a clear challenge to claims of other nations in the south china sees. vering 160 square miles the spratley islands are a group of hundreds of remote islands, reeves and sand bars claimed by the philippines, vietnam and china. vietnam and the philippines have their own tiny outposts in the spratley islands. some more no more than rusted out tankers that have run aground. the artificial islands that china is building in the spratley islands appears to forcing others to relinquishing their claims and possession. why the interest in these reaves? whatever country plants their flag on these reefs could control valuable resources. it may contain 11 billion barrels of barrel a oil and natural gas and with 10 million barrels of oil moving through the south china sea each day. >> anything that china does on those islands starts to threaten the united states perception of freedom of navigation. then it becomes a real issue between those two countries. then you get an overlap between the territorial disputes between the countries, the region, and the bigger global

over china's increasing presence in the south china sea. china has been conducting a series of landfill projects in the disputed spratly island and building facilities on the claimed land. an analysis by a british research institute announced last month shows that china has completed a 3,000-meter air strip in the islands. that's long enough for military aircraft. once the runway goes into operation, china will have a base for military activities very close to the philippines. >> is this a cause for alarm or concern. not only for the philippines, but also for the all other countries that are benefitting in the south china sea. the presence of the united states in the region gives us the confidence, that they would help us small countries in the region. >> the philippine government is taking measures to counter china's increasing activity. this is oyster bay on the western philippine island off pilawan. just 100 kilometers from an area where china has reclaimed land on reefs. the philippine government plans to build on existing facilities the

chairman, that the south china sea doesn't belong to china. we have in recent years conducted freedom of navigation operations in the vicinity of those features. doing so again is one of the options -- one of the array of options we're considering. >> it's an option that hasn't been exercised in three years. admiral harris, what do you feel about it? >> sir, i agree that the south china sea is no more china's than the gulf of mexico is mexico's. i think that we must exercise our freedom of navigation throughout the region and part of my responsibility as the pacific commander is to give options to the president and to the secretary. those options are being considered and will execute as directed by the president and the secretary. >> i have gone over my time. very quickly, with respect to china, do you agree that the united states has no effective policy to deter china in cyberspace? the united states lacked substance and mindset of deterrence in cyberspace. >> i would defer to what the president said last friday when he stated that we can hav

recently, we have heard a lot of news around the south china sea and mrs. inton, as you know, has made several comments about the dispute. in 2010, she took a harder stance against china and said it was in the american interest to have stability in that area, and i believe she said at the time, "there is a concern that we all abide by the international rules." she was speaking about china at that time. so why has china recently begun reclaiming so much land in the south china sea? mr. yang: we are not reclaiming land in the south china sea. there has been some construction on islands and reefs. so china has a solid, legal ground and historical facts to back up our position. betty: but america says about 2000 acres of reclaimed land has been added to the island. mr. yang: china has completed land reclamation on some of these islands and reefs, which are part of chinese territory. but the very purpose of some construction on these islands and reefs is mainly to serve public international interests. of course, given the fact that some of our territory is surrou

observers in beijing say chinese leaders may take stronger action in the rising tensions in the south china sea. >> u.s. leaders watch china grow bolder to staking claims in the south china sea. here's the report. >> reporter: for the past year, chinese workers have. conducting massive dredging and building operations in the spratlys. manmade islands rose from three previously submerged reeves. this shows a complete runway on firy cross. now china claims 12-mile limit around the art official islands. the u.n. convention on the law of the sea says such limits cannot be set around manmade territory. so the u.s. has been studying the possibility of deploying naval ships to the region to conduct freedom of navigation operations. >> the united states will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows as we do around the world and the south china sea is not and will not be an exception. >> reporter: the issue was one of the main topics last month in a summit meeting between president obama and president xi. many experts believe if they had come up with a solution to the problem at the

but the reality is that china has been militarizing the south china seas for a number of yea years. other claimants have as well. china is not the only country that has done so, but they have done it on a scale that is far greater than other countries, and the chinese are creating a great force projection capability that other countries do not have. i think if the united states had not conducted this separation, that the inaction would have had consequences, that it would have emboldened the chinese to continue on this bath. so over time i think that this may have an impact of getting the chinese to reconsider some of their provocative and destabilizing course of behavior, but it must be combined with other diplomatic tools. this is just simply one tool in the u.s. toolbox. >> the u.s.-china relationship is vitally important and wants to continue despite the china see issue. but can those things be separated? can you keep those things apart? >> that's exactly what the u.s. and china have been doing. they've been seek to go cooperate whether interests converge and manage differences w

