On Dec. 7, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen announced the first rotational deployment of a Poseidon 8 airplane to Singapore. The jet is the U.S. Navy’s next-generation long-range maritime patrol, anti-submarine, anti-shipping, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance asset. Some argue that this does not signify anything new and should […]
KUALA LUMPUR – China and Southeast Asian nations have agreed to set up a foreign ministers’ hotline to tackle emergencies in the disputed South China Sea, a senior official of the ASEAN grouping said Friday. China claims most of the potentially energy-rich sea, through which $5 trillion (¥619 trillion) in ship-borne trade passes every year, […]
SINGAPORE: Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has called for patience in solving disputes over the South China Sea, following the strong conflicting statements made by the United States and China about the longstanding territorial conflict. United States Defence Secretary Ashton Carter warned that China’s island building in disputed waters was undermining security in the region. […]
SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on countries today (May 29) to break the “vicious cycle” of the South China Sea row, as the United States and China exchanged increasingly angry barbs over reclaimed islands in the disputed waterway. Inaugurating Asia’s biggest security forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue, Mr Lee also warned of the threat of Islamic […]
Last month, Thailand’s navy requested funding for a submarine program which, when finalized, will make it the region’s eighth submarine-equipped nation—joining Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, and Australia. The Philippines, Thailand, and Bangladesh, meanwhile, have all expressed interest in acquiring submarine fleets. As tensions in the South China Sea continue to escalate, this arms race […]
SINGAPORE – Asean and China should “expeditiously” ink an agreement that is aimed at easing the tensions in the South China Sea, urged Singapore Defence minister Ng Eng Hen. China and the claimant states should “expeditiously conclude” the Code of conduct, a pact that would forbid the first use of force in potential conflicts and […]
EVEN on a quiet Sunday morning, a steady stream of lorries trundles along the broad, pristine and otherwise deserted streets of Punggol Timur, an island of reclaimed land in the north-east of Singapore. They empty their loads into neat rows of white, yellow and grey mounds where the country stockpiles a vital raw material: sand. […]
SINGAPORE — Philippine President Benigno Aquino yesterday said he was hopeful of a peaceful resolution to his country’s territorial dispute with China after holding informal talks with his counterpart Xi Jinping last week, where the two sides pledged to find a constructive solution to the issue. Mr Aquino met Mr Xi last week on the […]
BEIJING – Singapore rejects a military solution to defuse simmering tensions in the fiercely contested South China Sea. Instead, countries with competing claims should use diplomatic means to resolve the ongoing maritime territorial spat, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen. “The less involved our militaries are, the better for all of us. Its not an […]
Southeast Asia is home to roughly 630 million people, who combined produce a GDP of around 2.4 trillion dollars. It is also a region beset with complicated territorial squabbles, stemming from border to sea-lane disputes. There are many fault lines in this region, and none are more volatile than the South China Sea, a misnomer […]