News
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China, ASEAN aim to complete framework of South China Sea rules next year
Since 2010, China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been discussing a set of rules aimed at avoiding conflict among rival claimants in the busy waterway. Last month, an arbitration court in the Hague ruled that China had no historic title over the South China Sea and had […]
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Taiwan reasserts claim to Taiping Island
TAIPEI: Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong led a team of officials and researchers to Taiping Island on Tuesday to reaffirm Taiwan’s sovereignty over the largest naturally formed island in the Spratly Islands. “As President Tsai Ing-wen said during the July 19 national security council meeting, the ROC [Republic of China or Taiwan] remains steadfast […]
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China pledges to cut size of its massive fishing fleet due to serious threat to nation’s fish stocks
Overfishing in Chinese rivers and seas has seriously depleted stocks and the government is to cut the size of the nation’s fishing fleet, the agricultural ministry said. A well-known fishermen in Tanmen, Hainan province, said local fishermen have been told not to increase their fleet while counterparts in other provinces have been told to cut […]
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China, Philippines Consider Joint Fishing Rights In Scarborough Shoal During South China Sea Talks
Making the resource-rich Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea open to fisherman from both Beijing and Manila could help reduce the growing tensions between the two nations brought about by maritime territorial dispute. This was the statement of Wu Schicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, after talks with Former […]
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If China builds in Scarborough Shoal, it would come ‘after G20 summit’
China will not carry out any reclamation work in the Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea before hosting the G20 summit next month, but it might begin construction before the US presidential election in November, a source familiar with the matter said. Beijing would also avoid taking any provocative action in the shoal […]
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Behind Indonesia’s ambivalence in the South China Sea
The push of domestic politics With so much at stake why does Indonesia’s policy position on the South China Sea seem so ambivalent? Muhamad Arif looks at the domestic factors in play. Under President Joko Widodo – commonly known as Jokowi – Indonesian foreign and security policy has been notable for its ambivalence when it […]
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China’s $15 Billion Energy Ambitions Crushed Within Two Weeks
China’s infrastructure investors have had a tough two weeks, with plugs being pulled on at least $15 billion of potential deals in nuclear power and electricity distribution. Britain and Australia refused to sign off on investments where state-owned Chinese companies were ready to provide much-needed funding. In both cases, the long-term utility programs were halted […]
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Why the South China Sea is on the Verge of an Environmental Disaster
Of all the “strategic” challenges confronting the Asia-Pacific region, none is as underrated as the destruction of the marine ecosystem. The South China Sea’s status as a critical waterway draws attention away from the fact that littoral Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most diverse global marine bio-systems, hosting 76 percent of the world’s […]
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The Great South China Sea Cool Down?
Second, bilateral negotiations may increasingly be seen as a viable option. China’s ‘dual-track’ approach suggests that management of the South China Sea issue should be pursued at the multilateral level. It is the other track — the Chinese position of using the bilateral approach for resolving territorial disputes — that creates suspicions that China could […]
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Report: China Could Make a Big Move in the South China Sea Starting Next Month
It seems if the People’s Republic of China is going to make a push to radically alter the status-quo in the South China Sea—by reclaiming the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal that is clearly within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines—we now have a good idea of when that might happen: sometime between early […]
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China’s Defiance in the South China Sea
A billboard featuring an image of an island in South China Sea on display that reads: “South China Sea, our beautiful motherland, we won’t let go an inch”. Credit CHINATOPIX, via Associated Press No one expected last month’s international arbitration court decision to be the last word on the tug-of-war over the South China Sea […]
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Rio 2016: Does the Chinese public have a victim narrative?
Related news: According to one poll, more than 80% of the Chinese public think Rio’s judges have a sinister bias against China One week into the Olympic Games and Chinese patriots have a lot of complaints. A brief shortlist might start with judges biased against Chinese athletes. In all Rio venues, the points of the […]