Reclamation
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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 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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Hanoi censures Beijing’s stance on illegal construction in East Vietnam Sea
Vietnam’s foreign ministry spokesman, Le Hai Binh, made the demand at a press briefing in Hanoi on Thursday in reply to media questions about the Southeast Asian country’s response to a statement by China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Lu Kang, on the illicit building activities of China in the waters. The statement says, “The construction activities […]
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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 annihilates ancient coral ecosystems in its island-building: scientists
Artificial Islands, China, Ecology, Environmental Impact, Fishing Rights, Food Security, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, SpratlysHONG KONG – Concern is mounting among some scientists that China’s reclamation work in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has done severe harm to one of the most important coral reef systems in Southeast Asia. China’s use of dredged sand and coral to build artificial islands on seven reefs had also […]
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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 […]
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Building on disputed islands in the South China Sea might be severely harming coral reefs
Artificial Islands, China, Ecology, Environmental Impact, Food Security, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAHONG KONG (Reuters) – Concern is mounting among some scientists that China’s reclamation work in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has done severe harm to one of the most important coral reef systems in Southeast Asia. China’s use of dredged sand and coral to build artificial islands on seven reefs had […]