Thứ Hai, 3 tháng 8, 2020

MIlitary Activities in East Sea and Western Pacific (DefenseNews) Japan secures first-ever major defense export with Philippine radar order. (08/02/2020) (AP) China criticizes US sanctions over South China Sea buildup. (Bloomberg) China Fires Missiles Into Disputed Sea; U.S. Sanctions. (DefenseNews) US imposes sanctions on Chinese defense firms over maritime dispute. (AFP) Taiwan finalizes $62bn purchase of F-16 jets from Lockheed Martin. (Reuters) U.S. Navy carrier conducted exercises in South China Sea on Aug. 14. (The Telegraph) China seeks to increase influence in South China Sea by reclassifying international shipping lanes

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Main Page: Military Activities in East Sea and Western Pacific

https://quandiemvietnam.blogspot.com/2020/05/nhung-hoat-ong-quan-su-tai-bien-ong-va.html
 
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Japan secures first-ever major defense export with Philippine radar order

 

MELBOURNE, Australia — Japan has concluded its first export sale of major defense equipment, with the Philippines signing a contract for fixed and mobile air surveillance radars to cover potential flashpoints around the country, including the South China Sea.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed the contract agreement Aug. 28 in the capital Manila, which will see Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp. supply three fixed, long-range air surveillance radars and a mobile air surveillance radar to the Philippines.

An announcement made earlier that day by the Philippine Department of National Defense did not specify the radar type, but it had previously been reported that an improved version of the Mitsubishi Electric J/FPS-3 active electronically scanned array radar would be supplied for the fixed sites, along with the J/TPS-P14 mobile radar.

The department added that the radars, which are being acquired under the Horizon 2 Air Surveillance Radar System acquisition project, are expected to be delivered to the Philippines starting 2022.

Mike Yeo

MELBOURNE, Australia — Japan has concluded its first export sale of major defense equipment, with the Philippines signing a contract for fixed and mobile air surveillance radars to cover potential flashpoints around the country, including the South China Sea.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed the contract agreement Aug. 28 in the capital Manila, which will see Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp. supply three fixed, long-range air surveillance radars and a mobile air surveillance radar to the Philippines.

An announcement made earlier that day by the Philippine Department of National Defense did not specify the radar type, but it had previously been reported that an improved version of the Mitsubishi Electric J/FPS-3 active electronically scanned array radar would be supplied for the fixed sites, along with the J/TPS-P14 mobile radar.

The department added that the radars, which are being acquired under the Horizon 2 Air Surveillance Radar System acquisition project, are expected to be delivered to the Philippines starting 2022.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The deal between the two U.S. allies is significant, as it marks the first time Japan will export complete defense articles after it relaxed self-imposed restrictions on such sales in 2014. Since that time Japan has bid for a number of projects globally without success, with previous Japanese defense-related exports limited to spare parts.

The easing of restrictions on arms sales was part of a push by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reform Japan’s defense posture and boost Japan’s domestic defense industry, driven in part by China’s rapidly modernizing military and increasing assertiveness. Abe announced Aug. 28 that he is resigning from his post due to health reasons.

Mitsubishi Electric was declared the winner for the Horizon 2 Air Surveillance Radar System acquisition project in March following an evaluation conducted by the Department of National Defense. The radars were purchased under a government-to-government deal, with a total contract value of $103.5 million.

The radars will be used for surveillance of airspace over the southern portion of the South China Sea, the southern islands of the Philippine archipelago as well as the strategic Benham Rise. The latter is an underwater plateau, 150 nautical miles east of the main Philippine island of Luzon, that is potentially rich in natural resources.

The Philippines is one of six southeast Asian countries that claim parts of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where China has carried out massive land reclamation and military construction projects on some of the islands and features it has occupied, dwarfing the smaller scale projects undertaken by some of the other claimants.

 
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China criticizes US sanctions over South China Sea buildup

FILE - In this July 6, 2020, file photo provided by U.S. Navy, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76, front) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68, rear) Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation, in the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy says the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group entered the South China Sea earlier in August, 2020, and have been carrying out air operations. China routinely objects to U.S. naval activity in the sea, especially when more than one strike group is present, as happened earlier this year, and when they involve operations with navies from other countries. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Tarleton/U.S. Navy via AP, File)
FILE - In this July 6, 2020, file photo provided by U.S. Navy, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76, front) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68, rear) Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation, in the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy says the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group entered the South China Sea earlier in August, 2020, and have been carrying out air operations. China routinely objects to U.S. naval activity in the sea, especially when more than one strike group is present, as happened earlier this year, and when they involve operations with navies from other countries. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Tarleton/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday accused the United States of violating international law by imposing sanctions on officials and companies involved in Beijing’s military buildup in the disputed South China Sea, but gave no indication of how it might retaliate.

The sanctions add to conflict over control of the sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. The U.S. rejects China's claim to virtually the entire waterway, portions of which are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and other governments.

“The relevant U.S. acts grossly interfere in China’s internal affairs, violate international law and relevant international norms, which are totally out of hegemonic logic and power politics,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday announced penalties against an unspecified number of Chinese officials and 24 companies for their role in building artificial islands to enforce Beijing’s territorial claims. The companies were added to an “entity list” that limits access to U.S. exports without government permission.

“China will take firm measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises and individuals,” Zhao said.

Chinese officials frequently make such vows, although specific responses are rare.

The Commerce Department said the companies were targeted for their role in building the artificial islands through dredging and other activities that cause environmental damage and infringe on other nations’ claims.

“The relevant construction China carried out on its own territory is entirely within the scope of sovereignty and has nothing to do with militarization,” Zhao said. “There is no reason for the U.S. side to impose illegal sanctions on Chinese enterprises and individuals because of their participation in relevant domestic construction.”

Tensions in the South China Sea have been building as the U.S. and others push back against Beijing's moves to cement its control over the area.

U.S.-China relations have declined to their lowest level in years amid disputes over trade, technology, Taiwan, Hong Kong and human rights.

China is currently holding live-fire military exercises in both the South and East China Seas and a Hong Kong newspaper reported Thursday that the military test-fired two missiles into the South China Sea, including one seen as specifically designed to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier.

The DF-26B and DF-21D missiles fired Wednesday targeted an area between the southern island province of Hainan and the Paracel Islands, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified sources close to the Chinese military.

The Ministry of Defense said the People’s Liberation Army conducted military exercises in the area but gave no confirmation of missiles being fired or other details.


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China Fires Missiles Into Disputed Sea; U.S. Sanctions

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is seen during its visit to Hong Kong
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is seen during its visit to Hong Kong

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier conducted exercises in the contested South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. navy said in a statement.

A strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan conducted flight operations and high-end maritime stability operations and exercises, the statement said.

"Integration with our joint partners is essential to ensuring joint force responsiveness and lethality, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific," U.S. Navy Commander Joshua Fagan, Task Force 70 air operations officer aboard USS Ronald Reagan, was quoted as saying.

The drill comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and China. Washington has criticised Beijing over its novel coronavirus response and accuses it of taking advantage of the pandemic to push territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

The United States has long opposed China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea and has sent warships regularly through the strategic waterway.

China has objected to such exercises and said the U.S. rejection of its claims in the South China Sea has raised tension and undermined stability in the region.

China claims nine tenths of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion of trade passes a year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Eduting by Shri Navaratnam)

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World

China seeks to increase influence in South China Sea by reclassifying international shipping lanes

Sophia Yan

China has quietly changed how it identifies a vast stretch of international waters in a shipping regulation, indicating it as a “coastal” region, rather than “offshore,” as authorities seek to exert even greater control over the South China Sea.

The amended regulation, first drafted in the 1970s, went into effect on Saturday, and establishes a “navigation area” from China’s Hainan island in the south, all the way down to the disputed Paracel Islands, which sit east of Vietnam’s coastline.

The revision, however small, allows Beijing yet another avenue to justify its claims in the region.

“The move is pretty consistent with the broader, general patterns of China seeking ‘creeping jurisdiction’ using domestic laws to assert its claims and extend control in the South China Sea,” said Collin Koh,a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

“With those domestic laws and regulations being implemented quietly without fanfare, the less likely it’ll attract undue external attention, so that over time a fair accompli is created - in other words, for Beijing to change facts on the ground.”

The risk, in the long run, is that this area of ocean already flanked by Chinese military interests and installations, could turn a navigational zone to a “future security alert zone,” he said.

The change comes as China has displayed increasing swagger in the South China Sea, where Beijing and a number of Southeast Asian countries all lay claim to the rocks, reefs and waters.

China has been accused of stepping up its maritime push in these resource-rich waters while the rest of the world remains busy battling the coronavirus pandemic.

The US and Australia conducted joint naval exercises this summer in the region, angering Beijing.

In response, the Chinese military in July engaged in drills in the region, deploying bombers and simulating nighttime takeoffs, long-range raids and attacks on sea targets, according to state media.

Both Washington and Canberra have since officially rejected Chinese claims to the South China Sea. In the past, both countries had stressed the importance of all countries maintaining access to these waters, stopping short of classifying Chinese activity as illegal.

The concern has long been that an increasingly assertive Beijing could use access to the South China Sea – along key international shipping routes – as a tool for economic coercion to squeeze nations during diplomatic rows.

Beijing’s recent maritime push has extended beyond the South China Sea to the East China Sea, angering Japan.

The Indian military has also stepped up operations in the Indian Ocean over concerns that China will next look to assert itself at sea against Delhi, after a land border skirmish in June led to a number of Indian casualties.

Thứ Sáu, 31 tháng 7, 2020

Part 12. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume X, Vietnam, January 1973–July 1975. 232. Memorandum of Conversation

I would like to request your permission to post the 232. Memorandum of Conversation, Washington, April 14, 1975 on your Web Site at:
on Blog V.N.R Vietnam Review, and also translate the 232. Memorandum of Conversation into the Vietnamese language, just for the education and knowledge for the Vietnamese people about the critical situation related to the Vietnamese modern history.

Sincerely,
Hoang Hoa
Editor in Chief of V.N.R.
San Jose, 2020/07/31


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FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 1969-1976
VIETNAM OCTOBER 1972 - JANUARY 1973
(FOREIGN RELATIONS of THE UNITED STATES, 1969-1976 Vol. IX, Vol. X)


Documents Excerpts for the Strategic Studies for The Republic of Vietnam

Part 1: “We believe that peace is at hand", Letter From President Nixon to South Vietnamese President Thieu, Message From the Ambassador to Vietnam (Bunker) to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig), Preface.
Part 8:  Memorandum of Conversation1 Saigon, December 19, 1972.
Part 9 Memorandum of Conversation Saigon, December 19, 1972 (Continued)
https://quandiemvietnam.blogspot.com/2020_06_14_archive.html

232. Memorandum of Conversation1

PARTICIPANTS

  • The President
  • Senate Foreign Relations Committee
  • Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of State and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
  • Dr. James R. Schlesinger, Secretary of Defense
  • Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

President: I would hope we could consider this an executive session so we could have this a free and open session.

Sparkman: We just came from one.

President: We put a great deal of time and effort into the speech.2 There was unanimity in the Administration with what I said and the policies I recommended. I was therefore able to speak with conviction about where we should go.

Sparkman: I thought the first 30 minutes of your speech, which covered the world—I don’t know who wrote it but it was the best word structure I have seen and a great delivery.

I would like to hear from the two Secretaries.

President: Henry.

Kissinger: Perhaps I should talk about the political situation and Jim will discuss the military situation and the figures we are requesting.

It is clear the military situation in South Vietnam is extremely difficult. North Vietnam has the military superiority. They have occupied much of the territory. It is caused in our view by too little assistance and incompetent management of the retreat. But whatever the reason, we are trying to bring about a political situation and a negotiation which would exploit the new balance of forces. We have thought that the U.S. should not be a principal agent in these negotiations but should rely on the South Vietnamese or others such as France. We are prepared to support negotiating efforts and the elements that are prepared to negotiate. This is a process which will take a few weeks to sort out in Saigon.

[Page 818]

With respect to the legal situation on evacuation. We want to reduce the number of American citizens as soon as possible but not so fast as to precipitate a panic. The Embassy has resisted evacuation, but we have ordered it to get down to about 1,250. I would appreciate no mention of it.

President: We had a similar problem in Cambodia. We started with over 400 and had reduced it to about 75 when the time for evacuation came. We were prepared for 600 Americans and 300 Cambodians. We had few, because the gutsy Cambodians chose to stay and die rather than leave. So we got it down in an orderly manner to a manageable figure.

Kissinger: We offered the Cabinet members in Phnom Penh a chance to leave and without exception they stayed even though they were on the assassination list.

The total list of the people endangered in Vietnam is over a million. The irreducible list is 174,000. This doesn’t mean we could get them out; it would be just those in overwhelming jeopardy. We would have to assemble them where we could get to them and have conditions where we could move them.

There are two Acts of Congress: the War Powers Act and the Indochina proscription. We think under the War Powers Act the President has authority with respect to evacuating American citizens; with the Indochina Act we would appreciate clarification. We think there is no authority for evacuation of Vietnamese.

