The discourse on the South China Sea disputes is understandably laden with emotion. That is arguably a reason why debate on the subject should be based on facts. And yet, as Bill Hayton has noted, “Unreliable evidence is clouding the international discourse on the South China Sea disputes.” Indeed, it sometimes feels like a thick […]

MASINLOC/MANILA, Philippines, May 6 (Reuters) – A 30-foot trawler named “Marvin” lies beached on a grass bank overlooking the South China Sea, idle since China’s coastguard began driving away Philippine fishermen after a fierce standoff four years ago. Its 10-man crew once made their living off the abundant fish stocks of the disputed Scarborough Shoal […]

“This operation was a great way to show our strike group’s ability to disperse forces for different missions and cover a broad area of water in 7th Fleet,” said Cmdr. Walter C. Mainor, commanding officer, William P. Lawrence. The exact location where the said patrol was conducted was not mentioned in John C. Stennis Strike […]

Taiwan sends Coast Guard and military vessels to enforce its right to fish in what Japan claims as its EEZ. As if Asia didn’t have enough maritime disputes, add one more to the list. Taiwan and Japan are in the midst of a diplomatic spat over the Okinotori Islands – or perhaps more properly the […]

On April 19, the US Department of Defence put out a two-page document detailing what it said were the “excessive maritime claims” of certain countries. The purpose of this annual exercise, which has been around for the past decade and more, is to list the countries as well as mark the fact that the US […]

China’s growing presence in the South China Sea is raising doubts about the U.S. policy there. China continues to militarize the South China Sea, with the manifest intention of making its claim of sovereignty thereto impossible to challenge. China has made clear that it does not plan to accept a likely unfavorable decision, forthcoming in […]

On Friday in Beijing, Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi, the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers, presented a united stand against the US on a host of issues in their joint press conference. Among the topics were Beijing’s territorial claims. “We are of the same view with Minister Lavrov that the disputes around the South China […]

Amid growing tensions in the South China Sea, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has called on regional countries to uphold the rule of law to maintain peace and stability in the region. He also urged Asean to “strengthen its unity” as well as exert “its centrality in regional cooperation in East Asia”. Speaking yesterday in […]

China’s position on a remote Japan-held feature reveals an important inconsistency in its approach to international law. One of Asia’s more remote maritime territorial disputes–the dispute over the status of the Okinotori Islands (Okinotorishima)–is back in the news. As my colleague Shannon Tiezzi discussed earlier this week, a recent spat over fishing rights between Taiwan […]

Critics are lining up to condemn the Obama administration’s apparent delay of a third freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea as yet another sign of weakness, but there is larger strategic game underway that may explain the administration’s decision. Other simultaneous U.S. actions may have deterred China from occupying and reclaiming […]