News
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More fisherfolk withdraw writ of kalikasan petition to protect West Philippine Sea
MANILA – Eighteen more fishermen have opted to withdraw a writ of kalikasan petition before the Supreme Court, based on a filing by their counsel the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Wednesday. In its submission to the high court, the IBP said its lawyers were able to talk to 2 more fisherfolk […]
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Why China will not wage war against us
President Duterte’s oft-repeated assertion that we risk war if we push back China’s aggressive encroachments on our waters is a phantom fear. Given China’s deep-seated sense of self-identity as Zhong Guo — the center of the world — and its current thrusting on the world’s stage as a superpower, it is not likely that it […]
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Our rights in territorial sea vs our rights in EEZ
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) established the concept of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), an area in the sea measuring 200 miles (370 kilometers) from a country’s coast. It established special rights on the exploration and use of marine resources, such as energy from any petroleum deposits in the land under the […]
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Two U.S. Warships, Marines Denied Port Visits to Hong Kong Amidst Protests
THE PENTAGON – Chinese officials are denying two U.S. warships port visits to Hong Kong amidst ongoing protests against the government in Beijing. USS Green Bay (LPD-20) and USS Lake Erie (CG-70) were denied requests to visit Hong Kong, U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Nate Christensen told USNI News on Tuesday. “The U.S. Navy has […]
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US and Australia at war with Beijing over South China Sea
INTERNATIONAL – Cambodia and China have struck an agreement for the increase of purchases within the arms trade. China has agreed to invest $290 million to expand its military presence in Cambodia. The MOU signed, will give China access to the Cambodian naval base, and the rights to the infrastructure investment of a base […]
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South China Sea crisis: Officials attack Duterte fearing ‘territory may no longer be ours’
PHILIPPINES officials have gone into crisis over fears their own President is allowing Beijing to take over their own territory as the row over the South China Sea continues. Under President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines has shifted to a more pro-China stance. Mr Duterte recently announced that there was nothing the country could do […]
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South China Sea tensions soar as Beijing re-enters disputed Vietnamese Spratly Islands
CHINA has re-entered disputed waters in the South China Sea that have been previously claimed by Vietnam as tensions soar between the two Asian nations. A survey vessel from Beijing has been spotted gliding through parts of the disputed waters causing further outrage from Vietnam and inflamed aggression. Vietnam said the ship left the area […]
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Chinese survey ship returns to disputed waters claimed by Vietnam
Presence last month of Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey ship in waters around Spratly Islands also drew protest from Hanoi. A Chinese survey vessel has re-entered disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to ship tracking analysis, after a tense month-long standoff in the same area that inflamed tensions between Vietnam and China. Vietnam […]
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The South China Sea Island China Gave Away
Bach Long Vi Island and its secret transfer from China to Vietnam. In 1957, as the Vietnam War escalated, the most strategic island in the Gulf of Tonkin was secretly transferred from China to Vietnam. This island, called Bach Long Vi (BLV), has long been regarded as essential not only for security and defense, but […]
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Understanding the arbitral award
The arbitral award or judgment, dated July 12, 2016, was issued unanimously by the five members of the Arbitral Tribunal Constituted Under Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (that is how the tribunal called itself). Alleging the tribunal’s lack of jurisdiction, China refused to participate in […]
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks at the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo escalated his criticism of China during a visit to Australia on Sunday, drawing a direct link between what he called one-sided trade deals and China’s ability to strengthen its military. Mr. Pompeo, speaking in the commercial capital Sydney, said, “We were asleep at the switch” as China began to […]
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Prepare for a More Authoritarian China China may be getting richer, but that’s not making it freer.
With the onset of China’s economic reforms in the late 1970s, a widespread belief took hold in the United States and throughout the Western world that establishing robust economic relations with the “new China” would lead to gradual political liberalization. That belief persisted even after the communist government’s June 1989 bloody crackdown on pro-democracy […]