As the typhoon season rages, Chinese officials will be keeping a nervous eye on the weather. The runways and harbours built on rocks and reefs in the South China Sea may be as physically precarious as the legal basis to the maritime claims they epitomise. John McManus of the University of Miami reckons the “supertyphoons” […]

France is pressing its allies in the European Union (EU) — especially Germany and the United Kingdom (despite Brexit) — to establish joint EU naval patrols of the South China Sea. France is urging the 27-nation EU to coordinate naval patrols in the South China Sea to ensure a “regular and visible” presence in the […]

U.S. Navy Chief Says He’ll Keep Sailing in South China Sea There have been some tense moments between U.S. and Chinese forces in the South China Sea over the past several months, with China’s fighters buzzing American surveillance planes and its warships shadowing American aircraft carriers in international waters. And a high-level meeting between top […]

WARPATH: China said Australia was ideal for its first strike Slamming the Aussies’ decision to take America’s side in a territorial dispute, China lashed out at its neighbour. In an article for the state-run Global Times paper, Australia was mocked for its “inglorious history” as an “offshore prison of the UK”. The editorial then described […]

On 12 July 2016, the Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) located at The Hague in the Netherlands passed judgement on the case of the Republic of the Philippines V. the People’s Republic of China. The Award, concerning the historic rights and maritime entitlements […]

Starting today, I will open every Observer column with a section called “First Read.” It will feature and highlight stories and issues that demand urgent commentary and publication. In style, it will be like the front-page “Good Morning” column that I used to write for a now defunct newspaper (Philippine Daily Globe), and which some […]

China has reiterated its commitment to defending its sovereignty amid new tensions over its territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea. Defense minister Chang Wanquan told a reception on Sunday that China would firmly safeguard its “state sovereignty, national security and development interests.” Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Territorial […]

MANILA, Philippines – Spot the differences. Exhibit A: “The case before you is of the utmost importance to the Philippines, to the region, and to the world.” Exhibit B: “The case we filed before the arbitral tribunal with respect to our dispute with China concerns China and the Philippines alone.” “Exhibit A” is a quote […]

Earlier this month, a long-awaited decision by an international tribunal in The Hague ruled unanimously that there is no legal basis for Beijing’s “nine-dash line,” claiming sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea by ignoring the exclusive economic zones of neighboring nations (including the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore) confirmed under […]

Now the country needs quiet negotiations in invoking rule of law THE Philippines won in almost all its submissions against China in the South China Sea award by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNLOS) Arbitration Tribunal, including the main issues that compelled the Philippines to urgently file the arbitration complaint, namely: […]