News
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China’s South China Sea island-building is for the public good (says China)
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USASeveral Chinese military and civilian officials dismissed international concern over their nation’s policy of constructing and building on South China Sea islands at a forum hosted in Beijing this weekend (Oct. 17-18). China’s vice-foreign minister Liu Zhenmin told an audience of regional and international military chiefs, defense ministers, and scholars that not only would China continue to build on…
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Worry over unresolved sea disputes
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USABEIJING: The delay in resolving territorial disputes in the South China Sea region is worrying, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. Solid trust between leaders and the military of respective nations is therefore crucial in preventing the differences from snowballing into unmanageable conflicts, he said. Hishammuddin was referring to the South China Sea issue, where Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam,…
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An ADIZ with Chinese Characteristics
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAWhile China’s unilateral declaration of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over disputed waters in the East China Sea (ECS) caught many by surprise, today’s debate circles around the likelihood that Beijing might take the same action over the South China Sea (SCS). In its pursuit of maritime primacy in Northeast Asia, China has strayed far from the international norms…
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What Would Reagan Do About China’s Violations of the Law of the Sea?
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAPresident Ronald Reagan, the only U.S. president to reject the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS), still has the most enduring U.S. oceans law legacy. A glance back at Reagan’s approach to oceans governance provides some insight into how he might act if he were confronted with China’s serial violations of the law of the sea. Without even thinking…
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Get Ready, China and Iran: American Naval Super Mines Are Coming
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAMines are the ninjas of warfare: silent, deadly and a bit unsavory. Sneaky weapons that are extremely effective not just for the damage they cause, but also for the fear and uncertainty they sow. Naval mines are especially potent. American air-dropped mines in Japanese waters in 1945–chillingly but accurately code-named Operation Starvation–sank more ships than U.S. submarines in the final…
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Beijing tries to soothe West Philippine Sea jitters
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USABEIJING—China on Saturday sought to soothe tensions over its South China Sea claims, saying it will avoid the use of force in the region as the United States ponders sending warships close to territory claimed by the Asian giant. Speaking at the Xiangshan regional defense forum in Beijing, Fan Changlong, vice chair of China’s Central Military Commission, pledged that the…
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Global Times rattles saber over US warships in S China Sea
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAA Chinese naval patrol around an outpost in the Spratly islands, Jan. 25, 2014. (File photo/Xinhua) China’s navy and air force should prepare to respond to a potential US operation to send warships within 12 nautical miles around the outposts China has built on disputed islands in the South China Sea, says a saber-rattling piece in the Global Times, a…
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America vs. China: Is War Simply Inevitable?
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAThucydides loomed large over last month’s summit between Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. Both noted the ancient Greek historian’s insight about the potential for conflict between rising and ruling nations in the context of managing U.S.-China relations. Their remarks, however, suggest a misunderstanding of the very point Thucydides made that could most help avoid conflict between the two great…
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West PH Sea cartographic exhibit opens in SF
SAN FRANCISCO–A cartographic exhibit based on the June lecture of Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio at the Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs, Philippines, opened October 13 at the Philippine Consulate here. Justice Carpio cut the ceremonial ribbon together with Ambassador Jose Luis Cuisia, his wife, Maria Victoria, Mrs. Ruth Carpio, Consul General Henry S. Bensurto, Jr.…
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Viet Nam rejects so-called Sansha
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAThe Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh. — File Photo HA NOI (VNS) — China’s activities in the so-called Sansha city have no legal foundation and do not change the fact that the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago belongs to Viet Nam, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh. Binh made the remark at the Ministry’s regular press conference yesterday…
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Manila wants Asean to decide on naval drills
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAThe Philippines wants Southeast Asian nations to discuss China’s proposal of holding naval drills with the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries in the South China Sea. “The Philippine position will be discussed in the ASEAN. Hintayin na lang po natin ‘yung magiging discussion na ito,” Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said when asked to comment on China’s proposal.…
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What’s at stake as U.S. weighs South China Sea patrol
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USA25 TWEET It may be the rainy season, but things are heating up in the South China Sea. The U.S. and China have been locked in a battle of words since reports surfaced in early October that the U.S. Navy was ready to challenge China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea by sending a ship within 12 nautical miles…