News
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South China Sea Danger Zone: Why Pushing China into a Corner Is Dangerous
The Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) ruling in the South China Sea case filed by the Philippines has been labeled a “sweeping victory” against China. It concluded that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights within the nine-dash line in the South China Sea and that none of the land features in the Spratlys meet the criteria for…
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Sea jab clouds China visit
New Delhi, Aug. 6: Two statements by junior foreign minister V.K. Singh last week backing Manila over Beijing in a major maritime dispute are threatening to cloud a visit by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, adding to a series of spats already pockmarking India’s relationship with its largest neighbour. India has repeatedly advocated diplomacy and the freedom of navigation in…
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China should accept PCA ruling on South China Sea: Expert
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague ruling that has demolished China’s expansive historical claims in South China Sea and pointed out that Beijing has no entitlement to an economic zone within 200 miles of Mischief and Thomas reefs, is a landmark judgement that upholds a rule-based international maritime order enshrined in the UNCLOS. Since China is a…
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China arming for long war in South China Sea with more aircraft carriers, J-15 fighters
BEIJING: China, which is developing two more aircraft carriers, is building up a naval-aviation division to safeguard the country’s maritime interests amid escalating tensions over the disputed South China Sea. China commissioned its first aircraft carrier Liaoning in September 2012 and launched a specially designed J-15 fighter jets to operate from its deck. Although it’s only about three years since…
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Tribunal recognized Taiwan’s special status: scholars
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Local scholars said on Saturday that the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague was quite careful in dealing with the status of Taiwan because the court had indicated that “Taiwan is not completely part of China” but a special political entity, although the court had used the term ‘Taiwan Authority of China’ when mentioning Taiwan, the…
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Six Little Words That Keep the South China Sea Hanging in the Balance
Over the decades, China scholars in the United States, Taiwan and China itself have spilled rivers of ink parsing official and unofficial statements from the three countries to assess the direction of cross-Strait relations. Year after year, they compare and contrast every utterance and every article to discern nuance, shaded meanings, perceptible shifts in position, potential meetings of minds, or…
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This is what the next flash point in the South China Sea looks like
Perhaps the most significant portion of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s July 12 500-page unanimous ruling on the South China Sea is the decision on Mischief Reef. According to the ruling, the reef and everything on it legally belongs to the Philippines. This is in spite of China’s reclamation of approximately 5,580,000 square meters of land, and the construction of…
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Respect for international law, neighbours would go a long way
The remark by Ms Fu Ying, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, National People’s Congress of China, that all the reefs and shoals put together amount to only a small percentage of the South China Sea illustrates why there is growing unease with China’s intentions across much of the Indo-Pacific region (“Disorder or the reconstruction of order?”; July 28). The…
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How hackers used this Trojan malware to spy on a territorial dispute
Hackers have used targeted malware to steal data from some of the governments and private sector organisations involved in the dispute over territory and sovereignty in the South China Sea. Cybersecurity company F-Secure Labs uncovered the malware, dubbed NanHaiShu by researchers, which it said targeted the Philippines Department of Justice, a major international law firm involved in the South China…
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Vietnamese Fishing Association Dismisses China’s Threat to Jail Fishermen
A threat issued this week by China to jail foreign fishermen who enter disputed areas of the South China Sea prompted the head of an influential Vietnamese fishing organization on Thursday to dismiss the move and assert that fishermen will continue to work in those waters, with his country taking measures against China if necessary. “Vietnamese fishermen will continue fishing…
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PR Blitz: Beijing Launches Website to Justify South China Sea Claims
After an international tribunal rebuked China’s claim to the South China Sea, the Chinese government launched a website Wednesday, complete with historical maps, defending its position. The tribunal, appointed by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, rendered its verdict on July 12, negating China’s nine-dash-line claims over the South China Sea. The decision upheld claims by the Philippines to the…
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Big power behavior, the Law of the Seas, and our interests in the West Phl Sea
Territorial issues over the West Philippine Sea – part of the larger South China Sea – dominated the topic of our national concerns last week. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the South China Sea. In 2013, the Philippines filed a case against China concerning territorial encroachments and other issues, including the legality of China’s 9-dash…