Reclamation
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Transparency in Troubled Seas
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, China, Diaoyu, East China Sea, Japan, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Senkaku, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, Vietnam, Vietnam BridgeOne month ago, the Center for Strategic and International Studies launched a new web-based program, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. The premise of this project will be familiar to many of you: maritime competition in Asia has been steadily increasing in recent years, and doing so in an environment of informational opacity. Maritime geography makes it […]
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The Great South China Sea Hydrocarbon Grab
Artificial Islands, China, Economy, Oil, Reclamation, Scarborough Shoal, South China Sea Dispute, VietnamIn all of the struggles for territory in history, none has been quite as ambitious or unusual as a country trying to steal a whole ocean. But that is what China is actively doing in the ocean south of the mainland: the South China Sea. Bit by bit, it is establishing hegemony over this most […]
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Asia Reacts to China’s South China Sea Airstrip
In what was the first ever port call between the countries, two Vietnamese frigates visited the Philippines on Tuesday. An unnamed Filipino naval officer said the two countries would hold peaceful joint patrols and operations in the Spratlys. But the timing of the maiden port call was clear. It coincides with the first anniversary of […]
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A look at South China Sea conflicts
Airstrip, Artificial Islands, China, Fiery Cross Reef, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, SpratylsA couple of weeks ago, IHS Jane’s, a leading British publishing company specializing in military topics, reported that China was reclaiming land at Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea and transforming permanently submerged features that do not qualify as an island under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea into […]
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Vietnam-Philippines port call amid concern over China’s SCS airstrip
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Airstrip, Artificial Islands, China, Reclamation, Scarborough Shoal, South China Sea Dispute, SpratlysLate last week, an IHS Jane’s report corroborated claims that China was embarking on an island-building project in the South China Sea. Based on satellite imagery, Jane’s reported that China was building an airstrip-capable island on Fiery Cross Reef, a group of three reefs in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. China claims the territory as part of Hainan […]
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China’s Friendship Treaty: A Distraction from South China Sea Diplomacy
Artificial Islands, ASEAN, China, Code of Conduct, Japan, Philippines, Reclamation, Silk Road, South China Sea Dispute, VietnamAs China once again offers ASEAN states billions of dollars and promotes another treaty for “Good Neighborly and Friendly Cooperation” (which sounds an awful lot like the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation), Southeast Asian nations should consider how China perceives ASEAN and what goals it hopes to gain from its interactions with the bloc. By […]
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PH helpless in stopping China’s reclamation work in disputed seas
MANILA, Philippines—Several months after China was first found to be conducting reclamation activities in a reef in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines has been helpless in stopping the Asian giant from doing nearly all it wants in the disputed region. The latest of China’s reclamation projects is on Fiery Cross Reef, which China calls […]
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China strengthening claim to South China Sea oil and gas
Not gone and not forgotten, China is ready to solidify its claim to the South China Sea (SCS). Recent satellite imagery confirms China is conducting significant land reclamation operations in the Spratly Islands in the SCS. The SCS is an important fishing ground and is believed to hold large amounts of oil and gas. Undermining […]
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Vietnam-Philippines port call amid concern over China’s SCS airstrip
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Joint Military Exercises, Philippines, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, Vietnam, WarshipsIn what was the first ever port call between the countries, two Vietnamese frigates visited the Philippines on Tuesday. An unnamed Filipino naval officer said the two countries would hold peaceful joint patrols and operations in the Spratlys. But the timing of the maiden port call was clear. It coincides with the first anniversary of China’s declaration […]
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DFA chief confirms Chinese reclamation on Kagitingan Reef
MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario confirmed Tuesday night reclamation activities undertaken by China in Kagitingan Reef, one of the disputed territories in the South China Sea. In a chance interview before defending the DFA’s budget before the Senate, Del Rosario said the government has lodged a formal protest with China. “We have […]