JAKARTA – Indonesia said on Wednesday it rejected China’s claims over a disputed part of the South China Sea as “having no legal basis”, after two days earlier protesting to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard vessel in its territorial waters. The boat trespassed into Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone off the coast […]

  WHAT’s the talk to begin with? That the Philippines is not just government. It is also people. As a matter of fact, the Philippines is less government than people. With the above as guidepost, it behooves China that in rendering assistance to the Philippines, it must make sure such assistance redounds to the benefit […]

  THE manner by which China has been exerting its influence, including Beijing’s apparent attempt to impose itself abroad as of late, goes beyond the globally accepted norm that truly deserves international concern, an independent Taiwanese think tank has observed. But while the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies (CAPS) has concurred in not only […]

THE UNITED STATES has warned China against attempt to coerce Taiwan after Beijing’s new Shandong aircraft carrier sailed through the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said Shandong and accompanying frigates sailed northwards through the Strait. Taiwan will see Presidential elections on January 11 with incumbent Tsai Ing-wen facing Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang […]

  SOUTH CHINA SEA disputes have led to tense military stand-offs between the US and Chinese navies, but Beijing is gaming long-accepted rules of engagement by sending a civilian militia to harass rival ships. These civilian vessels cannot be targeted by military ships. The People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) are linked to and backed […]

  Critics demanded the release of medical bulletins, noting that transparency about the President’s health is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. But the Palace played down concerns about his health.Halfway through his term, President Rodrigo Duterte continues to hold high trust and satisfaction ratings, and extended his popularity to his allies who swept the midterm […]

  China’s first home-built aircraft carrier the Shandong has sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time since being commissioned last week, in a move seen as a flexing of military muscle against the self-ruled island ahead of its presidential election. The carrier, accompanied by its frigates, transited northwards through the waterway on Thursday, […]

  AT the core of the arbitral tribunal’s errors in its ruling was its refusal to recognize that the dispute between China and the Philippines involved sovereign claims over territory. The Philippines’ lawyers though deviously tried to package the suit as involving which country has the right maritime entitlements such as exclusive economic zones (EEZ) […]

  Key point: Chinese analysis concludes that the Soviet Navy “dealt with these situations with patience and in quite a professional way.” The “sail by” of USS Lassen within the 12 nautical mile claim line of the new Chinese facilities on Subi reef in the South China Sea occurred without major incident last week. Despite […]

  SOUTH CHINA SEA tensions between the US and China have erupted in recent years as both nations compete for superiority in the contested region. But under the radar, a third superpower, Russia, has slowly began to take note of the resource rich waters, and has even defied the US in colossal military exercises with […]