WASHINGTON – The US Pacific Fleet is prepared to respond to threats against the security and stability of the Asia-Pacific region in the face of China’s undisputed land reclamation in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea, its commander said. “My intent is not to plan for war against any particular nation, but rather […]
WASHINGTON – Leading senators expressed alarm on Thursday at the scale and speed of South China Sea and said a formal U.S. strategy was needed to slow or stop the work. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Republican Senators John McCain and Bob Corker and Democrats Jack Reed and Bob Menendez said that without a comprehensive strategy […]
A powerful American naval officer has fired a warning at China for rapidly building “a Great Wall” of artificial islands across hotly-contested waters. Admiral Harry Harris, soon to take charge of Pacific Command, told a dinner at the Australian War Memorial on Tuesday night that the string of new islands posed a serious threat to stability […]
When the Philippines announced last week that it was restarting construction in disputed areas of the South China Sea in response to China’s own construction binge, it entered a contest it has virtually no hope of winning. Satellite images released in February reveal that China has undertaken an unprecedented series of construction and land reclamation […]
China’s moves to explore for oil and undertake land reclamation projects on contested islets in the South China Sea have upset a number of its neighbors, including Vietnam. But none has taken a tougher stance against Beijing’s moves than the Philippines. The archipelago has shaped up as the loudest voice in Southeast Asia against China’s […]
China’s unresolved land and maritime border disputes with its neighbors continue to be a negative factor in bilateral relations among them; undeniably they also complicate the regional situation. What are the root causes of China’s territorial positions? Why certain disputes remain unsettled? Can such situation lead to future conflicts? Has China begun to work towards […]
The Obama administration has been very busy dealing with nuclear negotiations with Iran, a war against the Islamic State, a new conflict in Yemen and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Yet the understandable focus on these other crises has obscured China’s efforts to speed up its militarization of the South China Sea. Now, Chinese […]
CANBERRA, Australia—Unprecedented land reclamation by China in contested islands of the South China Sea is raising serious questions over whether Beijing intends confrontation or cooperation with other regional powers, America’s top Pacific Commander Said. Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-move-stealth-destroyers-to-pacific-region-1427784315
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has conducted its first training exercise above the western Pacific Ocean on Monday, the country’s Defence Ministry said, in a move that could heighten tensions with neighboring countries in the South China Sea. PLA Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke told Reuters on Monday that PLA aircraft flew to […]
MANILA – The Philippines accused China on Thursday of seeking to take control of nearly the entire South China Sea with an expansionist agenda dominated by “massive reclamation” works. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said China’s efforts were aimed at undermining a United Nations tribunal that is due to rule early next year on […]