KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan News) – Placing your trust in U.S. President Donald Trump is rather like entrusting your big life decisions to the roll of a dice. No matter what has come before, you can never be entirely sure that it won’t be different next time. This is especially true when it comes to the […]
A clash within the South China Sea is now almost inevitable. The US has declared China’s territorial grab “illegal”. It wants its “bullied” neighbours to stand their ground. “We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control […]
China said Tuesday that the latest U.S. rejection of Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea unnecessarily provokes tension in the region. The highly disputed body of water — with its islands, fisheries, energy resources, military bases and trade routes — lies on the southern coast of mainland China and between Taiwan and Southeast Asian […]
The USS Ronald Reagan (foreground) and the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation in the South China Sea on July 6. China has accused the U.S. of flexing its military muscles by conducting joint exercises with two U.S. aircraft carrier groups in the strategic waterway. The Trump administration on Monday rejected Beijing’s […]
The announcement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo portends more American military operations to push back Chinese maritime activity and sanctions on Chinese companies. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced China on Monday, saying its maritime claims in the South China Sea were “completely unlawful.” WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday […]
NEGOTIATIONS for the Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea have stalled, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2021 conclusion target anticipated by Premier Li Keqiang appears increasingly unlikely. Some stakeholders have proposed negotiations via video-conferencing, while others insist on face-to-face meetings. That aside, questions remain on the final output, quality and effective […]
Today (12 July 2020) is the fourth anniversary of The Hague’s ruling (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China) on the South China Sea dispute in favor of the Philippines. To commemorate the event, and to remind us all that (1) China’s nine-dash line was invalidated by the ruling, and (2) […]
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s threats to move nuclear weapons from Germany to Poland would represent a major flashpoint with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, if the move went ahead, a defence expert has warned. Mr Trump has already pulled 9,500 troops out of Germany after accusing the country, led by Angela Merkel, of being “delinquent” in its […]
“Independence Support Spikes,” blared a headline this week in the Taipei Times, one of my favorite erstwhile publishing haunts. And blare it should. A Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation poll indicated that a striking 54 percent of respondents favor early independence from China, 23.4 percent back the cross-strait status quo, 12.5 percent favor early unification with […]
CANBERRA – Albert Einstein said while he didn’t know the weapons to be used in World War III in the nuclear age, the war after “will be fought with sticks and stones.” In an already surreal 2020, we’ve witnessed two nuclear-armed neighbors fighting with fists, rocks and nail-studded clubs at an altitude of 4,250 meters. […]