News
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Assert it or lose it
The story is correct: Antonio Carpio thinks the Duterte administration did the right thing in signing a memorandum to work out an agreement with a Chinese state-run company to develop gas reserves in the West Philippine Sea. The views of the senior associate justice of the Supreme Court matter not only because he is an expert on the issue, but…
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China Is Deploying ‘Ocean E-Stations’ in the Disputed South China Sea
The structure identified on Bombay Reef, an atoll of the disputed Paracel Islands, in a Nov. 20, 2018 Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative report, “China Quietly Upgrades a Remote Reef,” is likely a fixed communication and surveillance platform known as an “Island-Reef Information System.” According to AMTI’s analysis, China had apparently installed the platform on the Paracel Island archipelago in the…
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China’s South China Sea grab
It has been just five years since China initiated its major land reclamation in the South China Sea, and the country has already shifted the territorial status quo in its favor—without facing any international pushback. The anniversary of the start of its island building underscores the transformed geopolitics in a corridor central to the international maritime order. In December 2013,…
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The Great Wall of Democracy
Column: China’s drive to the Western Pacific OKINAWA—I’ve had to wait on the tarmac for planes ahead of mine to take off before, but never F-15s. Naha airport here shares a runway with Japan’s Air Self Defense Forces, leading to delays whenever Japanese fighters scramble to counter Chinese incursions into the airspace above the Senkaku Island Chain in the East…
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As America retreats, China moves to create a new world order
The last time nationalism was on the march, we experienced two world wars that killed tens of millions of people. After the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, the United States created institutions deliberately intended to establish a multilateral, liberal world order. These included the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Marshall Plan and trade-liberalizing rounds that culminated…
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OPINION: “How do we really feel about our joint oil exploration agreement with China?”
Part I There is much ambivalence in the stand of the opposition to the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking which the country entered into with China and hurriedly joined in by Vietnam at the suggestion of former Speaker Jose De Venecia. The JMSU was signed on March 14, 2005. The Bayan Muna and a string of communist front organizations; the Liberal…
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In an Era of Divided Government, China Can Unite
Competition with China can bring together Republicans and Democrats—and even inspire them to accomplish great things. The televised bickering between President Trump and top Democratic leaders illustrates that, if political leaders find any consensus in 2019, it won’t be on the border wall. Nor is it likely that Trump, the Democratic House and Republican Senate will find accord on Russia…
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Prospects for US-China Relations in 2019
China’s leaders will attempt to re-stabilize bilateral ties and ease tensions in its non-US relationships. At the same time, they are likely to use the next year to form a deeper judgment about the future of US politics and foreign policy. NEW YORK – Throughout 2018, much of Asia has been shaken by the new and increasingly unpredictable dynamics in…
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How U.S.-China tensions could get a lot worse
South China Sea is a flashpoint in military buildup as China asserts control. This story is part of an ongoing series on U.S.-China relations, jointly produced by the South China Morning Post and POLITICO, with reporting from Asia and the United States. Rising tensions over Beijing’s accelerating military buildup in the South China Sea are stoking fears of a major-power…
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China’s South China Sea Grab
Over the last five years, China has turned its contrived historical claims to the South China Sea into reality and gained strategic depth far from its shores. China’s leaders did not leave that outcome to chance. MANILA – It has been just five years since China initiated its major land reclamation in the South China Sea, and the country has…
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China should adhere to South China Sea ruling — US defense exec
MANILA, Philippines — China should follow international law and recognize an international court ruling stating that its historic claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis, according to a senior US defense official. Dr. Joseph Felter, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, told a small group of journalists on Wednesday that the 2016…
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US won’t back down in South China Sea – official
MANILA, Philippines — Despite close encounters at sea, the United States will not stop confronting China over its massive territorial claims in the South China Sea, as it presses to maintain freedom of navigation under international law. Backing down in the South China Sea is tantamount to rewarding China’s aggressive behavior, said US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South…