China has told Japan it will not accept “excessive” criticism over issues involving the East and South China seas when their leaders meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, diplomatic sources said Saturday. The two countries are trying to arrange the meeting of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Xi Jinping on […]

According to satellite images released Thursday, China has expanded the construction of artificial islands atop disputed reefs in the South China Sea. Jeremy Page and Julian Barnes at The Wall Street Journal report: The images provide the first visual evidence that China has built an artificial island covering 75,000 square yards—about 14 football fields—and including […]

US President Barack Obama has urged China to abide by its obligations under an international treaty in its activities in the South China Sea. He made the comments during a “candid exchange” with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Hangzhou before the G20 summit, the White House said. In July, an international tribunal ruled against […]

There’s one topic on which President Duterte has admitted censoring his normally uninhibited language: China. “I’m sure, as your President,” he told his audience the other day at the inauguration of the new Davao International Container Port, “I would not lead you to trouble, or I would not cause you shame. There will be a […]

The energy-significant South China Sea remains in dispute, as China continues to claim almost the whole territory, despite that fact that it was ruled in July, at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, that China had no title over the South China Sea. China’s ongoing claims to this territory reflect its energy insecurity, which is […]

Hinting that China needs to abide by the Hague tribunal’s verdict on the South China Sea, Indian envoy to Vietnam P. Harish on Friday advocated that all parties must respect the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) while emphasizing that New Delhi has constantly advocated that freedom of passage in international […]

MANILA, Philippines – More Chinese barges have appeared at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal off Zambales, and for that President Duterte said he would confront Beijing’s Ambassador Zhao Jianhua. Duterte said he received intelligence reports last Thursday regarding the growing presence of Chinese barges in the area, about a hundred nautical miles from the coast of Zambales […]

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte revealed Friday that he has received a report that China had recently brought in new barges to disputed areas in the Scarborough Shoal, wondering aloud if there is any new construction about to take place there, but said he will not initiate multilateral discussions on the South China Sea at […]

Coral rubble remains after “chopper” boats killed branching corals, which were subsequently further broken up by storm waves of blast fishing. John McManus/Rosenstiel School, University of Miami Just over a month ago, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued two important rulings. One soundly rejected Beijing’s extensive claim of sovereignty in the South […]

There is now a consensus among practitioners and analysts alike that the rules and institutions that have governed international affairs so effectively since the end of World War II are increasingly dysfunctional or altogether malfunctioning. This alarming phenomenon is broadly referred to as the “unravelling” and “disorder” of the global system. It afflicts the world […]