TOKYO/HANOI (AFP, REUTERS) – Japan has lodged a protest with China over what it described as suspicious activity in a maritime area rich in gas deposits in the East China Sea, officials said Tuesday (Aug 1), while Vietnam condemned China’s construction and operation of a movie theatre on the Paracel islands in the disputed […]
The hype surrounding the UK’s future role on the issue needs to be put into proper perspective. Late last week, a series of remarks by British officials about the country’s future actions in the South China Sea quickly reverberated across the world, prompting headlines that suggested a more muscular role by the Britain in the […]
Besides celebrating the organisation’s half century of existence, the parley also brings together top diplomats from non-members such as the US, China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, India, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and participants in forums such as the Asean Plus Three, the East Asia Summit and the Asean Regional Forum. China and Asean […]
Communist Party mouthpiece praises president’s tough stance on maritime disputes with Asian neighbours An editorial on Friday in Study Times – put out by the Central Party School, the Communist Party’s top academy – was the latest to lavish praise on Xi for his tough stance on territorial issues with the country’s Asian neighbours. “[President […]
A year ago on 12 July 2016, the Arbitral Tribunal handed down its award on the claims brought by the Philippines against China over their maritime disputes in the Spratly Islands. The Tribunal ruled unanimously on almost all of the Philippines’ claims. If China and the Philippines had complied with the findings of the award, […]
It seems that after India, Britain has now come in the firing line of the hawkish Chinese state media. The reason is another territorial dispute – the South China Sea – where China is flexing its muscles, like it’s trying to do with India in the Doklam dispute. Britain has announced it will send its […]
As chairman of ASEAN’s 50th year this 2017, Manila can lead the crafting of a long-delayed Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. In this role it must stay focused on the aim of such COC not for dispute settlement but as war prevention. The wordings must be precise, admonishes Supreme Court Senior Justice […]
UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson commits ‘colossal’ carriers to embarking on freedom of navigation exercises in pointed remarks Boris Johnson has committed the UK’s two brand new aircraft carriers to freedom of navigation exercises in the fiercely contested waters of the South China Sea. In a pointed declaration aimed squarely at China, whose island-building and […]
In this July 18, 2017, file photo, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, left, talks with her Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj as they leave for a delegation level meeting in New Delhi, India. AP Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said during a visit to India that her country continues to oppose China’s efforts to […]
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said during a visit to India that her country continues to oppose China’s efforts to reclaim and develop man-made islands in the South China Sea. However, in her speech Tuesday to a forum in New Delhi, Bishop appeared to discourage direct confrontation. “Our objective must be to encourage China to exercise its […]