West Philippine Sea
-
How to Stop China in the South China Sea Flight operations aboard USS Carl Vinson in January.
All eyes on Taiwan, America’s ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ China has once again raised the stakes in one of the world’s most fiercely contested waterways — this time, for the first time, on Donald Trump’s presidential watch. New satellite photos have revealed that China is building surface-to-air missile (SAM) facilities on Subi, Mischief, and Fiery Cross Reefs in the South China…
-
South China Sea: Why Global Markets Ignore China’s Repeated Warnings
China is getting noisier and noisier in the South China Sea, sending warnings to every nation that challenges its ambitious agenda—to write the navigation rules for the world’ busiest sea trade route. Like a warning Beijing sent to Taiwan and the US last December in the form of a naval force demonstration, as a group of Chinese warships that included…
-
US’ South China Sea naval patrols threaten sovereignty: Beijing
BEIJING, China yesterday said it opposed action by other countries, under the pretext of freedom of navigation, that undermined its sovereignty, after a US aircraft carrier strike group began patrols in the contested South China Sea. The US Navy last Saturday said the strike group, including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson, had begun “routine operations” in the…
-
China On Edge as U.S. Aircraft Carrier Exercises in South China Sea
The aircraft-carrier strike group led by USS Carl Vinson conducting naval and air operations in the South China Sea this week is the first challenge to Beijing’s expansive maritime claims to the waters since Donald Trump took office. The US Navy announced that the operations began on February 18, describing them as “routine,” while Chinese state media quickly called the…
-
Proposed Changes to China’s Maritime Safety Law and Compliance with UNCLOS
Last week, Reuters reported that China is “considering revisions to its maritime safety law which would make foreign submersibles travel on the surface and report their movements to authorities when in China’s waters.” The news bulletin also reported that draft provisions would allow maritime authorities “to stop foreign ships entering Chinese waters if the ships are judged to be a…
-
U.S. carrier group patrols in tense South China Sea
China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned Washington against challenging its sovereignty in the South China Sea. The U.S. navy said the force, including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, began routine operations in the South China Sea on Saturday. The announcement was posted on the Vinson’s Facebook page. The strike group’s commander, Rear Admiral James Kilby, said that weeks of…
-
China Condemns Trump’s South China Sea Stance While Mulling New Maritime Law
China continued to react critically to the Trump administration’s emerging position on the South China Sea. Responding to a joint statement by President Trump and Prime Minister Abe that confirmed American support for Japanese administration of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that “Diaoyu [Island] and its affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory. . . We…
-
China And The US Undercut International Law For Their Narrow Interests
International law requires the consent of all parties, but China and the US reject when decisions cross short-term strategic interests. Flutter over the surprise visit to China by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte may soon fade. But his abrupt and public dismissal of the United States in favor of China has weakened the argument that international rule of law could underpin…
-
One of the World’s Biggest Fisheries Is on the Verge of Collapse
Major disputes in the South China Sea are putting critical habitat—and the food supply of millions—at risk. PUERTO PRINCESA, PHILIPPINESOne time Christopher Tubo caught a 660-pound blue marlin in the South China Sea. That was years ago, when the fishing there was good, he says. He would come home from a trip with dozens of valuable fish like tuna and…
-
Code of conduct with China in disputed sea held unlikely
WASHINGTON/TOKYO—It remains unlikely that China would ever agree to a code of conduct governing actions in the disputed South China Sea, even as having one would mean stability in the sea region, officials say. Marvin Ott, a scholar in Southeast Asia Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, said such a code would not be useful to the Chinese government, which…