KUALA LUMPUR – Southeast Asian countries withdrew a statement that expressed the region’s deep concerns over tension in the South China Sea, where China is involved in protracted territorial disputes with some of its neighbors. The strongly-worded statement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), released by the Malaysian foreign ministry, did not name […]

BEIJING — Even before a ruling, China may have lost by refusing to cooperate with a UN arbitration tribunal over its South China Sea claims. Yet Beijing seems prepared to absorb the cost to its reputation, confident that in terms of territory and resources, it won’t lose a thing. Despite pressure from Washington and elsewhere, […]

A Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy Type 815 Dongdiao-class spy ship entered Japanese territorial waters on Wednesday, according to Japan’s defense ministry. The move is the first of its kind since 2004, when a Chinese nuclear submarine entered Japan’s 12 nautical mile territorial sea near Sakishima Islands, in Okinawa prefecture. According to a Kyodo News report […]

The looming ruling of the International Tribunal in The Hague on the complaint filed by the Philippines against China concerning islands in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) will bring peace between countries, incoming Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque said. Roque made the prediction in his speech at the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) […]

During the latest edition of Shangri-La Dialogue, which gathers defense ministers and leading experts from around the world in Singapore annually, I couldn’t but not notice that the Philippines’ arbitration case against China was a major theme in formal and informal exchanges among participants. Though we got among the weakest armed forces in Southeast Asia, […]

A meeting in China of foreign ministers from Southeast Asian nations over the South China Sea ended in confusion after Malaysia released and then retracted a joint statement expressing “serious concerns” over developments in the disputed waterway. The disarray raises fresh questions about unity within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ahead of an […]

BEIJING – China expressed thanks on Tuesday for the dozens of countries it says have offered support for its position on a case brought by the Philippines over Chinese claims in the South China Sea, saying they are speaking out to uphold justice. China has stepped up its rhetoric ahead of an expected ruling by […]

Ahead of the ruling of the international tribunal that hears the territorial dispute case lodged by the Philippines against China over issues in South China Sea, Indonesia is framing its official stance on this heated dispute? Will Indonesia support China or the Philippines? With this, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered its official to frame […]

Foreign ministers from China and the ten-member Association of South-East Asian Nations gather today in Kunming, in south-west China. Their minds, as ever, will be on the nerve-jangling South China Sea, where China continues to turn disputed features into man-made islands. The meeting follows a rare public row: China claimed a “consensus” with three of […]

Expect Beijing to lash out if a ruling on South China Sea claims goes against it SHANGHAI—In the countdown to a legal verdict on China’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea, an increasingly frantic Beijing is mobilizing a diplomatic offensive around three core arguments: that the U.N.-backed tribunal has no legal right to hear […]