Maritime security – Evening Report

PODCAST: USA-Aust Submarine Nukes + China + USA move to occupy each other’s vacuum

Selwyn Manning — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 05:04:59 +0000

A View from Afar – In this week’s podcast, Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning discuss: Geopolitics and how the global order is changing fast after the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan. And overnight the US and Australia announced the nuclearisation of Australia’s submarine fleet.

In particular, Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning examine how the United States’ military arm is now pivoting to the Indo-Pacific region, as the People’s Republic of China pivots its priorities westward to a land-based Silk Road orientation joining Pakistan, Russia, Iran to develop interests in the post-US Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

It appears both the USA and China are moving to fill a perceived vacuum left by the other side.

While the PRC focusses its attention to Silk Road interests, it also is preoccupied inwardly. China has issues at home. As does the USA where its President Joe Biden is struggling to stabilise intrenched divisions in this post-Trump period.

But back to China, where its leader Xi Jinping has ordered strict screen-time controls over young new generation Chinese; huge regulatory reforms designed to control its wealth generating business sector; and a command for China’s wealthy classes to share and to shift toward a state-wide goal of common prosperity.

What does all of this mean for the states and economies of the Asia Pacific/Indo-Pacific region?

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Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

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Samoa confirms China-backed Vaiusu Bay port project shelved

Asia Pacific Report — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 05:17:53 +0000

RNZ Pacific

Samoa’s new prime minister has opted not to proceed with a China-backed port development project championed by her predecessor.

Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said the US$100 million (NZ$139m) project would have significantly added to the country’s exposure to China which already accounts for 40 percent of its external debt.

The proposed construction in Vaiusu Bay has been a divisive issue in Samoa, playing a part in April’s national election where long-serving leader Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi lost his parliamentary majority.

After a protracted impasse following the election, in which Tuila’epa’s HRPP administration refused to concede defeat until legal avenues were exhausted, the new government of Fiame’s Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party was confirmed late last month.

The Vaiusu Bay port project was one of the early items on the FAST government’s agenda.

According to Fiame, the project would increase debt exposure to China by 70 percent.

She said government officials confirmed last week the project had not gone beyond feasability testing and that it exceeded Samoa’s requirement.

‘Not a priority’
“We’ve indicated to Foreign Affairs that this would not be a priority with our government, and since we haven’t made any firm commitments, that we should leave it at that.”

She said the cancellation of a key China-funded maritime port project would not hinder the strong relationship with Beijing.

Fiame said the investment was a sizeable one for any government, including China, and she had serious reservations about that level of commitment.

“It could have been any other donor. So just on the pure numbers and also in terms of the priorities of our government, it is not a priority to us. And thank goodness the negotiation had not arrived at the point where our government has signed on any dotted line.”

Fiame said the door remained open to Beijing and all aid partners for future projects of clear benefit to Samoa.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Indonesia and Japan agree to step up maritime security, plan rail link

Pacific Media Centre — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 23:22:29 +0000

AsiaPacificReport.nz

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Bogor Palace, West Java, on Sunday. Image: Beawiharta/Jakarta Globe/R

Indonesia and Japan have agreed to step up maritime security and start discussions on a major railway project to link Jakarta and Surabaya in East Java, say the two countries’ leaders.

Japan has historically been one of Indonesia’s biggest investors, but it was dealt a blow in 2015 when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s government awarded the contract for a high-speed train project linking Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, to China.

The tensions surrounding the railway deal seemed to have eased on Sunday, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after a meeting with Jokowi in Bogor, West Java, that his country would cooperate with Indonesia to build railways and other types of infrastructure.

The two leaders also discussed North Korea, with Abe saying that the country’s development of nuclear capabilities and missiles has reached “a new level of threat”.

North Korea said last week that it can test launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any time from any location chosen by leader Kim Jong-un. The county also said the United States’ hostile policy towards it was to blame for its arms development.

Solving disputes peacefully
On the South China Sea, Abe said Japan believes in the importance of upholding international law and solving disputes peacefully.

“The South China Sea issue has drawn the attention of the international community and it directly affects peace in the region,” Abe said.

Maritime security cooperation is of utmost importance for fellow maritime nations, Japan and Indonesia, he added.

“Japan will actively encourage cooperation in maritime security and the development of Indonesia’s remote islands,” the prime minister said.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which has around $5 trillion worth of trade passing through annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of the sea.

Although Indonesia is not part of the dispute, it does object to China’s claim to the waters around the Natuna Islands.

Railway wars
Winning the contract in 2015 for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, estimated to cost $5.5 billion, was a coup for China, which is vying for influence in the region under its “One Belt, One Road” policy as part of its ambitions to become a global train supplier.

The roughly 600km Jakarta-Surabaya project is likely to cost less than the Jakarta-Bandung railway, as it will run at a slower speed, while most of the land for the project has already been secured, according to Indonesia’s transport minister.

The minister was reported to have said in October that the government invited Japan to work on the Jakarta-Surabaya project, which is aimed at slashing journey times between the capital and the East Java city by more than half, to around five hours.

Japan and Indonesia also plan to develop the Masela gas block in Maluku Province and Patimban Port in West Java, Jokowi said.

On other regional issues, Abe said North Korea’s kidnapping of Japanese citizens is a very important challenge for his administration to resolve.

Pyongyang admitted in 2002 to kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens a decade ago. Abe has made resolving the emotive issue a signature pledge of his political career.

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