Just as the pen can be mightier than the sword, China’s non-kinetic “Three Warfares” may prove to be far more effective at expanding China’s maritime and territorial boundaries than any arsenal of missiles or fleet of Chinese aircraft carriers. The Three Warfares were first officially recognized as an important warfighting capability by China’s Central Military […]
The following is the Dec. 22, 2015 letter from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) outlining the U.S. Oct., 27 2015 freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea. Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your November 9, 2015, letter regarding U.S. military operations in the South China Sea. As […]
The group of youth volunteers who made a symbolic protest against Beijing’s claims in the West Philippine Sea on Monday claimed that the Philippines “has lost” the Pag-asa Island to China. In a statement, the group Kalayaan Atin Ito Movement said China’s actions on the Pag-asa Island, which is part of the Philippine-claimed Kalayaan chain, […]
MANILA–The Philippine government said on Jan. 4 that like Vietnam, it opposes China’s recent test of a newly completed runway on one of seven islands Beijing has constructed in the disputed South China Sea. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the government was considering protesting China’s action, as Vietnam did, adding that the […]
Vietnam has formally accused China of violating its sovereignty by landing a plane on an airstrip Beijing has built on an artificial island in a contested part of the South China Sea. Foreign ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said the airfield had been “built illegally” on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly archipelago, in territory […]
The Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, in September 2012 file photo. China is building its second aircraft carrier, the defense ministry said Thursday, as Beijing expands its naval capabilities amid maritime disputes with neighbors in the East and South China Seas. AFP FILE PHOTO BEIJING – China is building its second aircraft carrier, the defense […]
SAN FRANCISCO–In geopolitics, when détente fails, it’s time for deterrence, and nowhere more so than in the South China Sea. China’s expansionist designs on the region’s strategic shipping lanes and untapped natural resources are turning it into the next global hotspot. Last month, the U.S. – signaling its determination to assert its presence– sent one […]
Throughout the Christmas-New Year break, The Interpreter will be featuring some of its best pieces from 2015. More to come between now and January 4 when The Interpreter will be back for 2016. South China Sea: Does Xi have a grand strategy?, by Linda Jakobson, 13 January. I do want to emphasise, however, that the […]
For decades, the world has been debating whether China’s rise will be peaceful or threatening, or perhaps a combination of both. This is a relevant discourse, precisely because China’s rise is perhaps the question of the century. “It’s not possible to pretend that [China] is just another big player,” Singapore’s legendary leader Lee Kuan Yew […]
KUMEJIMA (Okinawa) • Japan is growing an island in a bathtub as part of a struggle with China for control of Asia’s oceans, reported the Financial Times. The island is called Okinotorishima, or “distant bird island”; a remote, storm-wracked coral atoll 1,700km south-west of Tokyo in the Philippine Sea, where two small outcrops protrude at […]