CHINA has launched a furious denial against accusations from Australia its pilots were targeted by lasers over the South China Sea. Euan Graham of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, who was the aboard the warship from which the aircraft were operating, made the claims when writing for The Strategist blog. Mr Graham told CNN […]

CHINA has “won” in the Shangri-La Dialogue as Japan and South Korea refuse to agree on security measures in the South China Sea. Pressure on Beijing’s island building in the disputed seas has eased since defence ministers from Japan and South Korea failed to negotiate security. The pair were due to meet at the Asian […]

TOKYO — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to hammer out a code of conduct for the South China Sea, warning the disputed waterway is increasingly becoming a potential “flashpoint” for conflict. Duterte went off script in a speech at Nikkei’s Future of Asia conference to vent frustration over […]

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines says efforts are needed to reduce the chance of military conflict in the South China Sea. The issue will be a continuous “flashpoint for trouble” the longer it is left to fester, Duterte said Friday at the Future of Asia conference in Tokyo. His remarks came a day after […]

  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte voiced rare frustration with China Friday, urging progress on a code of conduct for the contested South China Sea, which he warned was becoming a “flashpoint”. Duterte was delivering a speech at an economic forum in Tokyo, but veered off script with remarks about the resource-rich sea, over most of […]

  TOKYO—President Duterte on Friday said he loved China as an ally but questioned the claim by the Asian economic powerhouse over the whole South China Sea. It was the first time that Duterte directly confronted China publicly on whether it had the right to claim the strategic waterway. The President made the remarks in […]

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Friday that China’s militarization of the disputed South China Sea had been “excessive.” Shanahan, speaking with reporters in Singapore on the sidelines of a defense forum, said China’s actions in the South China Sea, like installing surface to air missiles, was “excessive” and “overkill.” […]

The Trump administration’s top Defense official took aim Friday at China’s buildup of military forces and defenses on islands in the disputed South China Sea. At a press conference in Singapore, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan referred to China’s forces in the region as “overkill,” and “excessive” for patrolling Chinese interests in the region, according […]

  The Trump administration’s top Defense official took aim Friday at China’s buildup of military forces and defenses on islands in the disputed South China Sea. At a press conference in Singapore, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan referred to China’s forces in the region as “overkill,” and “excessive” for patrolling Chinese interests in the region, […]

  Singapore (CNN)The United States can’t fully trust China until Beijing starts playing by the rules. That was the overarching message delivered by acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan at Asia’s premier defense forum Saturday morning in Singapore. Speaking to hundreds of delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Shanahan avoided calling China out by name, but […]