The dispute over the strategic waterways of the South China Sea has intensified, pitting a rising China against its smaller and militarily weaker neighbors who all lay claim to a string of isles, coral reefs and lagoons mostly in the Spratly and the Paracel islands. Only about 45 of them are occupied. The area is […]
Indonesia is developing a plan to build a new military base in the South China Sea, according to local media reports. On Friday, the Jakarta Post reported that Indonesian officials are preparing a plan to build a new military base somewhere in the South China Sea, which has seen an uptick in tensions over competing […]
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang yesterday rejected China’s renewed offer of bilateral talks to settle the West Philippine Sea dispute, saying only by engaging other members of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) can any negotiation on the issue be acceptable. “The Philippine position is clear: the principle of ASEAN centrality should be recognized in accordance […]
According to American scholar Robert D. Kaplan, the South China Sea (SCS) has become “Asia’s Cauldron”. Some refer to the SCS as “unchartered waters”. All recent developments clearly indicate that the SCS has transformed into a dangerous playing field for global powers. During the 1970s, Southeast Asia was considered a“troubled” region as a result of […]
As far as Malaysia is concerned, the presence of Chinese Coast Guard vessels may potentially encourage it to respond aggressively by posturing and deploying military assets, which may in turn bring the two maritime forces close enough to cause a naval incident. Malaysia has preferred ‘quiet diplomacy’ to prevent any escalation in its relationship with […]
Foreign Affairs Sec. Albert del Rosario on Tuesday gave a statement before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands explaining why the Philippines filed the case against China. The full text of his speech, as it was delivered, was released by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday with the subtitle “Why the […]
Chinese authorities, as well as sympathetic writers, have in recent months sought to deflect criticism of China’s island-building campaign in the Spratlys by insisting that Beijing is merely copying what other claimants have done for years. According to this narrative, every claimant is as guilty as Beijing of altering the status of features in the […]
China has almost finished building a 3,000-meter-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, new satellite photographs of the area show. A U.S. military commander had told Reuters in May that the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef could be operational by year-end, although the […]
MANILA, Philippines – China appears to be building military bases on reclaimed reefs in the Spratlys, The Washington Post reported yesterday. The report cited new images of Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef taken as recently as June 28 by Digital Globe and supplied to The Post by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) and Center for […]
China’s man-made islands and military constructions in the South China Sea would be nothing more than a “sitting duck” for US armed forces in the event of a naval conflict, say both American and Chinese experts. In interviews with the US-based outlet Defense News, Ian Easton, a China defense specialist at the Project 2049 Institute […]