In the dock for its aggressive expansionism in the South China Sea, China seems undeterred THE Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual powwow in Singapore for Asia-Pacific defence chiefs, has begun to follow a pattern: America and its friends in Asia line up to criticise China for its alleged transgressions in the seas around its coast; China […]
US RATCHETS UP PRESSURE ON CHINA The U.S. military has begun actively — and more publicly — challenging China’s sovereignty claims over half a dozen artificial islands Beijing has been rapidly constructing through massive land reclamation. On May 22, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft — a militarized version of the Boeing 737 — […]
The US recently sent P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft to monitor China’s deployments in the South China Sea region and has said that the country may send planes within the 12 nautical mile contiguous waters of the disputed islands, according to a piece by Liang Fang, a professor at China’s National Defense University, published on the […]
Security and prosperity have largely prevailed in the Asia-Pacific for the better part of the last seven decades. Today, however, the region is faced with the first major challenge to the very order that led to a secure and growing Asia. On the one hand, the United States is committed to preserving a long-standing alliance […]
MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday, June 3, said the Philippines will assert itself in the disputed South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) once it fully implements a new but legally questioned military agreement with the United States. “Once everything has been ironed out – there’s a challenge before the Supreme Court […]
The Philippine president has likened present-day China to Nazi Germany, hinting that the world cannot continue to appease Beijing as it claims ever more territory in the South China Sea. Benigno Aquino’s comments – made during a speech in Japan – came as disquiet grows over the quickening pace of China’s land reclamation programme in […]
A Chinese air defense identification zone over artificial islands that Beijing is building in the South China Sea will be a “serious cause for concern” for the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday. China has not yet declared an air defense zone, but a declaration is seen as likely as Beijing […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Monday that land reclamation projects in the South China Sea are unproductive and called for an end to aggressive action in the region. “We think that land reclamation, aggressive actions by any party in that area are counterproductive,” Obama said in a town-hall discussion at the White […]
WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama warned that Southeast Asia risks becoming less prosperous as countries in the region undertake land reclamation and assert sovereignty over parts of the disputed South China Sea. Obama said that while some of China’s claims may turn out to be legitimate, it should stop “throwing elbows and pushing people out of […]
Speaking to the BBC during a visit to Vietnam, Carter said the US would “continue to do what we have done for seven decades since World War II ended – by being the pivotal military power in the region, which we are and will continue to be,” adding that “nothing will stop US military operations […]