Monthly Archives: February 2016

Who wins

Sunday’s first presidential debate held in Cagayan de Oro City trended online in the country and the world, and for good reason. It was that rare event—the last televised debate was 24 years ago—when all candidates gathered on stage, abiding by the same rules and limiting their supposedly elaborate platforms to just a few minutes […]

CHINESE SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES DEPLOYED ON SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLAND WHILE OBAMA MEETS ASEAN LEADERS IN PEACE INITIATIVE

A Chinese surface-to-air missile system on a contested island in the South China Sea came to light while United States President Barack Obama wrapped up a maritime peace meet with Southeast Asian leaders on February 15-16, 2016. Fresh evidence of China “militarizing” despite its denials has thrown a wet rag on the summit’s aim in […]

China denies building missile system in S.China Sea

China has denied widely-reported allegations that it has built a missile on a reef it has been been building on in the South China Sea. On Wednesday, following a meeting with Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi denied a reporter’s suggestion that Beijing had constructed a missile system on Woody Island […]

Australia, New Zealand urge China show restraint in South China Sea

SYDNEY: Australia and New Zealand strongly urged China Friday to refrain from stoking tensions in the South China Sea, after its apparent deployment of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island. Tensions between China and its neighbors over sovereignty in the South China Sea were raised after Taiwan and U.S. officials said China deployed an advanced […]

Paracels build-up a pointer to China’s broader South China Sea ambitions

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – From listening posts to jet fighter deployments and now surface-to-air missiles, China’s expanding facilities in the Paracel Islands are a signal of long-term plans to strengthen its military reach across the disputed South China Sea. Diplomats and security experts in contact with Chinese military strategists say Beijing’s moves to arm and […]

A Tumultuous 2016 in the South China Sea

This promises to be a landmark year for the claimant countries and other interested parties in the South China Sea disputes. Developments that have been under way for several years, especially China’s island-building campaign in the Spratlys and Manila’s arbitration case against Beijing, will come to fruition. These and other developments will draw outside players, […]

A Glimpse Into China’s Military Presence in the South China Sea

Widely published satellite imagery from Feb. 14 shows the presence of new Chinese air defense systems on Woody Island in the South China Sea, highlighting continuing maritime frictions in the area. But new imagery obtained by Stratfor provides a higher-resolution view of the deployment and activities taking place across the island. Specialists at AllSource Analysis […]

Obama: We will continue to test China over disputed islands

MOSCOW – The US has declared that they will push China on the issue of disputed islands, promising to “test” China while accusing them of abusing their “might.” President Barack Obama said in an interview with Channel News Asia that his administration will “continue to test” Beijing’s pledge to not militarize the disputed South China […]

China calls for clear understanding of history, facts of South China Sea

China’s foreign ministry has urged concerned countries to study and get clear understanding of the history and basic facts of South China Sea. “The Yongxing Island is an inherent territory of China. From 1959 on, the Chinese government set up administrative offices and related government facilities on the Yongxing Island. For years, China has been […]

PHL has ‘worst case’ scenario plans for Woody Island row

FORT DEL PILAR, BAGUIO CITY – Western Command Chief Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez said on Saturday the Philippines has already incorporated plans for the “worst case scenario” in connection with China’s decision to install surface-to-air missiles in the disputed Woody Island of the Paracels Group. This was disclosed by Lopez in an interview with journalists […]