Author Archives: admin

Enter Science & China’s Blue Economy in the South China Sea’s Policy Discussion

The role of marine science and the emergence of China’s blue economy helped frame a new narrative on the South China Sea’s policy debate, as shown at a CSIS discussion on May 21 titled “The Convergence of Marine Science and Geopolitics in the South China Sea.” Two of the panelists John McManus from the University […]

Chinese air zone is top PH concern

A Chinese air defense identification zone over artificial islands that Beijing is building in the South China Sea will be a “serious cause for concern” for the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday. China has not yet declared an air defense zone, but a declaration is seen as likely as Beijing […]

Obama: land reclamation projects in South China Sea ‘counterproductive’

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Monday that land reclamation projects in the South China Sea are unproductive and called for an end to aggressive action in the region. “We think that land reclamation, aggressive actions by any party in that area are counterproductive,” Obama said in a town-hall discussion at the White […]

Obama: S. China Sea Land Reclamation ‘Counterproductive’

WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama warned that Southeast Asia risks becoming less prosperous as countries in the region undertake land reclamation and assert sovereignty over parts of the disputed South China Sea. Obama said that while some of China’s claims may turn out to be legitimate, it should stop “throwing elbows and pushing people out of […]

South China Sea: The tiny islands that could lead to war

The territorial dispute in the South China Sea is building towards a flash point.  There is a persistent idea that it’s about nothing more than tiny islands and useless reefs. If that’s all it is, then it’s not worth a big argument between the US and China. And it’s certainly not worth risking a war […]

South China Sea: Australia will ignore Chinese air defence zone, says Kevin Andrews

Defence Minister Kevin Andrews has said Australia will continue to fly military aircraft over disputed waters in the South China Sea even if Beijing imposes a unilateral restricted air zone. A day after demanding an end to Beijing’s island-building in the contested waters during a key Asian security conference, Mr Andrews indicated Australia would not heed any […]

China’s military buildup in the South China Sea is ‘beyond anything previously seen’

China’s rapid claim on contested islands in the South China Sea is beyond anything seen previously and raises legitimate questions about Beijing’s intentions in the region, the secretary of the Australian defence department, Dennis Richardson, said. Richardson told a Senate estimates committee on Monday that the military buildup on China’s reclamation program in the South […]

Beijing’s response to territorial dispute could have negative effect

A Chinese representative’s strongly worded response to the South China Sea dispute at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday could have a negative effect on the issue, a Taiwanese scholar said that day. China has tried to present itself as a peaceful country in previous talks, but its representative uttered some strong […]

The Next Step Toward Possible Conflict in the South China Sea

U.S. warships likely to challenge expanded Chinese sovereignty When discussing the growing conflict over China’s dredging new islands to extend its sovereignty 1,000 miles into the resource-rich South China Sea, one phrase frequently pops up from U.S. military officers past and present. “China,” they say, “doesn’t do off-ramps well.” What they mean is that once […]