Tag Archives: Spratlys

South China Sea: Beijing’s ‘low-intensity coercion’ and Southeast Asia’s response

This week the annual report to the US Congress on China’s Military Power was released. It noted Beijing’s use of ‘low-intensity coercion’ across the South China Sea and East China Sea. Its assessment stated that: China often uses a progression of small, incremental steps to increase its effective control over disputed territories and avoid escalation to military […]

China demands US warships keep away from disputed South China Sea islands

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said last night that the US needs to clarify its stance on proposed new patrols around the islands being used to establish a claim on key strategic oil and fish stocks. China urged “the relevant country” to “refrain from taking risky and provocative actions to maintain the regional peace […]

Why the world is wary of China’s ‘great wall of sand’ in the sea

(CNN)The leaders of Southeast Asian nations recently took the extraordinary step of warning China that its island-building activities in the contested South China Sea “may undermine peace, security and stability” in the region. That’s strong language from the usually reticent 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and shows just how high tempers are flaring […]

China Lashes Out Over U.S. Plan on South China Sea

Beijing condemned on Wednesday a proposed U.S. military plan to send aircraft and Navy ships near disputed South China Sea islands to contest Chinese territorial claims over the area. “We are severely concerned about relevant remarks made by the American side. We believe the American side needs to make clarification on that,” said Foreign Ministry […]

Taiwan against moves that would undermine peace in South China Sea

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Taiwan called for relevant countries Wednesday to avoid any action that could undermine peace and stability amid the simmering tension in the South China Sea. The Foreign Ministry made the remark in response to a recent visit by high-ranking officers of the Philippines to one of the islands in the Spratly […]

Philippine military chief visits South China Sea island

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ military chief flew to a Filipino-occupied island in the South China Sea on Monday and vowed to defend the territory and help develop tourism and marine resources there amid disputes with China. Related Stories Pentagon weighs sending planes, ships near disputed South China Sea reefs Reuters South China Sea […]

China Balks At Pentagon’s Report Warning Of Aggressive Behavior In South China Sea

China’s Foreign Ministry says a U.S. report is defying the facts and painting an unfair picture of China’s military involvement in the South China Sea. According to a statement released on Sunday, the Chinese think the Americans are hopelessly stuck framing the world in Cold War terms. The U.S. report, released last Friday by the […]

Josh Rogin: Beijing is behaving badly in the Pacific. And the White House doesn’t seem to know what to do

Following a year of China’s flagrant and aggressive activities in contested waters, some in Washington are calling for U.S. President Barack Obama to cancel China’s invitation to the largest maritime military exercise in the world. Some leaders in Congress and the military want to exclude China, warning about its military buildup in the East China […]

An Environmental Turn In South China Sea Disputes – Analysis

On 13 April 2015, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) released a statement calling out China’s reclamation activities as causing “irreversible and widespread damage to the biodiversity and ecological balance of the South China Sea (SCS)/West Philippine Sea (WPS).” The DFA pointed out that China’s activities have so far caused destruction to over 300 […]

Pentagon describes China activity in South China Sea as ‘threatening’

NEW DELHI: China’s military mordernisation, particularly its defence capabilities by building artificial islands in the South China Sea region, has raised eyebrows in the Pentagon with the US Department of Defence recently describing such activities as potential threat. “The PLA is developing and testing new intermediate- and medium-range conventional ballistic missiles, as well as long-range, […]