President Barack Obama’s visit to the Philippines, the last leg of his recent 4-nation Asian tour, produced a new bilateral defense agreement that was touted by some observers as the single most significant outcome of his regional foray. The agreement was said to contribute to his goals of reassuring allies and signaling that the United […]
China sending an oil rig to waters disputed with Vietnam is a move to assert its legal claim and practical hold over contested territory whatever the short-term political and diplomatic costs, analysts say — but could play into Washington’s hands. Beijing’s controversial move to dispatch the deep-water rig along with a reported 70 vessels triggered […]
Leaders from the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet in in Napyidaw, Myanmar this weekend. The meeting is historic due to its venue: Myanmar is hosting an ASEAN summit for the first time. However, the meeting unfortunately coincides with two major maritime disputes between two ASEAN states and […]
IN our dealings with China, the Philippines has been criticized for not dealing with our more powerful neighbor as friends and fellow Asians. We have been criticized for bringing our dispute with out more powerful neighbor to an international body complaining about the Chinese bully. It turns out that we did the right thing, On […]
Four decades since their most high-profile maritime clash, China and Vietnam are at it again. When China moved a massive oil rig within disputed waters earlier this month, Vietnam demanded the Chinese state oil company remove it. The US promised to investigate and later criticised the move but the rig has stayed put and the […]
Naypyidaw, Myanmar. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that it was important for members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China “to quickly conclude” the talks on a code of conduct on the South China Sea. “The recent incident in the South China Sea reminded us of the importance of concluding […]
China has dangerously increased tensions in the South China Sea by deploying an oil rig for the first time in a disputed area claimed by Vietnam. The move is certain to make countries in the region feel even more threatened by China’s expansionist territorial claims. The rig, belonging to a state-owned oil company, was parked […]
“What would America fight for?” exclaimed The Economist, as it cautioned the Obama administration against strategic retreat and neo-isolationism. It dismissed President Obama’s foreign policy as a cerebral doctrine that excuses inaction — one that is based on visceral recoil at confrontation and distaste for strategic gamble. It warned Washington about increasing doubt among allies, […]
Security tensions in the South China Sea have flared up again when Vietnam’s naval vessels collided with Chinese ships on Wednesday, May 7, in a serious attempt of Hanoi to prevent Beijing from stationing a US$1-billion oil rig, HD-981, in the Northwest Triton Island of the Paracels. For Vietnam, the location of China’s oil rig […]
It is difficult to be blithe about the dispatch of China’s HYSY981 drilling rig into disputed waters off the Vietnamese coast. It actually would have been less of a provocation if the PRC had sent the aircraft carrier Liaoning down there instead. One of the interesting by-products of the US “freedom of navigation” campaign in […]