VIENTIANE — The Department of National Defense released pictures on Wednesday showing what it said were Chinese boats near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, just hours before leaders of Southeast Asian nations were due to meet China’s premier in Laos. There was no explanation for the timing of the release, but […]

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte attends a welcome dinner at the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos September 6, 2016. If you’re a historic U.S. ally under mounting pressure from an emerging superpower like China, it’s probably not a good idea to use a crude sexual epithet to describe the American president. Filipino leader Rodrigo Duterte, though, […]

The motion filed with the International Union for Conservation of Nature recommends the suspension of the ‘exploitation of natural resources’ in the disputed sea MANILA, Philippines – A motion to create a “marine peace park” in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) has been filed with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). […]

The Philippines said on Wednesday “back-channel talks” were underway to clarify the alleged presence of Chinese ships near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. The Philippine government released pictures of the ships in the Scarborough Shoal area to the media just hours before Southeast Asian leaders, including President Rodrigo Duterte, met with Chinese […]

(Scarborough) Shoal off the coast of Zambales last week have remained in the area based on an aerial monitoring over the shoal, according to an official. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said it is possible that China is pushing through with its plan to conduct reclamation in the shoal, which a UN-backed arbitral court has declared […]

Southeast Asian leaders meet amid tension over Beijing’s increasingly assertive claims to territory in South China Sea. Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker The Philippines and Japan have both expressed serious concern over China’s actions in the South China Sea at a regional meeting of Asian leaders in Laos. Hours before leaders of the 10-member […]

On October 27, 2015, the USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef and other features in the Spratlys. The Lassen’s operation was the first of three innocent passage freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) served up by the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea since China constructed […]

Relatively minor achievement underscores difficulty in resolving competing territorial claims in the area VIENTIANE, Laos—China and Southeast Asian nations agreed to create a telephone hotline as a fresh step to help avoid accidental military clashes in the South China Sea. Wednesday’s relatively minor achievement, however, only underscored the continuing difficulty in resolving the competing territorial […]

MANILA – The situation in Scarborough Shoal “has not changed” and China is not building an artificial island in the disputed area, China said in a statement on Wednesday. “There are no dredging or building activities there,” said the Chinese Embassy in Manila, dismissing speculations that barges spotted by the Philippines in the West Philippine […]

The Philippines released photos Wednesday to back its claims that China had secretly begun work to cement control over a crucial shoal in the hotly contested South China Sea. The release of the images, which claimed to show Chinese ships preparing to build an artificial island on Scarborough Shoal, came hours ahead of a meeting […]