As I predicted a while back, the United States has quietly ditched its old, underperforming pretext for confrontation in the South China Sea and is sidestepping into a new justification. I do not care deeply about America’s stake in the South China Sea so I have little interest in slogging through recent American & Chinese contributions to […]
The perfect storm for geopolitical instability: high emotions, high levels of resolve, and low levels of communication and coordination. This characterisation applies to crises such as in eastern Ukraine and Syria. It may also describe a long-simmering dispute in the South China Sea which has the potential to escalate dramatically. Linda Jakobson’s latest paper explains […]
If you walk around the Chinese garden section of the Luneta Park, you would find a statue of China’s most important teacher, Kong Zi, or more popularly known under his Latinized name, Confucius. From the moment the Han dynasty officially made his thoughts the ideological cement of society, Confucius has served as the symbol of […]
MANILA, Philippines – In the so-called David versus Goliath disputes in the South China Sea, China holds the sticks and carrots. From gunboat to money diplomacy, it seizes the upper hand over its smaller neighbors. Yet the Philippines is slinging its own stone: international law. How far will this shot go? The Philippines made history […]
Beijing is fast approaching a Monday deadline to submit its defence in the arbitration case against its South China Sea claims brought by the Philippines. That case, brought under the UN Convention on… Read more: http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/449418/rival-nations-face-showdown-in-un-trial.
Vietnam sided with Philippine government saying that the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal has jurisdiction on settling maritime disputes base on U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. “To protect its legal rights and interests in the East Sea which may be affected in the South China Sea Arbitration case, Vietnam has expressed its position […]
China has dismissed Vietnam’s sovereignty claim for the Nansha and Xisha islands in the South China Sea, saying it is “illegal and invalid” and “China will never accept such claim.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the comment on late Thursday after Vietnam’s foreign ministry said Vietnam held sovereignty over the Nansha and Xisha islands […]
They have names like Pigeon Reef, West Sand, Taisho-To, and Scarborough Shoal. Most are no more than outcrops of rock poking out of the sea. Most have never been inhabited. Few have any direct economic value. If not for the perceived fish and oil wealth in the waters around them, the spat over these specks […]
MANILA, Philippines – Vietnam submitted its position on the Philippines’ historic arbitration case against China, the first time another South China Sea claimant formally used legal proceedings to challenge China’s expansive sea claims. Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the announcement on Thursday, December 11, in response to questions on its stand about China’s position […]
On 7 December, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an official position paper outlining China’s legal position on the South China Sea UNCLOS arbitration. This paper appears to serve two purposes. First, China seeks to indirectly participate in the arbitration without formally acknowledging its legitimacy. While the Foreign Ministry has timed the release of this […]