MASINLOC, PHILIPPINES— China’s aggressive island-building in the South China Sea has drawn international attention to Beijing’s expansive maritime territorial claims. This week it also drew a caution from the head of the United States Pacific Fleet, Admiral Scott Swift who said, “ships and aircraft operating nearby these features, in accordance with international law, are subject […]
The Natuna archipelago, a remote part of Indonesia in the South China Sea, consists of about 280 sleepy islands. Inhabitants there survive mostly on fishing or farming. It seems an unlikely place for a military buildup, but this week Indonesian defense minister Ryamizard Ryacudu told Kyodo News that his military plans to send soldiers, three […]
China has set new rules on the distribution of maps amid heightened tensions over territorial disputes with its neighboring countries. China has tightened rules on the distribution of maps amid the country’s territorial dispute in the South China Sea, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing the state news network. Beijing set up new regulations over maps that […]
Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama toast during a State Dinner, Friday, Sept. 25, 2015, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Who wins a bar fight? The person with the most friends at the bar. Who wins a war? The country that fights alongside the most […]
JAKARTA – Indonesia plans to strengthen its capability to defend its land and waters in the South China Sea, namely the Natuna Islands around which the country has declared an exclusive economic zone that overlaps with China’s “nine-dash line” maritime claim, its defense minister said Tuesday. “The Natuna Islands are our outer islands. It is […]
China has called on other countries not to ‘complicate’ the issue in the South China Sea after an Australian plane flew over the disputed area. The Defence Department says one of its aircraft was involved in a routine maritime patrol over the South China Sea from November 25 to December 4. The Australian aircrew declared […]
Dozens of former high-ranking Vietnamese officials and prominent intellectuals continue to push for policy changes toward neighboring China as Hanoi makes final preparations for an upcoming party congress where personnel for the country’s top jobs will be selected. In an open letter to the Communist Party Politburo last week, more than 100 people — including […]
China accused countries of meddling in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on Tuesday after U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott Swift warned of a possible arms race in the region. The U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander has warned that a potential arms race in the disputed South China Sea could engulf the region, […]
BEIJING Dec 14 (Reuters) – Chinese oil major Sinopec is building a filling station on an island in the South China Sea, as China continues to expand its civilian infrastructure in the disputed waterway, entrenching its reach in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia. The filling station and accompanying storage tank on Woody Island in […]
Why is China so bellicose in the South China Sea? I don’t believe it’s because it wants to hog all the wealth that lies under the waves. I think it has more to do with a historical trauma and a perceived geostrategic threat. The historical trauma is the “Century of Humiliation” that China suffered between […]