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 […]
Aerial picture of Chinese ships building artificial islands in the South China Sea An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged ongoing land reclamation by China on mischief reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, May 11, 2015. REUTERS/Ritchie B. […]
An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged ongoing land reclamation by China on mischief reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, May 11, 2015. REUTERS/Ritchie B. Tongo/Pool SHANGHAI — China’s official news agency has warned that proposed U.S. naval […]
Last week, Vietnam protested China’s construction of two lighthouses on the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, saying the construction violates Vietnam’s sovereignty. In an email interview, Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discussed Vietnam’s claims to the South China Sea. WPR: What […]
Former foreign minister Gareth Evans has suggested Australian warships be deployed to the South China Sea to protest against Beijing’s island-building activity in the contested waterway. Last week in high-level talks with the United States, Australia agreed to increase naval cooperation in the South China Sea, but is so far rejecting suggestions it could join […]
Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on Asean countries and China to maintain dialogue on the South China Sea. In a speech delivered in China on a recent visit, Hun Sen said the contentious issue, where several Asean countries are in disputes with China, should be solved under existing mechanisms between China and Asean, including […]
After months of debate and accusations of fecklessness, the U.S. appears ready to challenge China’s island-building in the South China Sea. The question is how. At issue are new islands the Chinese have created by dredging thousands of tons of sand to expand various reefs and rocks in the Spratly archipelago. China claims nearly 80 […]
After months of debate and accusations of fecklessness, the U.S. appears ready to challenge China’s island-building in the South China Sea. The question is how. At issue are new islands the Chinese have created by dredging thousands of tons of sand to expand various reefs and rocks in the Spratly archipelago. China claims nearly 80 […]
President Obama’s cyber-security deal with China is beginning to look a lot like his Iran nuke deal: Obama makes loud pronouncements about a new era of mutual understanding and cooperation, while his partners-in-peace stab him in the back. China waited less than 24 hours to resume hacking U.S. companies after Obama and President Xi Jinping […]
It should be a strategic priority to nurture and strengthen the group of regional powers directly affected by Chinese behaviour On one of Margaret Thatcher’s trips to Beijing in the 1980s, Charles Moore tells us in his recent biography, the Chinese leadership hoped to pressure Britain over Hong Kong. They resorted to a most diabolical […]