A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple territorial disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. The waters are a major shipping route for global commerce and rich in fish and possible oil and gas reserves.
U.S. DESTROYER CHALLENGES CHINESE CLAIM
A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near the Paracel Islands last week in a challenge to China's claim to the waters around them.
The operation by the USS Wayne E. Meyer on Friday demonstrated that the waters are beyond what China can claim as its internal waters or territorial seas under international law, said Cmdr. Reann Mommsen, a spokeswoman for the Navy's Japan-based 7th Fleet.
China said that its air and naval forces warned the Meyer to leave its waters. A defense ministry statement accused the U.S. of conducting "hegemonic voyage activities" that seriously damage China's sovereign rights.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and its adjacent waters," the statement read in part. "No matter in what kind of proactive way a foreign warship has chosen to pose a challenge, it will not change that fact."
China, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims to the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Mommsen said the Meyer, a guided-missile destroyer, was also challenging their requirements that a foreign military vessel gets permission or provides advance notification to pass through the waters.
"By engaging in innocent passage without giving notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants, the United States protested the unlawful restrictions imposed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam," she said in a statement.
CHINA, PHILIPPINES TO TALK OIL AND GAS
China and the Philippines are moving forward with a delicate proposal to look into joint offshore oil and gas exploration in and near the disputed South China Sea.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Wednesday that the two rival claimants had identified which officials and government agencies would make up a steering committee. The two countries agreed to set up the committee during a visit by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Beijing last month.
Locsin told the ABS-CBN news channel that he and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will "call the shots," backed by their alternates and a few government agencies including the Department of Justice on the Philippine side.
It is a step forward in a legally complicated proposal to explore and develop potential undersea deposits while skirting the territorial question. The Philippine president could face impeachment if he were accused of breaching a constitutional duty to defend the country's territory and sovereignty.
The committee is to work with a group of oil and gas developers and meet every three months. No date has been announced for an inaugural meeting.
Locsin said the committee will need to determine if there are enough commercially viable deposits to develop. "I haven't gotten or seen a report that we're busting with oil out there, OK?" he said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that both sides hope that cooperation will achieve substantive progress at an early date.
MALAYSIA, CHINA SET UP PROCESS TO DISCUSS DISPUTES
China and Malaysia agreed to establish a consultation mechanism to discuss and resolve their differences over maritime issues.
"We have decided to continue to manage our differences on the South China Sea properly, and to work together for peace and stability in the South China Sea," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday after a meeting in Beijing with his Malaysian counterpart, Saifuddin Abdullah.
China and the Philippines have a similar body that has met several times but has yet to resolve any major territorial issues.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
