Sam Galope
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China is building its first runway on a disputed island chain in the South China Sea
Airstrip, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Philippines, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAChina has begun construction of a military-length runway on an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea, according to an analysis by IHS Jane’s based on satellite imagery from Airbus Defense and Space. The runway is being constructed along the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands. According to Jane’s, the reef will be […]
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China’s New Airstrip in the South China Sea Is Almost Completed
China is close to completing the construction of an airstrip on a tiny outcrop in the South China Sea, heightening its ability to project power regionally from the disputed waters and further raising the stakes in an increasingly tense showdown between Beijing, its neighbors, and the United States. New satellite images provided to Foreign Policy […]
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Beijing’s Fait Accompli in the South China Sea
Analysis, Artificial Islands, China, Diplomatic Relations, Foreign Relations, Militarization, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAUnprecedented? Or perhaps even refreshing? For the first time, Beijing has offered a more elaborate clarification about its recent activities in the South China Sea? Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying, in response to a question posed during the ministry press conference on April 9 about Chinese land reclamation around the Meiji Reef […]
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Beijing’s South China Sea projects ‘highly disruptive’ to local ecosystems
Artificial Islands, China, Ecology, Environment, Fishing Rights, Food Security, Philippines, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, SpratlysThe Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said on April 13 that “China’s massive reclamation activities are causing irreversible and widespread damage to the biodiversity and ecological balance of the South China Sea.” It also said that the destruction of coral reef systems resulting from Beijing’s land reclamation projects is estimated to lead to economic losses […]
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Binay: ‘China has money, we need capital’
MANILA, Philippines – In a preview of his approach toward China if elected president, Vice President Jejomar Binay stressed China’s economic might as he pushed for bilateral talks between Manila and Beijing over the disputed South China Sea. “May pera po ang China, kailangan po natin ng kapital (China has money, we need capital),” Binay […]
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Why China will never be Asia’s dominant power
China may be Asia’s economic powerhouse but it won’t become the region’s dominant power, according to a new report. “In examining the factors that go towards the development of Chinese national power-and its ability to use it to achieve national objectives-predictions about a Chinese superpower with the ability to dominate Asia would be premature, if […]