News
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China blamed for ASEAN U-turn on South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines – Chinese pressure was blamed Thursday for a stunning diplomatic U-turn by Southeast Asian Nations that saw them retract a statement sounding alarm over Beijing’s island building in the South China Sea. The chaotic events at the end of a meeting of foreign ministers from China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian […]
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Indonesia Moving Toward Tougher Stance On Contested South China Sea
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Indonesian President Joko Widodo called a strategically important meeting with his security and political affairs minister this week over how the normally neutral Asian archipelago should handle increasing foreign pressure on its maritime claims. The minister, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, learned from the Monday meeting that government leaders […]
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Southeast Asian countries retract statement expressing concerns on South China Sea
KUALA LUMPUR – Southeast Asian countries withdrew a statement that expressed the region’s deep concerns over tension in the South China Sea, where China is involved in protracted territorial disputes with some of its neighbors. The strongly-worded statement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), released by the Malaysian foreign ministry, did not name […]
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South China Sea: China willing to pay the price of defiance
BEIJING — Even before a ruling, China may have lost by refusing to cooperate with a UN arbitration tribunal over its South China Sea claims. Yet Beijing seems prepared to absorb the cost to its reputation, confident that in terms of territory and resources, it won’t lose a thing. Despite pressure from Washington and elsewhere, […]
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For First Time Since 2004, Chinese Warship Enters Japanese Territorial Sea in East China Sea
A Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy Type 815 Dongdiao-class spy ship entered Japanese territorial waters on Wednesday, according to Japan’s defense ministry. The move is the first of its kind since 2004, when a Chinese nuclear submarine entered Japan’s 12 nautical mile territorial sea near Sakishima Islands, in Okinawa prefecture. According to a Kyodo News report […]
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Ruling on sea row to bring peace – Roque
The looming ruling of the International Tribunal in The Hague on the complaint filed by the Philippines against China concerning islands in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) will bring peace between countries, incoming Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque said. Roque made the prediction in his speech at the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL) […]
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Dear Digong: Let’s leverage our West Philippine Sea arbitration case
During the latest edition of Shangri-La Dialogue, which gathers defense ministers and leading experts from around the world in Singapore annually, I couldn’t but not notice that the Philippines’ arbitration case against China was a major theme in formal and informal exchanges among participants. Though we got among the weakest armed forces in Southeast Asia, […]
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South China Sea Talks End in Disarray as China Lobbies Laos
A meeting in China of foreign ministers from Southeast Asian nations over the South China Sea ended in confusion after Malaysia released and then retracted a joint statement expressing “serious concerns” over developments in the disputed waterway. The disarray raises fresh questions about unity within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ahead of an […]
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China thanks countries for supporting it over South China Sea
BEIJING – China expressed thanks on Tuesday for the dozens of countries it says have offered support for its position on a case brought by the Philippines over Chinese claims in the South China Sea, saying they are speaking out to uphold justice. China has stepped up its rhetoric ahead of an expected ruling by […]
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South China Sea Dispute: Will Indonesia Side With The Philippines?
Ahead of the ruling of the international tribunal that hears the territorial dispute case lodged by the Philippines against China over issues in South China Sea, Indonesia is framing its official stance on this heated dispute? Will Indonesia support China or the Philippines? With this, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered its official to frame […]
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Sea of troubles: China and ASEAN
Foreign ministers from China and the ten-member Association of South-East Asian Nations gather today in Kunming, in south-west China. Their minds, as ever, will be on the nerve-jangling South China Sea, where China continues to turn disputed features into man-made islands. The meeting follows a rare public row: China claimed a “consensus” with three of […]
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The Danger of China’s Victim Mentality
Expect Beijing to lash out if a ruling on South China Sea claims goes against it SHANGHAI—In the countdown to a legal verdict on China’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea, an increasingly frantic Beijing is mobilizing a diplomatic offensive around three core arguments: that the U.N.-backed tribunal has no legal right to hear […]