WASHINGTON— Before the Trump administration approves any deep-sea mining projects it must conduct an in-depth analysis of the risks to wildlife and underwater ecosystems, according to a legal settlement filed today in response to a Center for Biological Diversity lawsuit. The Center sued the federal government in 2015 over its approval of exploratory permits for […]

As US President-elect Donald Trump continues to stir up a hornet’s nest in Washington and elsewhere in America, the outgoing and lame-duck presidency of Barack Obama looks spent, its foreign policy agenda at risk of reversal and dismantlement. This is a pity because Mr Obama had his heart in the right places. He tried to […]

Vietnam has respected rights of countries in the East Sea, including overflight and navigation freedom and trade without restriction, in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), said Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh. In his speech at a workshop hosted by the working group of alternative […]

With China’s aggressive posture in the South China Sea undermining the popular narrative of its peaceful rise, many experts correctly point to the dual tides of nationalism and militarization as drivers of hostile behavior. But leaning too heavily on these explanations conceals a third factor behind Beijing’s maritime claims: a burgeoning demand for energy. http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/20573/energy-demands-increasingly-shape-china-s-behavior-in-the-south-china-sea

The head of the U.S. Coast Guard wants to send ships to the South China Sea, a heavily contested region where China is taking a hard-line stance. “When you look at the East and South China seas, look at China’s Coast Guard, it is really the first face of China,” Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul […]

Where the incoming administration chooses to stage the next FONOP will say a lot about tactical choices. Over at the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Bonnie Glaser, Zack Cooper, and Peter Dutton outline a strong case for the next U.S. administration to stage its first freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea near […]

Smart diplomacy could produce stronger, more self-reliant Asian allies When U.S. President-elect Donald Trump addresses the issue of the South China Sea, he will be starting from where incumbent President Barack Obama left off: criticism of Chinese militarization of the area and violations of international law, and U.S. Navy freedom of navigation operations through the […]