China angers neighbours with sea claims on new passports

[Ray]

China angers neighbours with sea claims on new passports

Nov 22 (Reuters) - The Philippines and Vietnam condemned Chinese passports containing a map of China's disputed maritime claims on Thursday, branding the new design a violation of their sovereignty.

The map means countries disputing the Chinese claims will have to stamp microchip-equipped passports of countless visitors, in effect acquiescing to the Chinese point of view.

Stand-offs between Chinese vessels and the Philippine and Vietnamese navies in the South China Sea have become more common as China increases patrols in waters believed to hold vast reserves of oil and natural gas.

"The Philippines strongly protests the inclusion of the nine-dash lines in the e-passport as such image covers an area that is clearly part of the Philippines' territory and maritime domain," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Thursday, referring to the lines on the passport map.

Vietnam had written to China in protest against the new passports and had asked it to "reverse their incorrect content", said Luong Thanh Nghi, a spokesman for Vietnam's foreign ministry.

"This action by China has violated Vietnam's sovereignty to the Paracel and Spratly islands as well as our sovereign rights and jurisdiction to related maritime areas in the South China Sea, or the East Sea," he told a news conference.

Malaysia and Brunei are also claimants in the dispute which overshadowed an Asian leaders' summit in Cambodia this week. China is also embroiled in a territorial dispute with Japan.

China's foreign ministry said in a faxed response to questions that the new passports met international standards.

"The passports' maps with their outlines of China are not targeting a specific country. China is willing to actively communicate with the relevant countries and promote the healthy development of Sino-foreign personnel exchanges," it said.

It was not clear when China began printing the new passports.

The dispute spilled over into Southeast Asia's normally serene government summits this year, with China accused of seeking to stall debate and divide the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the issue.

Philippine diplomats accused China at this week's summit in Phnom Penh of using its influence over host Cambodia to push a formal statement saying that ASEAN did not want to "internationalize" the dispute.

The Philippines, which sees its alliance with the United States as a crucial check on China's claims at a time when the United States is shifting its military focus back to Asia, protested to Cambodia and succeeded in having that clause removed from the final statement.

UPDATE 1-China angers neighbours with sea claims on new passports | Reuters

China does not want to swallow the neighbours, but this surely shows that they are indirectly indicating so!

Clever little chaps, these Chinese!

 

[LETHALFORCE]

This is another example of "the peaceful rise"into other nation's territories.

 

[Ray]

China's neighbours protest its passport map grab

China has redrawn the map printed in its passports to lay claim to almost all of the South China Sea, infuriating its southeast Asian neighbours.

In the new passports, a nine-dash line has been printed that hugs the coast of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and some of Indonesia, scooping up several islands that are claimed both by China and by its neighbours.

China has printed nearly six million of the new passports since it quietly introduced them in April, judging by the average monthly application rate.
On Thursday, the Philippines joined Vietnam in voicing its anger at the new map.

"The Philippines strongly protests the inclusion of the nine-dash lines in the e-passport as such image covers an area that is clearly part of the Philippines' territory and maritime domain," said Albert del Rosario, a foreign affairs spokesman.

Immigration officials in other countries worry that they will implicitly recognise China's territorial claims simply by stamping the new passports.

The issue was brought to light by keen-eyed Vietnamese officials who are in the process of renewing six-month visas for Chinese businessmen.

"I think it is one very poisonous step by Beijing among their thousands of malevolent actions," said Nguyen Quang, a former adviser to the Vietnamese government, to the Financial Times.

In response, Vietnamese immigration is refusing to paste visas inside the new passports, instead putting the visa on a separate, detached, page.

"When I tried to cross the border, the officials refused to stamp my visa," said David Li, 19, from Guangdong province, who ran into problems getting into Vietnam on Nov 19.

"They claimed my visa was invalid. They said it was because on the new passport's map, the South China Sea part of China's marine border crossed Vietnam's territory, so if they stamped on it, it means they acknowledge China's claim," he added.

Mr Li said two other passengers on his flight also had problems with their new passports, and that he was forced to buy a new visa for 50,000 Vietnamese dong (£1.50).

Kien Deng, a Chinese travel agent who has worked in Vietnam for three years, said the Vietnamese officials had used the map for their financial advantage, charging a fee of 30 yuan (£3) to holders of the offending passport in order to insert a new visa.

"They are playing a cheeky trick which makes foreigners like us suffer," he said. "There are 20,000 students who visit Vietnam from China every year, and 70,000 businessmen in Hanoi and at least as many again in Saigon. So it adds up to a huge amount," he said.

The new passport also stakes a claim to the Diaoyu or Senkakku islands, which have been a great source of friction between China and Japan.

However, the scale of the islands is so small as to be invisible, and Japan has not yet lodged a complaint, according to the Financial Times

China's neighbours protest its passport map grab - Telegraph

*********************

Tricky little tykes these Chinese.

Same thing should be done to them.

 

[The Messiah]

Stapled visas and now this.

Well done china at creating enemies where none existed

 

[Rage]

There is a solution to this: that the claimants to the disputed territories should issue another stamp along with the disclaimer that that these countries do not recognize the legal validity of the Chinese claim being made in the extremities of the maritime zone printed on the passport and that the entry stamp is no indication thereof.

 

[no smoking]

This is another example of "the peaceful rise"into other nation's territories.

