Paracels
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South China Sea: China Is Building on the Paracels As Well
Artificial Islands, China, Paracels, Philippines, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, VietnamAs Vietnam’s Communist Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong met with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week, China’s government news service Xinhua extolled a “deep-rooted partnership” between the two nations. But 400 kilometers off Vietnam’s coast, in the Paracel Islands, China was rapidly consolidating its hold on islands that both countries vehemently claim as […]
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China’s scrappiest enemy is a familiar foe
For the fifth time in 100 years, Vietnam is facing the prospect of being involved in a war with a larger, more powerful country. The country that took on the Central Powers, Japan, France, the United States, and China is facing the possibility of conflict with a familiar foe: China. As Beijing presses territorial claims […]
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South China Sea in 2015: Fears of war
Accidental War, China, Diplomatic Affairs, Oil Rig, Paracels, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, Vietam, WarIs war over the festering South China Sea (SCS) maritime dispute between China and the Southeast Asian claimants of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam inevitable in 2015? China’s rising assertiveness, the firmness of claimants like the Philippines and Vietnam and the big powers’ interest in the region, have led to fears that tensions […]
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China slams Philippines for criticizing island project in South China Sea
Reuters) – China on Monday hit back at the Philippines for criticizing Beijing’s ongoing reclamation project in the disputed South China Sea, saying that its actions were within the scope of Chinese sovereignty. China lays claim to almost all of the entire South China Sea, believed to be rich with minerals and oil-and-gas deposits. Brunei, […]
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Beijing creates armed militias to ‘protect’ claims in S. China sea
Despite protests from the Vietnamese government, China has established a department of the People’s Armed Forces in the disputed South China Sea on Jan. 6, according to Hong Kong Economic Journal. The Sansha city government, created on Woody island in the Paracels in 2012 and declared by Beijing to be the prefectural seat of the […]
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How Close Is China to Another South China Sea Airstrip?
Airtrips, Arms build-up, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Paracels, Philippines, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, SpratlysOn January 8, the Philippine news outlet Rappler quoted an informed defense source as saying that China is likely to finish constructing its second airstrip in the South China Sea by the end of 2015. Separately, the chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, General Gregorio Catapang Jr., also revealed that Beijing was about […]
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Maginot Line in the South China Sea
Airstrips, Artificial Islands, China, Maginot Line, Militarization, Paracels, Philippines, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, SpratlysThe Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapons installations that France constructed just before the border with Switzerland and the borders with Germany and Luxembourg during the 1930s. A mature network of military facilities in the Spratlys, including an expanded Fiery Cross presence, would effectively extend China’s ability to project power […]
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Malaysia And South China Sea: Will KL Abandon Its Hedging Policy? – Analysis
ASEAN, Bilateral Relations, China, Code of Conduct, Flotilla, Foreign Relations, Malaysia, Paracels, Philippines, Sabah, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, VietnamWhile Malaysia remains fully committed to a “common ASEAN position” in terms of engaging China on the South China Sea disputes, it does not want this to affect its good bilateral relations with Beijing – as do several other ASEAN states. It is unlikely that KL will change its hedging policy. By Nguyen Huu Tuc* […]
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Vietnam delivered when Philippines needed it most
Arbitration, ASEAN, China, Code of Conduct, Paracels, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, UNCLOS, VietnamIt means a lot to the Philippines that Vietnam submitted a Position Paper to the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations that is handling the complaint filed by the Philippines against China on the conflict in the South China Sea. Probably so as not to further antagonize China, with whom the Philippines has rekindled relations […]
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From “Assuring Freedom of Navigation” to “Drill, Baby, Drill” in the South China Sea
Analysis, Arbitration, China, Oil, Paracels, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, UNCLOS, VietnamAs I predicted a while back, the United States has quietly ditched its old, underperforming pretext for confrontation in the South China Sea and is sidestepping into a new justification. I do not care deeply about America’s stake in the South China Sea so I have little interest in slogging through recent American & Chinese contributions to […]