Routine FONOPS in the South China Sea are long overdue — as are Taiwan Strait passages. Despite its recent tragic incidents, the United States Navy has adopted a cool-headed new approach to Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) in the South China Sea. Long overdue, it is a clear, firm, enforcement of the international maritime order […]

As The People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues its historically unprecedented economic expansion, with its accompanying prestige, she has accordingly sought to expand her hegemony on the world stage. The centerpiece of this incrementalist program has been an ambitious and destabilizing program of building up airstrips and bases atop disputed reefs within the South China […]

  Beijing’s rebuke of Jakarta’s decision to rename its natural gas-rich Natuna Island region has agitated what had been a quiescent territorial dispute   What’s in a name? Quite a lot it seems, particularly when it comes to China’s expansive claims to the South China Sea, which Beijing has increasingly come to regard as its […]

  TAIPEI — Countries with competing claims to the South China Sea have failed to start joint resource projects with the strongest one, China, despite discussions over the past two decades, as they fear unequal results or a loss of sovereignty.   Front-line countries in Southeast Asia worry they would take a minor role compared […]

THE US will be increasing its navy patrols in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, the Pentagon has confirmed – a decision that is likely to outrage Beijing.   Pentagon officials have confirmed that US Pacific Command will be executing “freedom-of-navigation operations” approximately two or three times each month in a bid to […]

The “first island chain” refers to the first major archipelagos off the East Asian continental mainland, including the Japanese archipelago, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and the northern Philippines. Wikimedia Commons/Suid-Afrikaanse   MANILA, Philippines — China has demonstrated its ability to gain air supremacy over areas of the “first island chain” as it continues its military buildup […]

  Washington is losing ground in the South China Sea, and risks making the situation lasting unless America imposes “real” strategic costs to China. Part one of this two-part series provided strategic perspectives and context to the recent uptick in tensions in the South China Sea (SCS) following a year of relative calm since the […]

  Last month, a Philippine lawmaker released photos he said showed Chinese fishing, coast guard and navy vessels surrounding a Philippine-occupied isle in the Spratly island chain, preventing planned repairs to a runway. Vietnam in July halted drilling in an area leased to Spain’s Repsol S.A, amid reports it did so under Chinese duress.   […]

 Beijing’s displeasure is all too predictable and far from convincing. Last week, media outlets began disclosing that China’s Foreign Ministry had sent a note dated August 25 to the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing opposing Jakarta’s decision in July to rename its portion of the South China Sea to the North Natuna Sea. Despite the hype […]

  U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) is gearing up for more regular naval patrols in the South China Sea, a move that is likely to further complicate relations between the U.S. and China.   The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the Pentagon has set a schedule for freedom of navigation operations to challenge Chinese maritime […]