Monthly Archives: June 2020

Tories at WAR: Boris and Rishi rift erupts over response to China – ‘Cracks are growing’

BORIS JOHNSON’s Cabinet is said to be divided over his tough response to China following Beijing’s latest actions – with one MP claiming cracks are appearing in the Prime Minister’s relationship with Rishi Sunak. https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1292485/boris-johnson-china-response-tories-divided-rishi-sunak-economy-beijing

Britain at forefront of anti-China group as anger grows ‘We can’t go on like this!’

  BRITAIN is at the centre of a new global coalition of democracies which will either persuade China to mend its ways or help form a united front against it. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), launched on Friday, consists of cross-party MPs from nine countries in Europe, North America and the South Pacific. New […]

Australia, India concerned regarding South China Sea ahead of major defence pact

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will be holding their first bilateral summit on 4 June. Ahead of the meeting, High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell raised key concerns that are impacting the stability around the Indian Ocean region. Indicating the outlook of the upcoming first major bilateral talk after the COVID-19 […]

Philippines notifies US it will keep military deal as tensions rise

MANILA — The Philippines will continue its visiting forces agreement with the U.S. for the near future, suspending an earlier decision to scrap the major military deal amid China’s renewed muscle-flexing in the South China Sea. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/South-China-Sea/Philippines-notifies-US-it-will-keep-military-deal-as-tensions-rise

Why the South China Sea Fuels U.S.-China Tensions

For decades, the U.S. has guaranteed freedom of navigation in Asia’s waters, patrolling the seas with a view to maintaining the principle that no sovereign state shall suffer interference from another. China’s growing military prowess, combined with a dogged assertiveness over its territorial claims, is testing the old ways and providing a potential flashpoint for […]

Indonesia Cites 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award at UN. Is That a Big Deal?

Is Jakarta’s move an extension of existing policy or a change? Just how notable is the Indonesian government’s recent submission at the United Nations citing the July 2016 ruling by the Hague-based arbitral tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the South China Sea in Philippines v. China? Last week, Jakarta’s UN mission submitted […]

ASEAN states should follow Indonesia, invoke Hague ruling vs China – Carpio

MANILA, Philippines – Retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio urged Southeast Asian nations to invoke the 2016 Hague ruling against China’s claims in the South China Sea, as he lauded Indonesia’s recent move to do so. Carpio, who was one of the legal minds behind the Philippines’ case against China, said Indonesia’s invocation of […]

Assessing China’s Assertiveness at Commodore Reef

The incident earlier this year between Philippine and Chinese naval vessels near Commodore Reef foreshadows dynamics that might characterize regional maritime security in the face of an increasingly assertive China. In this regard, it is essential to reexamine the incident through the lens of international law and good order at sea to understand its implications. […]