China has carried out “provocative military movements” in the Himalayan border area disputed between the two countries overnight from Saturday to Sunday, according to an Indian army statement, in a fresh flare-up between the two nuclear-armed countries.
Indian troops pre-empted Chinese army’s activity on the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, part of which was transgressed by the Chinese soldiers in May, the statement said on Monday, adding that Indian troops took steps to thwart the Chinese attempt to “unilaterally change” facts on the ground.
“On the Night of 29/30 August 2020, PLA [People’s Liberation Army] troops violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo,” the Indian army said in a statement.
“Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground,” it said.
Army officials from the two sides are meeting to resolve the latest border dispute that comes more than two months after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in fighting that broke out between the two sides in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.
“Talks have been going on between the two sides since May to resolve these escalating tensions but despite these talks going on there was a very violent clash on the 15th of June, where 20 indian soldiers and an unknown number of chinese soldiers were killed,” Al Jazeera’s Elizabeth Puranam, reporting from New Delhi, said.
“Since then these talks between the two sides have really ramped up and yet the latest statement from the Indian army indicates that they were still far from a solution to this.”
China denies its troops crossed LAC
China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the allegations made by India. Chinese border troops “always strictly abide by the Line of Actual Control, and never cross the line”, spokesman Zhao Lijian told a news briefing, referring to the the de facto frontier between the two countries.
Both sides are in communication regarding the situation on the ground, he said.
The two Asian giants have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve the border dispute that erupted in late April after Chinese troops transgressed into the Indian side of the LAC.

Sino-Indian clash: Disputed border, divided media | The Listening Post (Full)

For months, troops have been locked in a face-off in the western Himalayas, where each side accuses the other of violating their nearly 3,500km-long (2,000 miles) border, most of which remains undemarcated.
The recent border tensions are the most serious in more than half a century.
Accusing each other of instigating the violence, both sides pledged to safeguard their territory but also to try to end the standoff that dramatically changed India-China bilateral relationship.

India has banned dozens of Chinese apps, including widely popular video-sharing app TikTok, and has placed restrictions on Chinese investments amid backlash against Beijing following the deadly border clashes.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has termed the latest border stand-off as “the most serious situation after 1962” war with China.
“This is surely the most serious situation after 1962. In fact, after 45 years, we have had military casualties on this border. The quantum of forces currently deployed by both sides at the LAC is also unprecedented,” Jaishankar told Rediff.com in an interview last week.

Sunday’s border violations by PLA in Pangong-Chushul sector are more serious than govt is admitting.China is steadily pushing the Line of Actual Control westwards. The Indian Army wants to stop “dialogue” and take action. But New Delhi is desperate for a negotiated solution.
— Ajai Shukla (@ajaishukla) August 31, 2020

India and China fought a war in 1962 over their competing territorial claims, and the two Asian giants have been unable to agree a permanent border along their frontier.
The ongoing standoff high in the Karakoram mountains is over disputed portions of a pristine landscape that boasts the world’s highest landing strip, a glacier that feeds one of the largest irrigation systems in the world, and a critical link to China’s massive “Belt and Road” infrastructure project.
The faceoff began at three places in April, but by June it escalated and spread to two other places toward the north in Depsang and Galwan Valley where India has built an all-weather military road along the disputed frontier.
On June 15, the situation turned deadly when the rival troops engaged in a night-time clash in Galwan that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. China did not report any casualties.
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Having secured the allegiance of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a state visit to Beijing in 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping returned the favour when he visited Manila in 2018 promising a new chapter in the two nations’ diplomatic ties and vowing to turn the disputed South China Sea into “a sea of peace”.
In a published message to Filipinos just before his trip, Xi recalled how more than 600 years ago, Chinese explorer Zheng He “made multiple visits to the Manila Bay, Visayas and Sulu” areas during his “seven overseas voyages seeking friendship and cooperation”.
The suggestion was that China had been in contact with the archipelago long before Europeans arrived naming it Las Islas Filipinas after Spain’s King Felipe II. It was also a way for Xi to bolster China’s claims in the South China Sea based on its ‘nine dash line’ and long contested by the Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
The problem is that the evidence suggests Zheng never set foot in the future Philippine islands.
“All the scholars all over the world are unanimous: Zheng He never visited the Philippines,” Antonio Carpio said in an online lecture earlier this month. He called Xi’s anecdote “totally false”. The former Philippine Supreme Court justice also presented other official Chinese records that debunk Beijing’s “historic maritime rights” over the South China Sea – thereby raising new questions about its standing in the region as tensions escalate.

