Tag Archives: Artificial Islands

Malaysia urges Beijing’s cooperation in South China Sea

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia has called for China to cooperate with Southeast Asia in speeding up talks on a set of rules in the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing’s island-building activities have sparked international alarm. Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, whose country hosts a regional summit next week, also cautioned rival claimants to the […]

Advance of the ‘Great Wall of Sand’: New aerial photographs show incredible scale of construction on man-made islands in disputed area of South China

The Philippine army has released new photographs of Chinese construction work in disputed waters in the South China Sea as it launched giant war games with the United States involving 11,500 personnel that were partly aimed at warning China. The Philippines voiced alarm about Chinese ‘aggressiveness’ in the area as it launched the Balikatan 2015 […]

China takes steps to control South China Sea

Beijing’s new land-reclamation strategy in the South China Sea has been ringing alarm bells in the region and has prompted the U.S. to accuse China of attempting to force its way to de facto control of disputed waters. Several high-definition satellite images surfaced this month of China’s land reclamation and construction on Mischief Reef in […]

‘Stronger global action sought on China moves’

MANILA – Stronger international action is needed to counter China’s rapid reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday. Belmonte noted that statements of condemnation from global powers on the continued encroachment of China in the disputed waters have been ineffectual. “The whole world is unable, unwilling or afraid to […]

China opposes PH seeking ASEAN unity vs reclamation

BEIJING, China – China on Monday said it opposed the Philippines seeking Southeast Asian unity to denounce its reclamation in the South China Sea, and hoped Washington and Manila, who have been conducting a military exercise in the disputed waters, do more to benefit regional peace and stability. Earlier on Monday, an official said Philippine […]

Why China’s island building is so foreboding

Over the past six months, China has gotten a little bit bigger. China’s expansion, which has amounted to less than two square miles of new land, is making waves not for how big it is, but where it is. Chinese engineers, with the help of barges and dredging machines, have been enlarging tiny reefs, sand […]

China ignores global outcry vs reclamation

MANILA, Philippines – Beijing shrugged off yesterday the expression of concern raised by the Group of Seven industrialized countries over threats to stability in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea, saying China’s activities in the region – including its massive reclamation – are “beyond reproach.” On Wednesday, G-7 foreign ministers issued a Declaration […]

Prudent diplomacy best in handling maritime row

Our dispute with China over its claims on certain islets, reefs and shoals in the South China/West Philippine Sea may not be resolved soon. Of late, China’s aggressive unilateral acts have been making news – it has been frenetically undertaking land reclamations and construction in some of the contested maritime areas. This has spurred, besides […]

China building runway on disputed islands: reports

BEIJING — China is rapidly building an airstrip on an artificial island in disputed South China Sea waters, recent satellite pictures show, potentially ramping up tensions with several Southeast Asian neighbors. Fiery Cross in the Spratly Islands was little more than a reef when China began land reclamation works to turn it into an island […]

China’s activities in South China Sea good for maintaining security, navigation freedom: ambassador

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) — The Chinese Ambassador to the United States said Thursday that China’s buildup of its capabilities in the South China Sea provides public goods to all and “serves the interests of maintaining security, stability and freedom of navigation there.” In a keynote speech to the International Conference on China-U.S. cooperation in […]