The Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait constitute critical chokepoints for Chinese military operations both along and beyond the so-called first island chain. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) over the past four years has been stepping up the operational tempo of military exercises around two strategically pivotal waterways—the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait—that guard the […]
WASHINGTON: Maritime operations, missile tests, landing exercises – the Pentagon has been sharply stepping up its efforts to counter China’s growing military power, seen increasingly as a threat. On Friday, an American warship approached the Paracel Islands, an island chain claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, to affirm international “freedom of navigation” […]
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte frowns upon a “multilateral approach” to resolve the South China Sea dispute and will push for a deal with another claimant country, his spokesman said last week. Both Mr. Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping think involving other claimant-countries or a third party such as the United Nations won’t resolve […]
(FPRI) — About 80 km off the northwest coast of Palawan Island in the South China Sea is the Malampaya natural gas field, the Philippines’ main domestic source of energy. Once piped ashore, its natural gas fuels five power plants, which provide half of the electricity supply for the Philippines’ most populous island of […]
WASHINGTON, United States — The US Navy said that one of its destroyers had sailed close to the Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Friday, asserting international freedom of navigation rights in the contested waters. The USS Wayne E. Meyer guided-missile destroyer passed through the area of the Paracels east of […]
BANGKOK – Vietnam, locked in one of its most protracted test of wills with China of late, is trying to allay fears that yet another foreign joint venture energy project in the South China Sea may be canned due to pressure from Beijing. The question over American firm ExxonMobil’s involvement in the Ca Voi […]
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines conducted naval drills with Vietnam and Brunei in the waters adjacent to the South China Sea, while en route to the site of the first-ever maritime exercises between the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) and the United States. The Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam are three of the four members of […]
Major European nations are seeking to raise their profile in the Asia-Pacific, with freedom of navigation operations and concern about rising tensions in the South China Sea signalling their desire to remain relevant in the region, analysts say. “Until a few years ago, European countries preferred to keep a low profile on regional security […]
Administration and opposition congressmen have filed a bill proposing to establish the archipelagic sea lanes of the country in a bid to prevent a repeat of the controversy brought about by the passage of Chinese warships in Philippine waters without prior clearance from Manila. Three bills on the archipelagic sea lanes were filed separately by […]
Time and space precluded a somewhat exhaustive discussion of the topic tackled in this column last time out: Analogy discloses US evil hand. And although a reader lauded the article as “quite an enlightening piece,” saying “America can never be trusted,” I nonetheless feel obliged to elaborate further on matters either completely left unsaid […]