Recent comments by U.S. Navy Admiral Samuel Locklear III set the internet afire (well, at least for strategic studies followers) in suggesting that the United States was losing dominance in the Pacific Ocean. While no news to those of us who follow events closely in this part of the world, such remarks are a stark […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines wants to acquire two more navy ships from the United States to boost its maritime defense capability amid threats from China, Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said yesterday. The new acquisitions would come under the fresh US military assistance announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry when he […]
The middle of 2013 brought the possibility of a reset in U.S.-China relations, as new Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke of his desire for a “new kind of great power relations” as he enjoyed relaxed, heart-to-heart talks with U.S. President Barack Obama at a California resort. The year ended, however, with further evidence that strategic […]
On Tuesday, the United States House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee and the House Foreign Affairs Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee held a hearing on China’s maritime disputes in the South and East China Sea. The hearing, according to a description posted on Rep. Randy Forbes’ website, was an “opportunity to assess how recent […]
“They were really unprepared for that and were really embarrassed by it,” one of Vietnam’s top experts on Chinese diplomacy told me during my recent visit to Hanoi, referring to the Philippines’ bringing its case against China’s aggressive illegal actions in the West Philippine Sea to the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal. This confirmed my assessment […]
The government on Thursday vowed to protect the country’s territorial sovereignty from foreign intrusion amid reports that China has issued a “no permit, no fishing” rule for foreign fishermen in the highly-disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). The new ruling, which is aimed to bolster China’s claim over the disputed islands, […]
(Reuters) – China defended on Friday its new fishing restrictions in disputed waters in the South China Sea against criticism from the United States, saying the rules were in accordance with international law. The rules, approved by China’s southern Hainan province, took effect on January 1 and require foreign fishing vessels to obtain approval to […]
New fishing regulations issued by a Chinese province along the South China Sea have once again focused international attention on a complex territorial dispute and raised the question of what kind of power China will become. In a move that a spokeswoman for the State Department, Jen Psaki, on Thursday called a “provocative and potentially […]
Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines and the United States have criticized China for imposing new access rules for the vast South China Sea, saying Beijing’s demand that foreign vessels get approval to enter the disputed maritime area is provocative and potentially destabilizing. But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying retorted Friday that the rules that went into […]
BEIJING—In a broadening campaign to enforce its territorial claims, China says it’s beefing up its police powers in the disputed South China Sea, presumably including waters known in Manila as West Philippine Sea, and requiring foreign fishermen to ask Beijing’s permission to operate within most of the vast, strategic waterway. The move, which took effect […]