The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) concluded its Defence Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with no joint declaration in early November amidst strong lobbying by China to omit statement criticising its assertiveness in the South China Sea. As disappointing as it was for countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, this was not […]
Malcolm Turnbull has pledged Australia’s absolute support for the United States in its campaign against China’s incursions in the South China Sea which are posing threats to freedom of navigation. Following a meeting between Mr Turnbull and US President Barack Obama in Manila, where they are attending the APEC summit, both men made it clear […]
The coral reefs on which China is building airstrips are “not just a bunch of rocks, ”but the transit point for about half of the world’s maritime containerized cargo,” Michael Green, vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Monday. Speaking as part of a panel discussion on China’s growing […]
China appreciates the “Quiet Diplomacy” approach taken by Malaysia in handling the South China Sea issue, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said. “In another word, they like our non-confrontational approach by using diplomacy as a channel to resolve a complex issue,” he said after a bilateral meeting with China’s President, Xi JinPing here, […]
The air and sea shadow boxing could lead to a bloody brawl with the U.S., warns the head of China’s navy. And the warning itself is the scary part. Over the weekend, China’s military released photographs of its heavily armed fighter aircraft training, it said, over the South China Sea, and claimed they flew out […]
From our Actuality podcast: Marketplace talks with Quartz about territorial disputes in the South China Sea The United States Navy and Air Force, you may have noticed, have been taking some trips to the South China Sea recently. Last month a guided missile destroyer, the USS Lassen, passed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef, […]
From the Vietnamese and Filipino point of view, participating in FONOPS is not a walk in the park. First, the October 26 FONOP apparently targeted several islands or features occupied by their respective forces. Further, the United States has consistently considered several of their claims as excessive. It has routinely conducted FONOPS in these waters, […]
When Chen Bingcai said China had US$3 trillion in foreign reserves during a forum in Nanning on the One Belt One Road project for Asian journalists earlier this year, he was trying to show that his government had a large enough piggy bank to undertake the gargantuan project. “We can utilise the US$3 trillion which […]
WASHINGTON – What has been largely overlooked in the conversation to date around China’s campaign of dredging and construction in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea is the necessary synthesis between the geopolitical and environmental aspects of the issue. In recent months, U.S. Navy patrols in the South China Sea and denouncements […]
President Obama’s visit to the Philippines this week will train a spotlight on the fiercely contested South China Sea. Both he and his hosts will likely call on China and other claimants to maintain the status quo in the region until their various differences can be resolved. Yet while that may be the best one […]