war ship which it says illegally entered its waters in the disputed south china sea and disstroied it to two manmade by china in 2014, china warned the u.s. it will respond to deliberate provocations in its waters and china has claims over the south and southeast china seas and says the u.s. in the region keeps a sense of power in one of the world's busyist shipping lanes and they say it is closely communicating with the united states. >> translator: the unilateral conduct to change the status quo such as the large scale landfills to build ocean platforms in the south china sea are of concern for the international community as the prime minister repeatedly said it's very important that the international community unite to maintain peace and stability in the south china sea. we are closely conducting intelligence information with the united states. >>> china built the artificial islands dredging areas around reefs and it has repeatedly said it will not tolerate, vietnam, asia and philippines claim the islands and rob mcbride is in beijing and has this report. >> reporter: the chinese c

that china will resolve any differences through talks for nation's concerns. >> the matter of the south china sea is just one issue between china and some asean members. >> reporter: some media reports have people appeasement, but this is not true. observers say china wants to avoid isolation by holding talks with countries in china stressing the importance of takes for developing this issue peacefully. nhk world. >> we'll keep you updated on that, thank you very much. >>> mean while, japanese officials plan to hold talks with chinese counterparts to discuss maritime issues including a plan to set up a security hotline for emergencies. the two sides are arranging their next round of working talks as early as next month in beijing. the meeting is expected to focus on efforts to launch a communication mechanism between the two countries defense authorities to avoid clashes at sea and in the air. officials in tokyo plan to reiterate objections to repeated intrusions by chinese government ships into japanese territorial waters which japan controls. the japanese government main tapes the islands a

situations. >>> tensions between the united states and china could increase over waters in the south china s sea. here's more. >> reporter: over the past year, china has been building artificial islands by reclaiming land in the south china sea. satellite imagery released last month shows a 3,000 meter runway, paths, and roads on the reef in the disputed spratley islands. china has been reclaiming that reef. the country appears to be building two other runways on the islands. china is now claiming control of the waters around these islands. but the united states is taking the position that artificial islands cannot be used to define territorial waters which is a zone extending 12 nautical miles or 22 kilometers from a country's shoreline. th u. convention in the law of the seas stipulates that artificial islands do not have the status of islands and that territorial waters cannot be claimed around them. the u.s. is studying the possibility of deploying naval ships an aircraft to the 12 nautical mile zone around the artificial islands in the near future. they want to clarify its position of

we have heard a lot of news in the south china sea. llary clinton had made comments about the dispute. there is a concern by the all abide international roles. she was speaking about china that time. so, why has china recently begun reclaiming so much land in the south china sea? land ine not reclaiming the south china sea. there has been some construction on the islands and reefs. so china has solid, legal ground , historical facts to back up our position. that: but the u.s. says unclaimed land has been added to the island. they are a part of chinese country. of some purpose construction on these islands and reefs is merely to serve public interest -- international interest. of course, given the fact that some of our territory is surrounded by military installments of other countries, there is reasonable ground to have some defense facilities on these islands. betty: there is a military airport being there, right? even for aviation is for civilian purposes mainly. should take aple reasonable stand on it about the sometes between china

to act cautionly after it followed an american warship in the south china sea. the u.s. only sailed close to two man-made islands constructed by china in 2014. beijing warned washington it will respond to deliberate prop indications in its waters. -- provocations in its waters, china as well as other countries have competing claims. and the philippine says the u.s. presence in the region helps keep a balance of power in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. japan has voiced its concerns over china actions and says it's closely communicating with washington. >> translator: the unilateral conduct to change the status quo such as the large scale landfill to his build ocean platforms in the south china sea are a common concern for the international. community. as the prime minister repeatedly said it's very important that the international community unites to maintain the peace and stability in the south china sea. we are closely conducting our intelligence information with the united states. >> china built the islands by dredging areas it has said it will not challenge

the patrol came within 12 nautical miles of the dispolluted islands in the south china sea, normally ationally accepted limit of a nation east territorial claim. but the u.s. says these are international waters open to anybody. china says it shadowed the u.s. vessel accusing it of harming regional peace and stability. >> translator: we want to urge the u.s. to respect our position and correct its mistake immediately. it should not conduct any dangerous provocative actions that threaten china's sovereignty and security interests, and keep the promise of not taking sides on the issues of territorial disputes. >>> the waters of the south china sea with disputed by china and several asia neighbors, among them the philippines, which as an ally of the u.s. welcomed the move, saying the ship was operating in international waters. >> the balance of power says that there is not just a single of voice that must be adhered to. there must be a plurality of voices when all parties are effected by changes on the ground. >> reporter: japan has its own territorial dispute with china in the east china