Schlesinger: Henry has touched the high points. There has been some improvement in the past few days. They have been fighting well in Xuan Loc and the Delta but whether it is temporary depends on North Vietnam and President’s request. In the military area the North Vietnamese have eight divisions and the GVN seven. They are doing well but they are dipping into stocks of ammunition. Generally speaking, if the North Vietnamese bring up their forces they will have preponderance, but the South Vietnamese know the terrain and have their backs to the wall.

We have requested $722 million which reflects the results of the Weyand mission.3 The difference reflects the hope on the GVN side to equip four infantry divisions. That is $140 million. To convert the four ranger groups is $120 million. For general munitions, $190 million. If you would like more detailed data, General Weyand is here.

President: Let’s see what the Committee wishes. The $722 million is designed to meet the current situation and is totally different from the $300 million. Fred’s report reflects a different situation.

[Page 819]

Case: You are very good to see us, especially on such short notice. The reason for the meeting is that the Moose Mission just came back and briefed us.4 We have a consensus on the immediate actions: There should be urgent action to reduce American personnel to the point where they could be lifted out in one lift. We feel there is grave danger if this reduction is not being done in a timely manner. We fear the people on the ground would panic so we are not moving rapidly. We would go to them frankly and say this is how we would do it. Stew suggests a sea evacuation.

Kissinger: We waited to press him until the President’s speech so it would not be in the context of pulling the plug. We now have a cable saying it is underway.

President: Not to be critical, Stew, but 4,000 on one ship would pull the plug. We could have taken over 600. I don’t know how many more could be handled.

Percy: Couldn’t we give orders for every plane outgoing to be full?

Javits: There are orders and orders. We think you should be sure through someone other than Martin that your orders are being carried out. Within any context of aid, the first priority must be to get Americans and deserving South Vietnamese out. It is your problem, but we think you should be sure that your orders should be carried out.

President: I assure you my orders will be carried out. This is a two-way street. We will do our part but we think we have a good schedule and program and want your cooperation. I think we have an obligation to do whatever we can for the people to whom we are obligated.

Baker: We felt an evacuation of the American citizens was so urgent that everything else—legality, Thieu’s incumbency, everything else—was secondary to that. We appreciate your forthcoming attitude toward this problem in your speech. We wanted to tell you our concerns and hear from you your concerns. We hope when we have, we will have established a new era of negotiation between the Executive and Legislative branches. We will talk with you on the amounts, which should be designed to facilitate the evacuation of Americans.

Sparkman: How is the report?

President: I have read it. I don’t agree with all of it but it is a forthright report.

[Page 820]

Sparkman: The Cambodian evacuation went well because of planning. We hope there is some planning going on in Saigon.

Schlesinger: The situations are not parallel. The Viet Cong infrastructure, the congestion, the high potential levels of violence—it could be complicated.

Case: We appreciate this. That is why we are concerned.

Percy: Could we get clarification on the 1,200—when they will be there and could they be pulled in one lift?

Kissinger: I don’t have that today. I will have it tomorrow and I will let you know. On Thursday, the Ambassador was told to take it down as soon as possible, and to tell Thieu immediately.5

Percy: Is 1,200 the immediate minimum? It sounds like a vast number. The reason it was easy in Cambodia is that we put a ceiling on.

President: If there isn’t some indication of aid, the situation could disintegrate rapidly.

Javits: I will give you large sums for evacuation, but not one nickel for military aid for Thieu.

Church: I would think that if money is required to facilitate getting the Americans out, that can be worked out. What has not been worked out is the Vietnamese evacuees. Secretary Kissinger has said maybe there are 175,000. Clearly there is no legal inhibition to bringing some out along with Americans, but 175,000, with American troops involved, could involve us in a very large war. This raises the specter of a new war, thousands of American troops holding on in an enclave for a long period.

President: It is not envisaged that this would be for a long period but as quickly and precisely as possible.

Biden: What concerns us is that a week ago Habib told us we would be formulating a plan. A week has gone by and nothing has happened. We should focus on getting them out. Getting the Vietnamese out and military aid for the GVN are totally different.

Kissinger: The plan for American evacuation is in pretty good shape. But we had a report that if we pulled out and left them in the lurch, we may have to fight the South Vietnamese. It was that we were concerned with and that is why we wanted to go to Thieu so we didn’t do it in the context of a bug out. The second problem is getting American citizens out in an emergency. Third is the Vietnamese to whom we have an obligation. This is infinitely more complicated and large-scale. It requires cooperation from the GVN and maybe the North Vietnamese.

[Page 821]

Biden: I feel put upon in being presented an all or nothing number. I don’t want to have to vote to buy it all or not at all. I am not sure I can vote for an amount to put American troops in for one to six months to get the Vietnamese out. I will vote for any amount for getting the Americans out. I don’t want it mixed with getting the Vietnamese out.

President: There are three operations that are intertwined. There is getting out 4,500, the last 1,800 and the Vietnamese. The worst way to do it is to label it evacuation aid.

Symington: I am very familiar with Vietnam. In 1967 I decided it was hopeless. My people are asking if we are asking if we are holding Americans hostage for more aid. We know that is not so, but what worries me is the feeling we have been wrong so many times. We are all surprised at the collapse of South Vietnam. Why did we leave the 6,000 there so far? Where are the 175,000 going? Who is going to take them? These could all be dealt with if we could get the Americans out.

Pell: We could put these people in Borneo. It has the same latitude, the same climate, and would welcome some anti-Communists.

President: Let me comment on where they would go: We opened our door to the Hungarians. I am not saying the situation is identical but our tradition is to welcome the oppressed. I don’t think these people should be treated any differently from any other people—the Hungarians, Cubans, Jews from the Soviet Union.

Clark: Is the request for military assistance primarily to arrest the situation and bring on negotiations, or for something else?

President: I think I stated it clearly: We wanted the sum to stabilize the military situation in order to give a chance for negotiations and to permit evacuation of Americans and deserving Vietnamese.

Sparkman: Do we have any obligations under the Paris Accords?

President: We signed with the understanding we could uphold it. The means were taken from us.

Sparkman: But our obligations . . .

Kissinger: The Accords had not obligations but authorities, that is, Article 7. President Nixon and others judged that permitting the United States to extricate itself would permit the United States to provide aid and enforce the agreements. Under the Paris Accords we have no obligation. To the GVN we said that if they let us get our forces out it would enhance our chances of getting aid for them and enforcing the agreement. It was in this context, not that of a legal obligation. We never claimed an obligation; we never pleaded an obligation. But some of us think there is a moral obligation.

Mansfield: My position is well known and I won’t change. The caucus was concerned about the pace of the evacuation. Also that the witnesses should be the highest members of your Administration. We [Page 822]are trying to comply with your request as soon as possible. If Hugh [Scott] agrees, we will not meet Tuesday and Wednesday6 so we can process these requests rapidly. There was concern about humanitarian aid and the desire to send it through non-governmental agencies and the UN.

