One of the World’s Biggest Fisheries Is on the Verge of Collapse Major disputes in the South China Sea are putting critical habitat—and the food supply of millions—at risk. PUERTO PRINCESA, PHILIPPINESYears ago Christopher Tubo caught a 660-pound blue marlin in the South China Sea. The fishing was good there, he says. Tuna fishermen would […]

Brunei and Vietnam agreed on Saturday to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). The pledge came as Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah held talks with visiting Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang here on Saturday, according to a joint statement issued after the talks. They also […]

The arched bow, known as a ski jump deck, is a feature of China’s second aircraft carrier based on a former Soviet design. TOKYO — China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier will likely be set afloat by the end of the year, according to multiple Chinese military sources. The country already has an aircraft carrier […]

During the last few years, China has apparently constructed a considerable number of radar installations on the South China Seas islands. These facilities, which could potentially be employed for a variety of purposes, drastically increase China’s real-time awareness and intelligence capabilities over a large portion of the region. Furthermore, while radar installations may appear less […]

The South China Sea disputes have severely challenged Asean. At the Asean-China meeting held in Kunming (昆明) in June 2016, a senior Chinese official, sitting beside Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅), bluntly told Asean foreign ministers that, as far as China was concerned, Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was not central to the […]

When talk of a “new Cold War” between a United States-led coterie of allies and a Beijing-Moscow axis first made the rounds about two years ago, it did not stir much interest in China. In recent weeks, however, it has become a hot topic among the Chinese. While the new interest in no way reflects […]

East Timor’s former president Xanana Gusmao says his nation will not rest until it gains it’s full sovereign rights over its seas, including resource-rich zones claimed by Australia. Speaking at the start of a United Nations Conciliation Commission hearing in The Hague on Monday, Mr Gusmao said East Timor was not seeking “favours or special […]

China’s posture and reactions towards the Philippines versus China arbitration over the South China Sea dispute unsurprisingly reflected its prior positions: Non-participation, non-recognition, non-acceptance and non-compliance. The tension and diplomatic jostling among various parties in the past few years have resulted in dramatic internationalisation of the South China Sea issue and compelled China to devote […]

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday expressed his willingness to temporarily set aside the ruling of an arbitral tribunal in settling the country’s dispute with China. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a news conference in Davao city, southern Philippines, on August 21. REUTERS/Lean Daval Jr During his speech at the National […]

Last week, reports in the Japanese press, citing diplomatic sources, noted that China’s envoy in Tokyo had sent a strong message to Japan about its involvement in the South China Sea. According to Kyodo News Agency, Amabassador Cheng Yonghua had told a Japanese official that should Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force join up with U.S.-led freedom […]