News
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Solons support backdoor talks to help resolve PH-China row
Lawmakers are seeing backdoor negotiations as among the “effective” peaceful strategies that could be employed to help resolve the long-standing dispute between Manila and Beijing over the West Philippine Sea. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Deputy Speaker and Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao and AKO Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe said “behind-the-scenes negotiations” could ease the tension […]
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The end of China’s soft power?
he views expressed in this article are the author’s own and not necessarily those of China Daily Mail: “Will China invade its neighbours?” This is a question I tend to be bombarded with whenever I present lectures or attend talks on East Asian affairs. From Tehran to Tokyo, one can sense the growing anxiety towards […]
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Chinese Military Increases Scope of Cyberattacks on the US
After several major cyberattacks were traced to the Chinese military in February 2013, hackers in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have not only continued their attacks against the United States, but they are attacking on an even larger scale, and with greater frequency. “Across numerous industries, we’ve increasingly observed the Chinese government conduct expansive intrusion […]
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Growing Muscle: China’s Neighbors Gear Up for a Fight
China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Militarization, Modernization, Phiippines, South China Sea Dispute, Taiwan, VietnamTAIPEI — The Asia-Pacific naval market is heating up, with massive quantities of new ships to boost regional navies in coming years. According to AMI International, a US-based naval analysis firm, Asia-Pacific has already surpassed Europe as the world’s second largest naval market. AMI projects the region will spend $200 billion on new ships and […]
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China Mixing Military Modernization, ‘Tailored Coercion’
TAIPEI — China’s military modernization efforts over the past 20 years have been marked by broad efforts, according to an expert, as opposed to focusing on specific services. “So, we see new naval forces, air forces, ground forces and missile forces,” said Dean Cheng, a China military specialist at the Heritage Foundation. That level of […]
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Tighter Budgets Limit Southeast Asian Plans
China, Indonesia, Militarization, Modernization, Philippines, Singapore, South China Sea Dispute, Taiwan, VietnamTAIPEI — In much of Southeast Asia, budgets are smaller and ambitions more limited compared with neighbors to the north, and many countries are trying to rid themselves of much older equipment. But Singapore and Vietnam are generally better equipped and have more extensive plans. Malaysia: Shifting Plans Tight budgets are forcing Kuala Lumpur to […]
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US helped PH Navy in Ayungin mission
Ayungin Shoal, BRP Sierra Madre, China, Military Presence, Mutual Defense, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, USAMANILA, Philippines – The US assisted the Philippine Navy in the tense mission to rotate troops trapped for 5 months in the disputed Ayungin Shoal following China’s “blockade,” Philippine Ambassador to US Jose Cuisia Jr. said Friday, April 11. (READ: China harasses ship before pleading day and Ayungin trip ‘betrays’ PH intent) “I don’t specifically […]
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Kishida: Japan backs Philippine lawsuit
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has told his Philippine counterpart that Japan supports a case that the Philippines filed against China over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, according to sources. Kishida held talks with Albert del Rosario on Friday during his visit to Hiroshima to attend a foreign ministers’ meeting for the Nonproliferation […]
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China’s maritime space being carved up: official
China is facing serious challenges to its maritime rights, with its resources being plundered and seas carved up, a senior oceanic official said Friday. Some islands have been encroached on and the security of strategic thoroughfares is threatened. Various conflicts have occurred in China’s waters, said Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), […]
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FISHER: Shades of Berlin in the South China Sea
Dictatorial regimes are subjecting the democratic West to two spectacles of weakness: the seeming inability to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine and to counter China’s aggression in the South China Sea. In both cases, a failure to respond will only invite a greater challenge and the specter of war. While the Obama administration and our […]
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Two Rival Nations Will Send Their Navies to a Disputed Island in June — For a Beach Party
Well, this is certainly a fun way to protest territorial aggression. This week, Vietnam and the Philippines announced that their navies will hold a party on a South China Sea island in June. Sailors from the two countries are planning on getting together to drink some beer, listen to music, play volleyball and shoot the breeze. […]
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Ayungin dilemma
The Ayungin Shoal recently came into focus in the Philippine public mind when Chinese coast guard ships prevented a Philippine civilian government boat from provisioning the marine outpost aboard the derelict BRP Sierra Madre. The latter was intentionally grounded by the Philippines in 1999, four years after the Chinese troops seized the nearby Mischief Reef […]