West Philippine Sea
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France Unveils Its Defense Strategy in the South China Sea and Beyond
In less than two weeks, the situation in the South China Sea has deteriorated at an accelerated pace: a joint Sino-Russian naval exercise; plans for Japan-U.S. joint patrols in the same area; Taiwan building anti-craft gun towers on Itu Aba; Jakarta trying to get U.S. help to upgrade its naval bases. In all of these […]
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Golez: Filipinos must remain vigilant in the face of China’s charm offensive
“China should first renounce its claims on our Exclusive Economic Zone and withdraw their forces and dismantle their facilities within our EEZ before the Philippines can even consider China a good faith friend.” While in Vietnam, I am sure the President will see how Vietnam has stood up for centuries against giant neighbor China, engaging […]
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Philippine, Chinese coast guards cross paths anew near Panatag Shoal
Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels engaged once again in another close encounter at the West Philippine Sea. A report of Oscar Oida on GMA News TV’s “News To Go” program featured a video recorded from the Philippines’ BRP Nueva Ecija showing the encounter that ocurred on Friday. The vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard […]
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Taiwan Presses Forward With Secretive Construction After Downgrade of Its South China Sea Island
WASHINGTON — There are no islands in the Spratly Islands. Only rocks. At least, that’s according to an international tribunal’s ruling earlier this year that said, based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, Taiwan’s “Itu Aba” island is in fact, just a rock. Itu Aba, also known as […]
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U.S. Air Force and Navy May Challenge China in the South China Sea
Air Force Secretary Deborah James said the service will likely conduct new freedom of navigation flights in the skies above the South China Sea in response to China’s continued militarization and artificial “island-building” in the area. “We will exercise our freedom of navigation in the air,’ James told reporters. Calling China’s behavior “worrisome,” James addressed […]
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Does Russia Have a South China Sea Problem?
At the G20 Hangzhou summit earlier this month, China made clear that Russian president Vladimir Putin was a top guest. Both China and Russia claim that their bilateral relations are the “best ever’ and demonstrate an “unprecedentedly high level of trust.” Putin described the relationships as a “comprehensive partnership and strategic collaboration.” The China–Russia relationship […]
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4-star admiral wants to confront China. The White House says not so fast.
The U.S. military’s top commander in the Pacific is arguing behind closed doors for a more confrontational approach to counter and reverse China’s strategic gains in the South China Sea, appeals that have met resistance from the White House at nearly every turn. Adm. Harry Harris is proposing a muscular U.S. response to China’s island-building […]
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Behind the Scenes / Struggling to build coalition to contain China
The situation surrounding the South China Sea has started to change, as the positions of such relevant players as the Philippines and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are wavering in regard to the Chinese buildup of military bases. The governments of Japan and the United States, which have called for China to exercise self-restraint, […]
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Singapore accuses Chinese paper of fabricating South China Sea story
Singapore’s ambassador to China on Tuesday accused a major state-run Chinese newspaper of fabricating a report about Singapore’s position on the South China Sea, but the paper stuck by its story. The Global Times said on Sept. 21 that at a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Venezuela, Singapore had raised the issue of the […]
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South China Sea: The Case Against an ADIZ
Following the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) unanimous ruling undermining the legal basis for China’s “nine-dash line” claim, Beijing repeated its prior threat to establish an aircraft defense identification zone (ADIZ) above the South China Sea (SCS). An ADIZ is an area of airspace, adjacent to but beyond the national airspace and territory of the […]