Tensions over competing territorial claims in the resource-rich South China Sea have spiked in recent months as claimant countries, including China and the Philippines, await an upcoming decision by an international tribunal. That body, located at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, is widely expected to rule in the Philippines’ favor. But China […]

China is facing a potential decision point in its moves to assert its claims over much of the South China Sea. Beijing has reportedly told some Asian nations that it may withdraw from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) if the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The […]

Rumors are swirling that the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitral tribunal will release its long-awaited award in Philippines v. China this week. China has already said it will not comply with the award, but it is clearly worried that a negative award will isolate China diplomatically or weaken its future […]

An Indonesian warship has opened fire on a group of Chinese vessels, injuring one fisherman Incident threatens to further escalate tensions between Beijing and Jakarta over the disputed waters An Indonesian navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) Kapitan Pattimura (Parchim I)-class corvette has fired upon a group of 12 Chinese fishing ships after […]

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia is holding the crew of a Chinese fishing boat it says was fishing illegally last week in the South China Sea, an official confirmed on Monday. It was the third maritime skirmish — all involving warning shots — between the two countries in the past three months. The latest episode occurred […]

‘NOT HELPLESS.’ SC senior associate justice Antonio Carpio (left) says the Philippines won’t be helpless in trying to enforce a possible favorable ruling in its maritime dispute with China. Photo by Katerina Francisco/Rappler MANILA, Philippines – If the international tribunal hearing the case over the disputed South China Sea decides in favor of the Philippines, […]

As we get closer to the decision in the arbitration on the South China Sea, we hear numerous arguments from all sides, including the article by Ambassador Xie Feng in The Jakarta Post on June 8. Now, it is important to view the arbitration from an objective standpoint. First, regarding the formation of the arbitration, […]

BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) — Chinese foreign ministry on Sunday strongly protested over Indonesia navy warships’ harassment of Chinese fishermen in the South China Sea. Chinese fishing boats were harassed and shot at by several Indonesian navy warships in a disputed fishing ground in the South China Sea on Friday. One crew member was injured. […]

Neighbours accuse China of militarising its fishing fleet If you want to understand the way China really feels about its controversial claim to huge swathes of the sea off its southern shore, then the island of Hainan is a good place to start. This is a place where everything is bent towards justifying and upholding […]

In a massive show of strength that analysts said was meant to reassure nervous allies in the Asia-Pacific region, the U.S. Navy deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups for an exercise in the Philippine Sea on Saturday. The exercises, which came ahead of a key international court ruling on China’s claims in the disputed South […]