The United States has agreed with Singapore on a first deployment of the US P8 Poseidon spy plane in Singapore this month, in a fresh response to China over its pursuit of territorial claims in the South China Sea. In a joint statement after a meeting in Washington on Monday, the US defense secretary, Ash […]
Many of us were at least mildly encouraged this October when the USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed within twelve nautical miles of Subi Reef, one of the man-made “islands” — actually, they’re military installations — that China has built upon reefs hundreds of miles out into the South China Sea. The US Navy guided-missile […]
Japan is jettisoning decades of World War II pacifism. Communist Vietnam is buying arms from the United States, its old enemy. The Philippines is inviting U.S. forces back 25 years after kicking them out. Even tiny Singapore is getting in on the action, allowing U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft to use bases on its territory. The […]
The South China Sea has been presenting a score of geopolitical issues that have been denting China-US relations. This piece of international waters, situated on the east of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and on the south of mainland China, does not come under China’s territory but Beijing has been exercising its powers to control […]
BEIJING: China’s campaign of island building in the South China Sea might soon quadruple the number of airstrips available to the People’s Liberation Army in the highly contested and strategically vital region. That could be bad news for other regional contenders, especially the US, the Philippines and Vietnam. The island construction work that is creating […]
On Nov. 24-30 2015, the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague conducted its second hearing on the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The tribunal was established pursuant to Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), to which the Philippines […]
An analysis of any -or all- of China’s decisions and announcements over the past two years points to the same argument: China is working to establish itself as a global superpower with no competitors. From China’s well-known territorial claims in the South China Sea to its military and technological advancements, the country has invested heavily […]
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at a U.S.-China business roundtable, comprised of U.S. and Chinese CEOs, in Seattle, Washington September 23, 2015. Reuters/Elaine Thompson/Pool The United States and China have been challenging each other’s claims and moves in the South China Sea. As both countries maintain where they are within their jurisdictions and rights over […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Italy has affirmed its support for the Philippines’ bid for a rules-based resolution to the dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), Malacañang said on Thursday, December 3. Italian President Sergio Mattarella conveyed this to President Benigno Aquino III during a bilateral meeting at the Quirinal Palace in Rome […]
TOKYO – Shinjuku station at rush hour is like a highly organized ant colony, as 3.6-million commuters converge on the world’s busiest transport hub every day. Yet harmony, rather than chaos, reigns in a society that remains a remarkable consensus of politeness, co-operation and affinity. A train that arrives two minutes late is greeted by […]