Japan
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New Japan security plan focuses on island dispute
TOKYO — Japan on Tuesday approved a plan to increase defense spending by 5 percent over the next five years to purchase its first surveillance drones, more jet fighters and naval destroyers in the face of China’s military expansion. The revised five-year defense plan was adopted by the Cabinet along with a new national security […]
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US boosts support for Philippines security forces
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, China, Coast Guard, Global Security Contingency Fund, Japan, John Kerry, Militarization, Philippines, PNP, South China Sea Dispute, USAMANILA — The United States will provide the Philippines’ security forces with $40 million in new assistance in part to help the country protect its territorial waters amid rising tensions with China over disputes in the South China Sea, US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday while urging all the nations involved to “lower […]
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Coast Guard to get 10 more vessels with Japan loan
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will soon have 10 more vessels in its fleet in order to fulfill its mandate to protect the country’s territorial waters in the wake of a maritime row with China, President Aquino said yesterday. Aquino made the disclosure when he arrived yesterday morning from a visit to […]
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West Phl Sea issue up in Japan meet
Aid, ASEAN, China, Coast Guard Upgrade Loan, Defense Pact, Disaster Standby Loan, Japan, Japan Air Service Agrement, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, YolandaTOKYO – The West Philippine Sea issue will be up for discussion as President Aquino embarks on a visit here starting today to attend the 40th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) commemorative summit and meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez said Japan was committed to assisting the ASEAN […]
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Will Beijing Declare a Special Air Defense Zone Over the South China Sea?
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, B-52 Bombers, China, East China Sea Dispute, Japan, Militarization, Nuclear Submarines, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, USABeijing may replicate the controversial special air defense zone it unilaterally declared over the East China Sea in another disputed region — the vast South China Sea — in a bid to shore up its military strategy that could escalate tensions and intensify U.S.-China rivalry, experts say. The controversial East China Sea air defense identification […]
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China’s geopolitical weight is emboldening its territorial creep
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, China, East China Sea, Japan, Philippines, Scarborough Shoal, South China Sea Dispute, Territorial CreepChina’s growing geopolitical heft is emboldening its territorial creep in Asia. After laying claim to 80 percent of the South China Sea, it has just established a so-called air defense identification zone in the East China Sea, raising the odds of armed conflict with Japan and threatening the principle of freedom of navigation of the […]
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With Air Defense Zone, China is Waging Lawfare
The tension surrounding the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is being covered in the kind of exhaustive detail that is rarely given to Asia’s maritime disputes. Many reports have surfaced claiming that the move might have been a strategic blunder for China. Yet, I’ve yet to see any reports explaining in precise […]
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Beijing’s grand vision of a blue-water Chinese lake
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Air Sweeps, China, East China Sea, Japan, Militarization, Naval Patrols, USATOKYO — China’s assertive demarcation of the airspace over the East China Sea hints at an ambitious yet risky long-term strategy of maritime control. “I thought this would happen one day, but never that they would go ahead so soon,” said a Japanese national security source after China declared its new air defense identification zone last Saturday. Chinese national […]
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How China can cement its territorial claims in the South China Sea
China has painted itself into a diplomatic and legal corner regarding its claims in the South China Sea. Its infamous and ambiguous “historic” nine-dash line has been variously interpreted by rival claimants as a national boundary; a sovereignty claim to all water and land within it; and, more optimistically, as an indicator of a sovereignty […]
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Philippines South China Sea legal case against China gathers pace
ASEAN, Brunei, China, Code of Conduct, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nine Dash Line, Philippines, Russia, South China Sea Dispute, South Korea, UNCLOS, USA, Vietnam(Reuters) – The Philippines’ legal challenge against China’s claims in the South China Sea is gathering pace, emerging as a “proxy battle” over Beijing’s territorial reach. Manila has assembled a crack international legal team to fight its unprecedented arbitration case under the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea – ignoring growing pressure […]