially those from China, Canada and France.

His proposal to reintegrate Russia in the group of leading industrialized nations - now known as the G7 - has even more isolated him on the current meeting.

Russia was suspended from the group - then known as the G8 - in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against Russia's annexation of Crimea, which Russia continues to hold.

Here's a news video provided by the Canadian TV station CTV and which is giving an idea of the tensions that exist between Trump and his host, the Canadian prime minister Trudeau.




The original article on the CTV website is "enriched" with tweets from "the real" Donald Trump.





At least, Trump can leave the G7 summit earlier to meet with someone of his own breed:



A reminder of the German proverbe "Pack schlägt sich; Pack verträgt sich" .....




Could have been created by the Chinese who invented Global Climate Change .....







特朗普奔赴“鸿门宴”美元将遭致命一击？
下周三大央行携两大峰会来袭！

While Trump is hurrying to a "Feast at Hong Gate", could
the US Dollar meet with its death from a single blow ?

Next Wednesday the [US] Central Bank will have to shoulder
two great summits !

Editor's Note:
In Chinese culture, the term Hong Men Yan ("Feast at Hong Gate") is used figuratively to refer to a trap or a situation ostensibly joyous but in fact treacherous. The historic event was about two rebel leaders rivalling for supremacy over China. One of them was planned to be assassinated at a "banquet of friendship".

[JinRongJie / Financial World 金融界 on June 9, 2018]




While the Western Alliance of Industrialized Nations is crumbling at the current G7 summit, the Chinese-led Central Asian Bloc is even expanding with its new members India and Pakistan, both hailed at this weekend's summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the northern Chinese port of Qingdao. Furthermore, China's leader Xi Jin-Ping presented Russian President Vladimir Putin China's first Friendship Medal at an elaborate ceremony in Beijing.

The creation of the Central Asian Bloc is a result of China's One Belt One Road Initiative. The bloc was founded in 2001 and is dominated by China and Russia and also includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

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Visitor to "blueprint news" coming from South Korea.

Israel - Trump Boosts Military Support

موقع ديبكا: خطة أمريكية لتقوية قدرات إسرائيل العسكرية

الرئيس ترامب أقر خطة شاملة لتعزيز القدرات العسكرية لإسرائيل
استعدادًا لمواجهة حاسمة محتملة مع إيران

DEBKA site: US plan to boost Israel's military potential.

President Trump appoved broad-based plannings for increasing Israel's military potential
to prepare it for a probably decisive confrontation with Iran.

[i24News, Israeli news service in Arabic on June 6, 2018]

The Arabic language article of i24News cited above is related to information from DEBKAfile, an Israeli source as well, and which was published the same day on June 6, 2018. Here the gist of the DEBKA publication:


US to boost its military presence in Israel, top up Israel’s advanced arsenal.

A broad-based US plan to fortify Israel’s armed forces against a potential military showdown with Iran has just been approved by President Donald Trump, DEBKAfile reports exclusively from its military and Washington sources.

It centers on the expansion of US military units based in Israel and the enhancement of Israel’s military capabilities to withstand a possible Iranian ballistic missile attack. The Israeli Air Force will also receive a large number of Boeing KC-46 refueling tanker craft for lengthening its range of operation and providing more flexibility.

President Obama withheld the new tanker craft so as to restrict Israel’s ability to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last week, after meeting President Trump in Washington, that the alliance will not support Israel if it is attacked by Iran. He made a point of avoiding the impression that he subscribed to Trump’s campaign against Iran, so as not to put up the backs of the European members opposed to that campaign.

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A recent visitor from Cairo, Egypt, and who wants to be informed
about the military confrontation that is taking place in Syria.

North Korea - Military Leaders Replaced

Last Update: June 5

According to US and South Korean sources, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should have replaced three leading officials of North Korea's people's army.

This happened prior to direct talks between Kim and US president Trump in Singapore and can be seen as a hint to differences within Kim's inner circle.

The replacements are seen as a strengthening of the ruling Workers Party's influence on North Korea's armed forces.




英媒曝金正恩内阁分歧 三名最高军官均已被撤职

British media expose differences in Kim Jong-un's cabinet.
Three high-ranking military officials are completely dismissed.

