The Philippines has again thumbed its nose at the U.S., its longtime defense ally, saying it won’t be used as a springboard for U.S. ships and planes conducting operations that challenge China in the South China Sea. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that the Philippines will not allow its territory to be used as a […]

In this Sept. 23, 2015, file photo, Chinese Coast Guard members approach Filipino fishermen as they confront each other off Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, also called the West Philippine Sea. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has considerably reduced tensions with China over contested South China Sea waters, says he plans to declare […]

Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced a bill in the Senate Foreign Relations committee that proposes punitive sanctions against China over its activities in maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas. The bill, called the “South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act of 2016” (PDF), proffers a plan […]

China and Japan have continued their recent tit-for-tat moves in the airspace above the Western Pacific, with aircraft from the two Asian giants on Saturday again engaging in an apparently tense encounter over the high seas between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island. The Defense Ministry in Tokyo said the Air Self-Defense Force had scrambled […]

China is conducted a long-range drill with its military aircraft overflying waterways near Taiwan in the disputed South China Sea on Saturday (10 December), Taiwan’s defence ministry said. It is the first such exercise by China since a telephone call between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and US President-elect Donald Trump left Beijing annoyed. However, there […]

MANILA, Philippines – Warships and aircraft on patrol in the South China Sea are arriving in the Philippines from US bases in Guam and Japan, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said yesterday. Lorenzana clarified the US is not allowed to use the Philippines as a staging point to patrol the South China Sea. He added the […]

Officials: China flew nuclear-capable bombers around Taiwan China flew a long-range nuclear-capable bomber outside China for the first time since President-elect Donald Trump spoke with the president of Taiwan, two US officials told Fox News. The dramatic show of force was meant to send a message to the new administration, according to the officials. It […]

On 12 July the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), at The Hague, handed down a landmark decision in a case the Philippines had brought against China in 2013 regarding Beijing’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. Many were stunned by the comprehensive nature of the PCA’s verdict in Manila’s favour. Indeed, the decision […]

China defended its massive military construction and development projects in the disputed South China Sea Wednesday. “China’s construction in the South China Sea has turned its islands into the best-equipped, most advanced bases in the region with airports, hospitals, agriculture and 4G mobile signal,” the Global Times argued, citing a Chinese military publication. The South […]

Washington has failed to demonstrate that it has the stomach to remain a resident power in Asia. Recognizing the geostrategic significance of Asia for the twenty-first century, President Obama told an Australian Parliament in 2011, “The United States is a Pacific power and we are here to stay.” But with U.S. membership in the Trans-Pacific […]