Shan in Chinese. In the story, the 90-year-old Yu Gong's perseverance and hard work to remove the mountain in front of his house along with his descendants moves a God, who finally orders the mountains separated. I believe Asian countries also have Yu Gong's spirit. The "Asian Era" has started and will for sure have its ultimate arrival in the annals of history. Written by: Wang Wen Source: Global Times Published: 30 November 2020 The author is professor and executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.
Political Affairs (D) No end to South China Sea disputes without code of conduct A series of events, ranging from social unrest in the United States, Hong Kong and much of Europe to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 15.6 million people and killed over 630,000 of them, should prove that 2020 has so far been a very difficult year to navigate. The South China Sea has not been spared the nail-biting tension of 2020. As claimant states are preoccupied with efforts to fight the pandemic, numerous worrying incidents have occurred within the maritime territory, exacerbating the animosity among the states. The presence of external actors has added strain to the geopolitical turmoil. Violations of sovereign rights form one of the most pressing issues in the South China Sea. The biggest incident so far was the West Capella standoff after Malaysia started an oil and gas survey in late 2019 within the Malaysia-Vietnam Joint Defined Area. The operation of the West Capella drillship prompted Beijing to dispatch several China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels to trail, and harass, the drillship and its supply vessels. Vietnam also scrambled some of its maritime militia into the area to observe the drillship. Meanwhile, Malaysia doubled-down on its initial move by deploying the Royal Malaysian Navy’s KD Jebat, a 2,270-ton guided missile frigate, to protect the West Capella’s operation. At one time the Malaysian warship forced a CCG vessel to stand down. 129 Selected Analysis