THE long-running dispute between China and its rivals in the South China Sea centres on an apparently insoluble conflict: China’s maritime claims overlap with those of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Nobody wants to go to war; nobody wants to back down. To reduce the chances of armed conflict and give all claimants […]

As China and the Philippines engage in bilateral talks, Manila should revisit the South China Sea arbitral award and not sleep on its rights As a matter of inviolable principle, the Philippines should incorporate in its terms of reference for bilateral talks with China the July 12, 2016, award by the Ad Hoc Arbitral Tribunal […]

Under Xi Jinping, China has intensified its focus on “seizing discursive power” (话语权) and “propagating China’s voice” at the global level. Indeed, the recent One Belt, One Road summit in Beijing has highlighted China’s ambitions to exert its influence upon the international order—and adjust it to its own advantage. For China, this concept of discursive […]

MANILA, Philippines — The move of the US Navy to sail near Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands shows Washington’s support for the Philippines’ claims over the South China Sea. US officials earlier confirmed that guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey sailed within six nautical miles of Mischief Reef, one of China’s artificial islands in the disputed […]

With days to go before Asian defence officials meet in Singapore for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, the United States carried out its first South China Sea freedom of navigation operation (fonop) for the year. The guided missile destroyer USS Dewey sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands. Not only was […]

Hope for Code of Conduct on South China Sea The legally binding document is expected to address reducing the risk of clashes in one of the world’s most strategic maritime territories, writes Rajaram Panda The oceanic space of the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as a major flashpoint in the Asia Pacific region as […]

Beijing and its Southeast Asian neighbours have agreed to a framework for a code of conduct in the South China Sea, a move that could reduce the risk of clashes in one of the world’s busiest waterways. Along with the framework, rival claimants China and the Philippines will start talks today over their competing claims […]

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan – The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan departed its Yokosuka homeport Tuesday for a scheduled patrol of the Asia-Pacific region, amid concerns about North Korea and questions about how the White House will address China’s claims to the South China Sea. The roughly 5,000 sailors assigned to the ship and its […]

Last Friday the newly appointed secretary of foreign affairs, Alan Peter Cayetano, made this statement with regard to foreign aid: “We will not accept aid from any country if there are strings attached, if there are conditions, because we are an independent nation, and we have an independent foreign policy.” This statement echoes the Duterte […]

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said he has been in all the bilateral meetings between President Duterte and China’s President Xi Jinping and he has not witnessed any threat of war uttered by the Chinese President. Philippine Ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana, who has worked and lived in China as a journalist before he […]