Tag Archives: Spratlys

China appears to be building another airstrip in the South China Sea

China appears to have started building the foundation for a third airstrip in the hotly-contested South China Sea, according to a report Tuesday from Reuters. The airstrip’s construction, according to the report, appears to have started on Mischief Reef, one of seven artificial islands that China has built. The chain of islands, both natural and […]

Beware of China’s “Little Blue Men” in the South China Sea

While Russia has employed “Little Green Men” surreptitiously in Crimea, China uses its own “Little Blue Men” to support Near Seas claims. As the U.S. military operates near Beijing’s artificially-built South China Sea (SCS) features and seeks to prevent Beijing from ejecting foreign claimants from places like Second Thomas Shoal, it may well face surveillance […]

DSEI 2015: South China Sea disputes take centre stage

Disputes in South China Sea were a strategic issue given the amount of commercial trade that passes through the region, he said, and should be resolved in a peaceful manner. By 2030 almost 50% of the word’s total GDP will pass through the Indo-Pacific region. Addressing delegates attending the RUSI/1SL Sea Power conference at London’s […]

China is getting even bolder in the disputed South China Sea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China appears to be building a third airstrip in contested territory in the South China Sea, a U.S. expert said on Monday, citing satellite photographs taken last week. The photographs taken for Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank on Sept. 8 show construction on Mischief Reef, one of […]

China building third airstrip on disputed South China Sea islets: expert

The photographs taken for Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank on Sept. 8 show construction on Mischief Reef, one of several artificial islands China has created in the Spratly archipelago. The images show a rectangular area with a retaining wall, 3,000 meters (3,280 yards) long, matching similar work by China on […]

South Korea hopes for sea code of conduct

MANILA, Philippines – South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo is looking forward to the completion of a binding code of conduct for parties in the South China Sea even as he called on claimants to respect each other as they try to resolve the territorial row. Han yesterday noted that the South China Sea is […]

Vietnam Cozies Up to Japan in South China Sea Strategy

Communist Party chief to meet Japanese leaders in Tokyo to discuss security issues, among others HANOI—Vietnam is again building up ties with other countries to help its territorial claim in the South China Sea, this time dispatching the chief of its ruling Communist Party for talks in Japan this week. Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/vietnam-cozies-up-to-japan-in-south-china-sea-strategy-1442219225

Stop unilateral, destabilising actions in South China Sea: US tells China

Washington: The Pentagon today asked China to stop its unilateral and destabilising actions such as land reclamations by creating artificial islands to ease tension in the busy South China Sea, saying the US “shares an interest with the region.” “China’s stated intentions with its programme, and continued construction, will not reduce tensions or lead to […]

The US and China: Will it be collision or cooperation?

‘G’day. My name’s Kevin. I’m from Australia. I’m here to help.” The silver-thatched man on the stage in a loose-fitting black suit and no tie pauses for laughter from the crowd. It’s March 2015, and Kevin Rudd is delivering his first TED talk, an 18-minute guide to China’s post-Mao economic takeoff and the growing trepidation […]

China Just Sent a Message to America: Don’t Mess With Us

Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with saying some 200 years ago that “China is a sleeping giant. Let him sleep, for when he wakes, he will shake the world.” Pretty spot on, don’t you think? China’s stock market and questions about the Middle Kingdom’s economic future have certainly shaken up world markets in recent weeks, but […]