MANILA – The Philippine military on Wednesday installed markers on two islands north of Cagayan to assert sovereignty in the country’s maritime territory. The Northern Luzon Command, in a statement, said it placed sovereign markers at Mabaag and Barit Islands in Aparri, Cagayan in addition to the 11 markers installed last year in uninhabited […]

The leadership of the House of Representatives was urged Wednesday to pass a bill defining the country’s maritime areas and territory for China to take notice of such delineation. This coincided with a report that a firm based in Florida, USA, conducting satellite imagery analysis had published a report this February showing what appeared to […]

MANILA, Philippines — In terms of ships deployed at sea, China’s navy has overtaken the United States, making it the world’s largest, according to a report. Andrew Erickson, a professor at the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College, wrote that China fielded more battle force ships than the US Navy sometime […]

MANILA, Philippines—China continues construction on one of its occupied features in the West Philippine Sea, satellite images showed. US-based tech firm Simularity’s South China Sea Rapid Alert Service on Tuesday (Feb. 16) released images of Panganiban (Mischief) Reef showing new developments since late 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Simularity identified changes in seven sites on […]

The guided-missile destroyer Russell completed a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea by the Spratly Islands on Wednesday. China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines claim either all or some sovereignty of the Spratly Islands — and China, Vietnam and Taiwan all demand those participating in “innocent passage” through the territorial […]

China and Australia have become embroiled in a deepening political spat that is spilling over into trade. Even with some Chinese cities suffering power blackouts in December, the Beijing authorities continued to block coal shipments from Australia, underlining their determination. Miners aren’t the only exporters Down Under finding it harder to access their biggest market […]

MANILA — The Philippines has made the case for China’s proposal to elevate its dialogue relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. made the pitch during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat on Thursday. This would make China’s dialogue relations to the ASEAN from strategic partnership to comprehensive […]

China has passed a law that for the first time explicitly allows its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels, a move that could make the contested South China Sea and nearby waters more choppy. China has maritime sovereignty disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with several Southeast Asian countries in the […]

Japan has joined a growing list of countries that are challenging China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. On Tuesday, Japan presented a one-page diplomatic note to the United Nations rejecting China’s baseline claims and denouncing its efforts to limit the freedom of navigation and overflight. Japan’s note is the latest in series of […]

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Foreign Ministry described outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday as a “doomsday clown” and said his designation of China as a perpetrator of genocide and crimes against humanity was merely “a piece of wastepaper.” The allegations of abuses against Muslim minority groups in China’s Xinjiang region are “outright […]