West Philippine Sea

  • Is the South China Sea Dispute a Foregone Conclusion?

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    The security temperature in the South China Sea (SCS) has ratcheted precipitously in recent weeks. On May 2, news outlet CNBC reported U.S. intelligence that China has installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles on three fortified outposts in the Spratly Islands. This deployment follows the installation in April of jamming equipment that disrupts military […]

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  • LOOK: China military aircraft, ships in artificial islands near PH

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    MANILA – China has deployed a military aircraft to a base it built on a reclaimed island in the South China Sea, photos from an American think tank released Wednesday confirmed. A Shaanxi Y-8 is shown in an airstrip in a base built by China on Subi Reef. Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative AMTI said the […]

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  • RE-ORIENTING AMERICAN SEAPOWER FOR THE CHINA CHALLENGE

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    As a seafaring state, America demands maximal access to the world’s oceans within the constraints of international law. Though seldom recognized, U.S. efforts to defend its interest in maritime freedom in the Western Pacific have been fairly successful. When the People’s Republic of China unlawfully draws “fences” around the sea, U.S. warships steam through the […]

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  • China’s Plan to Conquer the South China Sea Is Now Clear

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    Well, it was hardly surprising when the news came out: Beijing has based – permanently, perhaps – offensive weapons on the artificial islands it has painstakingly constructed in the South China Sea. These deployments cap a series of deceptions, increasingly belligerent military actions, and various illegal activities that have surrounded Chinese goings-on in the region […]

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  • Think tank warns: China deploys jet in SCS

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    CHINA has deployed a military aircraft to a base it had built on a reclaimed island in the South China Sea, photos from an American think tank released Wednesday confirmed. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative published photos taken from April 28 showing a military aircraft, a Shaanxi Y-8, at Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands. […]

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  • Why Beijing is militarizing the South China Sea

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    Well, it was hardly surprising when the news came out: Beijing has based – permanently, perhaps – offensive weapons on the artificial islands it has painstakingly constructed in the South China Sea. These deployments cap a series of deceptions, increasingly belligerent military actions, and various illegal activities that have surrounded Chinese goings-on in the region […]

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  • Is Beijing readying its airstrips for a military build-up in the South China Sea?

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    Satellite images show transport plane on Subi Reef in contested Spratly Islands, just 12 nautical miles from Philippine island The presence of the Shaanxi Y-8 transport plane on a runway at Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands, as seen in satellite images taken on April 28, confirms that China has now landed military aircraft on […]

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  • Hanoi to Beijing: Pull out missiles

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    This latest surveillance photo shows China’s military outpost on Zamora Reef is almost finished. CNBC has reported that China has deployed anti-ship missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on Zamora and two other Philippine-claimed reefs. Vietnam has requested China to withdraw its weapons from disputed territory in the South China Sea, while security experts have urged […]

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  • Duterte’s PH rise visit ‘unfortunate’ – maritime expert

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    MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte’s planned visit to the Philippine Rise (Benham Rise) next week is “unfortunate,” a maritime law expert said. Jay Batongbacal, director of the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said the continental shelf is not a hotly contested area and the government should instead work on asserting […]

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  • Vietnam asks China to withdraw military equipment from South China Sea

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    HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam has asked China to withdraw military equipment from the South China Sea, following media reports this month that China had installed missiles there. “Vietnam requests that China, as a large country, shows its responsibility in maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea,” Vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang […]

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