China’s defence minister Wei Fenghe on Tuesday met hisIndonesiancounterpart Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, a day after visitingMalaysia’s leader in Kuala Lumpur, as Beijing seeks to balance US influence in the Asia-Pacific amid rising tensions in theSouth China Sea meetings running from Wednesday through Saturday, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expected to attend.Wei is […]
Foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will have a meeting via a video link on Wednesday. They are expected to issue a statement aimed at addressing escalating tensions in the South China Sea. Their key topics will include the disputed sea, which is claimed by countries including China and some ASEAN […]
China’s strongest ally in the South China Sea – Thailand, is quietly but firmly pushing back against Beijing. It has decided to not only postpone the procurement of two submarines from China but has also shelved the Chinese proposal for building a canal in the Bay of Bengal replacing it with its own project. ‘Stop […]
WASHINGTON — As a senator and vice president, Joe Biden — like politicians from both parties and presidents dating to Ronald Reagan — embraced the idea that the United States could coax China into acting as a “responsible stakeholder.” As the Democratic presidential nominee, Biden now calls Chinese President Xi Jinping a “thug.” Until recently, […]
A new Pentagon assessment of Chinese military power states it has outstripped the US in numbers of warships, land-based missiles and air defence systems. The news comes as a blow to US national pride. “Frankly, America slept while China grew,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday. The annual Military and Security Developments Involving […]
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy is opposing a plan by the Cavite provincial government to boot the military service command out of Sangley Point in Cavite as part of a P500-billion airport project that is expected to ease congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in neighboring Manila. Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, the […]
After China’s second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, embarked on a training voyage in the Bohai Sea last week, the country’s first carrier, the Liaoning, was spotted leaving its base and sailing in the Yellow Sea during the weekend. This was the first time known to the general public that China had two active aircraft carriers […]
China’s foray into the controversial and disputed South China Sea is not a new phenomenon. It is part of Beijing’s long term strategy to bring a large area of land and sea into its sphere of influence. This is being done by China mainly to harness resources exclusively. More recently, China’s firing of medium range […]
To the question of whether we should elevate the arbitral ruling upholding our maritime rights to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for enforcement, my answer is “Yes, but not now, not during this regime.” Why “Yes”? Because the UNGA is the best forum to help us enforce the ruling. Should the UNGA side […]
The geography of the Taiwan Strait, characterised by choppy seas, and rugged and mountainous terrain between potential landing zones and Taipei, provides the island with a defensive advantage. China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific over the last few months, from its strategic maneuvring of maritime forces in the South China Sea, to the successful passage […]