News
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Beijing Reconsiders Its Place in the International Order
China is facing a potential decision point in its moves to assert its claims over much of the South China Sea. Beijing has reportedly told some Asian nations that it may withdraw from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) if the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, expected within days, goes…
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A Guide to Countering Chinese Government Spin on the Fairness of the South China Sea Arbitration Tribunal
Rumors are swirling that the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitral tribunal will release its long-awaited award in Philippines v. China this week. China has already said it will not comply with the award, but it is clearly worried that a negative award will isolate China diplomatically or weaken its future claims in the region. So…
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Indonesian corvette opens fire on Chinese fishing ships in South China Sea
An Indonesian warship has opened fire on a group of Chinese vessels, injuring one fisherman Incident threatens to further escalate tensions between Beijing and Jakarta over the disputed waters An Indonesian navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) Kapitan Pattimura (Parchim I)-class corvette has fired upon a group of 12 Chinese fishing ships after the vessels were detected in…
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Indonesia Confirms Seizing Fishing Boat in South China Sea, Defying Beijing
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia is holding the crew of a Chinese fishing boat it says was fishing illegally last week in the South China Sea, an official confirmed on Monday. It was the third maritime skirmish — all involving warning shots — between the two countries in the past three months. The latest episode occurred on Friday when Indonesian warships…
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Favorable ruling on PH-China sea dispute can be enforced – Carpio
‘NOT HELPLESS.’ SC senior associate justice Antonio Carpio (left) says the Philippines won’t be helpless in trying to enforce a possible favorable ruling in its maritime dispute with China. Photo by Katerina Francisco/Rappler MANILA, Philippines – If the international tribunal hearing the case over the disputed South China Sea decides in favor of the Philippines, the ruling can still be…