Opinion Defensive Wen

Over the years Cambodia has drawn quite close to Beijing and it is not involved in a maritime territorial dispute with China. Myanmar,which was focused on its new opening to the world,and establish its claim to host the ASEAN summits in 2014,had good reasons not to get drawn into controversies at this juncture.

On the eve of the summit,Beijing expressed its opposition to any discussion of South China Sea issues at the EAS. But the near unanimous expression of concern over China’s maritime policies compelled Wen to respond.

A grouchy Wen reportedly said: “I don’t want to discuss this issue at the summit. However,leaders of some countries mentioned China on the issue. It’s impolite not to make a return for what one receives. So,I am willing to reiterate China’s stance.” Wen reaffirmed Beijing’s readiness to discuss the issue bilaterally with all sovereign states involved in the dispute and its opposition to intervention in South China Sea by other states.

Maritime Fund

As he fended off the efforts to “internationalise” Beijing’s South China Sea disputes,Wen unveiled a new initiative for maritime cooperation with Southeast Asian countries. Addressing the annual “ASEAN Plus One” meeting with China that preceded the East Asia Summit,Wen announced a decision to set up a three billion yuan (around $470 million) maritime cooperation fund. The fund would initially focus on marine research,environmental protection,connectivity,navigation safety,combating transnational crimes,and search and rescue.

It remains to be seen if this attractive offer,which will be studied by the ASEAN,will help mitigate the current maritime tension between Beijing and its Southeast Asian neighbours.

Australian space

As Canberra boldly positioned itself last week on the frontlines of the unfolding Sino-American rivalry in Asia,there have been embarrassing revelations about Australia granting China access to a sensitive space tracking station.

Amidst Beijing’s objections to Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s decision to host 2500 US marines at facilities in Darwin,in northern Australia,there are reports that Canberra had not consulted Washington before letting China use the space facility at Dongara. The facility in western Australia is a valuable addition to China’s international network of space stations. The four other known Chinese space tracking stations are at Karachi (Pakistan),Malindi (Kenya),Swakopmund (Namibia) and Santiago (Chile). Beijing had to close down a similar facility in Kiribati,when the South Pacific island nation switched its diplomatic recognition from Beijing to Taipei.

A Swedish state-owned company,Swedish Space Corporation,and its American subsidiary,Universal Space Network,run the facility at Dongara. Spokesmen for the SSC say the facility is meant for civilian uses only. They insist that Chinese use of Dongara poses no security risk to either Australia or the United States.

The Chinese client for the Dongara facility,Satellite Launch & Tracking Control General,however,is said to be a part of the People’s Liberation Army’s general armaments department.

In Washington,a Pentagon spokeswoman said,“Many space capabilities are inherently dual-use,and China,like a number of other countries,does not have separate military and civil programmes… These factors increase the need for transparency in order to avoid mishaps,misperceptions,and mistrust.”

Professor Desmond Ball,a leading Australian security expert,said Dongara allows China to more precisely position its dual-use satellites — that are used for both civilian and military purposes — and track naval targets of the United States and its allies. According to other experts,China could use the Dongara station to monitor its spy satellites in low-earth orbit. They,however,add that Beijing’s use of Dongara could increase China’s dependence on Australia,which could cut off access at any time of its choosing. There is some speculation that Australia might have granted Beijing the access in order to gain a sense of China’s technical approaches to space tracking.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research,Delhi