The debate over maritime jurisdiction is an old one. The ornate Tower of Belém, with its faded ivory parapets, still stands proudly above the Tagus River, a monument to a distant era. Built in 1502 to commemorate Vasco da Gama’s expedition to the East Indies, the fortress was the final gateway navigators would pass before […]

“Vietnam should be able to access US weapons that would improve its ability to network its defence systems especially in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and maritime domain awareness. This would create a link between the US and Vietnamese national defence industries,” Professor Carl Thayer, a leading expert on Southeast Asia at the Australian Defence Forces Academy […]

Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte talked to United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday night, May 17, 2016, regarding the status of the South China Sea dispute. During the 5-minute telephone conversation initiated by Obama at 11:15 p.m. to congratulate Duterte on his successful presidential bid, the Davao City mayor said he is hoping for a […]

NEW THINKING President Obama visits Vietnam and Japan this week. The US approach to security in the region is shifting as its friends in the region forge new ties among themselves. PARIS — President Barack Obama’s visit to Hanoi is doubtless replete with historic and symbolic significance. He may even offer to sell America’s old […]

Wilkerson on Heightened Tensions in the South China SeaSHARMINI PERIES, TRNN: It’s the Real News Network. I’m Sharmini Peries coming to you from Baltimore. Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a US military aircraft over the South China Sea on Tuesday. The incident happened in international air space. The US maritime reconnaissance aircraft carried out a […]

China said on Friday more than 40 countries support its position on an international legal case brought by the Philippines over its claims in the South China Sea. China refuses to recognize the Philippine case and says all disputes should be resolved through bilateral talks. Beijing has stepped up its rhetoric ahead of an expected […]

Senior Army and Pentagon strategists and planners are considering ways to fire existing weapons platforms in new ways around the globe – including the possible placement of mobile artillery units in areas of the South China Sea to, if necessary, function as air-defense weapons to knock incoming rockets and cruise missiles out of the sky. […]

NEW DELHI: China has upped the ante on its claims in the South China Sea region ahead of President Pranab Mukherjee’s four-day trip to the country from May 24, objecting to the presence of Indian Navy ships in the region where it has significantly expanded its presence since 2009 through artificial islands and military presence. […]

By the Pentagon’s account, two Chinese fighter jets performed an “unsafe” maneuver this week by flying within 50 feet of an American surveillance plane over the South China Sea. That’s not much more than a hairbreadth, aeronautically speaking, and a collision could have been catastrophic — to the crews and to the already fragile diplomatic […]

When big countries reach agreement, small countries may pay the price, says Ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan in a speech he delivered in Tokyo this week. The excerpt below includes notes prepared in anticipation of questions. President Xi Jinping has termed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) role as leading the “Great Rejuvenation” of the Chinese nation after […]