News
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SUCCESSFUL SIGNALING AT SCARBOROUGH SHOAL?
Critics are lining up to condemn the Obama administration’s apparent delay of a third freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea as yet another sign of weakness, but there is larger strategic game underway that may explain the administration’s decision. Other simultaneous U.S. actions may have deterred China from occupying and reclaiming land at Scarborough Shoal, a…
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GREENPEACE MUTE ABOUT WORST ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN SOUTH CHINA SEA
Greenpeace has been relatively mute about destructive activities occurring in the South China Sea, including the mass poisoning of fish in the waters around Pag-asa Island in the Spratly chain. While the Filipino island residents give eyewitness accounts about Chinese vessels dumping chemicals that destroy fish stock and deprive fishermen of their livelihood, Greenpeace appears to be looking the other…
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China intensifies lobbying of other nations ahead of South China Sea court ruling
China is intensifying its global diplomatic campaign to win support ahead of an imminent international court ruling over the South China Sea disputes. The development came yesterday as Beijing vowed greater cooperation and to proceed with multinational military exercises with Southeast Asian nations, but also called on countries to back its stance on the territorial disputes – putting many in…
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Amid South China sea tension, bill introduced to enhance US maritime in APAC region
South China sea, US South China Sea, CHina, CHina SCS, China disputed islands, US China SCS islands South China Sea islands. Concerned over China’s provocative actions in the disputed South China Sea, four top US Senators have introduced a legislation to enhance US maritime power in Asia Pacific region and provide more military aid to its American allies. The Asia-Pacific…
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US, Allies Tighten Cooperation to Counter China in South China Sea
STATE DEPARTMENT— The U.S. is ratcheting up cooperation with Asian allies to counter China’s “assertive and provocative behavior in the South China Sea” that is challenging the freedom of navigation in the crucial waterway, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers Thursday during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. Blinken’s remarks came after a bipartisan group of U.S. senators…
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US Lawmaker: More Operations in South China Sea
The United States has increasingly carried out what have been called freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea. This month, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited a warship in the South China Sea in an effort to show America’s commitment to security in the area. The exercises involve Navy ships and military aircraft. In a freedom of navigation…
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The Dispute About the South China Sea Is Also a Dispute About History and America’s Role
A lookout watches on the bridge of the U.S.S. John C. Stennis aircraft carrier in the South China Sea on April 25, 2016 After patrolling Asia-Pacific waters for 160 years, the U.S. feels a historic interest in the region’s security. Beijing couldn’t see things more differently The U.S.S. John C. Stennis, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, plowed through the azure…
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South China Sea: Beijing using ‘fishing militia’ to expand presence in disputed waters
Fishing boats with Chinese national flags seen at a harbour in Tanmen, Hainan provinceReuters China is using a fleet of fishing boats to conduct maritime exercises in disputed waters in the South China Sea, a report says. Military-trained fishermen are deployed on tiny boats from Hainan Island to gather information on foreign vessels sailing through the South China Sea, according…
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Playing by the rules in the South China Sea
CANBERRA – China’s adventurism in the South China Sea has prompted a change in Australian policymaking that merits wide international attention. In making maintenance of a “rules-based global order” a core strategic priority, Australia’s new defense white paper adopts language not often found at the heart of national defense charters. It is all the more surprising coming from a conservative…
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South China Sea Controversy: China Trains Sophisticated Fishing Militia To Sail Into Disputed Waters
China is training and supporting an increasingly sophisticated fishing militia to sail into the South China Sea, where the Asian powerhouse is engaged in territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam and several other countries in the region. A fishing fleet based in a port town on Hainan island — China’s southern-most point — has been provided with military training and…
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China trains ‘fishing militia’ to sail into disputed waters of South China Sea
South China Sea, Taiwan, South China Sea dispute, Taiwan South China Sea claim, Taiping Island, Taiwan Taiping Island claim, Taiping Island media tour, Spratly Island, Asia news, International news The fishing fleet based in this tiny port town on Hainan island is getting everything from military training and subsidies to even fuel and ice as China creates an increasingly sophisticated…
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Defending fishing rights necessary: fishermen
Taipei, May 1 (CNA) Taiwanese fishermen lauded and expressed their full support Sunday for the government’s action in sending patrol ships to international waters near a Japanese-controlled atoll in the Western Pacific that day to protect Taiwanese fishing boats operating there. “Yes, (the government) should be this hard. This is what we call protecting fishermen,” said Tsai Tien-yu (蔡天裕), a…