Amid relentless diplomatic efforts, many seem unaware that the South China Sea dispute has entered a new phase as the Philippines, one of the claimants of the maritime territory, is seeking a legal settlement of China’s territorial claims at the Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Can the legal approach resolve the decades-long dispute and […]
BEIJING – (UPDATED 7:03 PM) China on Saturday vowed to continue building in disputed reefs of the South China Sea, as state media said construction had finished on two lighthouses on reefs claimed by other countries. Beijing has been bolstering its claim to almost all the South China Sea by rapidly building large artificial structures […]
The United States has been boosting aid to four Southeast Asian states amid continued Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, a U.S. official told journalists Thursday evening. According to William R. Brownfield, assistant secretary at the bureau of international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, the Southeast Asia Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative – initially announced […]
The Rebalance authors Mercy Kuo and Angie Tang regularly engage subject-matter experts, policy practitioners and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into the U.S. rebalance to Asia. This conversation with Dr. Mathieu Duchâtel – Head of the China and Global Security Project at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) – is […]
The next time the United States sends warships by China’s man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea, officers aboard will have to decide how, if at all, they will engage with a pair of giant lighthouses that Beijing lit up there this month. Chinese officials say the lighthouses on Cuarteron Reef and Johnson South […]
China expresses concern about reports that the US is preparing to send warships around the disputed Spratly islands Officials in Beijing have expressed concern after the United States signalled it was poised to up the ante in the South China Sea by sending warships through waters claimed by China. American navy vessels are preparing to […]
BEIJING (Oct 9): China said it won’t allow any country to violate its territory in the South China Sea, in response to reports that the U.S. may send ships to the disputed area. Several media organizations, including Financial Times, earlier reported plans by the U.S. to sail inside the 12 nautical-mile zone near islands China […]
THE Philippines has reiterated its call to China to stop its reclamation activities in contested waters of the West Philippine Sea. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Thursday that China’s statement that it had stopped such activity is “not factual.” “I think the construction continues. They said they have stopped their reclamation but at […]
The Navy is preparing to send a surface ship inside the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit China claims for its man-made island chain, an action that could take place within days but awaits final approval from the Obama administration, according to military officials who spoke to Navy Times. Plans to send a warship through the contested space […]
Indonesia is considering using drones and submarines to strengthen its grip over the gas-rich waters around the Natuna Islands in response to China’s growing military presence in the South China Sea. These comments by Indonesia’s security chief Luhut Panjaitan in an opinion piece Wednesday in the Kompas newspaper represent some of the most direct yet […]