South China Sea tensions prevail ahead of The Hague ruling

On Monday, the US raised the stakes saying “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources” across most of the disputed seas were “completely unlawful”. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added that the world would “not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire.” In response, Beijing accused Washington of unnecessarily inflaming the situation.
Earlier, the US deployed the warships, USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan to assert what it calls its freedom of navigation in the waters. A sailor on one of the ships told Al Jazeera that the operations could last for weeks. China held a large-scale naval exercise in the area from July 1 to 5.
‘History vs facts on the ground’
Historical records may not favour China in the continuing debate on the control of the South China Sea,  through which as much as $5.3tn in global trade passes annually.
Refuting the Chinese president’s claim, Carpio, the Filipino legal scholar, presented evidence from China’s own Naval Hydrographic Institute, chronicling Zheng’s visit to the then Cham Kingdom of central Vietnam. A translation mixup of the kingdom’s Chinese name, incorrectly referred to it later as a Philippine island.
A 2019 Ancient History Encyclopedia article also traced Zheng’s expeditions in the early 1400s as far as the Arabia and Africa, but nowhere in the story did it mention Zheng’s supposed visit to the Philippines.

A map of ancient China dating back to the Tang Dynasty shows that the island of Hainan was the country’s southernmost territory [State Bureau of Cultural Relics of China via the presentation of Philippine Justice Antonio Carpio]

To further disprove China’s claim of “historic rights”, Carpio presented several ancient Chinese maps, dating as far back as 800 and 900 years ago during the Song and Tang dynasties. All the maps showed that China’s southernmost territory was the island of Hainan.
Additionally, the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China, also identified Hainan as the country’s southernmost part, raising questions over what would later emerge as the “nine-dash line” claim.
Regardless of the historical evidence, the reality is that China already “controls almost all the facts on the ground”, said Thomas Benjamin Daniel, senior foreign policy expert at Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies. It is clear that Beijing now has “real and credible foothold” in the South China Sea, he told Al Jazeera. 
Still, Daniel and other analysts are urging China and other stakeholders in the region, to abide by the principles and spirit of international law, to keep the peace and avoid situations that would lead “down a very dangerous road.”

— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) July 8, 2020

‘Nine-dash line’
For years, China has anchored its South China Sea claims on the “nine-dash line”, under which it lays claim to almost 90 percent of the disputed waters as far south as the coasts of Malaysian Borneo and Brunei. Images published by China showed the imaginary line almost hogging the shores of neighbouring countries.
Using the controversial line, Beijing has been ramping up activities in the South China Sea, starting with the Paracels in the 1970s and 1980s, the Spratlys in the 1990s, and the Scarborough Shoal in the early 2000s.
Chester Cabalza, a security analyst and fellow at the National Defence University in Beijing, said China has been strategic in approaching the “South China Sea conundrum”. He added that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has only provided the country even more opportunities to advance its interests.
“It seems like China is winning,” he told Al Jazeera, noting how it has militarised the disputed waters by developing rocks and atolls into islands in recent years.
ISIS Malaysia’s Daniel added that China “is playing the long game”, as it attempts to solidify and “normalise” its regional maritime position.

