The July 12 judgement of the tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding Manila’s case against Beijing’s South China Sea claims has reshaped the geostrategic landscape in Southeast Asia. But surprisingly, Vietnam has only issued a brief statement on the verdict, with Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Hai Binh saying that “Vietnam welcomes […]

TOKYO — Chinese President Xi Jinping has continued to up the ante in the South China Sea dispute in a bid to overhaul a military whose dominant army has vehemently resisted change. “To put it simply, Xi Jinping’s major reforms of the People’s Liberation Army are a form of ‘army bashing,’” said an old cadre […]

WASHINGTON — Chinese ship and helicopter are seen during a search and rescue exercise near Qilian Yu subgroup in the Paracel Islands, which is known in China as Xisha Islands, South China Sea, July 14, 2016. Chinese ship and helicopter are seen during a search and rescue exercise near Qilian Yu subgroup in the Paracel […]

An arbitral tribunal’s ruling and the maintenance of peace and stability in the East Vietnam Sea have been highlighted in a joint consensus reached by scholars from Vietnam and other nations during an international conference held in the south-central city of Nha Trang. Delegates at the international workshop on the ‘Legal Status of Islands and […]

China reacted with predictable dismay to the arbitral ruling of the tribunal convened under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea at the request of the Philippines to resolve its disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. China cannot be expected to change its long-standing position on historical rights or its view […]

Last month’s ruling by a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the dispute brought by the Philippines against China has earned its place in maritime legal annals. Its precedent is likely to be felt beyond the South China Sea, but whether it will influence China is open to question. Unlike previous territorial […]

MASINLOC, ZAMBALES — Sixty-three-year-old Fred Manzano earnestly remembers how he and his fellow fishermen would hop onto Vietnamese boats those nights they navigated the waters surrounding Scarborough Shoal, a fishing ground whose resources he said were shared with their peers from another part of Asia. Sailing off the coast of Masinloc to Scarborough Shoal would […]

In a bid to maintain its sovereignty in the region, Indonesia announced on Wednesday evening that it will seek to change the name of the South China Sea to the Natuna Sea in the area within 200 miles of its Natuna Islands. Ahmad Santosa, the Chief of Task Force 115, an agency combating illegal fishing, […]

SUPREME Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio yesterday pushed for the declaration by claimant countries of the Spratly group of islands as a marine protected area for 100 years to preserve its fragile marine ecosystem and allow fish stocks and other marine resources to replenish. Carpio made the appeal during the Forum on the Environmental […]

China’s response to The Hague’s recent South China Sea arbitration ruling has been mixed. Despite negative rhetoric to the press and some military posturing, Beijing has—for the moment—avoided some of the more incendiary possible responses, such as conducting land reclamation around Scarborough Shoal, and has indicated a willingness to renew dialogue with Manila. The United […]