The Philippines argued at a closed hearing on Tuesday that an international court should intervene in its dispute with China over the right to exploit natural resources and fish in the South China Sea. Though China has declined to participate, the case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is being closely watched […]
MANILA – The Philippines has a “plan B” in case a United Nations arbitral tribunal will decide it does not have jurisdiction over the Philippines’ case to protect its sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). “We have a plan B, but we can’t disclose options at this time considering how […]
Just when the memories of anti-Chinese protests and rioting have started to fade among the Vietnamese, the Chinese are stoking the fires again with another salami-slicing maneuver. Last Thursday, Beijing announced the redeployment of the deepwater oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 to the waters near the disputed Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands. The placement of the rig […]
On July 7 to 13, the Philippines argues its historic case versus China before a UN Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague. The core issue to be resolved is: does the Arbitral Tribunal have jurisdiction over the maritime dispute? In the hearing, a top-level delegation will represent the Philippines. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and […]
China has almost finished building a 3,000-meter-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, new satellite photographs of the area show. A U.S. military commander had told Reuters in May that the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef could be operational by year-end, although the […]
MANILA, Philippines – China appears to be building military bases on reclaimed reefs in the Spratlys, The Washington Post reported yesterday. The report cited new images of Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef taken as recently as June 28 by Digital Globe and supplied to The Post by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) and Center for […]
China’s man-made islands and military constructions in the South China Sea would be nothing more than a “sitting duck” for US armed forces in the event of a naval conflict, say both American and Chinese experts. In interviews with the US-based outlet Defense News, Ian Easton, a China defense specialist at the Project 2049 Institute […]
BEIJING: A 3,000-metre (9,800-foot) airstrip Beijing is building on a reef in disputed waters in the South China Sea, where tensions are mounting with its neighbours, is “nearly complete”, a US think-tank said. A satellite picture taken on Sunday showed that China was paving and marking the runway on Fiery Cross Reef and an apron […]
China has almost finished building a 3,000-meter-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, new satellite photographs of the area show. A U.S. military commander had said in May that the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef could be operational by year-end, although the June […]
STRONG world opinion against China’s occupation and reclamation of areas in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) may have softened Beijing’s hardline stance on its maritime and territorial disputes with neighboring countries, including the Philippines. “The most glaring reality is that we are not alone, and because of that, the options are increasing from […]