While the situation in the South China Sea is not as tense as it has sometimes been before, China has kept consolidating its position. At the 51st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM 51) in Singapore earlier this month, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced that ASEAN and China have successfully adopted a single draft negotiating text […]

The South China Sea is a major trade route for crude oil, and in 2016, more than 30% of global maritime crude oil trade, or about 15 million barrels per day (b/d), passed through the South China Sea, according to a new report by the EIA. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Clipper Crude […]

Marites D. Vitug’s new book, “Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case Against China,” tells the story like a film thriller. It begins in three time zones on July 12, 2016, the day of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision. Waiting for the 5 a.m. e-mail from The Hague was the law […]

I have always said that for a people to be truly civilized, they must learn the value of reading books. It is obvious that a lot of people are very vocal about their positions on political and economic issues; but betray their shallow ignorance when they start explaining their positions. Others simply argue or resort […]

IN A small coastal town in the South China Sea, just 4200 kilometres from Darwin, China is building a facility designed to shoot radio waves into Earth’s upper atmosphere. China says it’s for scientific purposes. But critics aren’t entirely convinced. Researcher in the field of ionospheric science are excited about the prospect of learning more […]

A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: ——— EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in […]

President Duterte has warned China against drilling for oil and other resources in the West Philippine Sea, saying it could lead to war. West Philippine Sea is the local name of the waters within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone in the heavily disputed South China Sea. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, […]

It’s about Beijing’s ambitions, not about concerns over America’s FONOPs. People’s Republic of China (PRC) government-affiliated academic Hu Bo published an essay entitled “No One Lost the South China Sea (And No One Will)” in The National Interest on August 20. That article makes a relatively sophisticated defense of Beijing’s agenda in this maritime territorial […]

HANOI: A Vietnamese website, which only works when users correctly answer a quiz about disputed islands in the South China Sea, has infuriated scores of television fans in China desperate to catch the latest episode of a popular Chinese period drama. The drama – “The Story of Yanxi Palace” – has attracted a huge following […]

Over the South China Sea (CNN)One by one, the naval aviators and journalists lost contact with the outside world, dropping our cell phones into a large black bag. For the next eight hours, we would be monitoring and documenting Chinese military buildup in the South China Sea, and those we’re watching could use those cell […]