Scott: I agree to the proposal. One thing we haven’t discussed is the amounts. I think we need to discuss a figure.

Biden: I don’t want to commit myself to any precise number. How much money depends on how many we try to get out.

Kissinger: This is a matter of extreme delicacy. We can’t take them under crisis conditions. No one is thinking of a long period of time to get people out. We are thinking of ten days to two weeks.

Church: I think we should establish an emergency fund to allow you to deal with the situation and carefully draw the language about troops so as to insure there are limits.

President: We are not wanting to put American troops in but we have to have enough funds to make it look like we plan to hold for some period.

Glenn: The idea here is very different from what I envisioned. I and most Senators thought of a surgical extraction, not of a ten-day to two-week operation with a bridgehead. This is a re-entry of a magnitude we have not envisioned.

I think we have to keep this very quiet. I thought it was a one-shot airlift.

Case: This was essential to have been said. The only way we could do an operation of this kind is through negotiations between the North and South.

Glenn: I can see North Vietnam deciding not to let us get these people out and attacking our bridgehead. Then we would have to send forces to protect our security force. That fills me with fear.

Javits: Tell the press we are thinking of $200 million.

President: If this is a meeting to plan an evacuation, this will panic the GVN totally.

[The meeting ended]

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Quan hệ đối ngoại của Hoa Kỳ, 1969 -1976, Tập X, Việt Nam, tháng 1 năm 1973- tháng 7 năm 1975
Bản dịch Hoàng Hoa
2020/07/31

232. Bản ghi nhớ cuộc trò chuyện 1
Washington, ngày 14 tháng 4 năm 1975, 3:30 chiều
NHỮNG NGƯỜI THAM GIA
    Tổng thống
    Ủy ban đối ngoại Thượng viện
    Tiến sĩ Henry A. Kissinger, Bộ trưởng Ngoại giao và Trợ lý Tổng thống về các vấn đề an ninh quốc gia
    Tiến sĩ James R. Schlesinger, Bộ trưởng Quốc phòng
    Trung tướng Brent Scowcroft, Phó Trợ lý Tổng thống về các vấn đề an ninh quốc gia

