News
-
Stormy waters in South China Sea ruling
Next week’s landmark ruling on the South China Sea will test the bounds of “international order” in the region, as experts warn an “altogether peaceful” resolution is becoming increasingly difficult to see. With just days to go until the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague hands down its decision on the long-running dispute between the Philippines and…
-
Choice insults Beijing has hurled at the international tribunal about to rule on the South China Sea
It’s safe to say China’s leadership doesn’t think highly of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. The international tribunal will issue a ruling on July 12 that could invalidate China’s sweeping territorial claims to most of the South China Sea, a strategically important waterway rich in natural resources. Ahead of that ruling, China’s leaders have come up…
-
Beijing Says U.S. Needs Attitude Adjustment In South China Sea
You have to hand it to China. Collectively, they can analyze a situation, that they actually created, and turn it completely around and play the victim. it’s China, not the U.S. nor Japan, or ASEAN member states that has created unrest in the South China Sea Admiral John Richardson, U.S. Navy chief of naval operations, from second left, Admiral Harry…
-
Duterte’s South China Sea dilemma
Fresh into office, the Philippines’ newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte is set to face arguably his toughest foreign policy challenge. Though much of his political capital is currently directed at addressing domestic predicaments, particularly the proliferation of drugs and criminality, he will have no choice but to play high-stakes diplomacy in coming days. Phillippine President Rodrigo Duterte stands during the swearing-in…
-
South China Sea: Tribunal and the road ahead China’s unilateral territorial claims in SCS, creation of artificial islands and subsequent militarisation of the region has terrorised certain SE Asian nations. China’s unilateral territorial claims in SCS, creation of artificial islands and subsequent militarisation of the region has terrorised certain SE Asian nations. South China Sea (SCS) has grabbed global headlines…
-
South China Sea reefs ‘decimated’ as giant clams harvested in bulk
Giant clam shells are seen outside a factory in the seaside town of Tanmen in China’s Hainan province May 10, 2016. Reuters TANMEN, China – Ornaments made from the shells of endangered giant clams, renowned in China for having auspicious powers and the luster of ivory, have become coveted luxuries, a trend which has wreaked havoc on the ecosystem of…
-
Philippines ready to talk to China after tribunal ruling
In this Sept. 23, 2015, file photo, Chinese Coast Guard members approach Filipino fishermen as they confront each other off Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, also called the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines’ new president said Tuesday July 5, 2016, that Manila is ready to talk to China, not go to war, if an arbitration tribunal rules in…
-
A showdown looming in the South China Sea?
LONDON – On July 12, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will issue its ruling on China’s claim to practically all of the South China Sea. And already the main military contenders are moving more forces into the region. China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced that naval and air forces will carry out seven days of exercises in…
-
The Philippines Should Dare China to Challenge the Arbitral Award in the ICJ
As the release of the South China Sea arbitration tribunal’s award on July 12 nears, China has apparently gone into “propaganda overdrive” to defend its position that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction. By now, most anyone who accesses the internet or reads a daily newspaper has run across China’s insistence that the Philippines dispute involves maritime delimitation and sovereignty issues beyond…
-
China flexes muscles ahead of UN tribunal verdict on South China Sea
BEIJING: As the UN tribunal on the South China Sea dispute is set to deliver its verdict next week, China which boycotted its proceedings flexed muscles with military exercises and calls by its official media to be ready for military confrontation with US, while unleashing a global campaign to discredit the judgement. “China is a peace-loving country and deals with…
-
Manila says South China Sea talks depend on tribunal ruling
The Philippines president said he was ready to talk to China, not go to war, if an arbitration tribunal rules in its favor in a case it brought against Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. President Rodrigo Duterte said the Philippines “remains optimistic that the tribunal will rule in our favor.” But if the ruling is not favorable, then…
-
A South China Sea Explosion: Why China Might Go ‘Rogue’ on July 12, 2016
If there ever was a time to follow the always action-packed South China Sea showdown, mark your calendar for July 12th. Why this specific date? Well, that is the date the International Court of Arbitration has set to issue its ruling in the case of China vs. the Philippines. Most experts are of the collective mind that Beijing is likely…