There is one and only one country in the entire world that agrees with and supports all of China’s legal claims in the South China Sea. That country is Taiwan, though China says that Taiwan is not a country, but only a rogue province of China that will return to Chinese control as soon as […]
“Five weeks to respond to a simple letter is too long,” McCain said in a written statement this week. “Whether these delays are the result of the micromanagement of the National Security Council or the bureaucracy of the Pentagon, they are unacceptable nonetheless.” Last month, McCain sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, asking […]
The captain of a Vietnamese fishing boat that came under attack near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea said he is still reeling from the deadly incident, but asserted that his team will return to fish the contested waters. Captain Bui Van Cu said his crew has no choice but to continue fishing […]
An editorial in a Chinese state-owned newspaper said it would be shame if an Australian plane “fell from the sky” a day after the world learnt that the RAAF flew an aircraft over disputed territory claimed by China. The comment was published in the English language edition of The Global Times following Australia’s challenge to […]
Vietnam’s military is steeling itself for conflict with China as it accelerates a decade-long modernization drive, Hanoi’s biggest arms buildup since the height of the Vietnam War. The ruling Communist Party’s goal is to deter its giant northern neighbor as tensions rise over the disputed South China Sea, and if that fails, to be able […]
Australia will not bow to Chinese pressure to halt surveillance flights over disputed islands in the South China Sea at the center of territorial spats between China and its regional neighbors, Defense Minister Marise Payne said on Thursday. The Australian Defense Department said on Tuesday one of its aircraft had flown “a routine maritime patrol” […]
China has added another of its most advanced destroyers to the South Sea fleet, according to China Military Online. The guided missile destroyer Hefei (hull number 174), the third in the Type 052D class (also known as the Luyang-III class), was commissioned in a ceremony on Sunday at the naval port at Sanya, in China’s […]
MASINLOC, PHILIPPINES— China’s aggressive island-building in the South China Sea has drawn international attention to Beijing’s expansive maritime territorial claims. This week it also drew a caution from the head of the United States Pacific Fleet, Admiral Scott Swift who said, “ships and aircraft operating nearby these features, in accordance with international law, are subject […]
The Natuna archipelago, a remote part of Indonesia in the South China Sea, consists of about 280 sleepy islands. Inhabitants there survive mostly on fishing or farming. It seems an unlikely place for a military buildup, but this week Indonesian defense minister Ryamizard Ryacudu told Kyodo News that his military plans to send soldiers, three […]
China has set new rules on the distribution of maps amid heightened tensions over territorial disputes with its neighboring countries. China has tightened rules on the distribution of maps amid the country’s territorial dispute in the South China Sea, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing the state news network. Beijing set up new regulations over maps that […]