Tổng Thống: Tôi hy vọng chúng ta có thể coi đây là một phiên điều hành để chúng ta có thể có phiên này tự do và mở rộng.
Sparkman: Chúng tôi chỉ đến từ một.
Tổng Thống: Chúng ta đặt rất nhiều thời gian và nỗ lực vào bài phát biểu. 2 Có sự đồng ý chung  trong Chính quyền với những gì tôi đã nói và các chính sách tôi đã đưa ra. Do đó tôi đã có thể nói với niềm tin về nơi chúng ta nên đi.
Sparkman: Tôi nghĩ 30 phút đầu tiên trong bài phát biểu của Tổng Thống, bao trùm cả thế giới Tôi không biết ai đã viết nó nhưng đó là cấu trúc từ tốt nhất tôi đã thấy và một bài phát biểu tuyệt vời.
Tôi muốn nghe từ hai vị Bộ Trưởng.
Tổng Thống: Henry.
Kissinger: Có lẽ tôi nên nói về tình hình chính trị và Jim sẽ thảo luận về tình hình quân sự và các số liệu chúng tôi đang yêu cầu.
Rõ ràng tình hình quân sự ở miền Nam Việt Nam vô cùng khó khăn. Bắc Việt có ưu thế về quân sự. Họ đã chiếm phần lớn lãnh thổ. Nguyȇn nhân theo quan điểm của chúng tôi bởi quá ít sự trợ giúp và quản lý không đủ năng lực của cuộc rút quân. Nhưng cho dù lý do là gì, chúng tôi đang cố gắng mang lại một tình huống chính trị và một cuộc đàm phán sẽ khai thác sự cân bằng mới về lực lượng. Chúng tôi đã nghĩ rằng Hoa Kỳ không nên là một tác nhân chính trong các cuộc đàm phán này mà nên dựa vào Nam Việt Nam hoặc những người khác như Pháp. Chúng tôi sẵn sàng hỗ trợ các nỗ lực đàm phán và các yếu tố được chuẩn bị để đàm phán. Đây là một quá trình sẽ mất vài tuần để sắp xếp tại Sài Gòn.
[Trang 818]
Đối với tình hình pháp lý về sơ tán. Chúng tôi muốn giảm số lượng   [Trang 818] công dân Mỹ càng sớm càng tốt nhưng không nhanh đến mức dẫn đến sự hoảng loạn. Đại sứ quán đã chống lại việc sơ tán, nhưng chúng tôi đã ra lệnh giảm xuống còn khoảng 1.250. Tôi sẽ đánh giá cao không đề cập đến nó.
Tổng thống: Chúng ta đã có một vấn đề tương tự ở Campuchia. Chúng ta bắt đầu với hơn 400 và đã giảm xuống còn khoảng 75 khi thời gian sơ tán đến. Chúng tôi đã chuẩn bị cho 600 người Mỹ và 300 người Campuchia. Chúng tôi đã có rất ít, bởi vì những người Campuchia gan dạ đã chọn ở lại và chết thay vì rời đi. Vì vậy, chúng tôi đã đưa nó xuống một cách có trật tự đến một con số có thể quản lý.
Kissinger: Chúng tôi đề nghị các thành viên Nội các ở Phnom Penh có cơ hội rời đi và không có ngoại lệ họ vẫn ở lại mặc dù họ nằm trong danh sách ám sát.
Tổng số người bị đe dọa ở Việt Nam là hơn một triệu. Danh sách không thể giảm là 174.000. Điều này không có nghĩa là chúng ta có thể mang họ ra; nó sẽ chỉ là những người trong tình trạng hết sức nguy hiểm. Chúng tôi sẽ phải tập hợp họ ở nơi chúng ta có thể đến với họ và có điều kiện để chúng ta có thể di chuyển họ.
Có hai Đạo luật của Quốc hội: Đạo luật Quyền lực Chiến tranh và ngăn chặn Đông Dương. Chúng tôi nghĩ rằng theo Đạo luật Quyền lực Chiến tranh, Tổng thống có thẩm quyền đối với việc sơ tán công dân Mỹ; với Đạo luật Đông Dương, chúng tôi sẽ đánh giá cao sự làm rõ. Chúng tôi nghĩ rằng không có thẩm quyền sơ tán người Việt Nam.
Schlesinger : Henry đã chạm đến những điểm cao. Đã có một số cải thiện trong vài ngày qua. Họ đã chiến đấu tốt ở Xuân Lộc và đồng bằng nhưng liệu điều đó có tạm thời hay không phụ thuộc vào yêu cầu của Bắc Việt và Tổng thống. Trong khu vực quân sự, Bắc Việt có tám sư đoàn và bảy của quân đội Việt Nam. Họ đang làm tốt nhưng họ đang thiếu hụt đạn dược. Nói chung, nếu Bắc Việt đưa lực lượng của họ, họ sẽ có ưu thế, nhưng Nam Việt Nam biết địa hình và dựa lưng vào tường.
Chúng tôi đã yêu cầu 722 triệu đô la, phản ánh kết quả của nhiệm vụ Weyand . 3 Sự khác biệt phản ánh hy vọng về phía GVN để trang bị bốn sư đoàn bộ binh. Đó là 140 triệu đô la. Để chuyển đổi  bốn nhóm biệt động quân là 120 triệu đô la. Đối với đạn dược nói chung, $ 190 triệu. Nếu Ông muốn dữ liệu chi tiết hơn, General Weyand đang ở đây.
Tổng Thống: Hãy xem những gì Ủy ban mong muốn. 722 triệu đô la được thiết kế để đáp ứng tình hình hiện tại và hoàn toàn khác với 300 triệu đô la. Báo cáo của Fred phản ánh một tình huống khác.
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Case: Ông rất tốt để gặp chúng tôi, đặc biệt là trong thông báo ngắn như vậy. Lý do của cuộc họp là Nhiệm vụ Moose vừa trở lại và thông báo cho chúng tôi. 4 Chúng tôi có sự đồng thuận về các hành động ngay lập tức: Cần có hành động khẩn cấp để giảm nhân sự Mỹ đến mức có thể di tản trong một lần di tản. Chúng tôi cảm thấy có nguy hiểm nghiêm trọng nếu việc giảm này không được thực hiện kịp thời. Chúng tôi sợ những người trên đất sẽ hoảng loạn vì vậy chúng tôi không di chuyển nhanh chóng. Chúng tôi sẽ đến với họ thẳng thắn và nói rằng đây là cách chúng tôi sẽ làm điều đó. Stew gợi ý một cuộc di tản biển.
Kissinger: Chúng tôi đã chờ để hối thúc anh ấy cho đến khi bài phát biểu của Tổng thống để nó không nằm trong bối cảnh rút phích cắm. Bây giờ chúng tôi có một điện báo nói rằng nó đang được tiến hành.
Tổng thống: Không quan trọng, Stew, nhưng 4.000 trên một con tàu sẽ rút phích cắm. Chúng tôi có thể đã lấy hơn 600. Tôi không biết có thể xử trí thêm bao nhiêu nữa.
Percy: Chúng ta không thể ra lệnh cho mọi máy bay ra đi đều chở đầy?
Javits: Có lệnh và lệnh. Chúng tôi nghĩ rằng ông nên chắc chắn thông qua một người nào đó ngoài Martin rằng các lệnh của ông đang được thực hiện. Trong bất kỳ bối cảnh viện trợ nào, ưu tiên hàng đầu phải là đưa người Mỹ và người miền Nam Việt Nam xứng đáng ra ngoài. Đó là vấn đề của ông, nhưng chúng tôi nghĩ ông nên chắc chắn rằng lệnh của ông nên được thực hiện.
Tổng Thống: Tôi đảm bảo với ông các lệnh của tôi sẽ được thực hiện. Đây là một con đường hai chiều. Chúng tôi sẽ làm phần của chúng tôi nhưng chúng tôi nghĩ rằng chúng tôi có một lịch trình và chương trình tốt và muốn sự hợp tác của ông. Tôi nghĩ rằng chúng ta có nghĩa vụ phải làm bất cứ điều gì có thể cho những người mà chúng ta có nghĩa vụ.
Baker: Chúng tôi cảm thấy một cuộc di tản của các công dân Mỹ đã quá khẩn cấp mà mọi thứ khác – tính pháp lý, sự đương nhiệm Thiệu, mọi thứ khác chỉ là thứ yếu, so với nó. Chúng tôi đánh giá cao thái độ sắp tới của ông đối với vấn đề này trong bài phát biểu của ông. Chúng tôi muốn nói với ông mối quan tâm của chúng tôi và nghe từ ông mối quan tâm của ông. Chúng tôi hy vọng khi chúng tôi có, chúng tôi sẽ thiết lập một kỷ nguyên đàm phán mới giữa các nhánh Hành pháp và Lập pháp. Chúng tôi sẽ nói chuyện với ông về số tiền, cần được thiết kế để tạo điều kiện cho người Mỹ di tản.

Sparkman: Báo cáo thì thế nào?
Tổng Thống: Tôi đã đọc nó. Tôi không đồng ý với tất cả nhưng đó là một báo cáo thẳng thắn.
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Sparkman: Cuộc di tản Campuchia đã diễn ra tốt đẹp vì kế hoạch. Chúng tôi hy vọng có một số kế hoạch đang diễn ra ở Sài Gòn.
Schlesinger: Các tình huống không song song. Cơ sở hạ tầng Việt Cộng, sự ùn tắc, mức độ bạo lực tiềm tàng cao có thể phức tạp.
Trường hợp : Chúng tôi đánh giá cao điều này. Đó là lý do tại sao chúng tôi quan tâm.
Percy: Chúng ta có thể làm rõ trên số 1.200 - khi họ sẽ ở đó và họ có thể được kéo trong một chuyến di tản không?
Kissinger: Hôm nay tôi không có điều kiện đó. Tôi sẽ có nó vào ngày mai và tôi sẽ cho ông biết. Vào thứ Năm, Đại sứ được yêu cầu gỡ (giảm) xuống càng sớm càng tốt, và nói với Thiệu ngay lập tức. 5
Percy: 1.200 là mức tối thiểu trước mắt? Nghe có vẻ như một số lượng lớn. Lý do dễ dàng ở Campuchia là chúng tôi đặt con số tối đa.
Tổng Thống: Nếu không có dấu hiệu viện trợ, tình hình có thể tan rã nhanh chóng.
Javits: Tôi sẽ cung cấp cho ông một khoản tiền lớn để sơ tán, nhưng không phải là một nikel cho viện trợ quân sự cho Thiệu.
Church: Tôi sẽ nghĩ rằng nếu cần tiền để tạo điều kiện cho người Mỹ ra ngoài, điều đó có thể được giải quyết. Những gì chưa được giải quyết là người di tản Việt Nam. Bộ trưởng Kissinger cho biết có thể có 175.000. Rõ ràng không có sự ức chế pháp lý nào để đưa một số người theo cùng người Mỹ ra ngoài, nhưng 175.000, với quân đội Mỹ tham gia, có thể liên quan đến chúng tôi trong một cuộc chiến rất lớn. Điều này làm dấy lên nỗi ám ảnh về một cuộc chiến mới, hàng ngàn lính Mỹ cố thủ trong một vùng đất nội địa (enclave) trong một thời gian dài.
Tổng Thống: Không dự tính rằng điều này sẽ diễn ra trong một thời gian dài nhưng càng nhanh và chính xác càng tốt.

