The Philippines has relinquished its legal win over the right to territory in the South China Sea, handing a significant victory to China in its claim to sovereignty over the strategically important shipping lane. Manila and Beijing are negotiating a deal that would enable them jointly to exploit an underwater oil and gas field. In […]

In August 2018, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte did something unusual: he publicly criticized China. He asserted that China did not have the right to drive away aircraft and ships passing by its man-made islands in the South China Sea. He explained that no country can create an island and then claim sovereignty over the airspace […]

China claims to have successfully tested a new sea plane, purportedly the largest in the world, and while its primary purposes are firefighting and water rescue, this new aircraft could be used to advance the country’s ambitions in the disputed South China Sea. The AG600 Kunlong, a domestically-built Chinese aircraft roughly the size of a […]

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday gave assurances of the constitutionality of a planned joint exploration agreement between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). In a news conference following the DFA’s 2019 national budget hearing, Foreign Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said, “Rest assured that we are […]

THE UNITED States risks infuriating China after American warships performed a military exercise in the hotly contested South China Sea with Japan. The Ronald Reagan Strike Group operated a gathering of its magnificent aircraft carriers on waters the Chinese are notoriously territorial about. Up to five ships were spotted in the waters and surrounding areas […]

A former Nato supreme allied commander has called on Indo-Pacific countries to take “collective action” to tackle China’s rising sea power and military expansion in the region. But instead of taking a hostile approach, the action should be carried out in smart and diplomatic ways, James Stavridis, a retired US Navy admiral, said on Thursday. […]

Trump is escalating conflicts in many parts of the world, but the left can’t lose sight of the one — with China — that could overshadow them all, writes Khury Petersen-Smith. ON AUGUST 18, between a tirade against CNN and MSNBC and a defense of trade tariffs, Donald Trump tweeted: All of the fools that […]

MANILA, Philippines — Insisting that its island-building activities in the South China Sea are for civilian purposes, Beijing accused Washington of “ignoring” its positive efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region. Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesperson Senior Col. Wu Qian maintained that China’s deployment of facilities are “reasonable and legitimate.” “For a period […]

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Floating Chinese nuclear power plants stationed in the South China Sea would help Beijing fortify its claims in a decades-old maritime sovereignty dispute, but come with environmental risks, scholars say. China plans to power some of its claimed islets with nuclear energy, the U.S. Department of Defense recently told Congress in an […]

MANILA – The Philippines notified China about a Philippine Navy frigate that ran aground in the South China Sea to avoid any misunderstanding because the incident happened near a hotly disputed region, three Philippine officials said Friday. The BRP Gregorio del Pilar ran aground during a routine patrol Wednesday night in the vicinity of Half […]