When boat QNG 90675 limped into the Vietnamese port at Quang Ngai on Dec. 12, it showed signs of a confrontation at sea with a Chinese coast guard ship. According to local officials, the coast guard boarded the boat, forced the crew of seven to stand with their hands behind their heads, and confiscated their […]

SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s state energy giants are set to raise spending on domestic drilling this year to the highest levels since 2016, focussing on adding natural gas reserves in a concerted drive to boost local supplies. Responding to President Xi Jinping’s call last August to boost domestic energy security, China’s trio of oil majors […]

She says while both countries are friends, they are still learning to manage their differences Bishop, who resigned from her post last August, said there was no evidence linking the detention of Yang Hengjun to Canada’s arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer, echoing a point made by Defence Minister Christopher Pyne on Monday. The detention […]

The high-tech railgun uses electromagnetic energy to propel devastating rounds at more than seven times the speed of sound. Once only present in science fiction, the weapon requires massive amounts of power but its hugely destructive hypersonic projectiles have the potential for a long range and high accuracy. And China appears to have beaten both […]

INDO-PACIFICKONSEP ARSITEKTUR INDO-PASIFIKNATUNA ISLANDSSOUTH CHINA SEASTRAIT OF MALACCA A new military base was inaugurated by the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander, Air Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto on 18 December 2018 in Natuna Besar, a disputed territory between Indonesia and China in the South China Sea. The two countries have conflicting interests and rights on this island, which […]

President Duterte’s spokesperson on Thursday said the Philippines “maybe should be thankful” for the “maritime rescue center” that China had launched on Philippine-claimed Kagitingan Reef in the South China Sea. The state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua announced the opening of the facility on Tuesday. Not bad? It said China also deployed another rescue ship to […]

Political tensions in the South China Sea are creating an environmental disaster. Can claimants put aside their differences and tackle environmental threats before fishing stocks collapse? The South China Sea is a potential flashpoint in regional politics. As claimants jostle for territory, beneath the turquoise waters the ominous threat of confrontation and instability bubbles. The […]

The Republican Congressman made the comments during a Tuesday committee hearing on security threats to the US. China claims ownership of the oil-rich South China Sea. This claim is contested by the US and several of the country’s neighbours. According to US military newspaper Navy Times Mr Inhofe commented: “It’s like China is preparing for […]

Richard Heydarian writes that the Philippines could ‘downgrade’ its long-standing association with the US if Washington remains unclear on its commitments in disputed waters “I announce my separation from the United States,” the tough-talking Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte declared during his first state visit to China. Two years later, the Philippines has formally called for […]

Chinese companies look to win control of a bankrupt but strategic shipyard at Subic Bay, the ex-site of US military bases and a potential key outpost on the South China Sea A sudden and unexpected bankruptcy has provided China with a unique opportunity to win control of a Philippine port facility at Subic, the former […]