Washington wants to maintain high-level diplomatic engagement with Beijing but won’t give in to its demands over the South China Sea and Taiwan, according to a senior US diplomat. The comments came after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US Vice-President Mike Pence traded barbs over trade practices at the Apec summit in Papua New Guinea, […]

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Philippines and China on oil and gas development in the West Philippine Sea creates a body that will study how the two countries can pursue joint exploration and development. A government source privy to the MOU told Rappler that the MOU does not mean […]

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to the Philippines heralded a new ‘strategic partnership’ but failed to deliver vowed billions of dollars of aid and investment Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded today a landmark visit to the Philippines, a two-day tour that aimed to underscore the notion that Beijing is the region’s partner of choice for […]

MANILA – Contrary to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s claim, 14th century Chinese navigator, diplomat and admiral Zheng He “never visited the Philippines.” Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio said this Wednesday, refuting an opinion article that the Chinese Embassy in Manila released ahead of the Chinese President’s 2-day state visit to Manila. Xi had said Zheng, […]

BEIJING – China has installed a new platform on a remote part of the Paracel Islands in the disputed South China Sea which could be used for military purposes, according to recent satellite images reviewed by a US think tank. The strategic waterway is claimed almost in its entirety by China, whose continued building of […]

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has reiterated its stand that the South China Sea should remain accesible to all ships despite the claims that have been made by China on disputed territories. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said it was more important for ships to pass through the South China Sea freely than for China to […]

At the recently concluded 33rd ASEAN Summit, ASEAN member states expressed their desire to complete the Single Draft Negotiating Text for the Code of Conduct (COC) by next year to resolve the maritime dispute in the South China Sea. “ASEAN and China have seen steady progress in the initial phase of the COC negotiations since […]

Going into last week’s ASEAN summitry in Singapore there were hopes that some progress would be made on the U.S.-China-ASEAN complex of disputes in the South China Sea. But the summits have come and gone and, if anything, the situation in the South China Sea is more complicated than before. Although the contentiousness of the […]

HONG KONG — A U.S. aircraft carrier docked in Hong Kong Wednesday, days after a pair of American B-52 bombers flew over the disputed South China Sea. The arrival of the carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group in the Asian financial hub is being seen as a friendly gesture ahead of a planned meeting […]