News
-
China protests after US warship sails near island
Beijing voiced displeasure on Friday after a US warship sailed near an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea, an operation that prompted the Chinese navy to warn off the American destroyer. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the actions of the USS John S. McCain had violated Chinese and international law, “seriously” impairing the country’s sovereignty and…
-
USS John S. McCain conducts operation near China-held island
MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. warship sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in the disputed South China Sea, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. Two Chinese frigates and a Chinese coast guard vessel shadowed the USS John S. McCain as it sailed in a freedom of navigation operation within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef…
-
Think tank says Cayetano, Wang claim on China reclamation ‘false’
A Washington-based think tank has belied the claims of Philippine and China foreign ministers that Beijing has stopped its reclamation activities in disputed areas in the South China Sea. “This is false,” the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (AMTI-CSIS) said on Wednesday, referring to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano’s claim…
-
SOUTH CHINA SEA | U.S. destroyer challenges China’s territorial claim near Mischief [Panganiban] Reef
The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain at sea in this 2010 handout photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy. REUTERS WASHINGTON – A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation operation” on Thursday, within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island, Mischief Reef (Filipino name: Panganiban Reef) built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S.…
-
China defends its controversial ambitions for the South China Sea
China has for some years intensified its land reclamation, facility construction and defence installation in the South China Sea. Its contentious activities in the hotly disputed waters have unnerved rival claimant states and other countries such as the United States, Japan and Australia. Yet, each time its island-building and militarization in the strategic seaway have been raised Beijing…
-
To be relevant, let Asean use S. China Sea dispute ruling
The Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), which marks its 50th anniversary on Aug 8, finds itself at a crossroads: How can it continue to be relevant as a regional bloc, in the light of its inability to counter, or even merely criticise, expansive Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea? One possibility is for individual members to separately…
-
Will a China-ASEAN South China Sea Code of Conduct Really Matter?
Ahead of the next round of Asian summitry led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) set for Manila later this week, reports have surfaced that, as expected, ASEAN countries and China will endorse a framework on the code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea that had first been agreed to in May. Even though we…
-
Enforce UN ruling? Carpio lists ways
War never is an option. Diplomacy can fortify the UN ruling on Manila’s row with Beijing. Supreme Court Senior Justice Antonio T. Carpio enumerates some diplomatic initiatives, in a presentation to the Stratbase-Albert del Rosario Institute. Third of four parts: There is no world policeman or sheriff to enforce the arbitral ruling. However, states that ratified the United…
-
Ex-DFA chief warns of price PH might pay for huge China loans
MANILA – Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario on Thursday took a critical view at the widening financial relationship between the Philippines and China, warning of the perils of haphazardly incurring debts to fund its projects. In a speech at a forum marking the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southehast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Makati, Del…
-
Repsol says drilling suspended on Vietnam oil block disputed by China
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Repsol said it had suspended oil drilling in a block off Vietnam, where the prospecting in South China Sea waters claimed by China had infuriated Beijing and brought Chinese pressure on Vietnam to stop. Tension has been growing between Vietnam and China over energy development in the waterway, where extensive Chinese claims are challenged by five…
-
Vietnam halts South China Sea drilling ‘after Chinese threats’
Bangkok: China has threatened to attack Vietnamese bases over gas drilling in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, according to diplomatic sources in Hanoi and the Asian oil industry. Vietnam responded by ordering a subsidiary of the Spanish company Repsol, which was doing the drilling, to leave the area called Block 136-03, about 400 kilometres off…
-
The ASEAN Summits and the South China Sea
From August 2-8, ASEAN leaders and their dialogue partners, including rivals China and the United States, will have a series of key security meetings in the Philippines. Casting a shadow upon these meetings and haunting the corridors will be recent developments regarding the South China Sea. Indeed, it is no coincidence that tensions are flaring and diplomatic lobbying is intensifying…