Chinese police plan to board vessels in disputed seas

BEIJING/MANILA (Reuters) - Police in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan will board and search ships which illegally enter what China considers its territory in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Thursday, a move likely to add to tensions.

The South China Sea is Asia's biggest potential military trouble spot with several Asian countries claiming sovereignty over waters believed to be rich in oil and gas.

The shortest route between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, it has some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. More than half the globe's oil tanker traffic passes through it.

New rules, which come into effect on January 1, will allow Hainan police to board and seize control of foreign ships which "illegally enter" Chinese waters and order them to change course or stop sailing, the official China Daily reported.
"Activities such as entering the island province's waters without permission, damaging coastal defence facilities and engaging in publicity that threatens national security are illegal," the English-language newspaper said.
"If foreign ships or crew members violate regulations, Hainan police have the right to take over the ships or their communication systems, under the revised regulations," it added.
Hainan, which likes to style itself as China's answer to Hawaii or Bali with its resorts and beaches, is the province responsible for administering the country's extensive claims to the myriad islets and atolls in the South China Sea.
The Philippines, which also has claims to parts of the South China Sea, said the move could violate international maritime laws allowing the right of passage and accused Beijing of trying to escalate tension in the area.

Japan unveils $11bn stimulus package

(Financial Times) -- Japan's government has approved its second round of stimulus in a little more than a month, as prime minister Yoshihiko Noda tries to pep up a flagging economy in the run-up to December's elections.

On Friday the cabinet announced that it would tap reserve funds to spend Y880bn ($10.7bn) on a variety of measures, including rebuilding areas hit by the March 2011 earthquake, employment support and aid to cash-strapped small businesses. The plan is roughly double the size of a package announced in late October, which was also drawn mostly from reserves and aimed at reconstruction efforts.

The stimulus comes as Japan hovers on the brink of a technical recession, its fifth of the past 15 years, as manufacturers cut production amid a steady worsening in their sales and profit outlook. Falling exports were the main contributor to a 0.9 per cent contraction in gross domestic product between July and September, and economists are braced for another in the three months to December. Last week the government slashed its quarterly assessment of business sentiment in all 11 regions of the country -- the first clean sweep since February 2009 -- blaming sluggish output and consumption.

Economic data released on Friday were a little more encouraging, showing an unexpected rise of 1.8 per cent in industrial production from September to October. The nationwide consumer price index (excluding fresh food) was unchanged from a year ago, improving from five months of year-on-year declines to September.

China Moves Forward in Opening Gold Market

China will allow over-the-counter gold trading between banks for the first time Monday, a significant financial reform for the world’s second-largest buyer of the precious metal.

The move reflects the Chinese government’s latest effort to develop Shanghai into a major gold trading center, and mirrors similar developments in the country’s currency and oil markets.

The introduction of interbank trading is intended to develop China into a liquid and market such as London, and demonstrates the government’s readiness to open the market to greater participation by international banks, said Jeremy East, global head of metals trading at Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN).

“From a government perspective, gold is seen as currency, and the government is slowly releasing the controls on currency. We expect the [gold] market will be opened up to more foreign banks,” he said.

Given their trading volumes, Chinese banks already play a significant role in determining international gold prices, so the move will have a limited impact on prices, Mr. East said.

China offers a massive gold market, albeit one that is tightly controlled. The country is the world’s biggest gold producer and ranked as the No. 2 gold consumer in the third quarter of this year. It has official gold reserves of 1,054 metric tons, the world’s sixth-largest, World Gold Council data show. But gold exports are banned and only a handful of banks hold import licenses.

Until now, member banks have been able to trade physical gold between themselves on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, but the absence of an over-the-counter market restricted them from becoming market makers in gold. In an over-the-counter market, transactions are quoted and conducted between parties on a principal-to-principal basis rather than being traded through a broker on an exchange.

Tourism New Zealand expects a major boost from “The Hobbit” movie

AUCKLAND- Tourism New Zealand is working hard to convert the international attention New Zealand will draw from the movies, into travel.

In a statement, Tourism New Zealand communication department wants to demonstrate with this campaign how easy it is for people to come to New Zealand, see Middle Earth firsthand and experience all the country has to offer.

Association with The Hobbit movies also offered New Zealand a wider opportunity to enhance its international profile as an innovative and creative nation, and as a great place to make films and do business. A number of government agencies were working together to build a complete 'New Zealand story' covering the tourism, film, and business sectors.

Tourism New Zealand conducts regular research across key markets, with people already considering a trip to New Zealand.

