China’s only aircraft carrier in service is undergoing its first major revamp since it was commissioned in 2012, giving it a brand new “island” command centre. Pictures circulating on the internet show the radar above the Liaoning’s bridge is now gone, as is air traffic control at the island’s rear, with scaffolding around the command […]

A Vietnamese protester holds up a placard and shouts slogans along with dozens during a 2014 protest rally against China outside the Chinese Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Vietnam’s government stated its concerns to Ukraine over plastic globes being sold in the country that showed the Vietnamese province of Quang Ninh as Chinese […]

MANILA, Philippines — The world’s largest China-made amphibious aircraft is capable of landing on and taking off from Beijing’s outposts in the South China Sea. China’s independently-developed amphibious aircraft AG600 recently completed trial ground flights, Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Huang Lingcai, chief designer of the large amphibious aircraft, said the Kunlong was designed […]

While the situation in the South China Sea is not as tense as it has sometimes been before, China has kept consolidating its position. At the 51st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM 51) in Singapore earlier this month, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced that ASEAN and China have successfully adopted a single draft negotiating text […]

The South China Sea is a major trade route for crude oil, and in 2016, more than 30% of global maritime crude oil trade, or about 15 million barrels per day (b/d), passed through the South China Sea, according to a new report by the EIA. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Clipper Crude […]

Marites D. Vitug’s new book, “Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case Against China,” tells the story like a film thriller. It begins in three time zones on July 12, 2016, the day of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision. Waiting for the 5 a.m. e-mail from The Hague was the law […]

I have always said that for a people to be truly civilized, they must learn the value of reading books. It is obvious that a lot of people are very vocal about their positions on political and economic issues; but betray their shallow ignorance when they start explaining their positions. Others simply argue or resort […]

IN A small coastal town in the South China Sea, just 4200 kilometres from Darwin, China is building a facility designed to shoot radio waves into Earth’s upper atmosphere. China says it’s for scientific purposes. But critics aren’t entirely convinced. Researcher in the field of ionospheric science are excited about the prospect of learning more […]

A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: ——— EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in […]

President Duterte has warned China against drilling for oil and other resources in the West Philippine Sea, saying it could lead to war. West Philippine Sea is the local name of the waters within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone in the heavily disputed South China Sea. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, […]