What steps should the U.S. take next? Realizing the strategic importance of the South China Sea (SCS) in its “rebalancing” policy, the United States in 2015 took several specific actions to challenge China’s maritime claims in the region. Doctrinally, the Defense Department released the Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy, which described China as the major source […]
China has nearly completed construction of a runway and other facilities on Panganiban Reef, on the Philippine side of the Spratly archipelago in the heavily disputed South China Sea, a US-based think tank reported on Saturday. Also known as Mischief Reef, Panganiban Reef is 216 kilometers west of Palawan, well within the Philippines’ 370-km […]
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will invite private investment to build infrastructure on islands it controls in the disputed South China Sea and will this year start regular flights to one of them, state media said on Friday, moves likely to anger other claimants. China claims almost all of the energy-rich waters of the South China […]
The reply of China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying to the question whether China plans to declare an air defense identification zone over parts of the South China Sea, after commercial aircrafts conducted two test flights in Fiery Cross Reef, was most unsettling. She didn’t confirm nor did she deny the plan. She said: “As […]
WASHINGTON – China has nearly completed two more runways on artificial islands in a disputed area in the South China Sea, a U.S. think tank said Friday, adding that Beijing appears to be speeding up construction work to claim sovereignty in the area. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a major think tank in […]
When Chinese officials announced in 2013 that they would open an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to primarily fund big construction projects across the Pacific, they launched a slow-motion freak-out in Washington. As they went around the world inviting governments to join, Obama administration officials pressured their allies in Asia, Europe and elsewhere not to. The […]
A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces’ TC-90 training aircraft is seen in this undated handout photo released by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces, and obtained by Reuters on Aug. 5, 2015. Japan wants to give planes to the Philippines that Manila could use for patrols in the South China Sea, sources said, a move that would […]
So, what difference does the Asean Community make? The first thing to remember is that Asean does not displace the individual nation-state. Each member state has chosen not to subsume any part of its sovereignty to a larger Asean institution or entity. Certainly, in respect of internal affairs, the principle of non-interference is sacrosanct. Therefore, […]
Vietnam’s Prime Minister shakes hands with the Secretary General of United Nations, next to Malaysia’s Prime Minister during the 7th ASEAN-United Nations Summit last November. (ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images) What is the best strategy for addressing China’s territorial ambitions in the South China Sea? China is engaging in a subtle campaign of territorial encroachment in the […]
According to Chinese state media, the ship will be the largest coast guard vessel in the world. China has finished construction on a second 10,000-ton China Coast Guard (CCG) cutter destined for patrols in the South China Sea, Chinese state media reports. The ship, designated CCG 3901, “has been completed recently and is ready to […]