他们是朝鲜人民武装力量部部长朴勇植（Pak Yong Sik）， 朝鲜人民军总参谋长李明洙（Ri Myong-su）， 朝鲜人民军总政治局局长金正觉（ Kim Jong-gak）。

They are the minister of North Korea's people's armed forces Pak Yong Sik, the chief of the general staff of North Korea's people's army Ri Myong-su and the chief of the political bureau of North Korea's people's army Kim Jong-gak.

[DW 多维新闻网 quoting South Korea's news agency Yonhap on 3rd June, 2018]




Some former chief of the political bureau of the armed forces
who had been replaced earlier in February 2018. [china.com]


Sino - North Korean Relations:


中国派了一位将军去朝鲜

China sends an army general to North Korea.



General Jin Tao Shao 金涛少将 arrives in Pyongyang
to replace the military attaché at the Chinese embassy.

[SINA 新浪 quoting 长安街知事 on June 5]




Air China resumes air traffic between Beijing and Pyongyang on June 6, 2018.

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Visitors to "blueprint news" coming from South Korea and Vietnam.

US Trump Threatening German Car Export

Background Update added
for Germany Related News.



特朗普拟禁止德国豪华车进口:让第五大道没有奔驰

Trump planning to stop luxury car import from Germany.
"Keeping 5th Avenue free from Mercedes."

Here are some quotations from an article the Chinese economic journal CaiJing 财经 published yesterday the 1st of June. The article is using a common Chinese abbreviation for the German brand 梅赛德斯-奔驰 (Mercedes-Benz).

5月23日晚间，美国政府表示，将根据1962年通过的《贸易扩张法》 第232条规定“总统有权对危及国家安全的商品征税”，对进口汽车展开国家安全调查。 此前美国对进口钢铁和铝制品征收全球关税时也援引了同样的条款，理由同样是进口 钢铝制品危及美国国家安全。

In the evening of May 23, the US goverment declared that "the president has a right to impose tariffs on merchandise that is endangering the nation's safety" based on regulation no. 232 of the "trade expansion law" passed in 1962. [Therefore,] a national safety investigation has been launched for car imports.

Earlier, when America imposed global tariffs on steel and aluminium products, the same regulation was quoted as well. For the same reason the import of steel and aluminium products was seen as endangering America's national safety.

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对于特朗普拟对进口汽车征收25%关税，中国外交部发言人陆慷5月24日回应表示， 中方的立场是反对滥用“国家安全”条款，这将严重破坏多边贸易体制，扰乱正常 国际贸易秩序。

As to Trump's plannings to impose tariffs of 25% on car imports, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang responded on May 24 as follows:

China's position is to oppose an abuse of the "national security" regulation. It is seriously damaging the multilateral trade system and disturbing the regular international trade order.

我们将密切关注美方调查的有关进展，也会对可能产生的影响进行全面评估。 中方会坚决捍卫自身的合法权益。

We are carefully paying attention to the progress of America's investigation, yet knowing about the influence it possibly generates on the proceedings of an overall evaluation.

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Germany Related News




Jerusalem Post on June 2, 2018

NATO will not side with Israel if the Islamic Republic of Iran attacks the Jewish state, the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization told a German magazine on Saturday NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Der Spiegel, “The security guarantee [of NATO] does not apply to Israel” because the Jewish state is not a member of the 29 country alliance.

In response to Stoltenberg’s announcement, Volker Beck – the German Green Party politician and former head of the German-Israel parliamentary group in the Bundestag – asked on Twitter: “That raises the question: What does this clarification mean for the security dialogue between NATO, EU, Germany and Israel? It points to at least very different starting points and positions of interest.”




Those would certainly help .....

Related Blogspot : Israel's Anniversary - Palestine Exploding


Here are quotations from an interesting article the US magazine Newsweek published on May 31, 2018. A similar story was told by World Israel News, an Israeli source, on the same day.


Israel planned to attack Iran and start a war, former spy chief says.

Israel planned to bomb Iran and initiate an all-out conflict in the Middle East, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former head of intelligence, who said he believed the move may have been illegal.

