To endeavor to seize the strategic initiative in military struggle, proactively plan for military struggle in all directions and domains, and grasp the opportunities to accelerate military building, reform and development. – Chinese Military Strategy, Chinese Ministry of National Defense, May 26, 2015. On May 26, the State Council Information Office released an English-language version […]
BEIJING: Beijing could be preparing to build a second 3,000-metre airstrip on an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea, a Washington-based think-tank said. China is already building a 3,000-metre (9,842 feet) runway on Fiery Cross reef, the longest in the area, which could ultimately be used for combat operations, according to the Center […]
KUALA LUMPUR–Beijing faces pressure over its island-building in the South China Sea during high-level Asian security meetings this week that will include the top US and Chinese diplomats. China is expanding tiny reefs into islands and topping some with military posts to reinforce its disputed claims over the strategic sea, fanning fears of a regional […]
CHINA may be building a second airstrip on a reef near the second largest of the Spratly Islands being occupied by the Philippines and which is being claimed by three claimant-countries, according to the Washington-based think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “China’s artificial island at Subi Reef, which may eventually house an airstrip, […]
Update: On Tuesday, Asean nations called for a halt to expanding reefs into artificial islands in the South China Sea. A major threat to stability in Asia today is the competing claims of countries that border the South China Sea. It is an urgent issue that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, a […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Southeast Asian nations want China to stop land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea, a regional official said Tuesday, but China insisted it has a right to continue the activity. Le Luong Minh, secretary-general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said ASEAN foreign ministers expressed concerns in […]
BEIJING (Reuters) — China’s military warned on Saturday (August 1) on its founding anniversary of growing risks along its borders, including in the disputed waters of the South and East China Seas. The Chinese military, the world’s largest, has embarked upon an ambitious modernization program in recent years. That, along with rising defense spending, has […]
WASHINGTON: You’d expect the top admiral in the Japan Self-Defense Force to talk about defending Japan. But Adm. Tomohisa Takei surprised me on his latest visit to Washington — his third in 10 months — with a speech that clearly demonstrates how Japan is broadening its strategic perspective. The new view from Tokyo takes in the Indian […]
To understand China’s bid to dominate the Western Pacific, and America’s role in answering it, there are few better vantage points than the deck of the BRP Ramon Alcaraz. Based here at what was once the largest overseas base of the U.S. Navy, this frigate and a small number of other Philippine navy ships are […]
MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) called on the international community for a “united voice” to stop China from pursuing the “might is right” strategy in the territorial dispute over the West Philippine Sea. AFP spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla made the appeal after the New York Times, quoting think-tanks, detailed Chinese construction […]