Category Archives: West Philippine Sea

Is China Interfering in Vietnam’s Politics With Its South China Sea Moves?

Some say Beijing is trying to influence the outcome of the Communist Party congress in Vietnam. Are China’s recent moves in contested maritime areas aimed to influence the outcome of a pivotal Communist Party congress now underway in Vietnam? Beijing’s latest shows of force in the South China Sea have coincided with an unusually pitched […]

China taking ‘self-isolating’ steps in South China Sea: Pentagon

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – The United States is not looking for conflict with China but steps it is taking in the South China Sea are self-isolating and prompting other countries to seek help from Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Friday. “I’m not one of those people who believes conflict between the United […]

Taiwan disperses Vietnamese ship in South China Sea

Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Monday rejected Vietnam’s claim that Taiwanese vessels illegally dispersed one of its fishing boats by firing a water cannon at it earlier this month, saying it was within its rights to take action. The CGA said two of its Coast Guard cutters spotted two Vietnamese […]

Laos assures US it will help counter Chinese assertiveness

VIENTIANE — The prime minister of communist Laos assured U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday that this small nation will help counter China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea. Laos this year takes the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with the group’s heads of state scheduled to hold a […]

Win-win against Beijing? India, Vietnam strike deal on South China Sea satellite tracking system

India says it wants to create a satellite tracking and imaging center in Vietnam for civilian purposes. The facility will give Hanoi access to data from Indian satellites in the region, which also cover China and the South China Sea. Security experts say the pictures developed from the Earth observation satellites could be used for […]

US forces to continue flying, sailing in South China Sea

Moscow – US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has stated that Beijing is taking steps which will lead to international isolation amid ongoing tensions over disputed territories in the South China Sea. The comment by the Pentagon top official was made on Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Carter offered that the US is […]

South China Sea coral reef destruction ‘recoverable’, Chinese think-tank chief says

After: Fiery Cross Reef, Jun 28, 2015 After: Fiery Cross Reef, Jun 28, 2015 The president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Wu Shicun, said strict ecological protection measures were guiding the construction China is carrying out on seven reefs. The “green construction ethos” of the project “ensures the affected area is […]

China’s Giant Coast Guard Cutters Threat to Regional Neighbors

China is currently commissioning two of the world’s largest coast guard cutters, ships that could alter the balance of power in the South and East China Seas (one ship is to be stationed in both seas). Known only by their hull numbers, in this case Haijing 2901 and Haijing 3901 (the first digit denotes which […]

Australia calls on South China Sea claimants to stop reclamation, militarization

“We urge all parties, not just China, to refrain from further construction on those islands or reefs, and to refrain from militarization,” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a speech during the Martin Luther King Day in the United States. Turnbull clarified that Australia does not have claims in the disputed sea and does […]

‘Island defenses depend on threat’: PLAN chief

The number of military facilities China builds on its South China Sea islands will depend upon the level of threat it faces, People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) chief told his US counterpart on Wednesday in a video teleconference. Admiral Wu Shengli, PLAN commander, stressed that Beijing does not seek militarization. This month, Beijing landed three […]