recently, we have heard a lot of news around the south china sea and mrs. n, as you know, has made several comments about the dispute. in 2010, she took a harder stance against china and said it was in the american interest to have stability in that area, and i believe she said at the time, "there is a concern that we all abide by the international rules." she was speaking about china at that time. so why has china recently begun reclaiming so much land in the south china sea? mr. yang: we are not reclaiming land in the south china sea. there has been some construction on our own islands and reefs. so china has a solid, legal ground and historical facts to back up our position. betty: but america says about 2000 acres of reclaimed land has been added to the island. mr. yang: china has completed land reclamation on some of these islands and reefs, which are part of chinese territory. but the very purpose of some construction on these islands and reefs is mainly to serve public international interests. of course, given the fact that some of our territory is su

south china sea, are members of the treaty. they're all parties to the treaty. the philippines has brought a lawsuit against china under the treaty and china, as i understand it, has basically ignored it. how does that mean that this fixes the problem if we suddenly ratify the treaty? >> well, i don't think it would suddenly fix the problem. but, as you said, the philippines has brought a case against china in the hague and the international tribunal for law of the sea, on the claim itself and the second issue is whether the tribunal has jurisdiction to even judge that case. and we have supported the philippine right to take the claim to the international tribunal and, in fact, we've praised them for doing so. and yet we're not a signatory to the treaty itself. and if you shift to the arctic, if you look at the outrageous claims that russia has made in the arctic ocean, they're making those claims under their interpretation of the law of the sea convention. and when we criticize them for those claims, they say that we have no st

: there is a difference in understanding between china and vietnam over the south china sea issue. both countries recognize each other as an important partner and are working hard to resolve the issue concerning the waters through dialogue. >> china's foreign ministry said xi will visit vietnam on november 5th and will leave for singapore the following day. he's scheduled to meet the head of vietnam's communist party and president. and will give a speech at vietnam's parliament. china said xi's visit will deepen political exchanges and advance cooperation in infrastructure development. nhk's correspondent in beijing says xi's visit is designed to mollify the impact of the territorial dispute by providing economic and political cooperation with vietnam. >>> in the chaotic days after world war ii ended, a bloody incident in indonesia left more than 1,200 dead, both indonesians and japanese. seven decades later, historians on both sides are only just beginning to understand what might have happened. nhk world's yusuke ota reports from indonesia. >> reporter: a ceremony to commemorate o

warship entered what beijing says are its waters in the disputed south china sea. ington says its guided missile was an international territory. rob mcbride reports. >>> the united states has been signalling for months that it would make this symbolic sail past. china has warned it would respond appropriately. the patrol came within 12 nautical miles of the disputed islands in the south china sea, normally the national limit of a nation east territorial claim, but not accepted by the u.s. us, which says these are international waters open to anybody. china says it shadowed the u.s. vessel, assuming of it harming to peace and stability. >> translator: we want the u.s. to respect our position and correct its mistake immediately. it should not threaten china's sovereignty and security interest. it should also keep the promise of not taking sides on territorial disputes. >> reporter: the waters are disputed by choo -- china and several other nations, among them the philippines who welcomed the move by the u.s. >> the balance of power says there has to be a plurality of

uss larson came within 12 nautical miles of the disputed spratly island in the south china sea. the internationally send limit of a nation's territorial claim. but not accepted by the u.s. which says these are international waters open to anybody. china says it shadowed the u.s. vessel accusing it of harming regional peace and stability. >> translator: we want to strongly your honor the u.s. to respect our position and correct its mistake immediately. it should not conduct any dangerous provocative action that his threaten china's azov remember at this and security interests. it should also keep the promise of not taking sides on the issues of territorial disputes so as not to further harm the china-u.s. relationship. >> reporter: the waters of the south china sea are disputed by china and several of eights asian neighbors. among them the philippines, which as an ali of the u.s. welcomed the move saying the ship was operating international waters. >> the balance of power says there is not a single voice that must be adhered to there has to be a blue al at this of voices. >> repo

