CHINA has been accused of creating an early warning system to protect its illegal island fortress on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Satellite images showing surveillance balloons above the man-made Mischief Reef have been seen as further evidence of China’s militarisation of the strategic stretch of water which also is […]

  BANGKOK — US President Donald Trump did not show up at the Asean Summit and related summits last month in Bangkok. Local media and many observers viewed his absence as evidence of the US wavering in its commitment to Asia, especially Asean. Prior to the Asean Summit, the US had announced suspension of trade […]

Beijing wants to turn South China Sea Code of Conduct into a barrier to keep US, Japan and India away from disputed waters, New Delhi joins Tokyo to protest. India has joined Japan to oppose China’s latest move to press the ASEAN hard to insert in the proposed Code of Conduct on the South China […]

President Duterte said he was more inclined to settle for now with the economic gains in the West Philippine Sea that he negotiated with China instead of waging war against the giant neighbor over the South China Sea dispute. In an interview with CNN Philippines, Duterte reiterated that setting aside the 2016 Hague Ruling could […]

  TAIPEI, TAIWAN – An unusually strong surge of U.S. Navy activity this month in the South China Sea shows that Washington is trying to teach China a set of rules for operating in contested waters, official statements and scholars say. The Navy sent two ships into the Asian sea, which is increasingly controlled by […]

A Greek-owned tanker carrying a Liberian flag on its way to Longkou, China passed though the South China Sea on Sept. 30, 2019. The ship named Green Aura is owned by the Aegean Company and manned by a Filipino ship captain named Manolo Ebora with 22 Filipino crew members on board. Ebora is a reserve […]

AS US-CHINA RIVALRY INTENSIFIES, SMALLER STATES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA SEEK A WAY TO THRIVE When it comes to establishing a new regional partner, American relations with its former cold war nemesis Vietnam surprisingly hold the most promise. From security and energy to aviation, bilateral ties show encouraging gains, although problems persist. In Hanoi, Esper met […]

BEIJING — This is your recent look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple territorial disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. The waters are a major shipping route for global commerce and are rich in fish and possible oil and gas reserves. CHINA ISSUES […]

  The United States and China have doubled down on their struggle for dominance of the South China Sea and broader Indo-Pacific, as recent sea confrontations and fiery rhetoric threaten to escalate into conflict. Bolstered by its ever-expanding and rapidly modernizing Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), China has shown diminishing restraint in deterring, intercepting and […]