So, what is your definition of "the peaceful rise"? Accept whatever other countries claim?
Chinese uses words instead of cannon to make its claim, isn't that peaceful?
Chinese send in the marine police force instead of war ship to make its claim, isn't that peaceful?

Maybe China should send in warships to carry the same peaceful "forward policy" as india.

 

[DaTang]

Stapled visas and now this.

Well done china at creating enemies where none existed

There are always enemies at gate, hounds barking, guns clicking, you got to carry a rifle and have a look see around.
by the way, since when enemies are created? enemies are made... hehe.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

So, what is your definition of "the peaceful rise"? Accept whatever other countries claim?
Chinese uses words instead of cannon to make its claim, isn't that peaceful?
Chinese send in the marine police force instead of war ship to make its claim, isn't that peaceful?

Maybe China should send in warships to carry the same peaceful "forward policy" as india.

Don't be hypocritical by making territorial claims on others territories and pretending to be peaceful
because you are unable to enforce the claim. This is the modus operandi so far, the world is waiting
for china to slip and enforce the claim.

 

[Daredevil]

Simply don't allow Chinese carrying these passports or ask Chinese with these passports to sign a declaration that they don't recognise the false Chinese claims

 

[Oblaks]

So, what is your definition of "the peaceful rise"? Accept whatever other countries claim?
Chinese uses words instead of cannon to make its claim, isn't that peaceful?
Chinese send in the marine police force instead of war ship to make its claim, isn't that peaceful?

Maybe China should send in warships to carry the same peaceful "forward policy" as india.

It is China who is forcing other countries to accept what she wants. This act is definitely provocation aimed at the asean claimants..why??? The illustration on the passports do not show the disputed territories with japan but rather only those with asean. This was probably in retaliation to the pressure that China got during the ASEAN summit. No one can turn a blind eye on this which is a very clear provication and is definitely not directed towards promoting peace in the region. China's propagandas are always talking about a peaceful resolution but their actions do not say so.

 

[Yijiuliuer]

It is China who is forcing other countries to accept what she wants. This act is definitely provocation aimed at the asean claimants..why??? The illustration on the passports do not show the disputed territories with japan but rather only those with asean. This was probably in retaliation to the pressure that China got dueing the ASEAN summiy.. Isn't that a very clear provication which is definitely not directed towards peace.

China declared this in 1945, none protested, everybody accepted, then suddenly after 1972, two countries claimed what they accepted was not accepted, because someone found oil there.

Then after Obama declared US return to Asia policy, philipines suddenly claimed more...

Heehee, monkey sees and monkey does.

 

[Oblaks]

China declared this in 1945, none protested, everybody accepted, then suddenly after 1972, two countries claimed what they accepted was not accepted, because someone found oil there.

Then after Obama declared US return to Asia policy, philipines suddenly claimed more...

Heehee, monkey sees and monkey does.

Don't believe everything you here on chinese news (you should know better than trusting chinese propaganda). It is very clear that you do not know
or that you are so mislead about the facts in this dispute and I dont want to go explain and argue with kids like you again about it. This issue has more than meets the eye. You should do more research and try to view this from out side looking in . Actually the rest of the world sees it otherwise..that chinese are hell bent on taking SCS and senkaku because of tbe oil and other resources. Unfortunately, they are not doing a good job (spits). There are also may good reason why china is one of the most hated nations nowadays. Ask yourself why.

 

[Yijiuliuer]

Don't believe everything you here on chinese news (you should know better than trusting chinese propaganda). It is very clear that you do not know
or that you are so mislead about the facts in this dispute and I dont want to go explain and argue with kids like you again about it. This issue has more than meets the eye. You should do more research and try to view this from out side looking in . Actually the rest of the world sees it otherwise..that chinese are hell bent on taking SCS and senkaku because of tbe oil and other resources. Unfortunately, they are not doing a good job (spits). There are also may good reason why china is one of the most hated nations nowadays. Ask yourself why.

1945 is the KMT nationalist China if you are a PRC phobic.
Nationalist Navy toured the area and set up border stones in traditional fishing territory and trading routes, that is the current 9 piece boundaries.
Before that, Chinese have been working and living there for at least 2000 years, by then a lot of the nearby lands were just lived by primitive tribes, they
barely learned to float on burned wood while some 10K tonne Chinese trading ship cutting through high waves to welcome Sailors from Persia and even further.

 

[Oblaks]

1945 is the KMT nationalist China if you are a PRC phobic.
Nationalist Navy toured the area and set up border stones in traditional fishing territory and trading routes, that is the current 9 piece boundaries.
Before that, Chinese have been working and living there for at least 2000 years, by then a lot of the nearby lands were just lived by primitive tribes, they
barely learned to float on burned wood while some 10K tonne Chinese trading ship cutting through high waves to welcome Sailors from Persia and even further.

Wahahahaha (sorry can't help laughing) You can go and invent more fairy tales as you wish..

 

[Yijiuliuer]

Wahahahaha (sorry can't help laughing) You can go and invent more fairy tales as you wish..

Well, laugh all the way to shame. you have my blessing.

 

[Oblaks]

Well, laugh all the way to shame. you have my blessing.

Thank you! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

[GromHellscream]

The passport has been changed since May, 2012, and do you know how Vietnam reacted to this?

They charged everyone with new passport for extra 30 rmb, and everything is done.