from the association of southeast asian nations it comes amid rising territorial tensions in the south chinaclaims the 12 not call miles around the spratly islands within itsy borders the claims overlap with a number of other countries. beijing has announced a u.s. plan to conduct a so-called freedom of navigation exercise close to the disputed islands. the u.s. is already beefing up its presence in the region as step vaessen reports now. >> reporter: two world powers flexing their muscles over seven small islands in the south china sea. recent satellite photos show building on coral reefs reclaimed by china. the construction includes what the u.s. suspects will be the latest of three air field on reefs which the u.s. says are in international waters. u.s. plans for a military exercise in the disputed area is adding to existing tension. >> of course it will add to the already existing tensions in the area. and of course, you know, a lot of countries are looking at this very carefully and we hope that they will not actually, you know, create a new spirit of tension. >> reporter: china denies

china is building a coral reef in the south china sea, turning them into islands and raising concerns they could be used as military bases. they are located in the islands in china is asserting a 12 nautical mile exclusion zone around them. the united states has now crossed that line, deliberately probing how our china will go to defend its the heated claims. the response from beijing was prompt. a spokesman for the chinese foreign ministry suggested the united states was being foolish if it thought it could enter chinese territory without provoking countermeasures. he said china might now speed of its construction projects in the item and called on the u.s. to back down. the philippine president said he welcomed the u.s. presence in the waters, suggesting it represented a balance of power in the region. the philippines is one of the many nations with territorial claims in the south china sea and pitino says he has no problem with the u.s. exercising its right to navigate their under international maritime law. the vast south china sea contains shipppppputes which are critical to glob

an area in the south china sea is a flashpoint between two of the world's most powerful nations. ions between china and the u.s. have risen after a u.s. warship entered a 12 mile zone around reefs that beijing is turning into island's. it is claimed by five other nations. china says that america's actions are illegal, and a threat to china's sovereignty. rupert wingfield-hayes begins our coverage. rupert: construction cranes sprout from the tiny desert island. this is my first view of china's new manufactured islands as they began growing in the summer of 2014. this place is called johnson south. a few months ago it was a chinese controlled submerged reef. it has been transformed into a giant construction site. this is where the philippine government thinks china may be building the south china sea air base. the philippine government was wrong. china was building its new airbase on a reef cold fire recross. the april -- on a brief cold fiery cross. area claims these islands its sovereign territory. the u.s. strongly disagrees. today, the u.s. navy sailed this guided missile destro

decision to sail a navy warship in the south china sea. y change claims the area, and says the destroyer threatened its sovereignty as well as u.s.-china relations. the obama administration considers the area international waters. >> reporter: the united states has been signalling for months that it would make this symbolic sail past. china has warned it would respond appropriately, and both sides have been good to their word. the patrol came within 12 nautical miles of the disputed islands in the south china sea, normally the internationally accepted limit. but not accepted by the u.s., which says these are international waters open to anybody. china says it shadowed the u.s. vessel, accusing it of harming peace and stability. >> translator: we want the u.s. to respect our position and correct its mistake immediately. it should also keep any promise of not taking sides on the issues of territorial disputes so as no to further harm the china-u.s. relationships. >> reporter: the waters are disputed by china and several asian neighbors. among

reporter: he further explains with the projects, they continue to solidify its control over the south china sea. >> one of the oldest examples we can think of is the great wall. this appears to be, props, the third major instance in history of china to fundamentally alter its strategic geography. >> reporter: how should the u.s. respond to china's strategy? international law kidictates island are given 12 naugtical miles, but that does not apply to artificial islands. china argues the islands are legitimate. at a u.s. senate hearing, some lawmakers insisted that the u.s. navy should sail listen 12 nautical miles to showhat the u.s. doesn't recognize the chinese claims. the obama administration has been cautious. the president so far has only called on china to respect the rule of law. >> we have an interest in skbrup holding the basic principles of freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce, and in resolving disputes through international law, not the law of force. we'll defend the principles while encouraging china and other claimants to resolve their differences peacefully. >> report

view the security risks in the region. >> reporter: the spratly islands in the south china sea have recently made headlines in the u.s. new satellite imagery from the center for strategic and international studies indicates that china has been reclaiming and building upon artificial islands in the area. gregory poling of csis says the chinese have completed construction of a landing strip of three kilometers in length on fiery cross reef and are building two more on mischief and suve reef. >> having three of these with airstrips that can accommodate anything in the chinese arsenal and presumably with greater military construction in the future, they would not be without risk to u.s. and allied operations. >> reporter: in a recent parade, china clearly demonstrated the rapid modernization of its military capability. the country prominently displayed its latest weaponry, including the anti-ship ballistic missiles or carrier killers for the first time. andrew erickson of the u.s. naval war college says china's new weapons systems are designed to increase the cost to the u.s. military in case of