Biden: Điều khiến chúng tôi lo ngại là một tuần trước Habib nói với chúng tôi rằng chúng ta sẽ công thức một kế hoạch. Một tuần đã trôi qua và không có gì xảy ra. Chúng ta nên tập trung vào việc đưa họ ra ngoài. Đưa người Việt ra ngoài và viện trợ quân sự cho Việt Nam là hoàn toàn khác nhau.
Kissinger: Kế hoạch sơ tán của người Mỹ đang ở trong tình trạng khá tốt. Nhưng chúng tôi đã có một báo cáo rằng nếu chúng ta rút ra và để họ rơi vào sự lung lạc, chúng ta có thể phải chiến đấu với người miền Nam. Đó là điều mà chúng tôi quan tâm và đó là lý do tại sao chúng tôi muốn đến Thiệu để chúng tôi không làm điều đó trong bối cảnh sự chạy trốn. Vấn đề thứ hai là đưa công dân Mỹ ra ngoài trong trường hợp khẩn cấp. Thứ ba là người Việt Nam mà chúng ta có nghĩa vụ. Điều này là vô cùng phức tạp và quy mô lớn. Nó đòi hỏi sự hợp tác từ Việt Nam và có thể là người Bắc Việt.
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Biden: Tôi cảm thấy bị đưa vào một con số tất cả hoặc không có gì. Tôi không muốn phải bỏ phiếu để mua tất cả hoặc không có gì. Tôi không chắc mình có thể bỏ phiếu cho một số tiền để đặt quân đội Mỹ vào trong một đến sáu tháng để đưa người Việt Nam ra ngoài. Tôi sẽ bỏ phiếu cho bất kỳ số tiền nào để đưa người Mỹ ra ngoài. Tôi không muốn nó trộn lẫn với việc đưa người Việt ra ngoài.
Tổng Thống: Có ba hoạt động đan xen nhau. Có được 4.500, 1.800 cuối cùng và người Việt Nam. Cách tồi tệ nhất để làm điều đó là dán nhãn (mang danh xưng) sự viện trợ sơ tán.
Symington: Tôi rất quen thuộc với Việt Nam. Năm 1967 tôi quyết định điều đó là vô vọng. Người dân của tôi đang hỏi liệu chúng tôi có hỏi liệu chúng tôi có bắt giữ con tin người Mỹ để được viện trợ thêm không. Chúng tôi biết rằng không phải như vậy, nhưng điều khiến tôi lo lắng là cảm giác chúng tôi đã sai rất nhiều lần. Chúng tôi đều bất ngờ trước sự sụp đổ của miền Nam Việt Nam. Tại sao chúng ta để lại 6.000 ở đó cho đến nay? 175.000 đi đâu? Ai sẽ lấy chúng? Những điều này có thể được giải quyết nếu chúng ta có thể đưa người Mỹ ra ngoài.
Pell: Chúng ta có thể đưa những người này vào Borneo. Nó có cùng vĩ độ, cùng khí hậu và sẽ chào đón một số người chống Cộng.
Tổng Thống: Hãy để tôi nhận xét về nơi họ sẽ đi: Chúng ta đã mở cửa cho người Hungary. Tôi không nói tình hình là giống hệt nhau nhưng truyền thống của chúng ta là chào đón những người bị áp bức. Tôi không nghĩ những người này nên được đối xử khác biệt với bất kỳ người nào khác, người Hung, người Cuba, người Do Thái từ Liên Xô.

Clark: Là yêu cầu hỗ trợ quân sự chủ yếu để bắt giữ tình hình và đưa ra các cuộc đàm phán, hoặc cho một cái gì khác?
Tổng thống: Tôi nghĩ rằng tôi đã tuyên bố rõ ràng: Chúng tôi muốn số tiền ổn định tình hình quân sự để tạo cơ hội đàm phán và cho phép sơ tán người Mỹ và người Việt Nam xứng đáng.
Sparkman: Chúng ta có bất kỳ nghĩa vụ nào theo Hiệp định Paris không?
Tổng Thống: Chúng ta đã ký với sự hiểu biết chúng ta có thể duy trì nó. Các phương tiện đã được lấy từ chúng tôi.
Sparkman: Nhưng nghĩa vụ của chúng ta. . .
Kissinger : Hiệp định không có nghĩa vụ nhưng chính quyền, đó là Điều 7. Tổng thống Nixon và những người khác phán xét rằng việc cho phép Hoa Kỳ tự trục xuất sẽ cho phép Hoa Kỳ cung cấp viện trợ và thực thi các thỏa thuận. Theo Hiệp định Paris, chúng ta không có nghĩa vụ. Đối với Miền Nam Việt Nam chúng tôi đã nói rằng nếu họ cho chúng tôi rút lực lượng ra thì sẽ tăng cường cơ hội nhận viện trợ cho họ và thực thi thỏa thuận. Đó là trong bối cảnh này, không phải là một nghĩa vụ pháp lý. Chúng tôi không bao giờ yêu cầu một nghĩa vụ; chúng tôi không bao giờ nhận một nghĩa vụ. Nhưng một số người trong chúng tôi nghĩ rằng có một nghĩa vụ đạo đức.
Mansfield: Vị trí của tôi rất được biết đến và tôi sẽ không thay đổi. Cuộc họp đảng quan tâm đến tốc độ di tản. Ngoài ra, các nhân chứng phải là thành viên cao nhất trong Quản trị của ông. Chúng tôi [Trang 822] đang cố gắng phù hợp theo yêu cầu của ông càng sớm càng tốt. Nếu Hugh [Scott ] đồng ý, chúng tôi sẽ không gặp thứ Ba và thứ Tư (6) để chúng tôi có thể tiến hành các yêu cầu này một cách nhanh chóng. Có mối quan tâm về viện trợ nhân đạo và mong muốn gửi nó thông qua các cơ quan phi chính phủ và Liên Hợp Quốc.
Scott: Tôi đồng ý với đề nghị. Một điều chúng ta chưa thảo luận là số tiền. Tôi nghĩ rằng chúng ta cần phải thảo luận về một con số.
Biden: Tôi không muốn cam kết với bất kỳ con số chính xác nào. Bao nhiêu tiền phụ thuộc vào số lượng (người) chúng ta cố gắng để mang ra.
Kissinger: Đây là một vấn đề cực kỳ tinh tế. Chúng ta không thể đưa họ trong điều kiện khủng hoảng. Không ai nghĩ đến một khoảng thời gian dài để đưa mọi người ra ngoài. Chúng tôi đang nghĩ đến mười ngày đến hai tuần.

