The U.S. Air Force will continue to conduct missions in and over the South China Sea, the top Air Force officer in the Pacific said Tuesday — despite China’s military buildup and its foreign minister’s recent insistence that freedom of navigation in the region has its limits. “We’ve watched the increased military capability on those […]
MANILA, Philippines – The United States Navy has deployed a small armada to the South China Sea in what is considered a show of force as tensions rise over China’s construction of artificial islands in disputed waters. Quoting US military officials, the Navy Times reported that the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, the destroyers Chung-Hoon […]
The US has sent an aircraft carrier and a number of other ships through disputed waters in the South China Sea, it announced yesterday — a move that will necessarily raise tensions with Beijing, which has been engaging in an increasingly militaristic power-play in the area over the past few years. The countries of The […]
It is a foregone conclusion that China will be heavily militarizing their artificially-created islands in the South China Sea, likely resulting in a chain of invisible threat rings that overlap their way across nearly the entire disputed body of water. So far traditional diplomacy has not stopped this eventuality, and the best the U.S. has […]
China’s actions in the South China Sea have irritated many nations in the region, but they also threaten the preservation of the UN Charter system, Alison Pert writes. Until very recently, China was insisting that its newly-created “islands” in the South China Sea were not for military purposes. Those assurances, always unconvincing, have now been […]
Dennis C. Blair, chairman of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, was commander of the U.S. Pacific Command from 1999 to 2002 and director of national intelligence from 2009 to 2010. Jeffrey W. Hornung is a fellow with Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. China’s deployment of surface-to-air missile launchers to the largest island in the Paracels chain has […]
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday warned China against “aggressive” actions in the South China Sea region, including the placement of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island. “China must not pursue militarization in the South China Sea,” Carter said in a wide-ranging speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. “Specific actions will have […]
Vietnam will resolutely and persistently protect its authority and legitimate rights and interests in the sea, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Hai Binh stated at a regular press conference in the capital on Thursday. In response to a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter’s question about whether Hanoi would apply more assertive measures to deal […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Chinese have taken over another traditional Filipino fishing ground near Palawan where they have stationed up to five ships to keep local fishermen at bay, sources said. Now effectively under Chinese control is Quirino or Jackson Atoll, which has been a rich source of catch for a long time for fishermen […]
Asia Times top writer George Koo recently interviewed Susan L. Shirk, the author of 2007’s acclaimed “China, Fragile Superpower.” Professor Shirk is an influential expert on Chinese politics who served as deputy assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration. She was a guest speaker at a Feb. 18 forum in Palo Alto, Calif. hosted […]