Typhoon Nida is barreling through the South China Sea, after dumping over 300 millimeters of rain on the Philippines over the weekend. As Hong Kong braces for landfall sometime tonight (Aug. 1), some controversial, much-less-populated landmasses may already be feeling the brunt of the storm. That’s because in the past few years China has rapidly […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s president on Monday apologized on behalf of the government to the island’s aboriginal peoples for 400 years of conquest and colonization, saying the facing of difficult historical facts was necessary for society to move forward. Tsai Ing-wen said her government wished to “take a further step” and offer its “fullest apology.” […]
As the typhoon season rages, Chinese officials will be keeping a nervous eye on the weather. The runways and harbours built on rocks and reefs in the South China Sea may be as physically precarious as the legal basis to the maritime claims they epitomise. John McManus of the University of Miami reckons the “supertyphoons” […]
France is pressing its allies in the European Union (EU) — especially Germany and the United Kingdom (despite Brexit) — to establish joint EU naval patrols of the South China Sea. France is urging the 27-nation EU to coordinate naval patrols in the South China Sea to ensure a “regular and visible” presence in the […]
U.S. Navy Chief Says He’ll Keep Sailing in South China Sea There have been some tense moments between U.S. and Chinese forces in the South China Sea over the past several months, with China’s fighters buzzing American surveillance planes and its warships shadowing American aircraft carriers in international waters. And a high-level meeting between top […]
“All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down,” Friedrich Nietzsche once claimed. Words do matter — and in international diplomacy, they can sometimes spell the difference between neglectful chaos and principled order. After securing a landmark legal victory against China in […]
WARPATH: China said Australia was ideal for its first strike Slamming the Aussies’ decision to take America’s side in a territorial dispute, China lashed out at its neighbour. In an article for the state-run Global Times paper, Australia was mocked for its “inglorious history” as an “offshore prison of the UK”. The editorial then described […]
On 12 July 2016, the Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) located at The Hague in the Netherlands passed judgement on the case of the Republic of the Philippines V. the People’s Republic of China. The Award, concerning the historic rights and maritime entitlements […]
Starting today, I will open every Observer column with a section called “First Read.” It will feature and highlight stories and issues that demand urgent commentary and publication. In style, it will be like the front-page “Good Morning” column that I used to write for a now defunct newspaper (Philippine Daily Globe), and which some […]
China has reiterated its commitment to defending its sovereignty amid new tensions over its territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea. Defense minister Chang Wanquan told a reception on Sunday that China would firmly safeguard its “state sovereignty, national security and development interests.” Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Territorial […]