MANILA – Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio on Thursday said he sees nothing wrong with the proposed joint exploration between the Philippines and China in the disputed South China Sea as long as Manila asserts its sovereign rights. “As long as the joint development complies with the Philippine Constitution and there is no waiver of […]

TAIPEI — A surge in naval maneuvers in the South China Sea by Western allies this year is keeping China from any further expansion into the contested waters, analysts say. Vessels from Australia, France, Japan and the United States have sent ships to the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea in 2018. They believe the sea rich in […]

FOREIGN MINISTERS of Asean and China have agreed to accept a “single text” to negotiate the code of conduct on the contentious South China Sea issue, according to diplomats of both sides. Members of Asean have been at loggerheads with China over the territorial rights in the South China Sea. Tensions and clashes have occurred […]

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano on Tuesday, July 31, hit back on former President Benigno S.C. Aquino III on the latter’s call for transparency on the South China Sea issue, saying that the former President and even Vice President Leni G. Robredo were given wrong information on the matter. “Unfortunately, both former President […]

During this year’s chairmanship of ASEAN, Singapore is expected to continue the association’s work in developing measures to help mitigate tensions in the South China Sea. In recent years, ASEAN and China have agreed to establish communication hotlines between their respective foreign ministries as well as to implement the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea […]

MANILA, July 31 (Xinhua) — Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said on Tuesday that his country had vowed to play a constructive role in advancing ASEAN (the association of Southeast Asian Nations)-China relations when it assumes the role of ASEAN-China country coordinator later this year. “We will play bridging or intermediary role (in pushing […]

China persists in employing a variety of tactics to coerce Taiwan, its maritime neighbors and put more pressure on Japan, a panel of experts agreed last week. Nowhere is that more visible than Beijing’s “persistent and flexible presence” from its maritime militia, Coast Guard and People’s Liberation Army Navy. It is a maritime force that […]

Singapore (AP) — Southeast Asian nations are expected to welcome an initial negotiating draft of a nonaggression pact with China on the South China Sea, but critics warn that the protracted talks provide a diplomatic cover for Beijing’s tenacious aggression in the disputed waters. Top diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will also […]

Many policymakers and analysts would agree that there is a surging soft and hard power struggle between China and the United States for dominance in the South China Sea and Southeast Asia. I argue elsewhere that China has made significant inroads in what was long a region of U.S. soft power dominance. But Washington is […]