China’s position on a remote Japan-held feature reveals an important inconsistency in its approach to international law. One of Asia’s more remote maritime territorial disputes–the dispute over the status of the Okinotori Islands (Okinotorishima)–is back in the news. As my colleague Shannon Tiezzi discussed earlier this week, a recent spat over fishing rights between Taiwan […]

Critics are lining up to condemn the Obama administration’s apparent delay of a third freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea as yet another sign of weakness, but there is larger strategic game underway that may explain the administration’s decision. Other simultaneous U.S. actions may have deterred China from occupying and reclaiming […]

Greenpeace has been relatively mute about destructive activities occurring in the South China Sea, including the mass poisoning of fish in the waters around Pag-asa Island in the Spratly chain. While the Filipino island residents give eyewitness accounts about Chinese vessels dumping chemicals that destroy fish stock and deprive fishermen of their livelihood, Greenpeace appears […]

China is intensifying its global diplomatic campaign to win ­support ahead of an imminent international court ruling over the South China Sea disputes. The development came yesterday as ­Beijing vowed greater cooperation and to proceed with multinational military exercises with Southeast Asian nations, but also called on countries to back its stance on the territorial […]

South China sea, US South China Sea, CHina, CHina SCS, China disputed islands, US China SCS islands South China Sea islands. Concerned over China’s provocative actions in the disputed South China Sea, four top US Senators have introduced a legislation to enhance US maritime power in Asia Pacific region and provide more military aid to […]

STATE DEPARTMENT— The U.S. is ratcheting up cooperation with Asian allies to counter China’s “assertive and provocative behavior in the South China Sea” that is challenging the freedom of navigation in the crucial waterway, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers Thursday during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. Blinken’s remarks came after a […]

The United States has increasingly carried out what have been called freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea. This month, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited a warship in the South China Sea in an effort to show America’s commitment to security in the area. The exercises involve Navy ships and military aircraft. […]

A lookout watches on the bridge of the U.S.S. John C. Stennis aircraft carrier in the South China Sea on April 25, 2016 After patrolling Asia-Pacific waters for 160 years, the U.S. feels a historic interest in the region’s security. Beijing couldn’t see things more differently The U.S.S. John C. Stennis, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft […]

Fishing boats with Chinese national flags seen at a harbour in Tanmen, Hainan provinceReuters China is using a fleet of fishing boats to conduct maritime exercises in disputed waters in the South China Sea, a report says. Military-trained fishermen are deployed on tiny boats from Hainan Island to gather information on foreign vessels sailing through […]

CANBERRA – China’s adventurism in the South China Sea has prompted a change in Australian policymaking that merits wide international attention. In making maintenance of a “rules-based global order” a core strategic priority, Australia’s new defense white paper adopts language not often found at the heart of national defense charters. It is all the more […]