Militarization
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Unease at China’s rise in South China Sea
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAHainan Island, China — The U.S. and China are jockeying for power in the South China Sea, deploying sharp words and an expanding fleet of warships, spy planes and fighter jets to protect their interests in a vital maritime domain. Is this regional arms race and increasingly tense diplomatic showdown between the world’s two largest […]
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Island Building
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAFollow the latest developments on island reclamation activities in maritime Asia. Exclusive new satellite imagery is added on a regular basis. Island Building Cuarteron Reef U.S. Board of Geographic Names: Cuarteron Reef Chinese: Huayang Jiao (华阳礁) Philippine: Calderon Reef Vietnamese: Bãi Châu Viên The artificial island at Cuarteron Reef saw most of its construction and […]
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US encourages South China Sea claimants to freeze all reclamation
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAWASHINGTON DC — The US continues to insist all contesting parties in the South China Sea should halt reclamation activities, US Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken said at the 2015 Center for New American Security conference. The United States has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, but the White House has stated […]
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China’s HD-981 Oil Rig Returns, Near Disputed South China Sea Waters
Air Defense Identification Zone, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Oil Rig, Paracels, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, VietnamReports began emerging in the Vietnamese media on Thursday that China’s Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HD-981) oil rig—the centerpiece of last summer’s clashes between Vietnam and China—was being redeployed off the coast of China’s Hainan Island, in waters where the disputed exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Vietnam and China overlap and west of the disputed Paracel Islands (known […]
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China’s Terraforming In The Spratlys: A Game Changer In South China Sea? – Analysis
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Ecology, Environmental Impact, Fishing Rights, Food Security, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAThe phrase ‘game changer’ is often overused in international affairs. However, China’s terraforming in the Spratlys—transforming submerged or semi-submerged features and rocks into artificial islands—may well prove to be a genuine game changer in the long-running and increasingly contentious dispute. Since mid-2013, China has been undertaking large-scale reclamation work on seven features under its control […]
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Chinese-Filipino Community’s Dilemma: The Philippines, China, and the South China Sea Disputes
A2/AD, ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Analysis, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USANationalism and nationhood in post-colonial, cosmopolitan countries like the Philippines aren’t about ethnicity, but, as eminent Sociologist Benedict Anderson suggest, they are instead anchored by an “imagined community” that is bound by shared dreams, sufferings, and experiences. Amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, pitting a powerful China against a beleaguered Philippines, the sizable […]
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Philippine officials say China island-building in South China Sea in full swing
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAPUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines: China is pressing ahead with the construction of artificial islands on at least two reefs that are also claimed by the Philippines in an increasingly tense territorial dispute, Filipino officials said, despite Beijing’s pronouncement that some work would end soon. Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon of Kalayaan islands, which are under Philippine control, said […]
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China, US reaffirm commitment to ‘avoid military confrontation’ in South China Sea
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAThe Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue has softened tensions between Beijing and Washington ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States in September, analysts say. “Both [sides] made progress … with tensions in the South China Sea eased as both sides reiterated their will to avoid military confrontation in the region,” said Wang […]
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Don’t go wobbly on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Analysis, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, UNCLOS, USAIn a recent East Asia Forum article, Sam Bateman criticised a decision by the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter to develop military plans for more assertive freedom of navigation (FON) operations in the South China Sea (SCS). Specifically, Bateman asserts that ‘there are significant legal, operational and political risks involved with these operations’. While there […]
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US-China Showdown: 3 Ways Shooting War Could Erupt On South China Sea
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, Australia, China, Japan, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USA, WarChina has been steadily laying its so-called sovereign claims on what it considers as its rightful territorial waters that span the East and South China seas. But one nation stands in the way of Beijing – America. On the account of its military might, the United States is essentially tempering the aggressiveness that China has […]