Author Archives: admin

U.S. orders arms embargo on Cambodia, cites Chinese influence

The U.S. has ordered an arms embargo on Cambodia, citing deepening Chinese military influence, corruption and human rights abuses by the government and armed forces in the Southeast Asian country. The added restrictions on defense-related goods and services, issued by the State and Commerce departments, are due to be published and take effect Thursday. A […]

Opinion: China runs roughshod over international law to expand its territory and influence without firing a shot

Beijing redraws the map of Asia by unilaterally asserting dominion over disputed territories from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the Himalayas and the South China Sea. NEW DELHI, India (Project Syndicate)—As the world’s largest, strongest, and longest-surviving dictatorship, contemporary China lacks the rule of law. Yet it is increasingly using its rubber-stamp Parliament to enact […]

Hegemon and bully of South China Sea

Last Nov. 22, 2021, while marking the 30th year of the China-Asean dialogue relationship, China’s President Xi Jinping declared that China does not seek hegemony and will not bully its smaller neighbors. Chinese diplomats routinely assure the world that China does not seek to overturn the existing international system. This is all doublespeak. China is […]

Next PH president shouldn’t be ‘defeatist’ in West PH Sea row

THE next president of the Republic should not have a “defeatist” attitude toward the territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea, political scientists said on Thursday. Dr. Renato de Castro, Stratbase ADR Institute trustee, and Dr. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the […]

Jakarta beefs up defences in Natuna Sea after China meddles in Harbour Energy block

Jakarta is preparing to bolster its maritime security defences in the Natuna Sea, which is rich in fisheries and natural gas, after increasing incursions by Chinese vessels within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The news should provide some comfort to upstream oil and gas investors operating in the Natuna Sea. The announcement of the strategic […]

Why Taiwan Matters to the United States

Washington has strategic, economic, and normative reasons for safeguarding the island from Chinese coercion. Amidst talk of U.S.-China competition, Taiwan too often devolves into a policy football, a subset object at the prey of larger geopolitical forces. Calls to make an explicit security guarantee for Taiwan, maintain the status quo, or even abandon the island […]