Beijing’s top military official posted to Australia has claimed freedom of navigation has “never been a problem” in the South China Sea despite the Chinese military aggressively challenging foreign ships and aircraft that pass through disputed waters or airspace. In rare public comments, China’s defence attache Senior Colonel Wang Jingguo said it was a matter […]

The top Japanese government spokesman said Tuesday a drill held last week in the South China Sea by a Japanese submarine and destroyers was “not at all” intended as a counter to China’s activities in the area. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the exercise in the South China Sea last Thursday was “aimed at […]

Shinzo Abe said the submarine exercise hadn’t been conducted with any specific country in mind Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe downplayed the significance of military drills involving a submarine in the South China Sea, saying relations with China are on the right track. Japan’s submarine exercise also involved five aircraft and three destroyers, on Sept. […]

China on Monday urged countries outside the region to behave with caution and refrain from activities that undermine regional peace and stability, after Japan conducted its first ever peacetime submarine drill in the South China Sea. “The situation in the South China Sea has cooled down and is improving,” Geng Shuang, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, […]

JAPAN has deployed a warfare submarine for a military exercise in the South China Sea, as tensions escalate between Beijing and Tokyo over China’s growing territorial base in the disputed region. For the first time, Japan’s defence ministry publicly declared engaging in a strategic military drill within a South China Sea. Tokyo revealed the submarine, […]

TOKYO — A Japanese submarine participated in war games in the South China Sea last week and is now visiting Vietnam, signaling a more assertive pushback by Japan against China’s territorial claims in the region. Japan took the unusual step on Monday of announcing that it had carried out the drills, which also involved two […]

China and the Philippines are negotiating a deal to jointly exploit oil and gas in the disputed waters of the South China Sea – despite an arbitration award which rejected China’s claims to historic rights over the vast majority of the maritime territory. https://globalarbitrationreview.com/article/1174055/china-and-philippines-negotiate-over-south-china-sea

We do not know exactly how many billions because China is not a transparent liberal democracy with independent budget accountability, but any number of Google Earth photographs reveal extensive work. It stands to reason, that China is not going to let this go to waste. And as China goes about its business of spreading its […]

China-Asean and China-US relations in the South China Sea have trended in opposite directions since July 12, 2016. On that day the Philippines and Asean set aside the near-term implementation of the South China Sea arbitration award supporting the case against China’s maritime infringements and opened a new chapter in relations with China. China-Asean ties […]

An air defense zone declared by Beijing, or any effort to stop civilian ship traffic, would raise the risk of conflict in the disputed South China Sea after years of calm, because either move would inconvenience day-to-day operations, scholars who follow the region say. Five other militarily weaker maritime claimants have watched without major protest […]