Monthly Archives: November 2015

China’s Great South China Sea Challenge: What Next and How to Respond

China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea has generated concern across Asia about China’s challenge to U.S. strategic primacy in the Western Pacific. The U.S. has belatedly responded to this challenge with a single ‘Freedom of Navigation’ operation (FONOP) that saw the deployment of the USS Lassen within the 12nm limit of Subi Reef […]

Philippines, China: No sea row talks at APEC

President Aquino welcomes Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Malacañang yesterday. Kriz John Rosales Noy vows warm welcome for Chinese leader MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and China have agreed to avoid discussions on rising tensions in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea during next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila. […]

Abe to raise South China Sea issues at G-20, other global meetings

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to raise issues concerning the South China Sea at international meetings in coming weeks involving the Group of 20 major countries, and Southeast Asian nations and their dialogue partners. “The rule of law should be carried out to preserve the open, free and peaceful sea,” Abe said during a speech […]

Science and Politics in the South China Sea

This past summer, a scientific research vessel from the Philippines was crewed and provisioned, ready to set sail to the heart of the South China Sea to survey coral reefs, collect coral, fish, and other samples, and measure rising ocean temperatures. Then the Philippine government called it off—rising geopolitical tensions had scuttled the trip. Scattered […]

China flaunts cruise missile power amid South China Sea row

BEIJING: Amid deepening row with the US over disputed South China Sea where American ships challenged China’s claims of sovereignty, Chinese military has deployed its latest anti-ship cruise missiles which experts say can form a powerful defence line at sea. “The deployment of the latest YJ-18, together with the YJ-12 and YJ-100, has enabled the […]

Abe to raise South China Sea issues at G-20, other global meetings

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to raise issues concerning the South China Sea at international meetings in coming weeks involving the Group of 20 major countries, and Southeast Asian nations and their dialogue partners. “The rule of law should be carried out to preserve the open, free and peaceful sea,” Abe said during a speech […]

US lawyer for PH expert in maritime boundary cases

The lawyer leading the Philippine team in its fierce legal battle against China belongs to a select group of elite lawyers with extensive experience in representing sovereign states before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos) in Hamburg, Germany, according to Chambers Global, which ranks law firms and lawyers across the world. […]

Xi stresses China sea claims, but won’t ‘bully’ neighbors

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his speech on “Forging A Strong Partnership To Enhance Prosperity Of Asia” at the 36th Singapore Lecture on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, in Singapore. AP Photo SINGAPORE, Singapore—Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday repeated his country’s uncompromising claims to the South China Sea but pledged that it would not “bully” […]

South China Sea Dispute: India Asked To Play Positive Role

Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday expressed concerns over the recent tensions between Beijing and Washington over an American naval vessel that was sailing through China-built artificial islands in the SCS. Speaking at the ASEAN Plus defence ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur, he stressed that maritime security is a common challenge and the global […]

US-China friction set to drag on as Beijing flexes military muscle

The guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen on Oct. 27 sailed within 12 nautical miles of reclaimed islands controlled by Beijing in the South China Sea. © Reuters TOKYO — While Washington seems to have won the first round of its confrontation with Beijing in disputed South China Sea waters, tensions are likely to remain high and […]