Chinese President Xi Jinping recently denied claims that his country is militarizing its possessions in the South China Sea. While Xi has rejected such claims, satellite imagery paints a very different picture. For nearly two years, China has been engaged in a massive land reclamation project in the region increasing the land area of most […]

Publications often view the South China Sea as a source of constant security tension whereas analysis of scientific cooperation in the region, on the other hand, is rare, thinly spread and short. However, scientific cooperation in maritime matters does exist; ‘collective research and knowledge’ is even considered by neighboring nations as a means of gathering […]

WASHINGTON – Three days after calling out China over its land reclamation and militarization of disputed areas in the South China Sea, US President Barack Obama voiced his concern yet again before the United Nations and urged a resolution of the problem “through international law, not the law of force.” The United States does not […]

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Brazen lies. This was how a former lawmaker described on Wednesday (September 30) Beijing’s pronouncements about disputed waters — based on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent speech at the White House. Roilo Golez, who also served as national security adviser during the Arroyo administration, said China was “brazenly lying” about […]

Tensions between China and Vietnam over the South China Sea are rising and a miscalculation or miscommunication risks an outbreak of hostilities. Earlier this month, satellite imagery revealed that China is constructing its third airstrip in the disputed Spratly Islands, an archipelago of 750 reefs, cays, and islands claimed—in whole or in part—by China, Vietnam, […]

In August, China and Russia conducted a large bilateral naval exercise called Joint Sea 2015 II in the Sea of Japan. The exercise concerned some observers for what it implied about a solidifying geopolitical block aligned against the U.S. But its location provided the Chinese with another opportunity – to enter the Bering Sea and […]

Nor has the U.S. cultivated the kind of ties with China that would allow Washington to happily cede influence to Beijing in the way that Britain ultimately relinquished maritime influence to the United States (first in the Caribbean and later in the Mediterranean). Britain and the U.S. were of a like mind when it came […]

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) admits good relations between China and the U.S. are important for stability not only in the Asian region, but the entire world. DFA officials pointed out Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States could mean easing tensions in disputed areas in the […]

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) admits good relations between China and the U.S. are important for stability not only in the Asian region, but the entire world. DFA officials pointed out Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States could mean easing tensions in disputed areas in the […]

Beijing may be playing coy over whether it considers the South China Sea part of its sovereign territory, but the country’s actions indicate that its preferred outcome is Chinese sovereignty within the “nine-dash line.” Meanwhile, the Obama Administration’s vacillation over how to challenge Beijing’s assertiveness in the region undermines U.S. policy to shape China’s rise […]