Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel toured Southeast Asia several weeks ago. In Brunei, he met with the ten defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their seven counterparts from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and South Korea. En route and afterwards, he stopped in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. With […]
(Reuters) – China plans to occupy a disputed chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea to expand its territory before regional rules on maritime behaviour come into effect, the Philippines’ top diplomat said on Wednesday. The Philippines believes China’s incursion into the Scarborough Shoal is a threat to peace in Southeast Asia, […]
Whatever happened to the much-heralded Chinese policy of a “peaceful rise”? While the other great powers lauded the awakening giant for the emphasis it placed on “peaceful,” China’s smaller neighbors noted with increasing concern its single-minded focus on “rise.” In Asia, the reality is clear and stark: The operative term in the famous Chinese policy […]
The recent publication of China’s new national map – which both re-affirms its historical claims to the South China Sea and incorporates a 10th ‘dash’ in the East China Sea, near Taiwan – has created ripples in Southeast Asia and beyond. Since the 10th dash is not, in fact, new, there is less novelty to […]
Senior officials from China and ASEAN will reportedly focus on agreeing to a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea in Suzhou, China’s Jiangsu Province next month. Judging by official statements, China has always been stressing a gradual process to reach a COC. But the upcoming negotiations can be considered as a more […]
Optimism over a relaxation of tensions in the South China Sea generated by China’s agreement to discuss a code of conduct with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next month is rapidly dissipating in the wake of Beijing’s clear reluctance to reach an early agreement. In late June, when China and ASEAN agreed […]
BANGKOK – Southeast Asian nations on Wednesday vowed unity in pressing China to accept a binding code of conduct for handling disputes in the South China Sea, the Thai foreign ministry said. Competing claims to the sea have for decades stirred tension in the region and the waterway, which is believed to sit atop vast […]
Beijing: China has called on countries involved in the South China Sea issue to avoid aggravating conflicts, as Manila continues to add fuel to its maritime dispute with Beijing. The call was given by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi while addressing a high-level forum between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Bangkok […]
If there is ever going to be an end to tensions over the South China Sea, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways, countries in the region need to find a way to work out their volatile maritime disputes. China, more than any other nation, has fanned those hostilities with sweeping sovereignty claims and […]
All parties with territorial disputes over the South China Sea should have “realistic expectations” and take “a gradual approach” to a proposed code of conduct aimed at defusing maritime tensions in the region, China’s foreign minister said in Hanoi yesterday. Wang Yi , who wraps up a six-day visit to four South East Asian countries […]