Sending the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its escorts into the South China Sea is an apparent shift from the Obama administration’s policies of “de-escalation” and accommodation towards the People’s Republic of China. Obama prohibited such Freedom of Navigation Operations — known in military acronym as FONOPS — in the South China Sea from […]

The Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) held a flag raising ceremony for two new Russian-made Project 636M (improved Kilo-class) diesel electric attack submarines at Cam Ranh naval base in Vietnam’s south central coastal Khanh Hoa province on February 28, Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense reports in a press release. The two submarines — Da Nang and Ba […]

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has slammed a fishing ban China has imposed in parts of the disputed South China Sea, saying it violates Vietnamese sovereignty and further complicates the tense situation in the troubled waters. China’s Ministry of Agriculture on Monday issued a seasonal fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea, including waters […]