There appears to be a collective aversion among government officials and heads-of-state in Southeast Asia to speak up in public about Chinese transgressions and coercion in the South China Sea. Such reticence is based on misplaced fear of Chinese repercussions and does a disservice to regional interests, undermines deterrence and needlessly concedes leverage in negotiations […]

A B-52H Stratofortress bomber leads other aircraft from the United States, Australia and Japan during a COPE North 2019 airpower demonstration formation over the Pacific Ocean on March 6. Pacific Air Forces flew B-52H Stratofortress bombers over the South China Sea Wednesday for the second time in a 9-day span as the United States keeps […]

China has pushed back on a speech made earlier this week by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the country’s international practices, including its behavior in the South China Sea and use of debt as a tool of statecraft. “By blocking development in the South China Sea through coercive means, China prevents ASEAN members […]

WASHINGTON: The US has accused China of blocking the ASEAN members accessing more than USD 2.5 trillion in recoverable energy reserves in the South China Sea by illegal construction activities. China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. “China’s illegal island-building in […]

China’s foreign ministry has slammed as “irresponsible” claims by the US’ top diplomat that China is blocking access to energy beneath the South China Sea. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in Beijing on Wednesday that Beijing had started consulting Southeast Asian nations about resolving disputes in the South China Sea, and called on non-claimant nations […]

Two U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers flew a patrol over the South China Sea on March 13, according to U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). “Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and conducted routine training in the vicinity of the South China Sea March 13, 2019 (HST), […]

B-52s challenge Chinese claims to strategic waterway The Air Force sent two nuclear-capable bombers over the South China Sea on Wednesday in a show of force challenging China’s expansive maritime claims. “Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and conducted routine training in the vicinity of the South China Sea […]

Mike Pompeo also criticized China’s “debt trap” diplomacy. China has pushed back on a speech made earlier this week by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the country’s international practices, including its behavior in the South China Sea and use of debt as a tool of statecraft. “By blocking development in the South China […]

(CNN)Two US B-52 bombers flew near contested islands in the South China Sea on Wednesday, according to US Pacific Air Forces, which oversees air operations in the region. “Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and conducted routine training in the vicinity of the South China Sea March 13, 2019 […]

NEW photos and video have for the first time shown the illegal construction of artificial islands in the contested Spratly Islands is all but complete. Combined with recently released Chinese state media propaganda footage, what they show in close-up detail confirms the fears raised by analysis of commercial satellite photographs: these are massive, impecabbly constructed […]