On June 21, the United States and China held their first-ever Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington. The dialogue, co-chaired on the American side by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, is a new iteration of engagement that evolved from the April meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese […]
t’s all in the name, according to President Rodrigo Duterte. The fact that the South China Sea is named such reflects the historical claim of China to it, he said. STATEMENT In an ambush interview April 27 at Malacañang, Duterte told journalists: “They really claim it as their own, noon pa iyan. Hindi lang talaga […]
Since 2013, China has been engaged in an ambitious program of island building on the coral reefs and atolls of the Spratly Islands, a disputed island chain in the South China Sea. The program is part of an effort to bolster Chinese claims of sovereignty in the region, which overlap with those of five other […]
China has announced plans to set up a submarine observation network that will explore the seabed of the disputed East and South China Sea regions, the first of its kind. Chinese state media outlet Xinhua news reported that the project would collect data to be analyzed in Shanghai, and will be completed within five years […]
Australian leader warns that coercion risks provoking Asia-wide resistance Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull highlighted the dilemmas facing so-called “middle power” countries in his most significant address on regional affairs at the Shangri- La Dialogue meeting in Singapore of top defense officials. Some of what Turnbull said in his June 2 speech was familiar: the […]
Beijing’s man-made islands in the South China Sea are now bristling with military hardware as the country seeks to build more bases overseas, a US report says. The base on the hotly-contested Spratly Islands has been outfitted with 24 fighter-sized hangars, runways, water and fuel storage, a large port, communications equipment, fixed-weapon positions and a […]
Beijing’s man-made islands in the South China Sea are now bristling with military hardware as the country seeks to build more bases overseas, a US report says. The base on the hotly-contested Spratly Islands has been outfitted with 24 fighter-sized hangars, runways, water and fuel storage, a large port, communications equipment, fixed-weapon positions and a […]
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is fighting two wars: a diplomatic war in the South China Sea, and a real war against corruption and drug trafficking at home. He doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing in either of them, leaving the country deeply confused, divided, and at odds with friends and neighbors. That’s something investors […]
The U.S. government is challenging China over its dominant position in Asia’s major maritime sovereignty dispute, but those moves, after months of silence, are seen as aimed at reassuring nervous Southeast Asian countries rather than as a major anti-Beijing pivot. President Donald Trump has shelved the South China Sea issue for most of his nearly […]
The results of the 30th ASEAN Summit, held in Manila on April 29, were somewhat disappointing—though not surprising. The chairman’s statement did not come close to addressing the ongoing concerns of reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea, and in fact did not even mention them (in contrast to recent statements in Laos and […]