News
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Can Japan burn flammable ice for energy?
(CNN)Japan’s relationship with the energy sector is, at best, complicated. Having virtually no oil, coal or natural gas to fire its power plants, Japan was forced to import over 90% of its energy in 2014. It is the world’s third largest importer of oil and coal, and the number one importer of liquefied natural gas. […]
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Can China Beat the U.S. Without a Fight?
HONOLULU — While much of the world is focused on the ballistic missile and nuclear threat from North Korea, the U.S. military in the Pacific region is also concentrating on another potential foe: China. “PRC is the most pressing threat in the Pacific,” one U.S. military official in the region said, using the […]
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Why China Never Draws A Boundary Line Around Its Claim To The South China Sea
A man scans the coastline Aug. 20, 2016 in Natuna, Ranai, Indonesia. Most Natuna locals work as fishermen. Amid escalated tensions at the South China Sea, Indonesia continues to maintain its sovereignty over the Natuna Islands through security patrols along Indonesia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) China has been said to claim 95% […]
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Palawan within range of China’s jets, missiles in South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines — Palawan province in the Philippines could be within range of China’s fighter jets and cruise missiles if deployed on their reclaimed outposts in the Spratly Islands, according to a US think tank. Washington-based AMTI Center for Strategic and International Studies made projections on the range of China’s jets and missiles based […]
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China is waging a global fisheries war
Pelagic fishing has become an important part of Beijing’s national policy Every time there is talk about a Japanese favorite seafood like Pacific saury and squid disappearing from tables due to a shortage in supplies, news reports tend to lay the blame on overexploitation of fish stocks by China. Very little is known, however, […]
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China’s New Strategy in the South China Sea Will Force U.S. Military Action
Beijing just unveiled a new tactic to assert its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. Called the “lawfare” – or “legal warfare” – approach, China’s new strategy to control the resource- and trade-rich region shifts away from the former (and universally rebuffed) “nine-dash line” (NDL) claim to a more concrete – though […]
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Japan May Face a New Chinese Onslaught in Dispute Over East China Sea Islets
[urlpreviewbox url=”http://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/japan-senkaku-10252017144835.html”/] It may be time to pay more attention to Beijing’s moves against Japan in the East China Sea. Experts say that with China’s Communist Party Congress now concluded and perhaps after President Trump’s trip to Asia in early November, Beijing may escalate the moves it’s made near disputed territories in the strategic sea. […]
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North Korea Rouses Neighbors to Reconsider Nuclear Weapons
Two of South Korea’s 24 nuclear reactors. The country has a huge stockpile of spent fuel from which it can extract plutonium — enough for more than 4,300 bombs, according to a report. Credit Jean Chung/Bloomberg, via Getty Images As North Korea races to build a weapon that for the first time could threaten American […]
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Philippine Lawmaker Digging Up New Intelligence on Pressure From China
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — A Philippine opposition party legislator has been drawing attention for the release of privileged information that suggests China is infringing on offshore islets that the two countries dispute, a potential threat to a recently strengthened diplomatic relationship. But some people reading his feed suspect personal political motives, including an effort […]
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South China Sea: Fourth US FONOP in Five Months
Earlier this week, the United States carried out the fourth freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea so far this year, after resuming the operations after a seven-month break in May. A U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Chafee, challenged excessive Chinese maritime claims in the Paracel group in the […]
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Anifah: South China Sea issues should be addressed though peaceful means
KOTA SAMARAHAN, Oct 12 ― Malaysia believes that the South China Sea issues are complex, multi-faceted and highly sensitive and therefore, overlapping claims in the South China Sea should be addressed through peaceful means and in accordance with the relevant principles of international law. Its Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said Brunei Darussalam, the […]
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Challenge China in the South China Sea by Democratic Example
Australia and Timor-Leste will be finalizing their Timor Sea maritime-border agreement this month through the first time use of a compulsory conciliation clause that is part of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). Moreover, the reconciliation effort of Indonesia and Timor-Leste has led to, among other things, successful negotiations […]