Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is fighting two wars: a diplomatic war in the South China Sea, and a real war against corruption and drug trafficking at home. He doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing in either of them, leaving the country deeply confused, divided, and at odds with friends and neighbors. That’s something investors […]
The U.S. government is challenging China over its dominant position in Asia’s major maritime sovereignty dispute, but those moves, after months of silence, are seen as aimed at reassuring nervous Southeast Asian countries rather than as a major anti-Beijing pivot. President Donald Trump has shelved the South China Sea issue for most of his nearly […]
The results of the 30th ASEAN Summit, held in Manila on April 29, were somewhat disappointing—though not surprising. The chairman’s statement did not come close to addressing the ongoing concerns of reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea, and in fact did not even mention them (in contrast to recent statements in Laos and […]
China is outfitting its controversial artificial islands in the South China Sea with warplane hangars and weapons, the Pentagon said in a report released Tuesday. According to the report, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force intends to base three regiments of warplanes there. “Although its land reclamation and artificial islands do not strengthen China’s territorial […]
The Trump Administration is starting to show some backbone on China’s territorial power play against its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea. But if the Philippines, Vietnam and others are to stand up to Chinese bullying, the U.S. needs to do more to show it is committed to the region’s stability. https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-markers-in-the-south-china-sea-1496746701
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte still respects Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, even while the tough-talking leader has repeatedly blasted the magistrate for criticizing his foreign policy. The Palace made the comment in the wake of Carpio’s appearance at a media forum on Monday, where the magistrate warned that the administration’s foreign policy […]
MANILA, Philippines — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson irked Beijing in his recent comment that China is using its economic powers to buy its way out of problems. “China is a significant economic and trading power, and we desire a productive relationship, but we cannot allow China to use its economic power to buy […]
SINGAPORE – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says that he expects the Trump Administration will realize continued engagement in the Indo-Pacific region is in the interest of the U.S., during a speech at an annual regional security summit in Singapore. In a wide-ranging speech that was well-received by the audience, Turnbull also urged China to […]
China was criticised for “unilaterally” altering the status quo in the East and South China seas at a regional security forum at the weekend, although envoys for Beijing argued their nation follows international law. Defence ministers from the United States, Japan and Australia also voiced support for a ruling by an international arbitration panel last […]
How we judge the success of the U.S. Navy’s freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near Mischief Reef last week depends on what it was supposed to achieve. Was it intended to address a legal problem or a strategic one? To be more specific, did it aim to contest China’s claim of a 12-nautical mile territorial […]