Research conducted in May to July, 2012 found that 57% of people already considering a trip to New Zealand were aware of The Hobbit trilogy.

Of those aware of the films, 87 per cent know they were filmed in New Zealand and 58 per cent are fans of the Hobbit.

Australia told to feed region or risk invasion

In a speech, the chief executive of Australian Agricultural Company, David Farley, said the country needed to pay more attention to the agricultural sector and develop policies to help it lift production.

He noted the world's expanding population and used the analogy of the Huns launching an invasion because of hunger.

Mr Farley said Australia had to use its assets or lose them.

"What moves people? You know you can park your car when it runs out of energy, but a man will always try and feed his family and he will move," he said.

"I think you'll find that the movement of man around the globe has always been about food, about where does he go to feed himself, how does he get feed and sustenance."

Mr Farley also slammed the Federal Government for its lack of investment in the agricultural sector.
Australian Agricultural Company is building a new abattoir in Darwin which it says will directly employ around 260 people, plus another 300 associated jobs and cut thousands of road miles from trucks.

However, Mr Farley says the Commonwealth Government was more interested in putting money into movies than agriculture.

"Ironically though, when we went through it with the Federal Government and it ticked all these boxes, we weren't able to raise one red cent to help us build it and play it out across the whole enterprise," he said.

"It really amazed me, as I said to Simon Crean, you put $27 million into Wolverine and nothing here."

A Triumph for Women From Brunei

LONDON (AP) — Noor Hussain Al-Malki sat in Lane 3, face in her hands, barely a dozen painful strides from where her first Olympic race began.

It was a short, somewhat bittersweet and definitely unprecedented effort.

Malki, 17, was the first Qatari woman to compete in track and field at the Olympics, after the country decided to include female athletes — four in total — in its delegation for the first time.

Wearing a maroon head scarf, long sleeves and leggings, she stood out among the starters in the preliminaries in the women’s 100 meters Friday morning. She was slow out of the blocks, appeared to be very tight, and finally clutched at her right leg before stopping after about 15 meters.

The official result is listed as D.N.F. — did not finish — but just being there was a significant achievement.

After covering her face momentarily, Malki got to her feet and slowly limped off the track. She was then pushed out of the competition arena in a wheelchair.

The conservative Islamic nations Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Brunei were the last countries to enter women in the Olympics, each sending female athletes to London.

Maziah Mahusin of Brunei did not advance out of her heat in the 400 meters, but she did set a new national record when she crossed the finish line in 59.28.

“I’m really proud of myself, even though I didn’t win anything,” said Mahusin, who carried her country’s flag at the opening ceremony. “I’m really happy. I’m really, really happy.”

Tahmina Kohistani of Afghanistan finished way back in the 100 meters Friday and yet with a wide grin. She was the only female representative from Afghanistan on the track.

“I think being here is more important than a gold for me and my country,” said Kohistani, who finished last in her heat but in a personal-best time of 14.42 seconds. “We have a lot of problems in our country.

“So right now, I feel like I have a gold medal.”

Beijing's South China Sea rivals protest passport map

TAIPEI, Taiwan – China has enraged several neighbors with a few dashes on a map, printed in its newly revised passports, that show it staking its claim on the entire South China Sea and even Taiwan.
Inside the new passports, an outline of China printed in the upper left corner includes Taiwan and the sea, hemmed in by the dashes. The change highlights China's longstanding claim on the South China Sea in its entirety, though parts of the waters also are claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

China's official maps have long included Taiwan and the South China Sea as Chinese territory, but the act of including those in its passports could be seen as a provocation since it would require other nations to tacitly endorse those claims by affixing their official seals to the documents.

Ruling party and opposition lawmakers alike condemned the map in Taiwan, a self-governed island that split from China after a civil war in 1949. They said it could harm the warming ties the historic rivals have enjoyed since Ma Ying-jeou became president 4 1/2 years ago.

"This is total ignorance of reality and only provokes disputes," said Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, the Cabinet-level body responsible for ties with Beijing. The council said the government cannot accept the map.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters in Manila that he sent a note to the Chinese Embassy that his country "strongly protests" the image. He said China's claims include an area that is "clearly part of the Philippines' territory and maritime domain."

The Vietnamese government said it had also sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi, demanding that Beijing remove the "erroneous content" printed in the passport.

In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry said the new passport was issued based on international standards.
"The outline map of China on the passport is not directed against any particular country," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday.

China maintains it has ancient claims to all of the South China Sea, despite much of it being within the exclusive economic zones of Southeast Asian neighbors. The potentially oil- and gas-rich South China Sea islands and waters