In early December, a flotilla of two dozen Chinese fishing boats and escort warships sailed to the disputed Filipino-occupied reef of Thitu. By the end of the month, Beijing had almost 100 vessels in and around the archipelago, sparking an initially largely hidden confrontation that could yet spark outright war. When China’s People’s Liberation […]

  It is China’s “principled position” that non-regional actors like the United States will refrain from stirring up troubles in the South China Sea. This was the statement made by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang in reaction to reports that USS Wasp sailed near the Scarborough Shoal early this week. “I may need to […]

  There is a growing consensus among experts that freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) are necessary but insufficient to safeguard U.S. interests in the South China Sea. In recent years, China has built artificial islands and military installations in the region and has pursued its maritime claims with more voracity. In response, the United States […]

  The expressive president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, once gushed about his Chinese counterpart, “I just simply love Xi Jinping”. But the infatuation has faded. Upset that Chinese vessels have been mobbing the main Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea, Mr Duterte rasped at China to “lay off”, and threatened an aggressive response. […]

  Tensions around the contested island of Thitu (Tagalog: Pag-asa; Chinese: Zhongye) are escalating as China and the Philippines continue to press their claims. In March, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) and other observers counted up to 275 Chinese vessels near Thitu, up from December’s high of 95. On April 1, the Philippines registered […]

Protesters descended on the Chinese embassy in Manila on Tuesday to oppose the Asian superpower’s growing sway in the Philippines and as tensions rise over Beijing’s presence in the disputed South China Sea. Filipino flag-waving marchers chanted “China out” and brandished a banner saying “Defend our sovereign rights,” referring to Beijing’s expansive claims to the […]

  MANILA, Philippines — China warned the United States and other nations against stirring up trouble in the “calm” South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Wednesday said the presence of the US and other “non-regional forces” could stir up the South China Sea, which he said is already calm. Lu made […]

  As the West considers the threat posed by China’s naval ambitions, there is a natural tendency to place overarching attention on the South China Sea. This is understandable: Consolidating it would provide Beijing with a huge windfall of oil and natural gas, and a potential chokehold over up to 40 percent of the world’s […]

  A CHINESE general gave a preview way back in 2013 of how their People’s Liberation Army deploys a swarm of vessels around disputed islands in the South China Sea in what he called a “cabbage strategy” to take full control. We were then surprised that the Chinese swarming of Pagasa island off Palawan was […]

  To improve the military’s ability to protect the Party from losing power, the CCP has been generous in providing the PLA with an increased budget of 10 percent per year from 2000 to 2016. Overall the DIA report is an unclassified regurgitation of open source material, but as a Taiwan military official said after […]