History
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South China Sea: Jakobson and Glaser are both right
There has recently been a touch of disagreement on this site between Linda Jakobson of the Lowy Institute and Bonnie Glaser of CSIS about the motivations for China’s actions in the South China Sea. In short, Jakobson argues that China’s decision-making can be explained by bureaucratic competition between China’s various maritime agencies, whereas Glaser says […]
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‘Confucius’ on the South China Sea dispute
Arbitration, China, Confucius, History, Philippines, Position Paper, Satire, South China Sea Dispute, UNLCOSIf you walk around the Chinese garden section of the Luneta Park, you would find a statue of China’s most important teacher, Kong Zi, or more popularly known under his Latinized name, Confucius. From the moment the Han dynasty officially made his thoughts the ideological cement of society, Confucius has served as the symbol of […]
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Why Specks of Land in the South China Sea Are Fueling Tensions Between Beijing and Its Neighbors
China, Fishing Rights, Food Security, History, John Selden, Mare Clausum, Military Confrontation, Nine Dash Line, Oil, Philippines, Position Paper, Selden Map, South China Sea Dispute, USA, VietnamThey have names like Pigeon Reef, West Sand, Taisho-To, and Scarborough Shoal. Most are no more than outcrops of rock poking out of the sea. Most have never been inhabited. Few have any direct economic value. If not for the perceived fish and oil wealth in the waters around them, the spat over these specks […]
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South China Sea: Why Beijing avoids the court
On 7 December, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an official position paper outlining China’s legal position on the South China Sea UNCLOS arbitration. This paper appears to serve two purposes. First, China seeks to indirectly participate in the arbitration without formally acknowledging its legitimacy. While the Foreign Ministry has timed the release of this […]
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China’s sea claim ‘does not accord with intl law’ – US govt paper
A United States government report has challenged China’s claims in the South China Sea. In a paper released last Friday, the US State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs (OES) said that China’s claim on nearly the entirety of the South China Sea—an area within a so-called “nine-dash line” described by […]
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South China Sea: Still no evidence of historical Chinese claims
Two scholars have responded to my call for supporters of Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea to provide verifiable evidence in support of their arguments. However the response of Dr Li Dexia and Tan Keng Tat (http://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/rsis/co14165) shows just how difficult this task is likely to be. They are unable to prove any […]
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JUSTICE CARPIO TO LECTURE ON THE SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE AT NDCP 24 November 2014
China, Exhibit, History, Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Maps, National Defense College of the Philippines, NDCP, Philippines, South China Sea DisputeSenior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio of the Supreme Court of the Philippines will deliver a lecture entitled, “The South China Sea Dispute” on 24 November 2014 (Monday) at 0200H, Auditorium, National Defense College of the Philippines. He will also be the Guest of Honor during the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Cartographic Exhibit at […]
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Faulty translations misled Beijing’s sea claims (1)
For decades Beijing’s communist rulers have been feeding the Chinese hoodoo history. They preach in schools that China has owned the islands, rocks, reefs, and waters of the South China Sea since time immemorial. “Abundant historical facts” supposedly back this up. Yet genuine accounts from 6,000 years ago to the present disprove Beijing’s propaganda. Records […]
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Scarborough is Phl, antique maps show
Cartographic Exhibit, China, History, IMOA, Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Maps, Philippines, Scarborough Shoal, South China Sea Dispute, UPBeijing’s Communist rulers claim Scarborough Shoal by virtue of “ancient historical facts.” Yet, China’s own antique maps and official declarations debunk that line. Made in 1136 to 1933, the 18 old maps consistently show Hainan island-province always to have been China’s southernmost territory. Five Constitutions of the Republic of China – in 1912, 1914, 1924, […]
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2014 IMOA Maps Exhibit
Atty. Elma Christine Leogardo, Cartographic Exhibit, China, De La Salle University, DLSU, History, IMOA Maps Exhibit, Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Manila, Maps, maritime history, Maritime Law, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Philippine Maritime Disputes, Philippines, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Justice, Secretary of National Defense, South China Sea Dispute, Supreme Court Justice Antonio T. CarpioThe Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs (IMOA) Maps Exhibit was hosted at De La Salle University in Manila on September 10, 2014. The event featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Atty. Elma Christine Leogardo, accompanied by notable government officials including Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert F. Del Rosario, Secretary of…