Ancient Malays had crossed the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific millenniums before China started mapping its surrounding waters. With that fact, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio prefaced a lecture last June at De La Salle University on China’s false historical claims over the South China Sea. “Historical Facts, Lies, and Rights” […]
SAN FRANCISCO, California — Shouting “China out now!”, Filipino Americans in the Bay Area on July 24 joined their counterparts in other part of the United States and other capital cities in the world in denouncing what they called the invasion of the Philippines by China. Carrying inverted Philippine flags, the San Francisco contingent marched […]
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton used a trip to China on Friday to criticize Beijing over its territorial disputes with smaller countries in the South China Sea. According to Fortune, Bill Clinton was in Guangzhou in southern China to deliver remarks at a conference hosted by Pacific Construction Group, a Fortune 500 infrastructure company. During […]
MANILA, Philippines — The territorial row between China and its neighbors, including the Philippines, over the South China Sea has become less intense in the past weeks, the US Department of State said Friday. Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson, confirmed the observation that rival claimants have “toned down,” not exchanging statements asserting their claims and not […]
After many months of taking increasingly bold actions at the expense of its neighbors in East Asia, there are recent indications that Beijing may be adopting more conciliatory policies. China has unexpectedly removed a controversial oil-drilling rig that it had deployed in waters near Vietnam. In late June, Chinese president Xi Jinping conducted a high-profile […]
The 18th Party Congress in November 2012 produced new leadership for China, but it did not produce much optimism for the future of China’s relationship with its East Asian neighbors or the United States. Chinese President Xi Jinping frequently refers to the “Chinese Dream,” or “the great resurgence of the Chinese nation.” Coinciding with this, […]
Last October, during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung promised to buttress “political trust” between the two South China Sea (SCS) claimants. Last week, while I was speaking at a conference in Da Nang, Vietnam where the Chinese were visibly absent, verbal accusations were flying both on land […]
Global conflicts are increasingly fuelled by the desire for oil and natural gas and the funds they generate. Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, South Sudan, Ukraine, the East and South China Seas: wherever you look, the world is aflame with new or intensifying conflicts. At first glance, these upheavals appear to be independent events, driven by their […]
After weeks of trying to gain an insight into the thought process of the military junta in Thailand, it seems there is always someone around here who needs a wakeup call. Although I wanted to question the wit of those who approved visa-free entry to Chinese without reciprocal action from our giant neighbour to the […]
South China Sea has emerged as an explosive regional and global flashpoint endangering the security and stability of the wider Indo Pacific region. This arises mainly from China’s propensity to use force to settle territorial disputes. Paracel Islands under full military occupation of China and Spratlys Islands under partial military occupation of China coupled with […]