ALARMING PRESENCE Chinese vessels are gathering at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, raising fears that China is building another artificial island just off Luzon. DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE A US official said the United States had not detected any unusual Chinese presence and activity around Scarborough Shoal despite photos presented by the Philippines showing Chinese vessels at […]

Vietnam moved rocket launchers into disputed territory in the South China Sea, reports recently suggested, meaning it could potentially attack land that China has controversially reclaimed. This all comes at a time of heightened tension over territorial wrangling in the region. A Pentagon report released in May 2016 described how China had reclaimed 3,200 acres […]

Conventional wisdom has long painted the Chinese as strategic and methodical planners, masters of statecraft with great foresight. The West, and the US in particular, is hopeless in comparison. For many strategists, we aren’t even on the same board: Chinese are playing Go while the West plays checkers. It’s time to put that shibboleth aside. […]

Vientiane: Terming sea lanes passing through the strategic South China Sea as the “main arteries” of global trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India supports freedom of navigation as he sought “utmost respect” for international law, amid China’s muscle flexing in the region. While outlining India’s principled position on the raging issue over […]

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), at a recently-concluded summit in Vientiane, Laos, was again silent about the July 12 landmark ruling of a United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal that favored the Philippines and rejected China’s excessive claim over the South China Sea. It was an expected move because China, which exercises clout and […]

For diplomatic and strategic reasons, now is not the time for Beijing to make such a risky move. For over six months now, speculation has been rampant that China is gearing up to begin land reclamation (or, more accurately, island building) at Scarborough Shoal, a disputed feature in the South China Sea roughly 355 km […]

Tense relations between China and the United States in the South China Sea have the potential to spawn an international crisis that threatens assets, shipping and supply chains, and the safety of employees. http://www.joc.com/maritime-news/industry-must-prepare-worst-south-china-sea_20160908.html

With prevailing international legal measures producing stalemate and tension in the South China Sea (SCS), ASEAN and Indonesian experts are looking for innovative solutions to reach stable peace in the disputed waters. Many regional and global options were discussed during the 2nd High Level International Workshop on Thursday, but particular attention was given to a […]

VIENTIANE – The Philippines is proposing a 14 percent increase in defense spending next year to buy new ships and aircraft to boost its fight against Islamist militants and enhance maritime security in the disputed South China Sea. According to internal documents seen by Reuters on Monday, about 130 billion pesos ($2.8 billion) or 96 […]

Photos of Chinese ships deployed near a key disputed reef in the South China Sea surfaced over the weekend as U.S. and Chinese leaders met at the Group of 20 nations summit and discussed maritime disputes. The Philippines Defense Ministry published photos of 11 Chinese ships near Scarborough Shoal that include vessels that some reports […]