. >>> south china sea showdown. >> i reiterate it's the rite of all countries for freedom of navigation and flight >>> united states challenges china's territorial claims, sending a destroyer into the south china sea area claimed by beijing >>> aftermath of disaster. as a new day downs in afghanistan and pakistan, assessing the damage from a powerful quake. >> classroom confrontation. disturbing video of a south carolina deputy trying to remove a female student from a high school classroom, and the danger of processed meat. how much is of a threat is your morning bacon and a hotdog at a ball game. >> good evening i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. we begin in the south china sea. at this hour the government is trying to ascertain whether a u.s. warship passed within 12 miles of its territory. the pentagon is confirming that it did, and said there was no accident. the operation was intended as a challenge to china's claim to territorial rights to the spratly islands. the u.s.s. lawson sailed by the reef in defiance of repeated warnings from beijing. jamie mcintyre has more fro

they were in the middle of the south china sea. and china set up military installatio installations. the chinese are not happy that we have a warship there. rick parnell with us now. i'm surprised we are honoring the 12-mile distance as if legitimizing china's ownership of the islands, but it is what it is. what do you make of it? >> it's a little bit of progress and we have been very late. we have not sailed within 12 miles since 2012. we found out this news because senator mccain several weeks ago was pressing the assistant secretary of defense for asia. and this individual said we are just not allowed to go within 12 miles. 2012 is important because that's really when the chinese began to build up and grab territory in the sea. so you see what is happening here. the chinese are grabbing sea territory. the russians are grabbing crimea. and the white house is kind of backing off saying, well, that's not good and they will learn their lesson. well, the senate, i think, and senator mccain is showing us, that when you pressure the pen

the patrol came within 12 nautical miles of the disputed spratley islands in the south china sea normally the accepted international limit, but not accepted by the u.s. who said these are international waters open to anybody. china says it shadowed the u.s. vessel, accusing it of harming peace and stability. >> we want to strongly urge the u.s. to respect our position and correct its mistake immediately. it should not conduct any dangerous provocative actions that threaten china sovereignty and security interest and it should not take sides on territorial disputes so as not to further harm the china-u.s. relationship. >> the philippines, an ally of the u.s. welcomed the move saying the ship was operating in international waters. >> the balance of power says that there is not just a single voice that must be adhered to, that there has to be voices when all parties are affected by changes of evaluates on the ground. >> anotheanother ally japan, went further expressing concern of china's island building activities in the south china sea. >> the unilateral conduct to change the status quo suc

navy warship sailed past disputed islands in the south china sea overnight. >> beijing saying the areaund the spratley islands is china's territory, also saying the u.s. warship threatened its sovereignty. the u.s. considers the area international waters. >> the chinese have condemned this patrol as a provocative act. the foreign minister urging the americans not to undertake what he calls any reckless actions. they see these islands as being very much chinese sovereign territory, saying there are claims to them, even though they are hundreds of kilometers south of the south china coast, go back hundred was years to prefers chinese dynasties. the americans asserted these are international waters and that they will within their rights sale within 12 nautical miles of these disputed territories. we are expecting more reaction from the chinese side as we go through the day, and also waiting to find out what the chinese military has been doing in response to this, whether in fact they have also been shadowing this patrol with their own vessels or their own aircraft. whether that now become

war ship which it says illegally entered its waters in a disputed south china sea and the u.s. destroyer went by two manmade islands constructed by china in 2014 and beijing warned washington it will respond to deliberate provocation in its waters. china built the islands by dredging around reefs and repeatedly said it will not tolerate any challenges to what it considers chinese territory, vietnam, malaysia and taiwan and philippines also lay claim to the nearby islands. >> when you change something that is general agreement among all parties that are affected as to what changes would bring about a better regime in terms of travel it cannot be determined by one entity so the balance of power says that there is not just a single there and has to be voices when all parties are effected by changes of realities on the ground. >>> japan is concerned over china's actions and is closely communicating with washington. >> translator: the unilateral conduct to change the status quo such as the large scale landfills to build ocean platforms in the south china sea are a common concern for