Indonesia has had a rocky couple of weeks in its relations with its neighbors. While Ted Piccone and Bimo Yusman wrote last week about Indonesia’s decade of qualified diplomatic successes, in a series of separate and mostly unrelated naval developments the archipelagic nation has in turn aggrieved, or been aggrieved by, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, […]
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — China on Wednesday urged the international community to be on alert for any comments which attempt to vindicate Japan’s invasion history and challenge post-war world order. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying’s comments came in response to a question regarding recent Japanese comments. Chairman of Japan’s public broadcaster NHK Katsuto […]
Over the last month and a half, seven significant developments indicate that tensions in the South China Sea are set to rise in both the short and long term. The five short-term trends include: Philippine defiance of China’s fishing ban; continued inaction by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); the Chinese navy’s repeated assertions […]
TAIPEI – China has no plans of establishing an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea, a ranking Taiwanese official said Monday, citing an assurance from Beijing. Chu-Chia Lin, deputy minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), told an international group of reporters here that China’s assurance came after Taipei asked Beijing […]
MANILA – Marking the 35th anniversary of the short but bloody China-Vietnam border war, Vietnamese living in the Philippines linked arms Monday with Filipino activists in reminding Beijing to stop using force to assert its will on its neighbors in pushing its territorial claims. In a mass action outside the Chinese consulate in Makati City, […]
BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) — Three China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels are patrolling in the waters surrounding the Diaoyu Islands , the State Oceanic Administration said on Monday. The vessels are CCG 2151, 2113 and 2102. Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-02/17/c_133121584.htm
For nearly seven decades, the U.S. alliance with Japan has been the cornerstone of the American-led security order in East Asia. Together, our two countries have helped to usher in an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity in a region formerly identified with persistent conflict and endemic poverty. Working together through the long years of […]
Based on the DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile, China has recently developed a more advanced DF-25 medium-range ballistic missile. The advanement follows India’s completion of its Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile, capabile of carrying nuclear warheads, reports the Qingdao News website. The range of the DF-25 is estimated to be 3,200 kilometers. Even though it is still […]
Japan is now considering future weapon transfers to other Asian countries as it builds alliances for a potential war with China. Soldiers of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force training in Oct. 2008. Earlier today in Okinawa, Japanese officials met with representatives from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to expand […]
China’s Indo-Pacific naval exercise, which I first analysed in this post, is continuing to make waves, with David Wroe of the Sydney Morning Herald providing this good wrap-up on the implications for Australia. But what are we to make of the latest twist being reported in the Jakarta Post? The report quotes an Indonesian military […]