Germany, France, UK Rebuke Beijing Over South China Sea

[Elderberry]

Radio Free Asia By Drake Long 9/17/2020

The United Kingdom, France and Germany have signed a joint note denouncing China’s claims in the South China Sea, in a sign of growing European interest in the maritime disputes there and China’s militarization of occupied islets.

The three countries together sent a note Wednesday to the United Nations, following in the footsteps of Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the United States.

Over the past year, those governments have issued diplomatic rebukes, complaints, and rejections of China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, all through the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

“France, Germany and the United Kingdom underline the importance of unhampered exercise of the freedom of the high seas, in particular the freedom of navigation and overflight, and of the right of innocent passage enshrined in the [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea], including in the South China Sea,” the note says.

The three countries also emphasized that “‘historic rights’ over the South China Sea waters do not comply with international law,” and “recall that the arbitral award in the Philippines v. China case dating to 12 July 2016 clearly confirms this point.”

The arbitral award mentioned was a landmark case brought before The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration by the Philippines. That tribunal ultimately struck down virtually all of China’s claims in the South China Sea as unlawful and without basis under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.

More: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/europe-southchinasea-09172020190344.html

[PeteS in CA]

Possibly excepting the UK's submarines, I doubt the People's Enslavement Navy gives a @#$% about the UK's, France's, and Germany's navies.

[skeeter]

Possibly excepting the UK's submarines, I doubt the People's Enslavement Navy gives a @#$% about the UK's, France's, and Germany's navies.

No doubt, but China is in the process of alienating all of their customers. We may just see a redux of the situation in East Asia similar to 1940-41 as China is continually economically squeezed. They cannot continue as a global power without the west's markets.

BTW yesterday the Chicoms sent a bomber/fighter formation over the Senkakus, which then turned right and encroached on Taiwanese airspace in an unprecedented provocation. If this keeps up they will have no markets to sell to but their own.

[mountaineer]

Uyghurs for sale
Vicky Xiuzhong Xu , Danielle Cave , Dr James Leibold , Kelsey Munro & Nathan Ruser
‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang.

The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority1 citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 82 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen.

This report estimates that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps.2 The estimated figure is conservative and the actual figure is likely to be far higher. In factories far away from home, they typically live in segregated dormitories,3 undergo organised Mandarin and ideological training outside working hours,4 are subject to constant surveillance, and are forbidden from participating in religious observances.5 Numerous sources, including government documents, show that transferred workers are assigned minders and have limited freedom of movement.6

China has attracted international condemnation for its network of extrajudicial ‘re-education camps’ in Xinjiang.7 This report exposes a new phase in China’s social re-engineering campaign targeting minority citizens, revealing new evidence that some factories across China are using forced Uyghur labour under a state-sponsored labour transfer scheme that is tainting the global supply chain.  ...

In all, ASPI’s research has identified 82 foreign and Chinese companies directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through potentially abusive labour transfer programs as recently as 2019: Abercrombie & Fitch, Acer, Adidas, Alstom, Amazon, Apple, ASUS, BAIC Motor, BMW, Bombardier, Bosch, BYD, Calvin Klein, Candy, Carter’s, Cerruti 1881, Changan Automobile, Cisco, CRRC, Dell, Electrolux, Fila, Founder Group, GAC Group (automobiles), Gap, Geely Auto, General Motors, Google, Goertek, H&M, Haier, Hart Schaffner Marx, Hisense, Hitachi, HP, HTC, Huawei, iFlyTek, Jack & Jones, Jaguar, Japan Display Inc., L.L.Bean, Lacoste, Land Rover, Lenovo, LG, Li-Ning, Mayor, Meizu, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Mitsumi, Nike, Nintendo, Nokia, Oculus, Oppo, Panasonic, Polo Ralph Lauren, Puma, Roewe, SAIC Motor, Samsung, SGMW, Sharp, Siemens, Skechers, Sony, TDK, Tommy Hilfiger, Toshiba, Tsinghua Tongfang, Uniqlo, Victoria’s Secret, Vivo, Volkswagen, Xiaomi, Zara, Zegna, ZTE. Some brands are linked with multiple factories.  ...

Read entire report at Australian Strategic Policy Institute

[PeteS in CA]

If one finds a map of China showing the proper province names, Several are called "Autonomous Region" Examples are the Tibet Autonomous Region, Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. I think the accurate understanding of "Autonomous Region" is that being a member of one of those minority people groups will be an unpleasant life experience.

[bigheadfred]

If one finds a map of China showing the proper province names, Several are called "Autonomous Region" Examples are the Tibet Autonomous Region, Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. I think the accurate understanding of "Autonomous Region" is that being a member of one of those minority people groups will be an unpleasant life experience.

Until the Indians cowboy up and steer the chicoms down their own trail of tears.