Monthly Archives: September 2016

China and Russia to hold joint South China Sea naval drills as pressure rises from US

China and Russia will launch eight days of joint naval drills in the South China Sea on Monday, a move observers said underlined the growing partnership between the countries amid rising military pressure from the United States. The exercise off Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, would involve surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters and marines from […]

International outlaw

As much as I want to refrain from criticizing China’s foreign policy, I feel I would be defaulting in my own little way if we let the bully destabilize the region because of aggressive action in the West Philippine Sea. Just because it’s more popularly known as the South China Sea does not give the […]

‘Shelve sea dispute to save reefs’

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—As the Philippine and Chinese governments fight for control over territories in the South China Sea, the sustainability of the waterway’s rich marine resources has become the silent casualty in the dispute, according to a marine expert. “A Scarborough [Shoal] peace park right now could be the foot in the door for the […]

China narrows the South China Sea Is arming Southeast Asia with strategic impact weapons the answer?

Bharat Karnad analyses China’s strategy in the South China Sea, and proposes a regional military solution, leveraging the power of supersonic cruise missiles, to bring about a durable peace. China has gone some ways to obtaining by force a mere closum (closed sea) in the waters off Southeast Asia without meeting any real resistance to […]

The Scarborough challenge

Last July, the Arbitration Tribunal in the Hague ruled that the waters around Scarborough Shoal lay within the Economic Exclusive Zone of the Philippines and that Filipino fishermen possessed traditional fishing rights at the Shoal. China has chosen to reject the decision and continues to keep Filipino fishermen out of the area. A think tank, […]