Japan is jettisoning decades of World War II pacifism. Communist Vietnam is buying arms from the United States, its old enemy. The Philippines is inviting U.S. forces back 25 years after kicking them out. Even tiny Singapore is getting in on the action, allowing U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft to use bases on its territory. The […]
The South China Sea has been presenting a score of geopolitical issues that have been denting China-US relations. This piece of international waters, situated on the east of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and on the south of mainland China, does not come under China’s territory but Beijing has been exercising its powers to control […]
BEIJING: China’s campaign of island building in the South China Sea might soon quadruple the number of airstrips available to the People’s Liberation Army in the highly contested and strategically vital region. That could be bad news for other regional contenders, especially the US, the Philippines and Vietnam. The island construction work that is creating […]
An analysis of any -or all- of China’s decisions and announcements over the past two years points to the same argument: China is working to establish itself as a global superpower with no competitors. From China’s well-known territorial claims in the South China Sea to its military and technological advancements, the country has invested heavily […]
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at a U.S.-China business roundtable, comprised of U.S. and Chinese CEOs, in Seattle, Washington September 23, 2015. Reuters/Elaine Thompson/Pool The United States and China have been challenging each other’s claims and moves in the South China Sea. As both countries maintain where they are within their jurisdictions and rights over […]
Beijing expresses its anger as a US guided-missile destroyer, USS Lassen, passes near the man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea. Australian and Chinese officials including Beijing’s top army general had a “direct and blunt” exchange over the Asian giant’s island-building in the South China Sea this week, Fairfax Media has learnt. China also […]
The Royal Malaysian Navy has called for CUES to be used by other maritime agencies in the region Move is aimed at further preventing possible escalation of incidents in South China Sea The Chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), Admiral Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin, has called for wider use of a naval protocol that was […]
The Philippines has expressed confidence that The Hague will come up with a “just decision” in an arbitration case it has filed relating to a maritime dispute over parts of the South China Sea, warning that any decision in support of China could provide an echo of Cold War Germany. A ruling favorable to China […]
On Oct 27, the US Navy destroyer Lassen conducted a freedom of navigation (FON) operation in the South China Sea within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island reclaimed by China on the Subi Reef. The United States took this action in order to defy China’s claim that foreign vessels must obtain permission from the […]
TOKYO – Japan scrambled jets after 11 Chinese military planes flew near southern Japanese islands during what Beijing said was a drill to improve its long-range combat abilities, reports said Saturday. The planes — eight bombers, two intelligence gathering planes and one early-warning aircraft — flew near Miyako and Okinawa on Friday without violating Japan’s […]