CHINA has started sea trials of its second amphibious assault ship, months after launch, which could be deployed in the South China Sea. The ship, called the Type 075, is known as a Landing Helicopter Dock. According to reports, it set sail from the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai. The ship is heading towards the […]
According to the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet, the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer “asserted navigational rights and freedoms near Vietnam in the vicinity of the Con Dao Island in the South China Sea” on Thursday. “The ship conducted normal operations within Vietnam’s claimed territorial seas to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access and navigational […]
As wealthy countries scramble to buy up the limited supply of big-name coronavirus vaccines, China is stepping in to offer its homegrown jabs to poorer countries. But the largesse is not entirely altruistic, with Beijing hoping for a long-term diplomatic return. The strategy carries multiple possible benefits: deflecting anger and criticism over China’s early handling […]
‘The battle to defend our sovereign rights in the WPS is also a battle for the hearts and minds of the peoples of the world’ The following is former Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio’s speech at the conferment of his honorary doctoral degree from the University of the Philippines on December 10, 2020. One of […]
TAIPEI, TAIWAN – The Philippines, an old American ally in Asia, is changing its view on whether to scrap a key U.S. military pact, as it explores new ways of benefiting from U.S. defense aid without isolating its newer superpower friend, China, analysts and officials say. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte this month announced that cancelling […]
SOUTH CHINA SEA tensions could result in Beijing launching military action against the US, an expert has warned. The US and China have been battling for supremacy in the disputed waters as Beijing ramps up its military ambitions in the South China Sea. Washington has for years stepped in to help neighbouring Asian countries who […]
In what is likely the final visit by a top Trump administration official to Asia, US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien dropped in this week to double down on defense cooperation, providing weaponry and rhetorical support to rally allies against China. During an elaborate ceremony at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, O’Brien announced the […]
SOARING tensions between China and the US in the South China Sea could easily spill over into armed conflict, according to the Philippines’ defence secretary. Delfin Lorenzana said the intense rivalry between Beijing and Washington was the major security concern in the volatile region warned his country would bear the brunt of any escalation in […]
MANILA – Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Wednesday there could be hope in the maritime disputes in the South China Sea, with China reportedly stating that it would not stop exploration activities in Reed Bank. Speaking in the online Pilipinas Conference organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute, Carpio said he sees […]
MANILA, Philippines—The prospect of the United States and China stumbling into full-blown conflict in the South China Sea is growing and the Philippines will get dragged into it whether it likes it or not, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said. At a forum hosted by the Stratbase ADR Institute on Wednesday (Nov. 25), the Philippine defense […]