BEIJING: China is capable of flying drones over the disputed South China Sea to keep a watch over the contested waters spread over 3.5 million square km. These indigenous drones will hover over the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea claimed by both China and Japan, an official said. “Many of the islands and […]
President Barack Obama’s final address to the UN General Assembly featured a pointed swipe at Beijing’s aggressive moves to militarise “a few rocks and reefs” in the South China Sea. “A peaceful resolution of disputes offered by law will mean far greater stability,” he said. Indeed, installing airstrips and missiles on reclaimed land would represent […]
Rodrigo Duterte has described any criticism from the US as a violation of Philippine sovereignty. To assert Philippine independence from the US, Duterte has openly suggested sourcing military hardware from Russia and China, writes Heydarian [Reuters]To assert Philippine independence from the US, Duterte has openly suggested sourcing military hardware from Russia and China, writes “No, […]
Last month, Japan’s defense ministry requested a record budget of about $51 billion for fiscal 2017. At the top of its security worries: China’s maritime aggression. Japan has reason to worry. In both the East China Sea and South China Sea, Tokyo faces an increasingly assertive China that looks determined to become an unfettered maritime […]
A British geographer and journalist described China’s claims to large swaths of seas and land formations off its coast are based on 20th-century events — from the Boxer Rebellion to the defeat of Japan in World War II — and not deeply rooted in its history. This assertion brought several heated questions from the audience. […]
IT IS already being described as the moment when America’s “pivot” to Asia was seen to have gone awry. Not the shock when Rodrigo Duterte, the new president of the Philippines, an American ally, caused titters by calling Barack Obama the “son of a whore”—but when he called a few days later for an end […]
Three South China Sea and maritime law experts advocated a tougher stance against illegal Chinese actions, calling for more freedom of navigation operations, possibly with regional allies, that are aimed at Chinese territorial claims that have not previously been challenged. The experts from the U.S. Naval War College and the Center for Strategic and International […]
Vietnam’s prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, concluded a six-day state visit to China last week that included meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and top legislator Zhang Dejiang. Phuc also attended the China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning and made a business-focused visit to Hong Kong. But the trip’s […]
While military deployments to the tense seas around Southern China often make headlines, China has been quietly building paramilitary forces out of their coast guard and fishing fleets. China operates the biggest fishing fleet in the world, and in the South China Sea, where its sweeping territorial claims conflict with its neighbors, Beijing uses these […]
Taiwan is building four concrete structures on the disputed Taiping Island in the South China Sea, in what might be a facility to increase its military alertness. The structures, about three to four storeys high, were found to have been built on the coastline of the west side of Taiping surrounding a circular structure still […]