Tensions surrounding the South China Sea have always been largely about oil and natural gas. But it’s often been argued that the strategic shipping lanes carrying Middle East hydrocarbons to East Asia are what really matter, whereas the sea’s own energy resources are relatively modest and unproven. That argument has become a bit less tenable. […]

MANILA — A Supreme Court associate justice on Friday said the administration’s path to diplomacy in handling the South China Sea dispute with China fits into the core policy objectives of the international law system. SC Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza, during the 7th Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law in Novotel, Manila, […]

  MANILA – A Chinese survey ship that was seen earlier this month sailing east of the Philippines was spotted once again inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ), maritime experts have confirmed. Chinese oceanographic survey ship “Zhangjian” entered the Philippines’ EEZ, said Ryan Martinson, Assistant Professor of the Chinese Maritime Studies Institute at the […]

  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will visit China next week, Beijing announced on Friday, after Duterte threatened to cancel talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping if he could not discuss South China Sea disputes. In a brief statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said Duterte would visit China for five days from August 28 at the […]

  HANOI: Australia’s prime minister on Friday (Aug 23) urged nations in Asia to stand up for their “independence and sovereignty”, with tensions high in the disputed South China Sea where Beijing is under fire for increasingly bullish behaviour. Scott Morrison’s comments came after the United States slammed China for its “escalation” in the waterway, […]

  WASHINGTON—The United States on Thursday sharpened its criticism of China’s activities in disputed areas of the South China Sea, slamming an “escalation” in efforts to intimidate other claimants” such as Vietnam. China redeployed a government-owned survey vessel — with armed escorts — into the waters off Vietnam earlier this month, the US said. Hanoi […]

  MIYAKO, Japan — A high-stakes “game of chicken” is playing out in the East China Sea, as Beijing pokes and provokes Tokyo with an intensifying campaign of aerial and maritime encroachments designed to challenge Japan’s control of disputed islands. Every day, around the clock, Japan scrambles fighter jets and dispatches coast guard vessels to […]

  As their trade and technology tensions spread into currency manipulation, the geostrategic rivalry between the U.S. and China is fast becoming a nonmilitary war. It is no longer about trade tariffs and proprietary technologies but involves the full range of mercantilist practices to counter an adversary. While this titanic tussle is reminiscent of the […]

  Sino-Philippine ties are showing signs of cooling since the two countries made friends in 2016, according to a recent survey on how much Filipinos trust their powerful Asian neighbor. Social Weather Stations, the Metro Manila research institution behind that survey, released new numbers last month saying people’s trust had fallen to a one-year low. […]

  MANILA, Philippines — Bayan Muna party-list representatives have filed a resolution seeking a probe into the security implications of Chinese investors’ plan to develop three strategic islands in the northern Philippines. Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Zarate, Eufemia Cullamat, and Ferdinand Gaite, in filing House Resolution No. 254, said security concerns on the projects are […]