News
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China Tests American Resolve: More Trouble in the South China Sea
China, Diplomatic Relations, Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, Foreign Policy, Intentional Rammings, Japan, Oil Rig, Paracels, Philippines, Poaching, Spratlys, USA, Vietnam, Water Cannon“What would America fight for?” exclaimed The Economist, as it cautioned the Obama administration against strategic retreat and neo-isolationism. It dismissed President Obama’s foreign policy as a cerebral doctrine that excuses inaction — one that is based on visceral recoil at confrontation and distaste for strategic gamble. It warned Washington about increasing doubt among allies, […]
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Will Vietnam follow PH and file case vs China?
Arbitration, China, Illegal Fishing, Intentional Rammings, Oil Rig, Paracels, Philippines, Poaching, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, UNLCOS, VietnamSecurity tensions in the South China Sea have flared up again when Vietnam’s naval vessels collided with Chinese ships on Wednesday, May 7, in a serious attempt of Hanoi to prevent Beijing from stationing a US$1-billion oil rig, HD-981, in the Northwest Triton Island of the Paracels. For Vietnam, the location of China’s oil rig […]
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Twilight of Soft Power
China, Intentional Rammings, Oil Rig, Paracels, Philippines, Poaching, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, Veitnam, Water CannonIt is difficult to be blithe about the dispatch of China’s HYSY981 drilling rig into disputed waters off the Vietnamese coast. It actually would have been less of a provocation if the PRC had sent the aircraft carrier Liaoning down there instead. One of the interesting by-products of the US “freedom of navigation” campaign in […]
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U.S. on Sidelines in South China Sea Standoff
Vietnam and China are engaged in a heated standoff in the South China Sea, with both sides thus far unwilling to back down. The problem started earlier this week when China sent an oil rig and other accompanying vessels into an area within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of Vietnam. From there, things took a […]
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In the South China Sea, China Is Already Acting Like a Superpower
Supposedly fraternal ties between China and Vietnam failed to keep hostilities from bubbling to the surface this week, when vessels from both nations tangled near a Chinese oil rig that Hanoi claims is planning to illegally drill into the country’s continental shelf. At least six people were injured during the skirmish on May 7, after […]
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China Downplays Dispute with Vietnam in South China Sea
China, Diplomatic Relations, Intentional Rammings, Oil Rig, Paracels, South China Sea Dispute, Vietnam, Water CannonChina is downplaying an incident in which Chinese and Vietnamese vessels collided in a disputed area of the South China Sea, where Beijing has set up a state-run oil rig over the objections of Hanoi. Speaking Thursday in Beijing, Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping declined to describe the incident as a “clash.” He also said […]
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Vietnam Releases Video of China Ramming Ships
Earlier today Shannon and myself noted that Vietnam and Chinese vessels had collided in the South China Sea as Hanoi tried to prevent China from setting up an oil rig in the disputed waters. On Wednesday, Ngo Ngoc Thu, vice commander of the High Command of Vietnam Marine Police, held a press conference on Wednesday […]
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US voices concern on Chinese poachers in West Philippine Sea
MANILA, Philippines — The United States expressed concern over the latest maritime incident in the disputed West Philippine Sea which involved Chinese fishing vessels carrying endangered marine wildlife. In a press briefing, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said they have seen reports that Philippine police have seized Chinese and Filipino fishing boats carrying illegally harvested […]
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South China Sea tensions rise as Vietnam says China rammed ships
Vietnam says a Chinese vessel intentionally rammed two of its ships in a part of the disputed South China Sea where Beijing has deployed a giant oil rig, sending tensions spiralling in the region. The Foreign Ministry in Hanoi said the collisions took place on Sunday and caused considerable damage to the Vietnamese ships. Six […]
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The Battle for the South China Sea is Officially On
The standoff between China and Vietnam over an oil rig under construction in the South China Sea has escalated to dangerous levels, the New York Times reports. A few days ago, CNOOC, the Chinese oil company, began establishing the oil rig just 120 nautical miles from Vietnam, in waters both Hanoi and Beijing claim. Vietnam protested and dispatched a […]
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China Thinks It Can Defeat America in Battle
The bad news first. The People’s Republic of China now believes it can successfully prevent the United States from intervening in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or some other military assault by Beijing. Now the good news. China is wrong—and for one major reason. It apparently disregards the decisive power of America’s […]
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Vietnam Squares Off With China in Disputed Seas
HONG KONG — Tensions in the South China Sea intensified Wednesday as Vietnamese vessels confronted Chinese ships that were working to place an oil rig off Vietnam’s coast, and Vietnamese officials claimed that their ships had been rammed by the Chinese vessels three days earlier. Vietnam said the Chinese ships also fired water cannons at […]