The Commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Scott Swift says that it is up to the policymakers in Washington whether to give orders to the country’s sailors to patrol within 12 nautical miles of the newly constructed islands claimed by China in the controversial South China Sea. While speaking during an interview on Thursday, the […]
It is widely expected that in the next several days, the United States will conduct a freedom of navigation exercise near China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea. The Obama Administration has been debating the use of freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS) in the Spratly Islands for several months, and a public debate on […]
Hanoi’s claims of sovereignty in the East Vietnam Sea are consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while Beijing has tried to change the status quo in the maritime area, a U.S. expert has said. There is no evidence showing that Vietnam is conducting island construction activities in the […]
By commissioning more advanced destroyers and frigates into active service, China now possesses more surface combat ships than Japan, reports the Hangzhou-based Qianjiang Evening News. After China showcased its DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile and DF-26 medium-range ballistic missile during its military parade held on Sept. 3 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of […]
An aerial photo shows China’s efforts to fill in Mischief Reef to create land in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. I was speaking to a leading academic about Canada’s efforts to engage Asian countries when the topic of “track II diplomacy” came up. The term describes informal contacts between people representing different […]
Once they are completed, China plans to deploy its first two domestically built aircraft carriers to the southern island province of Hainan in anticipation of potential conflict over the disputed South China Sea, the nationalistic tabloid Global Times writes. Liu Huaqing, former commander and strategist of the PLA Navy, said as early as the 1980s […]
Beijing’s land reclamation in the South China Sea has prompted reports that the U.S. Navy will soon conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the area. If they pass within 12 nautical miles of China’s artificial islands, American vessels will directly challenge Beijing’s expansive maritime claims. Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/projecting-power-in-the-south-china-sea-1445533018
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se refuted allegations Wednesday that the United States has increased pressure on South Korea to clarify its stance on the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a joint press conference following summit talks with President Park Geun-hye that Washington expects Seoul to speak […]
The United States and China are hurtling toward a showdown over Freedom of Navigation in the the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy is poised to sail near seven artificial islands China constructed in the Spratly archipelago over the past two years as a means to challenge any excessive or illegitimate Chinese sovereignty claims there. […]
In May 2015, China began construction of lighthouses on two of the features it occupies in the Spratlys, Cuarteron Reef and Johnson South Reef. The lighthouses, employing cylindrical and cone-cylindrical designs, respectively, are 50-meter-high towers constructed of reinforced concrete that officially began operation on October 9. Each tower has been designed to cast its white […]