MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday declared as constitutional a defense pact that allows American forces, warships and planes to temporarily base in local military camps, in a boost to U.S. efforts to reassert its presence in Asia as China rises to regional dominance. Ten of the 15 members of the high […]
Beginning 2016 with a trip to the region for the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) hosted by the Bangladesh Navy in Dhaka sets the tone for the year ahead. At IONS, regional naval leaders met in person to deepen cooperation, highlighting where our interests intersect and offering us a chance to identify where they diverge. […]
In recent years, in its attempt to extend the naval influence in the South China Sea, China had went on to build about half a dozen artificial islands in the Spratlys despite the strong protest from Vietnam and Philippines. China in denouncing the South East Asian nations’ claims over the archipelago, even renamed Spratlys as […]
China is once again testing the mettle of the Asean nations by landing aircraft on a newly built runway on Fiery Cross Reef among the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The state-run Xinhua news agency last Wednesday (Jan 6) released photos of two commercial jets on Fiery Cross – referred to by […]
It wasn’t so long ago, says Eugenio Bito-onon Jr., that everyone in the Spratly Islands, his patch of the South China Sea, pretty much got along. “Oh yeah, it was really very peaceful,” says Bito-onon, a Filipino who’s served for the past five years as mayor of this archipelago of more than 100 small islands […]
SHANGHAI—As Chinese financial markets went berserk last week, Beijing activated a jumbo-sized airstrip it has built among the shipping lanes of the South China Sea by piling sand on top of coral. Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-taps-old-playbook-nationalism-1452572490
Over the past few years, China has begun to transition away from its ‘peaceful rise’ strategy, which called for fostering an international environment that’s amenable to economic expansion; or in other words, not rocking the boat of the prevailing US-led order in East Asia. A centerpiece of this policy shift has been to push the […]
As North Korea dangerously escalates regional and global tensions with its fourth nuclear detonation, the United States can ill afford further strategic ambiguity in its intentions and policies in East Asia. Yet, that is precisely what the Obama administration is offering in its muted and somewhat muddled response to China’s expansionist actions. With Beijing accelerating […]
Vietnamese fishermen say they are being attacked by China with increasing regularity. Their boats have been rammed, equipment broken and crewmen beaten up. Vietnam accuses Beijing of trying to force them out of waters in the South China Sea where their families have fished for generations. As the breaking dawn casts a red-orange rim around […]
The Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces have decided that Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft returning home from anti-piracy activities off the coast of Somalia will give priority to stopping along the way at bases of countries facing the South China Sea, including the Philippines and Vietnam, according to sources. The P-3C has advanced monitoring capabilities, […]