State-controlled media in China recently reported that the government is trying to reach an agreement with other nations on operations in the South China Sea. Such a deal could reduce tensions in the area. However, talks on the agreement have been going on for more than ten years, with little progress. The official China Daily […]
HONG KONG: There was a time when China tried hard to convince the world its rise is peaceful. That pretense was abandoned seven years ago when in the wake of Great Recession China thought its time had come to claim its place as controlling “all under heaven,” or tianxia in Asia. Like all great powers […]
China’s foreign policy is growing more assertive. For decades Beijing has made territorial claims in the East China and the South China Seas. But now Beijing is defending those claims; Chinese-flagged vessels increasingly enter disputed waters, extracting resources and harassing other claimants’ ships. In addition, China is constructing and militarizing artificial islands, and asserting maritime […]
The rule of law will keep the playing field level when it comes to debating maritime security in an Asia-Pacific region charged with competing interests, international maritime law experts argue. As Asia is increasingly becoming the center of global economic growth, the region’s existing maritime security architecture needs to be improved, says Deputy Coordinating Minister […]
An F-35C Lightning II on USS George Washington during F-35C Development Test III. Lockheed Martin As tensions mount in the troubled waters of the South China Sea, US might is considered crucial, and a weapon considered well suited for the region is almost ready for deployment: the F-35 Lightning II. “It will absolutely thrive in […]
The National Assembly will petition Asean officials to remove a reference to the South China Sea maritime dispute from an upcoming joint statement, officials confirmed on Tuesday, a move some analysts and diplomats say will again threaten regional cohesion. The request marks just the latest such intervention dating back to 2012. Cambodia has refused to […]
WASHINGTON: What are China’s intentions in the South China Sea? It’s a question intelligence analysts, diplomats and the senior leadership of the United States and its Pacific allies are all asking in the wake of a range of increasingly belligerent and threatening comments and actions by the rising global power. Perhaps most worrying is that […]
In a challenge to China’s claim to almost the entire so-called South China Sea, Indonesia announced last week that it will designate the waters off its northern coast, around the Natuna and Anambas islands, as the “Natuna Sea.” This is more than just petty nationalism. It’s a helpful marker that the term “South China Sea” […]
SAY you have investments in China. And your Chinese partners start weighing in on how Singapore should be more supportive of China because any tension will affect business, what should you say to them? Singaporeans here have raised such concerns, said PM Lee during the National Day Rally speech last night (Aug 21), especially in […]