An aerial view of the disputed Subi reef shows China’s construction of maritime and aerial facilities on reclaimed land in 2017 [File: Francis R Malasig/EPA]

The Hague ruling
Beijing’s approach encountered resistance in 2016 with the landmark ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which declared China’s “historic rights” had no legal basis.
The ruling also said that the rocks and the partly submerged features, on which China had built its naval and aerial facilities, were within the 200 nautical miles (370.4km) Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, as defined by the UN. Those zones allow only the Philippines to fish and explore any natural resources although foreign vessels are allowed safe passage.
The court also automatically established the EEZs of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam, boosting their own positions in relation to China.
Furthermore, the court said China’s reclaimed areas and artificial islands were not entitled to a 12-mile (22.2km) territorial sea, because they were not habitable in their original form. As such, freedom of navigation and overflight are allowed in those areas.
China refused to participate in the arbitration case, dismissing the ruling as “null and void”.

South China Sea: Beijing extends its military and economic reach | Counting the Cost

It has continued to expand its facilities in the South China Sea regardless, including a three km (1.86 miles) military-grade runway, barracks and radars on Mischief Reef, which is within the Philippine EEZ.
Maritime incidents have also escalated, and in April a Vietnamese boat was sunk; an incident blamed on a Chinese surveillance vessel. All eight firshermen survived. In June 2019, at least 22 Filipino fishermen were almost left to drown when their fishing boat was rammed under suspicious circumstances by an alleged Chinese militia boat. They were later rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.
On Tuesday, Malaysia revealed that Chinese coastguard and navy ships were recorded to have encroached into its waters at least 89 times between 2016 and 2019. Earlier this year, there were also reports of a Chinese government survey ship “tagging” a Malaysian oil-exploration vessels within the Malaysian EEZ.
Cabalza, of the National Defence University in Beijing, described China’s behaviour as “schizophrenic”, as it tries to employ confrontation and cooperation in dealing with its neighbours.
‘Code of Conduct’
As part of its effort to defuse tensions in the region, the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been pressing China for years to reach agreement on the so-called Code of Conduct, which would govern countries’ behaviour in the South China Sea.
Differences between members – some of whom have no claim to the sea but are close to China – mean there has been has little headway.
Cabalza says the 10-nation bloc must present a more unified voice before it takes on China, which prefers bilateral negotiation, adding that ASEAN nations “should not become submissive” in negotiating an equitable deal with Beijing.
On June 26, ASEAN leaders held a virtual summit hosted by Vietnam, in which they declared that the 1982 United Nations oceans treaty should be foundation of sovereign rights and entitlements in the South China Sea. However, the leaders were unable to make significant progress on the Code of Conduct.

As the current chairman of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, Vietnam has stepped up its pushback against Beijing amid recent incidents of alleged harassment of civilians vessels by Chinese militia in the South China Sea [File: Hau Dinh/AP]

Daniel says he is “not very optimistic” that an agreement can be reached soon in order to help ease tension.
“ASEAN is an Association of 10 member states with different national and foreign priorities, that makes decisions based on consensus. Consensus here often means the lowest common denominator.”
In the absence of a consensus, the increased presence of the United States in the South China Sea could prove a useful counterweight.
Daniel said the “marked increase” of US freedom of navigation operations and sharper rhetoric, show that Washington wanted to remain relevant in the region.
On Wednesday, Pompeo issued another statement saying the US would “support countries all across the world who recognise that China has violated their legal territorial claims as well – or maritime claims as well.”
Meanwhile, Carpio said all navies from around the world should be encouraged to sail through the South China Sea and exercise freedom of navigation – to deliver a message to Beijing that it does not control the area.
He also urged Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam to help the Philippines in explaining that China’s claim of “historic right” is “totally false.”
“We should continue resorting to the rule of law, because we have no other choice,” Carpio said.
“War is not an option.”
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China’s top legislative body has begun drafting a national security law for Hong Kong that critics say will undermine the semi-autonomous territory’s legal and political institutions. 
The bill was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Thursday, and covers four categories of crimes: succession, subversion of state power, local terrorist activities and collaborating with foreign or external foreign forces to endanger national security, the official Xinhua News Agency said. 
More:

