MANILA, Philippines — Insisting that its island-building activities in the South China Sea are for civilian purposes, Beijing accused Washington of “ignoring” its positive efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region. Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesperson Senior Col. Wu Qian maintained that China’s deployment of facilities are “reasonable and legitimate.” “For a period […]

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Floating Chinese nuclear power plants stationed in the South China Sea would help Beijing fortify its claims in a decades-old maritime sovereignty dispute, but come with environmental risks, scholars say. China plans to power some of its claimed islets with nuclear energy, the U.S. Department of Defense recently told Congress in an […]

MANILA – The Philippines notified China about a Philippine Navy frigate that ran aground in the South China Sea to avoid any misunderstanding because the incident happened near a hotly disputed region, three Philippine officials said Friday. The BRP Gregorio del Pilar ran aground during a routine patrol Wednesday night in the vicinity of Half […]

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine navy frigate has run aground on a shoal in the disputed South China Sea and efforts are underway to retrieve it and its crew, who were unhurt. Military spokesman Col. Noel Detoyato said the BRP Gregorio del Pilar ran aground Wednesday night in the vicinity of the shoal, which the […]

Japan’s newest helicopter carrier, Kaga, has trained with the USS Ronald Reagan Strike Group, showcasing its military might during a tour in the contested South China Sea, amid tensions between Beijing and US-backed Tokyo. The two navies practiced sailing in formation and joint maneuvering on Friday. The ships also trained in replenishment-at-sea procedures. The drill […]

In the latest sign of Japan’s increased activity in the disputed South China Sea, the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s largest vessel, the helicopter carrier Kaga, linked up Friday for bilateral exercises with the U.S. Navy’s Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group, both countries’ navies said. The bilateral training is part of a rare, monthlong tour by […]

When crossing the expanse of the Pearl River Delta, from Macau to Hong Kong, at one point you lose sight of the mainland; before you is nothing but the sea. On this day in August, during typhoon season, a veil of rain moves swiftly across the bay falsely suggesting a void, where in fact rests […]

The US Navy’s Ronald Reagan Strike Group conducted drills in the South China Sea Friday with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Escort Flotilla 4 Battle Group, which is led by the Kaga, a helicopter destroyer. The drills followed US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress heavy long-range bomber flights through the contested region earlier in the week. […]

The Trump administration wants to mobilize private American capital for high-quality investments in the Asia-Pacific region. As China inches closer to imposing a de facto exclusion zone across the South China Sea, it has sought to box the United States out of Southeast Asia. Having deployed state-of-the-art weapons systems to artificially created islands in the […]

China continues to work to restrict access to the airspace above its South China Sea claims by U.S. and other military aircraft. Last week, a CNN crew documented communication by People’s Liberation Army ground crews on one of China’s artificial islands in the Spratly group warning a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft to […]