Tamir Pardo, who served as head of Israeli spy agency Mossad from 2011 to 2016, told local investigative program Uvda in an interview set to air Thursday that Netanyahu instructed his military command in 2011 to prepare for a strike against longtime foe Iran, which Israel has accused of developing nuclear weapons and supporting militant groups abroad. Pardo said then-Israeli chief of staff Benny Gantz informed the prime minister that the armed forces would be ready within 15 days.

..........

Pardo said that his first instinct was to look into the legality of the measure, which he said he would need to be "certain" was legal before carrying out, even though he was supposed to do so without question. He described the measure as tantamount to "launching a war," according to the Associated Press, and said he and Gantz ultimately protested.

..........

No overt Israeli war on Iran was launched. Instead, Iran's nuclear program suffered a devastating campaign of targeted assassinations that a number of outlets —including Newsweek and Politico— tied to the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were slain and another injured by assailants using bombs and gunfire. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its responsibility.

Iran has claimed its nuclear program was strictly for peaceful purposes, but the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia have cast doubt on this narrative.

US Alert - North Korean Cyber Attack

Different Updates Included .................. 朝鲜的黑客行动 .............. 朝美会谈在新加坡

In the middle of Trump's zig-zag politics regarding North Korea ( "I will talk - I won't talk - Of course I will talk but new sanctions on Pyongyang" ), now an official US cyber alert warning that North Korea is targeting America and, on the same day, the news of a meeting between North Korea's inofficial No. 2, a former intelligence chief, and US secretary of state Pompeo, a former CIA director. Looks like some kind of a poker game, much money surely involved as well.




Some hours ago: Cyber attack from North Korea [Reuters on May 29, 2018]




US security alert related to North Korean malware => complete article
[The Register, British cyber magazine on May 30, 2018]




与朝鲜有关的黑客使用谷歌Play商店中的恶意软件追踪脱北者

Hackers related to N Korea apply Google Play Store malware to track N Korean defectors.

A research team from McAfee found that three applications contain malware targeting special users. That malware is able to penetrate the Android devices of North Korean defectors. [CNBETA group in China on May 21, 2018]




中情局：北韓不可能棄核 FBI籲提防朝黑客活動

CIA: North Korea cannot abandon nukes - The FBI appeals
for promoting defense against North Korean hacker activity.

[SingTao 星岛日报 published in Canada on May 30]

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Today: Former head of North Korean intelligence visiting New York
[The Guardian, GB, on May 30, 2018]

Kim has been a border guard in the Korean demilitarised zone, a liaison officer with the United Nations, and a member of the team who held breakthrough negotiations with the South Koreans in the early 1990s. Over the past decade he was promoted to four-star general, and made head of the main North Korean intelligence service, known as the reconnaissance general bureau (RGB).

He has served three generations of the Kim dynasty and in recent months emerged one of the most powerful figures in Kim Jong-un’s regime, second only to the leader’s sister, Kim Yo-jong. He is vice-chair of the ruling Workers party and head of the section charged with dealing with the South. He was part of the North Korean delegation for the Winter Olympics closing ceremony, and he was at the leader’s side for meetings with the South Korean president Moon Jae-in and Pompeo.

Kim Yong-chol is going to meet with secretary of state Mike Pompeo, however, it remains unclear what would be the subject of their meeting.

It could be the vexed question of future US and South Korean joint military exercises, which Pyongyang sees as embodying hostile intent towards the regime. Or the far wider issue of what both parties mean when the call for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

The fact that Kim has flown to the US at all, in only the second such high-level visit since the Korean war, suggests it is a question that has to be resolved before there can be a summit in Singapore.

NBC news on Tuesday night quoted US officials as saying a new intelligence assessment advised that the regime in Pyongyang had no intention of dismantling its nuclear arsenal in the near future.


The Chinese news center SINA 新浪—新闻中心 published the following article on Kim Yong-chol's visit to New York:




韩媒:朝鲜高官金英哲或向特朗普转达金正恩亲笔信

South Korean Media: North Korea's high official Kim Yong-chol probably
delivered a letter handwritten by Kim Jong-un and directed to Trump.

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Visitor from Seoul / South Korea and who is interested in North Korean military activity.







Visitor from Taipei / Taiwan.