But he warned they stand ready to respond to repeated breaches of Chinese sovereignty. Beijing, which claims almost the entire energy-rich South China Sea through which $US5 trillion ($7 billion) in ship-borne trade passes yearly, has stepped up a program of land reclamation and construction in disputed islands and reefs there that has sparked concern […]
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told President Barack Obama he’ll consider sending the country’s maritime forces to back up U.S. operations in the South China Sea. The comments in a bilateral meeting Thursday on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila came after the U.S. sparked an angry reaction from China last […]
Even as the world is facing a clear and present danger in the form of globally mobilized Salafist terrorism and a resurgent and spiteful Russia invading its neighbor, there is a new round of alarmism in Australia about disputes in the South China Sea. With the high profile U.S. freedom of navigation operation behind us, […]
Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) Taiwan and the Philippines have concluded a fisheries agreement, which will take effect immediately after an official announcement has been made, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release Thursday. The Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters, concluded Nov. 5, contains seven articles […]
Nobody wants to admit it publicly, at least on the Malaysian side that the Asean Defence Ministers Plus meeting in Malaysia early this month nearly became a disaster. Disagreement between the United States and China over how to address the South China Sea issue resulted in the ministers failing to issue a joint declaration outlining […]
THE Philippines and Taiwan have signed a fisheries agreement that is envisioned to prevent a repeat of the 2013 Balintang Channel incident where a Taiwanese fisherman was fatally shot by a Philippine Coast Guard patrol. Taiwan, China and the Philippines have overlapping claims to the channel, which is both within the 200 nautical mile exclusive […]
President Benigno Aquino III and his sister Maria Elena Aquino-Cruz, right, greet U.S. President Barack Obama to the welcome dinner at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila, Philippines Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. AP/Bullit Marquez US leader pitches for EDCA MANILA, Philippines – “Bold steps” are needed to ease tensions in the West […]
WASHINGTON: China is destroying swaths of coral reefs in one of the most important fisheries in Asia and causing enormous environmental damage as it builds the fake islands it is putting up in the South China Sea, To get some idea as to just how extensive China’s ruination of the reefs is, I went through […]
The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) concluded its Defence Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with no joint declaration in early November amidst strong lobbying by China to omit statement criticising its assertiveness in the South China Sea. As disappointing as it was for countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, this was not […]
Malcolm Turnbull has pledged Australia’s absolute support for the United States in its campaign against China’s incursions in the South China Sea which are posing threats to freedom of navigation. Following a meeting between Mr Turnbull and US President Barack Obama in Manila, where they are attending the APEC summit, both men made it clear […]