Former minister Kevin Andrews has used today’s release of the long-awaited Defence White Paper to pressure the Turnbull Government to send warships within 12 nautical miles of contested islands in the South China Sea. The 2016 Defence White Paper maps a course towards a total of $195 billion in Defence capability or equipment by 2020-21, […]
China has responded angrily to the Federal Government’s Defence White Paper. Key points: China said South China Sea comments in the Defence White Paper were “negative” Defence Minister Marise Payne said the Government knew the South China Sea was a “point of difference” Meanwhile, US said it would increase freedom of navigation operations in the […]
WASHINGTON (AP) ” China has accused the U.S.-allied Philippines of “political provocation” in seeking international arbitration over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday the decision by Philippine leaders to lodge a case with a tribunal in The Hague was “irresponsible to the Filipino people and the future […]
The two Pacific powers are vying for influence as China continues its rapid development of military assets on islands and atolls in the region. The United States is stepping up its firepower in the South China Sea to counter China’s military expansion in the region. Tensions are continuing to rise in an area disputed by […]
BEIJING: China on Friday adopted a new law on deep sea exploration, state media said, the country’s latest move to cement its status as a seagoing power. President Xi Jinping is reforming the military and investing in submarines and aircraft carriers, as China’s navy becomes more assertive in its territorial disputes in the East and […]
“If China continues to arm all of the bases they have reclaimed in the South China Sea, they will change the operational landscape in the region,” Harris told Pentagon reporters. “Short of war with the United States, China will exercise de facto control of the South China Sea.” Harris, who heads up the US Pacific […]
STANFORD: It was meant to be a sunny summit. Welcoming ASEAN’s leaders at the Sunnylands estate, President Obama said he had invited them to southern California, not cold and snowy Washington, to reciprocate the warm welcomes he had received in their own countries on his seven presidential trips to Southeast Asia. Appreciative laughter ensued. Naturally […]
NEW DELHI: Vietnam on Wednesday invited strategic partner India to explore and exploit natural resources within the Southeast Asian countries 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea (SCS) region where China has deployed fighter jets besides surface-to-air missiles ratcheting up tensions. “Vietnam has sovereign rights and jurisdiction within 200 nautical miles of […]
HONG KONG— With tensions mounting over maritime disputes in the South China Sea, the cause of the problem, at least in part, is believed to lie at the bottom of the water. But it is still unclear exactly how much oil and natural gas lurk beneath the surface. Along with fishing and lucrative shipping routes, […]
China says its construction work in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) “cannot be questioned” after a U.S. think tank reported that recent satellite images show China may be installing a high-frequency radar system in the Spratly Islands. BEIJING – China said on Tuesday that construction work in the disputed West Philippine Sea […]