U.S. Vice President Joe Biden left some none-too-subtle hints that America would intervene in the South China Sea dispute if needed, and potentially laid the groundwork for a request that Australia join the fray also. Biden’s speech at Sydney’s Paddington Town Hall was the centrepiece of a whirlwind Australian visit, where he focused on emphasising […]

MANILA, Philippines – Taiwan wants to be included in multilateral talks on the South China Sea, saying it has turned out to be a “victim” of the ruling by a UN-backed arbitral tribunal dismissing China’s “nine-dash-line” historical claim as “illegal.” Gary Song-Huann Lin, representative of Taiwan in the Philippines, said the July 12 ruling of […]

BEIJING — Amid China’s outrage over an international tribunal that rejected its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the country is using new language that some experts say shows Beijing wants to be more flexible. But it is too late? China has been on a public relations offensive to discredit The Hague-based tribunal that […]

“Chinese coastguard vessels harass our survey ships.” The Philippines, eager to resume development of vital oil and gas reserves off its coast, will likely need to reach an accord with a Chinese government infuriated by last week’s ruling that granted Manila a big victory in the South China Sea. The Philippines relies overwhelmingly on imports […]

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr is set to raise the South China Sea issue before his counterparts at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. In a statement Friday, July 22, the DFA said, “The Secretary will share the Philippines’ perspectives on ASEAN […]

China has frequently called on states to follow and apply the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in good faith. Not so long ago, in 2009, China repeated the call when objecting to Japan’s claim of an extended continental shelf based on Oki-no-Tori, a tiny feature in the Philippine Sea. China […]

In this reply to Professor Graham Allison, the writer argues that it is in the interest of both small states and great powers to abide by international law. Professor Graham Allison is a brilliant scholar. He is currently the director of the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Harvard […]

Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. U.S…. U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice will urge Beijing next […]

Biden gave a pep talk to the aircraft carrier’s crew, stressing the importance of their role in maintaining law of the sea navigation rights. In October 2015, the U.S. began freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, sending warships, including the aircraft carrier, within the 12-mile territorial zone of artificial islands China has […]

Last week, days after The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded the Philippines a victory in its case against China in the dispute over rights to the South China Sea, Beijing began a massive public relations campaign to press its position. Part of China’s campaign includes shoring up international support to denounce the ruling and […]