{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Seafarers Rights International","provider_url":"https:\/\/seafarersrights.org","author_name":"tmaggs","author_url":"https:\/\/seafarersrights.org\/author\/tmaggs\/","title":"China Talks of \"Open Seas Protection\" - Seafarers Rights International","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"6UIwbtTZzj\"><a href=\"https:\/\/seafarersrights.org\/china-talks-of-open-seas-protection\/\">China Talks of &#8220;Open Seas Protection&#8221;<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/seafarersrights.org\/china-talks-of-open-seas-protection\/embed\/#?secret=6UIwbtTZzj\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;China Talks of &#8220;Open Seas Protection&#8221;&#8221; &#8212; Seafarers Rights International\" data-secret=\"6UIwbtTZzj\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/seafarersrights.org\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":null,"thumbnail_width":null,"thumbnail_height":null,"description":"By Wendy Laursen 2015-05-26 20:06:12 China outlined a defense strategy on Tuesday that aims to boost naval capability farther from its shores, saying it faced a grave and complex array of security threats including in the disputed South China Sea. In a policy document issued by the State Council, the Communist-ruled country\u2019s cabinet, it vowed to continue growing its \u201copen seas protection\u201d and criticized neighbors who take \u201cprovocative actions\u201d on its reefs and islands. \u201cIn line with the strategic requirement of offshore waters defense and open seas protection, the People\u2019s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will gradually shift its focus from \u201coffshore waters defense\u201d to the combination of \u201coffshore waters defense\u201d with \u201copen seas protection,\u201d and build a combined, multi-functional and efficient marine combat force structure. The PLAN will enhance its capabilities for strategic deterrence and counterattack, maritime maneuvers, joint operations at sea, comprehensive defense and comprehensive support.\u201d Seas and oceans bear on the enduring peace, lasting stability and sustainable development of China, so the traditional mentality that land outweighs sea must be abandoned, says the paper. Great importance has to be attached to managing the seas and oceans and protecting maritime rights and interests. Attack and Counterattack In upholding the continued strategic concept of active defense, the document states: \u201cWe will not attack unless we are attacked, but we will surely counterattack if attacked.\u201d It continues: \u201cA holistic approach will be taken to balance war preparation and war prevention, rights protection and stability maintenance, deterrence and warfighting, and operations in wartime and employment of military forces in peacetime.\u201d Integrated combat forces will be employed to prevail in system-vs-system operations featuring information dominance, precision strikes and joint operations. The document says China\u2019s air force would shift its focus from territorial air defense to both offence and defense, and will build airspace defenses with stronger military capabilities. The People\u2019s Liberation Army\u2019s nuclear force, known as the Second Artillery Corps, will also strengthen its capabilities for deterrence and nuclear counterattack as well as medium- and long-range precision strikes, the paper said. A Message of Peace The document also states China\u2019s commitment to peace: \u201cThe Chinese people aspire to join hands with the rest of the world to maintain peace, pursue development and share prosperity. \u201cChina\u2019s destiny is vitally interrelated with that of the world as a whole. A prosperous and stable world would provide China with opportunities, while China\u2019s peaceful development also offers an opportunity for the whole world. China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, oppose hegemonism and power politics in all forms, and will never seek hegemony or expansion. China\u2019s armed forces will remain a staunch force in maintaining world peace.\u201d Russia and the U.S. China\u2019s armed forces will further their exchanges and cooperation with the Russian military within the framework of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia, and foster a comprehensive, diverse and sustainable framework to promote military relations in more fields and at more levels. Additionally, China\u2019s armed forces will continue to foster a new model of military relationship with the U.S. armed forces that conforms to the new model of major-country relations between the two countries. They will strengthen defense dialogues, exchanges and cooperation, and improve confidence-building measures through the notification of major military activities as well as the rules of behavior for safety of air and maritime encounters, so as to strengthen mutual trust, prevent risks and manage crises. A Continued Focus on the South China Sea The document comes as tensions rise over China\u2019s increasingly assertive posture in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, where Beijing has engaged in land reclamation in the Spratly archipelago. China, which claims most of the South China Sea, criticized Washington after a U.S. spy plane flew over areas near the reefs last week, with both sides accusing each other of stoking instability in the region. Yang Yujun, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said in a briefing on Tuesday China\u2019s reclamation activities in the Spratly archipelago were comparable with construction of homes and roads on its mainland. \u201cFrom the perspective of sovereignty, there is absolutely no difference,\u201d he said. He said some countries with \u201culterior motives\u201d had unfairly characterized China's military presence and sensationalized the issue. Surveillance activities in the region were increasingly common, and China would continue to take \u201cnecessary measures\u201d to respond, Yang said. \u201cSome external countries are also busy meddling in South China Sea affairs; a tiny few maintain constant close-in air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China,\u201d the strategy paper said in a thinly veiled reference to the United States. The paper indicates that the PLAN will continue to organize and perform regular combat readiness patrols and maintain a military presence in relevant sea areas. The report can be found here."}