After weeks of signaling that it would initiate freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs), the U.S. Navy is set to deploy the USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, within 12 nautical miles of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea. Reuters, citing a U.S. defense official, confirmed that operations were set to begin “within 24 […]

Washington – The US Navy plans to send the destroyer USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea within 24 hours, in the first of a series of challenges to China’s territorial claims, a US defense official said on Monday. The patrol would occur near Subi […]

ARMED with little more than flashing lights, loud hailers and water cannons, China’s coast guard is becoming the vanguard for the country’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the ongoing land reclamation by China in the South China Sea. — […]

Recent statements suggest that the United States will soon conduct freedom of navigation (FON) operations against China’s artificial formations in the South China Sea (SCS). But there is far more handwringing going on than necessary, as demonstrated in a recent East Asia Forum article in which Mark Valencia warns that proposed FON challenges are ‘ill-advised, […]

Beijing/Washington: The US Navy sent a guided-missile destroyer on Tuesday within 12 nautical miles of two artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea, in a challenge to Beijing’s territorial claims in the area, Reuters has reported. The USS Lassen was nearing Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago, which have been […]

The U.S. Navy sent a guided-missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea on Tuesday, a U.S. defense official said, in a challenge to China’s territorial claims in the area. The official said the USS Lassen was sailing near Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly […]

Conflict between a rising power and an established power is not inevitable as most realist scholars suggest. However, in every relationship, there is a tipping point or a point of no return, and China and the United States are rapidly approaching this point. As traditional diplomatic outlets have done little to resolve the more challenging […]

China’s aggressive policy to build small islands on the South China Sea, ignoring territorial claims of fellow nations in the region, is hitting Pacific nations at a more visceral level, bringing anxiety over security. Asia-pacific region remains a flashpoint as China is gradually trying to expand its control over the common sea territories in South […]

SINGAPORE: The US appears to be moving toward a military test of China’s claims of sovereignty in disputed areas of the South China Sea, and officials here seem pleased that President Obama is prepared to put more muscle into his famous “pivot” to Asia. The US has been briefing Asian allies about its new readiness […]

U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift speaks during an interview in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015. Swift says it’s up to policymakers in Washington whether his sailors patrol within 12 nautical miles of newly constructed islands claimed by China in the South China Sea, but they are ready to do so if […]