The Philippines v. China case before the arbitral tribunal set up under Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has attracted worldwide attention for a number of reasons, one of which being China’s refusal to participate in the proceedings, which were initiated by the Philippines. The non-appearance […]
The Commander of United States Pacific Command Admiral Harry B. Harris reiterates US call to immediately halt land reclamation in West Philippine Sea. “These activities are harming the environment and will not strengthen any country’s legal claims to disputed areas in the South China Sea,” the top American military officer in the Pacific said at […]
China is a country with more than a billion people, but as Ross Terrill observed, when we ask what China wants, we are really attempting to discern the goals of the seven “male engineers” who make up the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. This clarification makes the answer straightforward: Like […]
A host of Chinese landing crafts and assault vehicles were unable to breach the defenses and establish a beachhead on an island during a recent amphibious assault drill conducted in the South China Sea due to “effective measures” by the defending forces, Chinese Central Television (CCTV) lamented, according to defenseworld.net. All hopes of victory were […]
Philippine presidents have come and gone since the maritime dispute over the South China Sea began as far back as the 1970s but it was only under President Benigno Aquino III that the dispute was formally brought to an international court to settle the legal issues. Aquino has mentioned the dispute twice in his previous […]
Thank you for inviting me to testify today. For the United States, the South China Sea is an important area of the Asia-Pacific region for three reasons: 1) it is part of a major transit route for maritime commercial traffic to and from East Asia and for the United States Navy; 2) disputes over the […]
hy has China just built seven artificial islands in the strategically sensitive and economically critical South China Sea, alarming its neighbors and risking confrontation with the United States? Because Beijing believes it can get away with the nervy move and bolster an old desire for regional dominance. “China has wanted to do this for a […]
The United States is not neutral when it comes to following international law in the South China Sea and will come down forcefully to ensure that all parties adhere to the rules, Washington’s top diplomat for East Asia said Tuesday. The United States has repeatedly said that while it takes no position on competing sovereignty […]
. President Aquino will call for a cluster meeting. Cabinet cluster meeting together with Congress, Senate and all high ranking military officials announce and sign for the declaration of war. He will immediately inform the United Nation, United States and all the allies to ask for their recommendation and help. Then he will address the […]
AN EPIC battle brewing in the South China Sea just went up a notch. China is creating manmade islands on reefs in the region, which has ticked off neighbouring countries The Philippines now plans to station fighter jets and frigates on a former US naval base facing the growing islands where it is engaged in […]