MANILA — Vietnam and Malaysia do not claim waters where the Philippines have exclusive rights over natural resources, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Tuesday, contradicting a remark by House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. Cayetano on Monday said Vietnam and Malaysia occupy more islands than China in the West Philippine Sea. He […]
The U.S. Air Force’s chief of staff says there are no plans to reduce freedom of navigation operations in or over the South China Sea, which China cites as the source of increased tensions in the region. Speaking to reporters in Manila on Friday, Gen. Dave Goldfein said, “There will be no let-up in […]
These shells are worth a fortune, but the price in environmental damage and heightened military tensions in the South China Sea is vastly higher. It sounds like a schlocky 1950s horror flick: a war across the Asia-Pacific triggered by a horde of giant clams. Unfortunately, this is not “Roger Corman Presents.” It’s the worst […]
In a rare message aimed at China’s use of warships near Manila’s coast, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered that from Tuesday, all foreign vessels intending to sail through Philippine territorial waters must now notify authorities and receive permission before proceeding. “Either we get a compliance in a friendly manner, or we enforce it in […]
THE PHILIPPINES defence secretary has found himself in a bizarre war of words with Beijing in which both sides suggested foreign workers in their nations were spies. as tensions over the South China Sea continue to grow. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had called for online casinos operating near Philippine military camps to be relocated […]
The South China Sea is a nexus of the China-US contest for dominance in the region. In the heat of this struggle, the United States has frequently accused China of all sorts of bad behaviour there. Specifically, it has characterised China’s actions as “militarisation”, assertiveness and even “bullying” – sometimes rightly. These are serious […]
Activists burn Chinese flags and display anti-China placards during a protest at a park in Manila on June 18, 2019. Following years of Russian noncompliance, the United States officially withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on Aug. 2. The Cold War-era arms control agreement had banned land-based missiles with ranges between 500 and […]
The study warned that America’s defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific region “is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis” and could struggle to defend its allies against China. That means Australia, Japan and other US partners need to build up and refocus their forces in the region and consider increased cooperation with the US […]
Vietnam repeated its demand that a Chinese survey ship and its escorts leave contested waters in the South China Sea as Beijing’s lifting of a ban on fishing in the area threatened to raise tensions further. The presence of Haiyang Dizhi 8 (which means Marine Geology 8) and a coast guard escort in the […]
Australian researchers have issued a new report claiming that China’s hi-tech ballistic missiles could cripple U.S. military bases and naval forces within hours if an armed conflict erupted in the Western Pacific between the two superpowers. The 104-page report was published by the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney where they […]