News
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A New Legal Landscape in the South China Sea
We need to fully grasp the significance of the Philippines v. China verdict. On July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration case instituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) between the Philippines and China handed out its final Award. It has […]
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The Naming of Seas is a Practical Matter
Two centuries or more of western domination of much of the world has not only redrawn the global political maps but in many cases determined place names. If that seems arcane, it is not. It was western powers that named the South China Sea, for instance. It is a name that China is now using […]
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Duterte to China ambassador: Talks should be based on Hague ruling
MANILA, Philippines — After asking Beijing to act in good faith in dealing with the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte insisted on Friday night that any upcoming bilateral talks with China be based on the arbitral tribunal’s ruling on the South China Sea dispute. The president stressed this point during an hours-long meeting with Chinese Ambassador […]
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Electronic Warfare Comes to the South China Sea (and Why it Matters)
“An information technology-based war at sea is sudden, cruel and short…” was how the Chinese military characterized a peer-to-peer naval conflict at sea in a public statement at the beginning of the month during PLAN naval exercises. The exercises, occurring in the East China Sea, were designed to increase the PLAN’s “assault intensity, precision, stability […]
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Exclusive: Vietnam moves new rocket launchers into disputed South China Sea – sources
Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking China’s runways and military installations across the vital trade route, according to Western officials. Diplomats and military officers told Reuters that intelligence shows Hanoi has shipped the launchers from the Vietnamese mainland into […]
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China Plans More Island-Building in South China Sea
State-controlled media in China recently reported that the government is trying to reach an agreement with other nations on operations in the South China Sea. Such a deal could reduce tensions in the area. However, talks on the agreement have been going on for more than ten years, with little progress. The official China Daily […]
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Claiming Dominance, China Sheds Pretense of Peaceful Rise Most of Asia stays mum as a confident China gets its own way while avoiding conflict
HONG KONG: There was a time when China tried hard to convince the world its rise is peaceful. That pretense was abandoned seven years ago when in the wake of Great Recession China thought its time had come to claim its place as controlling “all under heaven,” or tianxia in Asia. Like all great powers […]
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South China Sea as a Chinese Lake
China’s foreign policy is growing more assertive. For decades Beijing has made territorial claims in the East China and the South China Seas. But now Beijing is defending those claims; Chinese-flagged vessels increasingly enter disputed waters, extracting resources and harassing other claimants’ ships. In addition, China is constructing and militarizing artificial islands, and asserting maritime […]
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Rule of law ‘common denominator’ in maritime security
The rule of law will keep the playing field level when it comes to debating maritime security in an Asia-Pacific region charged with competing interests, international maritime law experts argue. As Asia is increasingly becoming the center of global economic growth, the region’s existing maritime security architecture needs to be improved, says Deputy Coordinating Minister […]
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The F-35 ‘will absolutely thrive’ in the most militarized region on the planet
An F-35C Lightning II on USS George Washington during F-35C Development Test III. Lockheed Martin As tensions mount in the troubled waters of the South China Sea, US might is considered crucial, and a weapon considered well suited for the region is almost ready for deployment: the F-35 Lightning II. “It will absolutely thrive in […]
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Don’t Mention South China Sea, Government Tells Asean
The National Assembly will petition Asean officials to remove a reference to the South China Sea maritime dispute from an upcoming joint statement, officials confirmed on Tuesday, a move some analysts and diplomats say will again threaten regional cohesion. The request marks just the latest such intervention dating back to 2012. Cambodia has refused to […]
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Chinese Threaten Japan, Australia Over South China Sea; Time For US FON Ops?
WASHINGTON: What are China’s intentions in the South China Sea? It’s a question intelligence analysts, diplomats and the senior leadership of the United States and its Pacific allies are all asking in the wake of a range of increasingly belligerent and threatening comments and actions by the rising global power. Perhaps most worrying is that […]