SUMMARY Brunei, long considered to be a “silent claimant” state in the South China Sea dispute, broke its silence recently as it released a rare statement urging parties to negotiate issues based on the rule of law.  While reaffirming Brunei’s commitment to maintain stability in the region, Brunei’s foreign ministry urged countries to discuss issues […]

  In the latest salvo of words fired over the South China Sea, the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of deliberately distorting facts on the issue. https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/535428

London [UK], July 22 (ANI): US State Secretary Mike Pompeo once again blasted at Beijing on Tuesday (local time) and urged nations to push back against the Asian giant, disgruntled on the fact that rather than helping the world during this Covid crisis, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is bullying its neighbours and militarise features […]

last week, as the US Navy steps up drills and freedom of navigation operations in the region.China’s air force held live-fire drills and sent more fighter jets to its base on disputed Woody Island inthe South China Sea The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command conducted the drills on Wednesday and Thursday last week, with […]

The Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted trilateral military exercises with the Australian Defence Force and the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group on the doorstep of the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday. The move, the latest show of naval might in the waters, was sure to anger China. The exercises in the Philippine Sea by […]

Increased aggression from Beijing has sparked more robust responses from Washington and the regional claimant states. China’s South China Sea gambit is heading toward a rocky phase, the warning signs of which were witnessed on July 13 when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally rejected China’s “historical rights” claims in the South China Sea. […]

US East Asia and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary David Stillwell says any attempt by Beijing to do so would be a ‘dangerous move’ A day after the United States branded China’s expansive maritime claims across most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful,” it renewed a warning that any action on Beijing’s part to […]

The waters of the South China Sea are home to a dizzying array of marine resources, ranging from vast oil and gas reserves deep beneath the surface to the complex and beautiful ecosystems capable of supporting international seafood markets and unraveling scientific mysteries. This is the patrimony of Southeast Asian nations, the lifeblood of their […]

Last Tuesday, Social Weather Stations released the following findings of its new survey of Filipino public opinion about China (SWS July 3-6, 2020 National Mobile Phone Survey—Report No. 3: “Stratbase ADR Institute sponsors items on Filipino public opinion on China,” www.sws.org.ph, 7/14/20): 61 percent believe that China did not immediately share their information on COVID-19 […]

  It has been four years since the historic 2016 Hague ruling, where the Permanent Court of Arbitration recognized the Philippines’ territorial claims in the contested waters in the West Philippine Sea. The arbitral award was seen as a victory of the rule of law and democratic institutions over international strong-arm tactics. However, four years […]