The Chinese are set to consolidate their control over the South China Sea with their final and most controversial round of island building right up against the Philippines. The fishermen of Hainan Island are the forward guards in China’s battle to take all of the South China Sea. Operating as a guerrilla force and under […]
HAVING MADE a “rebalancing” toward Asia a pillar of his foreign policy, President Obama may face a fateful test from China in his final months in office. President Xi Jinping already broke a promise he made to Mr. Obama not to militarize islets his regime has been building up in two parts of the South […]
China’s navy has launched annual war drills in the South China Sea with one of its most advanced warships, the missile destroyer Hefei. The exercises include simulations for breaking an enemy blockade and reconnaissance drills with submarine forces. Five other guided-missile destroyers, a frigate and a supply ship of the South Sea Fleet based in […]
Russia has been perhaps the most explicit in its desire to return to Cam Ranh Bay. Russian experts were hired for the recent modernization of the port, and Vietnam allowed the airfield to be used for refueling Russian bombers, prompting serious concern from the State Department. A base in Vietnam would be of largely symbolic […]
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have agreed to conduct coordinated patrols in piracy-prone areas in the South China Sea and to set up crisis centres to respond to maritime emergencies, Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi said on Thursday. The decision was made at a meeting of civil and military officials of the three countries hosted […]
The remarks were made in response to reports that the UN tribunal is to render its final decision in the coming weeks. The verdict is expected to turn out against China since Beijing shrugged off the case throwing into question its legality, saying that its falls outside the UN Convention of the Law of the […]
About 300 Chinese legal experts gathered in Changchun, Jilin province to discuss the case. Their analysis was unanimous: China should abstain from participating in the case, because the arbitration panel has no jurisdiction over the dispute. They believed China has legitimate rights under international law to reject the arbitration. “That is because the tribunal that […]
The Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs noted how U.S.-China cooperation can move the world forward on issues such as climate change, but also that U.S. and China have significant differences that could impede progress on enhancing the stability and prosperity of Asia and the world. Russel noted that the U.S. […]
TAIPEI – Legislators of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) on Thursday demanded that the executive branch take tougher action against Japan, including use of military force, after a Taiwanese fishing boat and its crew were detained by Japan Coast Guard officials last month for fishing in Japanese waters. KMT legislator Liao Kuo-tung told a legislative committee that […]
In January 2016, Tsai Ing-wen was elected president of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan). She will take office later this month. As the first president from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party in eight years, Tsai’s election represents a wildcard of sorts for the ROC’s ongoing claims in the South China Sea. Whatever course she […]