China’s construction of islands and reefs in the South China Sea is lawful and justified, as China is merely building facilities in its own yard, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday. [Special coverage] Wang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s top […]
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) — China’s construction of islands and reefs in the South China Sea is lawful and justified, as China is merely building facilities in its own yard, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday. Wang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s […]
China calls restricted flying area over whole South China Sea, giving them the right to take down any unknown planes. A late U.S. proposal for Japanese patrols in the South China Sea has inspired a sharp answer by the Chinese government and reignited Chinese media talk of a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). An ADIZ would oblige all […]
JAKARTA: The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) supports the Philippines’ bid for a peaceful resolution of its own territorial dispute with China, as well as the stance of other claimant countries that reject Bejing’s “dotted line” policy in asserting its sovereignty over rocks and islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). […]
NEW DELHI: The US today expressed concern over China’s “provocative” and “dramatic” tactics in the South China Sea and said the American navy will shift 60 per cent of its maritime assets to the Pacific by 2020. However, it underlined that the “rebalance” to the Asia and Pacific was not aimed at China but for […]
(Updated 4:47 p.m.) The Department of Energy (DOE) has suspended all drilling and exploration works in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in the area covered by Service Contract (SC) 72 in the Reed Bank, citing a force majeure as the site is the subject a territorial dispute between the Philippines and China. Philex Petroleum Corp., […]
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ recourse to arbitration to settle disputes in the West Philippine Sea is proof of its commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, a diplomat told a Security Council debate convened by China, with whom the country is locked in a bitter row over contested territory. “The Philippines believes that […]
China didn’t open “Pandora’s Sandbox.” It isn’t the first claimant to transform reefs by padding them with sand. But China’s superior economic and military capacity enables it to outpace other claimants. It is rapidly building the greatest “sandcastles,” which support multiple military and paramilitary functions. Beijing views Spratly and Paracel Islands augmentation as justified in […]
BEIJING (AP) — China defended its activities in the South China Sea as restrained and responsible Friday after the U.S. intelligence chief called its expansion of outposts in the region an “aggressive” effort to assert sovereignty. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the country’s activities on shoals and in surrounding waters it claims are […]
MANILA, Philippines – Amid China’s continuing maritime aggression, President Benigno Aquino III and visiting French President Francois Hollande on Thursday renewed their call for peace in Southeast Asia. “We reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Southeast Asia and promoting maritime security, freedom of navigation and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance […]