THE worrisome situation that continues to intensify across the Indo-Pacific theater — India-China border, Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, South China Sea — is subverting diplomatic efforts to restore peace and order, and escalating the prospects of an armed conflict due to clashing core interests of the great powers between China and the United States. […]
People’s Liberation Army Navy corvette in West Philippine Sea An expert cited Wednesday the sluggish push by the Philippine government to protect its claims over the West Philippines Sea (WPS), while China increases the presence of its navy and militia vessels in the territory. In a forum by the Stratbase ADR Institute for Strategic and […]
Chinese Foreign Ministry appealed to some Philippine officials to stop “hyping up” and giving negative reactions to the situation in the West Philippine Sea despite the continued tension in the disputed waters. “We hope certain Philippine officials can stop hyping up the issue and avoid producing a negative impact on bilateral relations and peace and […]
MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an international treaty adopted in 1982, will collapse if China succeeds in taking over the rest of the South China Sea, retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said. Speaking at a virtual forum organized by Stratbase ADRi Wednesday, Carpio noted how Beijing […]
China has been accused of militarizing the contested South China Sea and jeopardizing peace in the region after the Philippines reported sightings of 261 suspected armed fishing vessels and Chinese navy warships, including hundreds within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Philippine Foreign Minister Teddy Locsin Jr. said he had ordered his office to lodge a […]
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines filed fresh diplomatic protests to China on Wednesday after accusing its giant neighbour of undertaking illegal fishing and massing more than 240 boats within the Southeast Asian country’s territorial waters. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said that two protests had been lodged, days after Manila summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang […]
Far more important than who is right in the contretemps between China and the Philippines over Chinese boats massing at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, is what the contest reveals about the political forces at work. What should have been a storm in a teacup has became dangerous because of the US-China struggle […]
There are two kinds of dispute in the Spratlys, the territorial dispute and the maritime dispute. The territorial dispute involves the issue of sovereignty over the geologic features above water at high tide and their surrounding territorial seas. The maritime dispute involves the economic right to exploit the resources in the waters and seabed beyond […]
Hong Kong (CNN)Military activity in the South China Sea spiked over the weekend as a Chinese aircraft carrier entered the region and a US Navy expeditionary strike group wrapped up exercises. Meanwhile, the US and Philippines were preparing for joint drills as the US secretary of defense proposed ways to deepen military cooperation between Washington […]
MANILA — The Philippines and the U.S. on Monday kick off two weeks of military drills in a showcase of their defense alliance amid a fresh feud between Manila and Beijing over the disputed South China Sea. The resumption of the annual exercises comes as officials from both countries recently discussed tensions in the disputed […]