“[I]f the United States insists on publicly denying and routinely penetrating the 12-nm lines, China simply cannot bear the costs of inaction.” U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter recently proposed more-assertive military options for the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea (SCS). The new policy would dispatch U.S. naval ships to within 12 nautical miles […]
WASHINGTON — The United States is troubled by China’s plans to keep building on artificial islands in the South China Sea, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia said Thursday. Assistant Secretary of State Danny Russel told journalists that the prospect of China militarizing those maritime outposts runs counter to the goal of reducing regional […]
Actually, that was a title of a piece I wrote in July 2010, before island-building, before the Senkaku crises, before the rare earths brouhaha, even before Hillary Clinton declared that the US had a “national interest” in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea at the 2010 ASEAN foreign ministers’ conference in Hanoi and formally […]
The Philippine government will continue drawing global attention to the political and environmental impact of Chinese reclamation activities in disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea. During a press briefing on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Sec. Edwin Lacierda said this is the administration’s plan while the United Nations arbitration tribunal hears the Philippines’ case questioning Beijing’s […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines urged China on Wednesday, June 17, to “desist” from its reclamation activities in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after Beijing said it is set to finish its island building. “We reiterate our serious concern over China’s massive reclamation activities and planned construction of facilities in those features,” […]
A statement released by China’s foreign ministry says that China will cease building additional islands, though it plans to complete existing land reclamation efforts. Beijing appears to be heeding the warnings from Defense Secretary Ash Carter to cease land reclamation, although it intends to finish pre-existing work in the Spratly Islands first. When finished, China […]
Beijing/Washington: China will soon complete some of its land reclamation on the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, indicating that Beijing is close to setting up new outposts in the maritime heart of south-east Asia. The United States, which has called for a halt in China’s island […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines urged China on Wednesday, June 17, to “desist” from its reclamation activities in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after Beijing said it is set to finish its island building. “We reiterate our serious concern over China’s massive reclamation activities and planned construction of facilities in those features,” […]
BEIJING — By declaring Tuesday that it would soon complete its contentious program of building artificial islands in the South China Sea, Beijing hopes to diminish tensions with the United States while reassuring its home audience that it has delivered on its pledge to resist American military pressure, experts said. Leaders from the United States […]
The Chinese government announced in an official statement on Tuesday that it would “complete” the usurpation of Philippine, Vietnamese, and territory of other nations in the South China Sea “soon.” No timeline was given, nor were any geographic limits set to the expansion in the Spratly and Paracel Islands. “China will complete its reclamation project […]