A militant group denounced Saturday the latest incident where a Chinese coast guard allegedly fired flares at a Philippine fishing boat over the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares slammed China’s aggressive actions and urged Filipinos to unite to pressure China and counter its moves over […]
In the dock for its aggressive expansionism in the South China Sea, China seems undeterred THE Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual powwow in Singapore for Asia-Pacific defence chiefs, has begun to follow a pattern: America and its friends in Asia line up to criticise China for its alleged transgressions in the seas around its coast; China […]
US RATCHETS UP PRESSURE ON CHINA The U.S. military has begun actively — and more publicly — challenging China’s sovereignty claims over half a dozen artificial islands Beijing has been rapidly constructing through massive land reclamation. On May 22, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft — a militarized version of the Boeing 737 — […]
China has been rapidly expanding its occupied reefs in the Spratly archipelago, alarming other claimants and drawing sharp criticism from the United States, Japan and Europe. The fishing boat was reportedly near a reclaimed reef when the shot was fired. “If indeed this happened, it is a cause of grave concern,” Philippine defence minister Voltaire […]
The US recently sent P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft to monitor China’s deployments in the South China Sea region and has said that the country may send planes within the 12 nautical mile contiguous waters of the disputed islands, according to a piece by Liang Fang, a professor at China’s National Defense University, published on the […]
Security and prosperity have largely prevailed in the Asia-Pacific for the better part of the last seven decades. Today, however, the region is faced with the first major challenge to the very order that led to a secure and growing Asia. On the one hand, the United States is committed to preserving a long-standing alliance […]
A Chinese air defense identification zone over artificial islands that Beijing is building in the South China Sea will be a “serious cause for concern” for the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday. China has not yet declared an air defense zone, but a declaration is seen as likely as Beijing […]
The territorial dispute in the South China Sea is building towards a flash point. There is a persistent idea that it’s about nothing more than tiny islands and useless reefs. If that’s all it is, then it’s not worth a big argument between the US and China. And it’s certainly not worth risking a war […]
Defence Minister Kevin Andrews has said Australia will continue to fly military aircraft over disputed waters in the South China Sea even if Beijing imposes a unilateral restricted air zone. A day after demanding an end to Beijing’s island-building in the contested waters during a key Asian security conference, Mr Andrews indicated Australia would not heed any […]
China’s rapid claim on contested islands in the South China Sea is beyond anything seen previously and raises legitimate questions about Beijing’s intentions in the region, the secretary of the Australian defence department, Dennis Richardson, said. Richardson told a Senate estimates committee on Monday that the military buildup on China’s reclamation program in the South […]