SINGAPORE—Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Saturday that North Korea posed a global threat and praised China’s efforts to influence Pyongyang, while also criticizing Beijing over its continued “militarization” of the South China Sea. President Donald Trump — who frequently denounced China on the campaign trail — has turned to Beijing to help rein in North […]
Unlike in past years, China is not likely to be in the spotlight. Instead, it’s the United States that will be in the hot seat as observers watch what it has to say about its commitment to the region. It will be all ears when General James Mattis speaks at the first plenary of the […]
Trump administration’s first freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea is a key indicator of US commitment to the region Pundits have been keeping a close eye on if, when, and how the Donald Trump administration conducts a freedom of navigation operation near disputed features in the South China Sea. The willingness to […]
These past few months, in more than one occasion, President Duterte has been quoted as criticizing Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio for “just talking” and not doing anything about the South China/West Philippine Sea dispute. What a strange thing to say about the man who has in fact done the most about the issue, to […]
The South China Sea, at least until last year, was the most important strategic issue in the Asia-Pacific, and certainly in the top five of potential global hotspots. The reasons were obvious. With China flexing its muscles in an effort to dominate one of the most important bodies of water in the world — one […]
Too many environmental organizations are betraying their ideals for the love of the yuan. Scores of Chinese dredgers ground up the coral of semisubmerged reefs in the South China Sea over the past three years to build artificial islands that are now becoming military bases. The enormity of the destruction to marine biodiversity is unprecedented. […]
Like most of the world, China is fed up with North Korea, which yesterday (May 29), in defiance of international pressure, conducted its third missile test in three weeks. The unpleasant neighbor is steadily progressing toward its goal: the ability to hit much of the world, including the US mainland, with nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. […]
THE long-running dispute between China and its rivals in the South China Sea centres on an apparently insoluble conflict: China’s maritime claims overlap with those of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Nobody wants to go to war; nobody wants to back down. To reduce the chances of armed conflict and give all claimants […]
As China and the Philippines engage in bilateral talks, Manila should revisit the South China Sea arbitral award and not sleep on its rights As a matter of inviolable principle, the Philippines should incorporate in its terms of reference for bilateral talks with China the July 12, 2016, award by the Ad Hoc Arbitral Tribunal […]
Under Xi Jinping, China has intensified its focus on “seizing discursive power” (话语权) and “propagating China’s voice” at the global level. Indeed, the recent One Belt, One Road summit in Beijing has highlighted China’s ambitions to exert its influence upon the international order—and adjust it to its own advantage. For China, this concept of discursive […]