The ascension of Xi Jinping to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has often been posited as a turning point for China’s policy in the South and East China Sea maritime disputes. As early as 2013, You Ji of the University of New South Wales assessed that Xi had been “instrumental in changing […]

This year, Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Japan twice – for the G-20 summit in June and a second bilateral summit later TOKYO: Even as Washington ratchets up the pressure on China, Tokyo and Beijing are in the middle of their own “Wuhan spirit”, as both countries with a bitter history strive […]

THE Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) that the Philippines signed with the United States in 1951 was supposed to give the country a sense of security against any prospect of an external attack. But given its current form and with its “ambiguous” provisions, the treaty with the country’s longtime ally does not provide this sense of […]

China is considering equipping its only serving aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, with a hi-tech launch system that will render its ski-jump flight deck obsolete and create a platform for training pilots in the latest naval aviation skills. A retired PLA Navy officer told the South China Morning Post that the 14-degree deck on the Soviet-built […]

‘GLOBAL Britain’ must be prepared to face down an increasingly aggressive China to protect trade interests in the heavily militarised South China Sea, a new study has warned. Beijing has staked “unlawful and excessive” claims over international waters in the highly contested region, revealing a “deeply worrying strategic intent”, experts from the Henry Jackson Society […]

The service’s role and integration with the military has been strengthened in the last year, leaving the navy to set sights on deeper waters China is expected to use its coastguard fleet to shore up its paramilitary presence in the disputed South China Sea, using the personnel to strengthen law enforcement and even deter activities […]

A lawmaker has filed a bill to declare July 12 as a special working holiday, seeking to mark the day an international tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines in its arbitration case against China over the disputed West Philippine Sea. READ: Hague tribunal’s ruling on West PH Sea In a statement, detained Sen. Leila […]

New nuclear aircraft carriers and state-of-the-art carrier-borne fighter jets will join China’s revamped navy by 2035, local military experts say. It’s part of an ambitious push to modernize and overtake the US in the Pacific. The drive will see Beijing build at least six aircraft battlegroups that will be available for missions on the high […]

MANILA, Philippines — While the Philippines is repairing its facilities on Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea, China has deployed ships near the island, according to a report from an independent think tank. Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) observed People’s Liberation Army Navy, Chinese Coast Guard ships and fishing vessels near Subi Reef, […]

Beijing started sending vessels to Thitu, part of the Spratly chain, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) run by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies. The fleet of ships, dispatched from the nearby Subi Reef, includes vessels from the navy and coastguard along with dozens of fishing boats. The report said […]