Monthly Archives: July 2017

US, Vietnamese navies kick off joint exercises in S. China Sea amid tensions with China

The Vietnamese and American navies have begun their eighth annual Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) in the coastal Khanh Hoa Province, days after a US vessel sailed past a disputed island in the South China Sea. The NEA officially began on Wednesday when the USS Coronado and USNS Salvor ships docked at Cam Ranh International Port. […]

Vietnam drills for oil in South China Sea

Vietnam has begun drilling for oil in an area of the resource-rich South China Sea also claimed by China. An oil industry consultant told the BBC that a drilling ship on contract to international firm Talisman-Vietnam was working off Vietnam’s south-east coast. This appears to be why a senior Chinese general cut short an official […]

Lorenzana: PHL should protest Chinese structures in Spratlys

DEFENSE SECRETARY Delfin N. Lorenzana said on Monday, July 3, the Philippines will likely “protest” China’s reported militarization of the disputed South China Sea, following an update by a US think tank on Chinese military facilities there. In a report dated June 29, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of Washington’s Center for Strategic and […]

UPDATED: CHINA’S BIG THREE NEAR COMPLETION

New imagery shows that while China is keeping attention focused on its negotiations with Southeast Asian countries over basic principles to manage the South China Sea disputes, its construction of military and dual-use facilities on the Spratly Islands continues. New missile shelters, radar/communications facilities, and other infrastructure are going in on Fiery Cross, Mischief, and […]