Church: Tôi nghĩ rằng chúng ta nên thành lập một quỹ khẩn cấp để cho phép ông đối phó tình huống và cẩn thận rút ra ngôn ngữ về quân đội để đảm bảo có giới hạn.
Tổng thống: Chúng tôi không muốn đưa quân đội Mỹ vào nhưng chúng tôi phải có đủ tiền để làm cho nó giống như chúng tôi dự định giữ vị trí trong một thời gian.
Glenn: Ý tưởng ở đây rất khác so với những gì tôi hình dung. Tôi và hầu hết các Thượng nghị sĩ đã nghĩ đến một ca phẫu thuật, không phải là một cuộc phẫu thuật kéo dài mười ngày đến hai tuần với một đầu cầu. Đây là một sự quay trở lại với một cường độ chúng ta chưa hình dung.
Tôi nghĩ rằng chúng ta phải giữ điều này rất yên tĩnh. Tôi nghĩ rằng đó là một cuộc di tản một lần bằng không lực.
Case: Điều này rất cần thiết đã được nói. Cách duy nhất chúng ta có thể thực hiện một hoạt động thuộc loại này là thông qua các cuộc đàm phán giữa miền Bắc và miền Nam.
Glenn: Tôi có thể thấy Bắc Việt quyết định không cho chúng ta đưa những người này ra ngoài và tấn công đầu cầu của chúng ta. Sau đó, chúng ta sẽ phải gửi lực lượng để bảo vệ lực lượng an ninh của chúng ta. Điều đó làm tôi sợ hãi
Javits: Nói với báo chí chúng ta đang nghĩ đến 200 triệu đô la.
Tổng Thống: Nếu đây là một cuộc họp để lên kế hoạch sơ tán, điều này sẽ khiến Mi` Nam Việt Nam hoảng sợ hoàn toàn.
[Cuộc họp kết thúc]


Thứ Tư, 29 tháng 7, 2020

Trump Admin. Moves to Tighten Social Media Regulations

INTERSPACE COMMUNICATION
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Newsy

Trump Admin. Moves to Tighten Social Media Regulations

ASIA PACIFIC. (The Telegraph) World's largest naval exercise sparks more friction between US and China. (Reuters) U.S. Navy carrier conducted exercises in South China Sea on Aug. 14. (AP) US commander affirms US support for Japan on China dispute

 
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World's largest naval exercise sparks more friction between US and China

Nicola Smith

The world’s largest naval exercise begins off the coast of Hawaii on Monday as diplomatic tensions escalate between the US and its allies and China over Beijing’s territorial ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Several countries participating in the joint exercises, billed by the US navy as strengthening alliances to “ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific” have raised concerns about China’s attempts to assert its control over critical trade routes and waterways. They include Australia, Japan, the Philippines and India.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) event, hosted by the US Pacific Fleet, to scale down from 25 to 11 nations, about 20 ships and 5,300 personnel, and its drills, which will now only be conducted at sea, have been whittled down from the usual five weeks to two.

However, the exercises have riled Beijing, which was not invited to participate, despite taking part in 2014 and 2016. China was disinvited in 2018 by the Trump administration which accused it of militarising disputed areas of the South China Sea.

Chinese state media has lashed out at the US in the run up to RIMPAC. The Global Times in particular has issued several barbed commentaries on Washington’s attempts to flex its military muscle and “strongarm” allies to join the exercise.

“The US can test its partners in the RIMPAC But when it comes to a real battlefield, will the US still be able to assemble that many allies?” it asked last week.

On Monday, the state-run paper chided the US for ignoring a petition by Hawaiian citizens to call off the event over coronavirus fears.

China, however, in recent weeks has stepped up its own show of force in the Indo-Pacific region, carrying out drills both in the South China Sea and in waters near Taiwan, an island democracy and US ally that Beijing claims as its own and seeks to annex.

On Sunday, the People’s Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong released footage of a live-fire drill in the South China, firing cannons and torpedoes and carrying out anti-submarine training, in what military analysts said was a warning to Taiwan.

The footage emerged a day after the US navy said a strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan had conducted maritime air defence operations.


 
 

Indo-Pacific experts have warned the region is heading towards a dangerous juncture.

Writing in the Lawfare Blog, Kurt Campbell, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and the Pacific and Ali Wyne of the Atlantic Council, said deteriorating ties between the US and China, in part fuelled by the pandemic, made current dynamics “even more conducive to inadvertent escalation.”

Dr William Choong, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told The Telegraph that “you can’t divorce China and RIMPAC from the broader tensions in the Sino-US relationship.”

He added that in the bigger picture “it looks like the Chinese are getting increasingly impatient, although I think that it’s an action reaction cycle that you see between the Americans and the Chinese – you can’t really ascertain who started this in a sense.”

Ultimately the situation was “worrying,” he said, as unlike during earlier regional clashes, “the balance of power has quite significantly shifted towards the Chinese side, in terms of the capabilities that the Chinese are able to bring to the table, which are significantly larger.”

Meanwhile, the US and South Korea will also begin their annual joint military exercises this week.

Despite a low key programme due to the pandemic, mainly involving computer-simulated war scenarios, the drills beginning on Tuesday may still irk North Korea, which views the allies’ training as invasion rehearsals.

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U.S. Navy carrier conducted exercises in South China Sea on Aug. 14

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier conducted exercises in the contested South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. navy said in a statement.

A strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan conducted flight operations and high-end maritime stability operations and exercises, the statement said.

"Integration with our joint partners is essential to ensuring joint force responsiveness and lethality, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific," U.S. Navy Commander Joshua Fagan, Task Force 70 air operations officer aboard USS Ronald Reagan, was quoted as saying.

The drill comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and China. Washington has criticised Beijing over its novel coronavirus response and accuses it of taking advantage of the pandemic to push territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

The United States has long opposed China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea and has sent warships regularly through the strategic waterway.

China has objected to such exercises and said the U.S. rejection of its claims in the South China Sea has raised tension and undermined stability in the region.