‘There is never an end game’: Hong Kong after a year of protest

HK’s Carrie Lam says security law opponents ‘enemy of the people’

What China’s new national security law means for Hong Kong 

No details on the definitions of those crimes or the applicable punishments were given. It was not clear either whether the law would be passed during the current three-day session of the committee, which is scheduled to end on Saturday. 
“With hostile forces in and outside of Hong Kong colluding with each other in recent years, the absence of relevant legal system and enforcement mechanisms on safeguarding national security in the [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] has created major risks for China’s national security,” Xinhua said in a commentary. 

Decision on national security law could be made within this NPC standing committee session (ie Sat), per NPC delegate Ip Kwok-him. But, there could be further meetings to deliberate on the legislation, he added. So..it’s a half-baked cake? https://t.co/DrJNPtZVF5
— Alvin Lum (@alvinllum) June 19, 2020

Li Zhanshu, the governing Communist Party’s third-ranking official and head of the National People’s Congress, was presiding over the meeting of the Standing Committee, which handles most legislative tasks in between the annual sessions of the full, and largely ceremonial, congress. 

A draft law on safeguarding #NationalSecurity in the #HongKong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China was submitted to the country’s top legislature for deliberation Thursday.https://t.co/ShBulicYkC pic.twitter.com/TkEZK7kRp7
— China SCIO (@chinascio) June 19, 2020

‘Grave concern’
The congress ratified the decision to enact the legislation at the end of its meeting last month.
Under Hong Kong’s Basic Law, its mini-constitution, the territory’s Legislative Council is supposed to introduce a security law, but no administration has tried to do since mass protests in 2003 forced the administration of then-chief executive Tung Chee-hwa to abandon its effort to do so.
Legal experts say Beijing’s justifications for the law are debatable, and critics have said it will destroy the “one country, two systems” principle under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China in 1997.
China acted following widespread and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the territory last year that began when the administration tried to push through a bill that would have allowed people to be extradited to mainland China for trial. Beijing sees the rallies, which were reignited by the national security legislation, as an attempt to split Hong Kong from the rest of the country.

The United States has said that of the law is passed it will revoke some of the special privileges it grants to the former British colony. The UK has said it will offer passports and a path to citizenship to as many as three million Hong Kong residents. 
On Wednesday, the G7 leading economies expressed its “grave concern” about the legislation stressing that it would breach Beijing’s international commitments as well as the territory’s constitution.
Beijing has denounced the criticism as interference in its internal affairs. 
“We urge relevant parties to study the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong SAR Basic Law and view the national security legislation in an objective manner,” China Daily cited foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian as saying.
Officials from China and Hong Kong have sought to downplay the dangers of the legislation saying ordinary Hong Kong people will not be affected.
A delegation from Hong Kong led by chief executive Carrie Lam discussed the legislation with the central government earlier this month. The territory’s justice secretary, Teresa Cheng, has said the security law would protect the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong people and strengthen the “one country, two systems” framework.
Taiwan support
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong said on Thursday that opposing the law “could be my last testimony [while] I am still free.” 
“Our long march to democracy will be forced into a prolonged period of crackdown,” he said during an online event to promote democracy and the market economy hosted in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Taiwan, meanwhile, announced that it would set up an office to provide assistance to Hong Kong people wanting to leave the territory. 
The office will provide support to professionals seeking to move to Taiwan, including for school, employment, investment, entrepreneurship and immigration, according to a statement by the Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan, which handles the island’s relations with Beijing.
Taiwan is a self-ruled island democracy that China sees as its own. 
Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s legislature approved a contentious bill making it a crime to insult the Chinese national anthem. 
Senior opposition figures have also been arrested for taking part in demonstrations and questions have arisen over whether the national security legislation will be used to disqualify pro-democracy candidates in September’s elections for the Beijing-controlled Legislative Council.
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