As the administration of U. S. President Donald Trump settles into its first week in office, it’s run into no shortage of controversy. From sparking some of the largest — if not the largest — rounds of protest in American history, to spouting easily debunked claims on inauguration turnout, Trump’s first few days appeared to be a continuation of both his campaign and post-election push, marrying conspiracy with questions about what comes next.
As it pertains to disputed territories abroad, however, Trump’s team wasted little time in staking its claims. On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told American media that the United States will take appropriate measures to make sure international territory in the South China Sea remains just that: international. Speaking on the territorial questions in the region, Spicer said , “It’s a question of if those islands are in fact in international waters and not part of China proper, then yeah, we’re going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country.”
In a sense, Spicer’s comments — which noted that the United States “is going to make sure that we protect our interests there”- – weren’t altogether surprising. Not only has Trump notably ratcheted up American rhetoric toward constraining Chinese interests, but, a few days prior, presumptive Secretary of State Rex Tillerson even lobbed the possibility of barring China outright from accessing the islands in question. “ We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed,” Tillerson told U. S. senators, all but endorsing an anti-Beijing blockade. (As Yahoo reported , Chinese media responded to Tillerson’s comments by noting that “unless Washington plans to wage a large-scale war in the South China Sea, any other approaches to prevent Chinese access to the islands will be foolish.”)
As it is, the Trump team’s approach to territorial integrity in the South China Sea — and to Beijing’s territorial expansionism — presents a stark contrast to Trump’s views on revanchism in Europe. As Crossroads Asia detailed earlier this month , Trump has displayed a discernible willingness to not simply support Moscow’s foreign policy, but to go so far as to open the door to recognizing the Kremlin’s claims in Crimea. It would, of course, be one thing to offer blanket recognitions for revanchist claims, from Sarajevo to the Spratlys — but Trump appears willing to allow certain irredentist claims to outweigh others.
It’s worth noting, of course, that the United States would remain in the distinct minority if he goes through with recognizing Russia’s claims in Crimea. But if Washington remains unwilling to recognize Beijing’s sovereignty within the South China Sea, it would refrain from joining the minority of nations backing China’s claims. In addition to the handful of countries who’ve supported both Beijing’s and Moscow’s expansionism including Afghanistan, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan China has also enjoyed the support, as The Diplomat ’s Ankit Panda noted , of states like Gambia and Vanuatu. Likewise, despite claims by Chinese officials that 66 countries offered support, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative found a total of only 31 countries who’d “publicly voiced support for Beijing’s position[.]” More than Russia regarding its Crimean claims, to be sure, but a far cry from any kind of widespread support – although that doesn’t necessarily mean support for any kind of American blockade will necessarily follow.

© Source: http://thediplomat.com/2017/01/selective-revanchist-recognition-trump-crimea-and-the-south-china-sea/
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China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a notice earlier this week that all unauthorised virtual private networks will be banned as the ministry rolls out a 14-month campaign to “clean up” and “regulate” internet connection services. It appears the crackdown will target Chinese businesses and individuals involved in providing unauthorised VPN services. The ministry said late on Tuesday that VPN networks of multinationals approved by Chinese authorities won’t be affected. Individuals using VPNs on their computers or mobile phones will not be targeted directly. “As for VPN users in China, this new regulation doesn’t make using VPN illegal”, the website VPNDada.com said in a statement. The regulation does not specifically address how the crackdown will affect providers outside China. In practice, Beijing has always tried to block such services that help Chinese internet users bypass the “Great Firewall”. In one infamous case, the US consulate in Shanghai in August last year published a Weibo post seeking “reliable” VPN service providers. The blocking of overseas VPN services could intensify even though the latest notice did not mention the move specifically. “It’s certainly possible that they will try to shut down us and move onto government VPNs,” Sunday Yokubaitis, president of the popular Golden Frog VPN service provider that boasts a big Chinese client base, told the China will find it easier to crack down on businesses and individuals based in the country. Local telecoms authorities and operators can stop providing basic services such as access to servers. In extreme cases, the police force can be involved. As for overseas VPN service providers, China’s censors can block their websites, “ports” and VPN servers, according to VPNDada.com. In August 2015, a month before Beijing’s grand military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war, the reported that popular VPN provider Astrill had told users that China “was cracking down on IPSec VPNs using GFW [Great Firewall] auto-learning technique” to make its service unavailable on the mainland. The crackdown campaign has a time frame from now until the end of March, 2018. This does not mean it will stop after that date. It’s thought that during this time, VPN providers in China will either reapply for approval or simply close shop. At the same time, authorities will keep a close eye on how the rule is carried out. After March 31, 2018 certain penalties may kick in and the campaign will most likely continue with updated policies. Stability is the main theme in China this year as President Xi Jinping prepares for a reshuffle within the top leadership and a smooth transition to his second five-year term. Xi’s calls for “internet sovereignty” have translated into increasingly tight regulations on the nation’s cyberspace, such as introducing a cybersecurity law that requires security reviews of IT support for such sectors as finance, requiring tech giant Apple to remove the app of from its Chinese store, and these latest, tightening the screws on VPN services. The new rule will almost certainly disrupt business for Chinese and foreign firms operating in China. But a bigger concern is that China’s control of the internet is hurting its own attractiveness as a business destination. “The more that your business relies on access to standard global business essentials, like online banking, the more difficult it is to operate from China,” said Charlie Smith, the pseudonym of the co-founder of Greatfire.org, which has monitored China’s online censorship since 2011. “I don’t know how the Chinese leadership thinks that Chinese companies can ‘go global’ with internet connections that only ‘go local’.”

© Source: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2065432/who-what-and-why-chinas-latest-vpn-crackdown
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