China claims nine tenths of the resource-rich South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion of trade passes a year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Eduting by Shri Navaratnam)

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Associated Press

US commander affirms US support for Japan on China dispute

YURI KAGEYAMA
In this image made from an online news conference provided by U.S. Forces Japan, Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, Commander of the U.S. Force, speaks from Yokota Air Base, in Tokyo, to reporters, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Schneider said Wednesday strict measures were in place among his ranks to curb the spread of the coronavirus by military service personnel entering Japan.(U.S. Forces Japan. via AP)
In this image made from an online news conference provided by U.S. Forces Japan, Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, Commander of the U.S. Force, speaks from Yokota Air Base, in Tokyo, to reporters, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Schneider said Wednesday strict measures were in place among his ranks to curb the spread of the coronavirus by military service personnel entering Japan.(U.S. Forces Japan. via AP)
TOKYO (AP) — The United States supports Japan's protests over Chinese ships venturing into the economic waters near disputed East China Sea islands, the commander of the U.S. Forces in Japan said Wednesday.
“The United States is 100% absolutely steadfast in its commitment to help the government of Japan with the situation in Senkaku,” Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider said of the group of islands, which are controlled by Japan.
China also claims the islands, which it calls Diaoyu.
“That’s 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is no deviation in that regard,” Schneider told reporters.

Japan has long protested the repeated presence of Chinese coast guard vessels in the waters. Schneider also noted such incursions had increased recently.
He called China the “No. 1 challenge” in regional security, although North Korea was the more “immediate threat,” given its weapons development.
Schneider said the U.S. was offering Japan surveillance information and other support, such as “reconnaissance capability,” which refers to monitoring the whereabouts of a potential enemy, to help Japan “assess the situation and to figure out exactly what’s going on in the water in and around the Senkaku.”
China shrugged off such concerns.
Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, reasserted China’s claim to the islands, stressing it was the country’s “inherent right to carry out patrol and law enforcement” activities in the area.
“We hope that relevant parties will do something helpful to maintain regional peace and stability and avoid words and deeds that are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” Wang told reporters at a daily press briefing.
Schneider was speaking at an online press briefing that mostly touched on U.S. efforts to combat the coronavirus among its forces in Japan.
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Associated Press journalist Haruka Nuga in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Thứ Hai, 27 tháng 7, 2020

Interspace Communication (Reuters) Global prospects dim for China's tech champions as great powers clash

Business

Global prospects dim for China's tech champions as great powers clash

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping pose for a photo ahead of their bilateral meeting during the 2019 G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies' founder Ren Zhengfei's global ambitions are marked in bricks and mortar at a new company campus in southern China, where the buildings are replicas from European cities.
Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, the operator of short video app TikTok, has plastered his Beijing headquarters with posters including a cover of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt's book "How Google Works", and has long said he will build a global firm that can compete with U.S. tech giants.
But the two companies which best exemplify China's ambitions to challenge U.S. tech dominance are now stymied by strains in relations between China and countries including the United States, India, Australia and Britain.
Chinese companies with world-beating technology -- including drone-maker DJI, artificial intelligence firms Megvii, SenseTime and iFlytek , surveillance camera vendor Hikvision and e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group -- are also among those losing access to markets.
Smaller companies are being forced to re-think too.
"What we are experiencing now is unprecedented," said a Chinese startup founder who has operations in the United States and India but asked not to be identified as he is now considering walking away. "My entrepreneurial spirit has been dampened due to all this, let alone global ambitions."
It's a big shift from even a year ago, when the U.S.-led trade war with China and security concerns about Huawei were having little impact on most Chinese tech champions.
SenseTime and Megvii, backed by U.S. investors, were eyeing big IPOs. ByteDance's TikTok unit was enjoying unfettered global growth. Alibaba was touting the global prospects for its cloud business, and DJI was consolidating domination of the drone business.
But then came new U.S. sanctions against Chinese tech firms last October, prompted in part by repression of the Muslim Uighur population in the Western province of Xinjiang.
U.S. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up anti-China rhetoric as he seeks re-election and Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken a tough line. Tensions have also risen between Beijing and other countries over new security laws passed for Hong Kong, and a border skirmish with Indian troops led to an India government ban on 59 Chinese apps.
Now China's top tech players are having contracts cancelled, products banned and investments blocked, with more restrictions on the horizon.
ByteDance could be forced to sell TikTok as Washington considers following India in banning the short video app, a global product that analysts say is worth at least $20 billion.
Huawei is set to lose billions of dollars a year in revenue from bans on its network equipment, and more countries could follow the United States, Britain and others in blocking the company's gear.
The U.S. Interior Department has grounded the privately held DJI's fleet and halted additional purchases because of data security risks, and more restrictions could be in the offing.
Alibaba Group is cutting staff at its UC Web subsidiary in India after its popular mobile Web browser was banned by the government. DJI has put IPO plans on ice.
The companies are watching geopolitical developments "with white knuckles," said Daniel Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities.
Huawei, Alibaba, SenseTime and Megvii declined to comment. ByteDance and Tencent did not respond to requests for comment.
China's foreign ministry said it encourages and directs the country’s "strong, reputable companies" to invest overseas in a compliant manner, and hopes other countries will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
"International investment is an important engine driver for economic growth. As the global economy is under tremendous downward pressure, all parties should take strong measures to jointly further liberalise and facilitate trade and investment, and create a fair, transparent, and predictable investment environment," it said in a fax.
SOME BRIGHT SPOTS
Investors said some less sensitive sectors such as gaming are still open to Chinese players.
Tencent Holdings has had some of its apps in India banned, but not popular games such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. The company recently launched a new California-based gaming studio and plans more such operations.
A huge domestic market is by far the biggest profit centre for China's tech firms, and some countries remain keen to accept Chinese investment.
"Global markets are big and Southeast Asia and Europe should still be open to Chinese companies," said one Beijing-based, internet-focussed hedge fund investor.
But some startups in Southeast Asia that were previously open to taking Chinese money are becoming more reluctant, said David Chang, managing director of Hong Kong-based MindWorks Capital.
"For example, if I take ByteDance on my (equity) capitalization table and then ByteDance gets blocked and blacklisted in the U.S., my dream of listing on the Nasdaq is limited," he said, referring to the U.S. stock exchange popular with tech firms.
Efforts by Chinese companies to change the minds of the foreign regulators have had little effect in the absence of policy changes by Beijing.
ByteDance says it has ring-fenced TikTok from its China operations and poached a Disney executive to head the unit. That has failed to assuage Washington.
"That's about all you can do," said Mark Natkin, managing director at Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting. "Push the public relations as hard as you can, hire managers that give you more of a foreign feel, and keep your fingers crossed that there isn’t another geopolitical flashpoint."
(Reporting by Brenda Goh and Josh Horwitz in Shanghai, Yingzhi Yang in Shanghai, Kane Wu in Hong Kong and David Kirton in Shenzhen, Writing by Brenda Goh and Jonathan Weber, Editing by Timothy Heritage)