News
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Chinese warships arrive in Sydney as Beijing warns of South China Sea resolve
Three Chinese warships have arrived in Sydney Harbour amid increasingly strident rhetoric from Beijing over its territorial claims in the South China Sea. A People’s Liberation Army-Navy frigate, an auxiliary replenishment ship and an amphibious vessel are docking at Garden Island for a four-day stopover. The arrival, which was not publicly announced by the Australian Government, came just hours after…
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China admits to deploying troops, weapons to South China Sea islands
MANILA, Philippines — China has every right to deploy troops and build weapons on islands and reefs it claims in the South China Sea, two top-level leaders from Beijing said in response to criticisms of its aggressive militarization of the disputed area. Gen. Wei Fenghe, China’s minister of national defense, told an international security forum in Singapore that China is…
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Beijing vows to defend ‘islands and rocks’ in the South China Sea
At the Shangri-La Dialogue, the U.S. and China sparred over a range of issues from contested territory in the South China Sea to the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. Zhou Bo, a senior colonel of the People’s Liberation Army, said that “China does need to have necessary defense of these islands and rocks which we believe…
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South China Sea tensions: Filipino leader accuses US of ‘testing who can fire first shot’
THE president of the Philippines has accused the US of “testing who can fire the first shot” as tensions mount over the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims the majority of the South China Sea but this is contested by other countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Vietnam. The US does not claim any parts of the…
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China announces South China Sea military training exercises
BEIJING – China has closed off an area of the South China Sea this week for military training. The China Maritime Safety Administration says drills are being held all day Sunday and half a day Tuesday in an area near China’s holdings in the Paracel island group. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own territory…
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South China Sea: Beijing FIRES back after US warns ‘we WON’T tip toe’ around behaviour
CHINA has fired back at the US after President Donald Trump’s defence secretary warned Washington would no longer “tip toe” around Beijing’s behaviour in the South China Sea. Patrick Shanahan used his speech at the Shangri-La defence forum in Singapore to condemn “actors” who seek to destabilise the region, but stopped short of naming China. In response to his…
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Chinese general tells US to stop using Taiwan, South China Sea to stir up trouble
Lieutenant General Shao Yuanming accused acting US defence secretary Patrick Shanahan of sending the wrong message to Taiwanese separatists. Photo: Minnie ChanLieutenant General Shao Yuanming accused acting US defence secretary Patrick Shanahan of sending the wrong message to Taiwanese separatists. Photo: Minnie Chan A senior Chinese military officer has accused the United States’ top defence official of using sensitive…
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South China Sea: Beijing FURIOUS at Australia claim pilots were targeted by lasers
CHINA has launched a furious denial against accusations from Australia its pilots were targeted by lasers over the South China Sea. Euan Graham of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, who was the aboard the warship from which the aircraft were operating, made the claims when writing for The Strategist blog. Mr Graham told CNN he didn’t actually witness the…
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South China Sea: Japan and South Korea FAIL to deter Beijing as Shangri-La talks collapse
CHINA has “won” in the Shangri-La Dialogue as Japan and South Korea refuse to agree on security measures in the South China Sea. Pressure on Beijing’s island building in the disputed seas has eased since defence ministers from Japan and South Korea failed to negotiate security. The pair were due to meet at the Asian security forum in Singapore until…
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Duterte presses Xi to fast-track South China Sea rules
TOKYO — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to hammer out a code of conduct for the South China Sea, warning the disputed waterway is increasingly becoming a potential “flashpoint” for conflict. Duterte went off script in a speech at Nikkei’s Future of Asia conference to vent frustration over tensions in the sea. Beijing…
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Philippines’ Duterte calls for action to reduce the risk of military conflict in the South China Sea
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines says efforts are needed to reduce the chance of military conflict in the South China Sea. The issue will be a continuous “flashpoint for trouble” the longer it is left to fester, Duterte said Friday at the Future of Asia conference in Tokyo. His remarks came a day after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad…
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Philippines’ Duterte warns over South China Sea ‘flashpoint’
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte voiced rare frustration with China Friday, urging progress on a code of conduct for the contested South China Sea, which he warned was becoming a “flashpoint”. Duterte was delivering a speech at an economic forum in Tokyo, but veered off script with remarks about the resource-rich sea, over most of which China claims sovereignty despite…