Territory

A fisheries company in Dalian reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding with a Russian company to form a joint venture to farm sea cucumbers off Kunashir, one of the four Kuril Islands to the north of Japan under dispute between Japan and Russia. This was the first time a third state is involved in the economic activities on the islands and Japan expressed concerns over the report.

Territory

North Korea has agreed to lease the port of Rajin on its northeastern coast to China's Jilin province for 10 years, giving China a foothold on the Sea of Japan for the first time in more than a century. Chinese authorities planned to use the port not only for shipping goods and resources but also for tourism.

Territory

China and Vietnam completed demarcation of their land boundaries and signed demarcation agreements.

Territory

Two American journalists detained by DPRK for over four months said they crossed into North Korea but were “firmly back inside China" when North Korean border guards chased and apprehended them, then “violently dragged” them back into North Korea. A Chinese FM spokeswoman denied the veracity of the reporters' account, however.

Territory - Indian Border

With a thinly-veiled criticism of China's historical position on the Indian border dispute, a Chinese newspaper reported that there live now about 1.1 million inhabitants in the disputed Southern Tibet (Arunachel Pradesh), including 300,000-450,000 immigrants from India.

Territory - Indian Border

The "great neighbours" (in the "syrupy" words of China's ambassador to India) of China and India held the 13th round of talks over their border dispute. Before the talks, a Chinese FM spokeswoman took the unusual step of denying a report in Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily which suggested that China was prepared to swap disputed areas with India so that China would have only 28% of the disputed territory. During the negotiations, China reportedly insisted on her claim to the monastery town of Tawang, whilst India argued the Chinese claim went against the 2005 agreement between the two countries on political parameters and guiding principles for the settlement of the border dispute. The Indian argument is interesting, since Article VII of the Agreement provides only that "[i]n reaching a boundary settlement, the two sides shall safeguard due interests of their settled populations in the border areas."

Indian military reportedly deployed extra troops and fighter jets in the area.

Territory - Spratly and Paracel Islands
Law of the Sea

As Vietnam and other SE Asian countries intensified their efforts to assert sovereign claims over the Spratly and Paracel Islands, the Chinese navy reportedly arrested a Vietnamese fishing boat for illegal fishing near the Paracel Islands.

Territory - Spratly Islands
Law of the Sea

As Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia fortified their occupied islands in the South China Sea to which China claims sovereignty, Beijing asked US and other foreign oil companies to halt work with Vietnamese partners in the South China Sea or face consequences in their business with China. While the US Government would not take sides on the island disputes, Senator Jim Webb said the US was "the only guarantor there to provide a credible umbrella under which those other countries in the region can successfully grow their economies without intimidation".

Territory - Diaoyu Islands

US Senator Jim Webb said during a US Congressional hearing that the US had admitted Japan's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, a view apparently at odds with the official position of the US (namely, the US reserves judgment on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands but considers the US-Japan Security Treaty applicable to Diaoyu). Commenting on Senator Webb's remarks, a Chinese FM spokesman reiterated that China holds indisputable sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands.