The People’s Liberation Army Navy conducted another test flight of its JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile again last month, Bill Gertz, senior editor of the Washington Free Beacon writes in an article published Feb. 18. US military sources said that the JL-2 test was carried out on the same day North Korea tested its KN-11 submarine-launched […]
WASHINGTON – China is expanding its outposts in the South China Sea to include stationing for ships and potential airfields as part of its “aggressive” effort to exert sovereignty, the U.S. intelligence chief said Thursday. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on worldwide threats. His comments […]
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative has released a special issue on land reclamation and development activities in the South China Sea. As part of its ongoing effort to promote transparency in maritime Asia, AMTI obtained exclusive, never-before-published, imagery of China’s recent building efforts in the Spratly Islands. The collection of exclusive photographs includes coverage of […]
Perhaps, as the expression goes, hypocrisy rules the world; but certainly hypocrisy rules politics, at least the political aspect of U.S.-China relations relating to the establishment of rules intended to bring order to potential dangerous situations. Each country purports to want rules, but only in areas where it suits them, and then follows them when […]
New images reveal the extent of China’s land reclamation and construction in the South China Sea. Experts warn the new developments will make it increasingly difficult to counter Beijing’s regional claims. On February 4, the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest to the Chinese Embassy in Manila, urging Beijing to stop the land reclamation at the […]
In this excerpt from “Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Sea And The End Of A Stable Pacific,” author Robert D. Kaplan, chief geopolitical analyst for Stratfor and former member of the Pentagon’s Defence Policy Board, explains how the region’s unique geography fosters aggression. The South China Sea functions as the throat of the Western Pacific […]
Philippine authorities have released satellite pictures of six reefs in the Spratly archipelago that indicate that the Chinese are building artificial structures in the disputed territories of the South China Sea. According to some observers, these features could allow China to extend the range of its navy, air force, coastguard and fishing fleets into the […]
China’s playing Monopoly in the South China Sea—only, instead of building hotels on Pacific Avenue, it’s constructing helipads and, in some cases, whole new islands. In less than a year, shallow reefs in the Spratly Islands have sprouted white-sand outcrops, sporting what look to be Chinese military facilities, according to satellite imagery published this week by IHS Jane’s Defence […]