The world’s second-largest economy has been deploying disruptive technology that could strengthen its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. Late last month, Beijing dropped a dozen underwater drones, also known as unmanned underwater vehicles, in an unspecified location in the international waterway to carry out “scientific observations,” state-run media outlet Xinhua reported. […]
Beijing voiced displeasure on Friday after a US warship sailed near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea, an operation that prompted the Chinese navy to warn off the American destroyer. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the actions of the USS John S. McCain had violated Chinese and international law, “seriously” […]
MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. warship sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in the disputed South China Sea, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. Two Chinese frigates and a Chinese coast guard vessel shadowed the USS John S. McCain as it sailed in a freedom of navigation operation within 12 […]
A Washington-based think tank has belied the claims of Philippine and China foreign ministers that Beijing has stopped its reclamation activities in disputed areas in the South China Sea. “This is false,” the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (AMTI-CSIS) said on Wednesday, referring to Foreign Affairs […]
The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain at sea in this 2010 handout photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy. REUTERS WASHINGTON – A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation operation” on Thursday, within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island, Mischief Reef (Filipino name: Panganiban Reef) built up by China in […]
China has for some years intensified its land reclamation, facility construction and defence installation in the South China Sea. Its contentious activities in the hotly disputed waters have unnerved rival claimant states and other countries such as the United States, Japan and Australia. Yet, each time its island-building and militarization in the strategic […]
The Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), which marks its 50th anniversary on Aug 8, finds itself at a crossroads: How can it continue to be relevant as a regional bloc, in the light of its inability to counter, or even merely criticise, expansive Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea? One possibility is […]
Ahead of the next round of Asian summitry led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) set for Manila later this week, reports have surfaced that, as expected, ASEAN countries and China will endorse a framework on the code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea that had first been agreed to in […]
War never is an option. Diplomacy can fortify the UN ruling on Manila’s row with Beijing. Supreme Court Senior Justice Antonio T. Carpio enumerates some diplomatic initiatives, in a presentation to the Stratbase-Albert del Rosario Institute. Third of four parts: There is no world policeman or sheriff to enforce the arbitral ruling. However, […]
MANILA – Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario on Thursday took a critical view at the widening financial relationship between the Philippines and China, warning of the perils of haphazardly incurring debts to fund its projects. In a speech at a forum marking the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southehast Asian […]