China announced Tuesday that military spending will grow at a slower pace than last year, but one analyst cautioned that it should not be interpreted to mean that military tensions with the United States will ease. At its annual parliamentary meeting, the National People’s Congress, Beijing set its 2019 defense spending at 7.5 percent higher […]

KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) continues to play a crucial role in maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, including the disputed claims over the Spratlys. Maritime Institute of Malaysia (Mima) director-general First-Admiral (Rtd) Datuk Chin Yoon Chin said one of Asean’s important initiatives was the Declaration on the […]

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana Tuesday said he didn’t believe that the ambiguity or vagueness of the Philippines-United States Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) will serve as a deterrent but, in fact, could even cause confusion and chaos during a crisis. “The fact that the security environment now is so vastly different and much more complex than […]

‘It was an imperative for our disruptive northern neighbor to be forewarned of the significance of our mutual defense treaty alliance’ We, at the Stratbase ADR Institute Incorporated, fully welcome the official US statement that, “As the South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft, or public vessels […]

Philippines worried defense treaty with U.S. may draw it into a war in South China Sea MANILA – The United States is more likely to be involved in a “shooting war” in the disputed South China Sea than the Philippines but the latter would be embroiled in such a conflict just the same because of […]

Freedom of navigation operations conducted by the US and its allies in the South China Sea have heightened the dilemma faced by Southeast Asian nations caught between China and the United States, diplomatic sources and observers have said. Many say that the more frequent naval operations by the US and its allies in the contested […]

MANILA — Although the United States repeatedly gave its assurance to the Philippine government that any armed attack against the Philippines, including on the disputed South China Sea, would trigger its defense pact, the government should still push for a review of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), a political expert said Thursday. “In case of […]

IN another instance of Philippine media’s boundless faith in the country’s former colonial master, nearly all newspapers the other day banner-headlined US Secretary of State Michael Richard Pompeo’s claim that America will defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack by any country in the South China Sea. Don’t bet on it. US officials […]

Early this month, two United States Navy missile-guided destroyers sailed within 12 nautical miles off Mischief Reef, one of 7 man-made islands built by China in the disputed South China Sea, challenging Beijing’s excessive maritime claims in the East Asia and Pacific region. China’s claims are not recognized under international law after the Philippines won […]

TAIPAI, TAIWAN — Passage of two U.S. Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait in February, the fourth such move since mid-2018, shows Washington’s growing support for Taiwan against threats from China, Asia scholars said this week. Observers say the passages are aimed at showing China that the U.S. Navy has regularized patrols in the East […]