MANILA – International law will be the “great equalizer” in the Philippines’ ongoing territorial row with China, a Philippine envoy said during a reception. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia said the country’s move to seek arbitration before an international tribunal underscores its desire to define its maritime entitlements in the South […]
By all possible measures, 2014 was a roller-coaster year for East Asia, particularly for the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which have anxiously watched Beijing’s widening shadow of influence and territorial assertiveness across the region. China kicked off the year with a bang, introducing a second amendment to its fisheries law […]
This year, Malaysia, a claimant state to disputed islands in the South China Sea, is taking over as chairman of Asean. Given Malaysia’s long tradition of constructive and stable relations with China, this is an unprecedented opportunity to step up the anaemic negotiations over a Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea. The […]
On Dec. 22, 2014, China commissioned its latest guided missile destroyer, the Jinan 052C, the semi-official China Military Online reported. The Jinan was commissioned at a naval port in eastern China. From there, the vessel will join the East China Sea Fleet of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Part of a new generation […]
MANILA, Philippines — The long-standing rivalry over maritime zones in the South China Sea will not be settled but may simmer down this year, analysts say. Robert Farley, professor at University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, believes that the import-oriented trend in the oil industry can affect how rival claimants China […]
The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapons installations that France constructed just before the border with Switzerland and the borders with Germany and Luxembourg during the 1930s. A mature network of military facilities in the Spratlys, including an expanded Fiery Cross presence, would effectively extend China’s ability to project power […]
The Russian Military Observation website published an article titled “China’s Nuclear Potential” on December 30, 2014. It says that China is upgrading and improving its strategic bombers, but the H-6K, the upgraded version of the H-6 bomber imported from Russia has a range of only 3,000km, and does not constitute nuclear deterrence against the US. […]
Usually countries fight for gains or to prevent losses, but US experts are quite different. Michael Pillsbury, the director of the Centre on Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute, holds quite different views. In his recent article “China and the United States Are Preparing for War” he holds that war is inevitable because China is […]
During a modernization briefing on December 17, Philippine Navy (PN) vice-chief Rear Admiral Caesar Taccad revealed future plans to acquire at least three submarines, as part of a follow-up to the ongoing 15-year P90-billion Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program. The South China Sea disputes are no doubt a key motivation, when the […]
The dispute involving China, Taiwan, and four Southeast Asian countries over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea has been described as one of the world’s most complex and intractable international relations problems. Despite its regional and international ramifications, there is no clear roadmap for how it should be managed or resolved. […]