MANILA, March 22 (Reuters) – The Philippines will start building a marine base next month on its northernmost uninhabited island, near Taiwan, to boost defence arrangements and discourage poachers from its fishing grounds, a military spokesman said on Thursday. The two nations’ coast guard ships have confronted each other in the rich fishing waters where […]

SYDNEY – Indonesia has lobbied Southeast Asian countries to carry out maritime patrols in the disputed South China Sea, claimed in most part by China, to improve security, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said on Friday. Indonesia says it’s a nonclaimant state in the South China Sea dispute, but has clashed with China over fishing rights […]

The eastern Mediterranean Sea has become a very busy place, and pressure abounds among coastal neighbors there. Governments are declaring exclusive economic zones (EEZs), but they overlap. States are granting duplicate licenses for natural gas exploration and drilling. Mammoth energy corporations and coastal states are signing hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of hydrocarbon agreements. […]

While it’s no secret that China has been intensifying its building frenzy, including military installations on islands, reefs and inlets in the heavily disputed South China Sea, it is also becoming increasingly clear that Beijing is not afraid to draw a line in the sand over these mostly dubious claims. Late last week, while downplaying […]

SYDNEY • Indonesia has lobbied South-east Asian countries to carry out maritime patrols in the disputed South China Sea, claimed in most part by China, to improve security, Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said yesterday. Indonesia said it is a non-claimant state in the South China Sea dispute. However, it has clashed with China over fishing […]

The Carl Vinson Strike Group, led by the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Carl Vinson, kicked off a bilateral naval exercise that includes practicing joint anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) in the South China Sea on March 11. The USS Carl Vinson and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer […]

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group has kicked off bilateral exercises with the Maritime Self-Defense Force, including one of the largest vessels in Japan’s fleet, in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Navy said Tuesday. The navy, which said the Vinson was on a “regularly scheduled deployment in the Western Pacific,” said […]

Bishop, in a speech ahead of a special meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Sydney, will not name China but will argue that international law will stabilize a region strained by rival claims in the South China Sea. “The rules-based order is designed to regulate behavior and rivalries of and […]

More Chinese assertiveness and unilateralism are coming. Recently, worrying developments have emerged that oblige the United States to further challenge China to become a more responsible global stakeholder that contributes positively to the international system. Otherwise, passivity and acquiescence undermine the new U.S. National Security Strategy; reinforce Beijing’s growing belief that Washington is a declining […]

Many of us are familiar with the term “Stockholm Syndrome.” In 1973, four people were taken hostage in Stockholm. Despite their ordeal, the hostages spoke well of their captors and refused to testify against them in court. The term was eventually applied to victims of abuse who refuse to take action against their abusers. This […]