CLARK FIELD, Philippines, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino vowed on Monday to leave behind a stronger and a more capable armed forces to face maritime challenges in the South China Sea when he leaves office next year. Aquino, ineligible to run for re-election under the constitution, promised to spend about 83.90 billion […]
BANGKOK— Asia’s spending on military hardware is quickening at a time of increasing focus over maritime territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, as well as growing concern over China’s expanding military. Earlier this year London-based Strategic Defense Intelligence (DSI) reported that Asia led the world in rising defense spending, and countries’ spending […]
The Arbitral Tribunal under the UN Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS) established at the request of the Philippines has no jurisdiction over the case, Mr. Hong said. China on Monday rejected a UN tribunal’s arbitration on the disputed South China Sea saying it had no jurisdiction over the case even as Beijing asserted it […]
The Chinese government has issued a stern warning to the US, suggesting its most recent actions in the South China Sea are turning the area into a militarized zone. The warning has been issued following word two US bombers conducted a suspected fly-over of Chinese-controlled territory in the Nansha Islands earlier this month. China’s Defense […]
A ceremony was held in south China’s Guangzhou for the launch of a China-Vietnam joint inspection of the waters outside the Beibu Gulf which is bordered by the two countries. Chinese and Vietnamese experts will inspect the terrain and geological conditions outside the mouth of the Beibu Gulf. The inspection will be carried out by […]
There is one and only one country in the entire world that agrees with and supports all of China’s legal claims in the South China Sea. That country is Taiwan, though China says that Taiwan is not a country, but only a rogue province of China that will return to Chinese control as soon as […]
“Five weeks to respond to a simple letter is too long,” McCain said in a written statement this week. “Whether these delays are the result of the micromanagement of the National Security Council or the bureaucracy of the Pentagon, they are unacceptable nonetheless.” Last month, McCain sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, asking […]
The captain of a Vietnamese fishing boat that came under attack near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea said he is still reeling from the deadly incident, but asserted that his team will return to fish the contested waters. Captain Bui Van Cu said his crew has no choice but to continue fishing […]
An editorial in a Chinese state-owned newspaper said it would be shame if an Australian plane “fell from the sky” a day after the world learnt that the RAAF flew an aircraft over disputed territory claimed by China. The comment was published in the English language edition of The Global Times following Australia’s challenge to […]
Tensions in the South China Sea reignited last month, when China deployed a government-owned oil drilling rig in an area also claimed by Vietnam just south of the Paracel Islands. Anti-China protesters broke into and torched Chinese, Taiwanese, and South Korean factories in southern Vietnam. According to media reports, as many as 21 people died […]