China continues to play a long game in asserting its territorial claims and hegemonic ambitions in the South China Sea (SCS). After its confrontation with Vietnam over the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in May this year, Beijing has recently announced that it intends to build lighthouses on five islands in the SCS, two of […]
The South China Sea is where China’s ambitions meet Asian nervousness and American power. In its waters China has abandoned any pretence of “peaceful rise” in favour of gunboat diplomacy. Armed Chinese Coastguard ships have rammed their Vietnamese rivals, blockaded Philippine outposts, disrupted Malaysian oil surveys and threatened Indonesian vessels which protect the nation’s fisheries. […]
MANILA, Philippines — China’s new law that seeks to increase military security in its territorial waters will take effect next month to respond to the reported “inadvertent intrusions” into restricted areas. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress has enacted the Law of People’s Republic of […]
Chairman Mao’s “little red book” is no longer a fashion accessory in Beijing, but China’s leaders seem to be drawing inspiration from one of its aphorisms: “There is great disorder under the Heavens and the situation is excellent.” Judging by the calculatedly risky steps they have taken — like moving a gigantic drilling rig deep […]
The bad news first. The People’s Republic of China now believes it can successfully prevent the United States from intervening in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or some other military assault by Beijing. Now the good news. China is wrong—and for one major reason. It apparently disregards the decisive power of America’s […]
BEIJING — As China boosts its military spending, rattling neighbors over territorial disputes at sea, an AFP investigation shows that European countries have approved billions in transfers of weapons and military-ready technology to the Asian giant. China’s air force relies on French-designed helicopters, while submarines and frigates involved in Beijing’s physical assertion of its claim […]
President Benigno Aquino III will be clarifying the terms of support of the United States to the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea dispute during US President Barack Obama’s visit next week, Malacañang hinted Wednesday. At a press conference, Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said Aquino and Obama will discuss defense, political, […]
Japan is sending 100 soldiers and radar to its westernmost outpost, a tropical island off Taiwan, in a deployment that risks angering China with ties between Asia’s biggest economies already hurt by a dispute over nearby islands they both claim. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera will break ground on Saturday for a military lookout station […]
THE Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the Chinese government is violating the sovereign rights of the Filipino people for insisting that the Ayuningin Shoal and eight other islands within the exclusive economic zone of Philippines in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) belong to China. Pamalakaya Vice Chairman Salvador France […]
TOKYO—Japan and the United States will pledge to jointly help Southeast Asian nations boost their marine surveillance capabilities, a newspaper said Saturday, as tensions over territorial disputes in the region simmer. US President Barack Obama will discuss the issue with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit to Japan next week. A deal is expected […]