THE PHILIPPINES defence secretary has found himself in a bizarre war of words with Beijing in which both sides suggested foreign workers in their nations were spies. as tensions over the South China Sea continue to grow. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had called for online casinos operating near Philippine military camps to be relocated […]

  The South China Sea is a nexus of the China-US contest for dominance in the region. In the heat of this struggle, the United States has frequently accused China of all sorts of bad behaviour there. Specifically, it has characterised China’s actions as “militarisation”, assertiveness and even “bullying” – sometimes rightly. These are serious […]

  Activists burn Chinese flags and display anti-China placards during a protest at a park in Manila on June 18, 2019. Following years of Russian noncompliance, the United States officially withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on Aug. 2. The Cold War-era arms control agreement had banned land-based missiles with ranges between 500 and […]

  The study warned that America’s defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific region “is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis” and could struggle to defend its allies against China. That means Australia, Japan and other US partners need to build up and refocus their forces in the region and consider increased cooperation with the US […]

  Vietnam repeated its demand that a Chinese survey ship and its escorts leave contested waters in the South China Sea as Beijing’s lifting of a ban on fishing in the area threatened to raise tensions further. The presence of Haiyang Dizhi 8 (which means Marine Geology 8) and a coast guard escort in the […]

  Australian researchers have issued a new report claiming that China’s hi-tech ballistic missiles could cripple U.S. military bases and naval forces within hours if an armed conflict erupted in the Western Pacific between the two superpowers. The 104-page report was published by the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney where they […]

  China gets too much blame; Japan, not enough The call is for Australia, Japan and other willing partners to cooperate with the US to counter Beijing’s allegedly expansionist activities in the South China Sea. But wait a moment. Did not the US itself, in its 1951 San Francisco peace treaty with Japan, signed and […]

  August 19, 2019: The Philippines is trying to be more realistic about resisting the Chinese effort to take possession of the South China Sea. The Chinese effort is massive. For example, during the first three months of 2019 China deployed 900 navy, coast guard and naval militia ships around Pagasa Island to block access […]

President Rodrigo Duterte says that when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing end-August, he would finally raise the 2016 arbitral court ruling, which nullified China’s nine-dash line encroaching on the Philippines exclusive economic zone. If the event indeed transpires, then that puts him on the right track. What’s clear for now is […]

  MANILA, Philippines — The US Air Force has been playing a big role in maritime domain awareness in the South China Sea to ensure that the disputed waterway will remain free and open. US Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Charles Brown said they are supplying “accurate information” for the decision-makers and to their partners […]