IMOA
-
SOUTH CHINA SEA | INDONESIA VOWS MORE DECISIVE ACTION AFTER CHINESE SHIP SPAT
Illegal fishing vessel Viking, which was seized by Indonesia’s Navy, is anchored next to Indonesian navy ship KRI Sutanto before its sinking on the waters off Pangandaran, West Java Illegal fishing vessel Viking, which was seized by Indonesia’s Navy, is anchored next to Indonesian navy ship KRI Sutanto before its sinking on the waters off Pangandaran, West Java Indonesia said…
-
Hong Kong-Based Legal Organization Challenges S China Sea Arbitration
Weeks ahead of an expected decision by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on a legal challenge by the Philippines against China’s claims to the South China Sea, a Hong Kong-based institute has produced a 41-page legal document making the case that the dispute lies outside the court’s jurisdiction. The amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief was submitted on…
-
China is threatening to leave a major UN sea treaty—and there’s nothing the US can say about it
Over 160 countries and the European Union have signed on to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). The United States, however, has long declined to do so. Now, China has indicated that it might exit the convention if an upcoming ruling by an international tribunal runs counter to its questionable position: that nearly the entire…
-
China’s militarization of the South China Sea: Building a strategic strait?
The UN arbitration court will soon rule on the case, brought by the Philippines against China, over who owns the Scarborough Shoal, located in the South China Sea (SCS). It is all but certain that China will reject the ruling, no matter what it says, because Beijing has already decided that the SCS is a Chinese lake, subject to its…
-
Dozens of countries support China’s stance on South China Sea: FM
BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) — Dozens of countries have expressed support for China’s stance on the South China Sea dispute, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Tuesday. Hua at a regular news briefing rejected reports that only eight countries back China on the issue, saying, “I knew some Western media sometimes call black white but I didn’t expect they…
-
Natuna Islands: Indonesia says no ‘overlapping’ South China Sea claims with China
On Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry said the two nations do not have any territorial disputes, but there were some overlapping claims on “maritime rights and interests”. But Jakarta has objected to China’s inclusion of waters around the Indonesian-ruled Natuna Islands within a “nine-dash line” Beijing marks on maps to show its claim on the body of water. “Our position is…
-
Traditional fishing: A game changer in the SCS?
Indonesia’s recent diplomatic protest to China over the resumption of alleged illegal trans-border fishing near the waters of the Natuna Islands marks a new episode of conflict management in the South China Sea. The scholar Ann Marie Murphy in 2014 predicted the unavoidable “game changer” in the South China Sea after Indonesia officially protested China’s “nine-dash line” map at the…
-
US on offensive over South China Sea
Any day now, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to hand down its ruling in the Philippines case against China over its claims in the South China Sea. US Navy chief Admiral John Richardson said it wasn’t very often two aircraft carriers and their strike groups were sent to the same place for training. “For anyone…
-
Duterte to United States: Are you with us or not with us?
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – If an international court deems the Philippines is right to claim the disputed South China Sea, will the United States help the Philippines exercise its rights? President-elect Rodrigo Duterte voiced out this concern during a business forum on Tuesday, June 21, in Davao City. He revealed that he has asked this question to US Ambassador Philip…
-
Beijing: Japanese Judge Means South China Sea Tribunal Is Biased
Tensions over competing territorial claims in the resource-rich South China Sea have spiked in recent months as claimant countries, including China and the Philippines, await an upcoming decision by an international tribunal. That body, located at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, is widely expected to rule in the Philippines’ favor. But China has repeatedly stated that it…