South China Sea Dispute
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How China treats its ‘friends’
IN our dealings with China, the Philippines has been criticized for not dealing with our more powerful neighbor as friends and fellow Asians. We have been criticized for bringing our dispute with out more powerful neighbor to an international body complaining about the Chinese bully. It turns out that we did the right thing, On […]
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China and Vietnam in South China Sea: What’s Really Going on?
Four decades since their most high-profile maritime clash, China and Vietnam are at it again. When China moved a massive oil rig within disputed waters earlier this month, Vietnam demanded the Chinese state oil company remove it. The US promised to investigate and later criticised the move but the rig has stayed put and the […]
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Indonesia Stresses Importance of Code of Conduct in South China Sea
Naypyidaw, Myanmar. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that it was important for members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China “to quickly conclude” the talks on a code of conduct on the South China Sea. “The recent incident in the South China Sea reminded us of the importance of concluding […]
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Trouble in the South China Sea
China, Intentional Ramming, Oil Rig, Paracels, Philippines, Poaching, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, Vietnam, Water CannonChina has dangerously increased tensions in the South China Sea by deploying an oil rig for the first time in a disputed area claimed by Vietnam. The move is certain to make countries in the region feel even more threatened by China’s expansionist territorial claims. The rig, belonging to a state-owned oil company, was parked […]
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Will Vietnam follow PH and file case vs China?
Arbitration, China, Illegal Fishing, Intentional Rammings, Oil Rig, Paracels, Philippines, Poaching, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, UNLCOS, VietnamSecurity tensions in the South China Sea have flared up again when Vietnam’s naval vessels collided with Chinese ships on Wednesday, May 7, in a serious attempt of Hanoi to prevent Beijing from stationing a US$1-billion oil rig, HD-981, in the Northwest Triton Island of the Paracels. For Vietnam, the location of China’s oil rig […]
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Twilight of Soft Power
China, Intentional Rammings, Oil Rig, Paracels, Philippines, Poaching, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, Veitnam, Water CannonIt is difficult to be blithe about the dispatch of China’s HYSY981 drilling rig into disputed waters off the Vietnamese coast. It actually would have been less of a provocation if the PRC had sent the aircraft carrier Liaoning down there instead. One of the interesting by-products of the US “freedom of navigation” campaign in […]
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U.S. on Sidelines in South China Sea Standoff
Vietnam and China are engaged in a heated standoff in the South China Sea, with both sides thus far unwilling to back down. The problem started earlier this week when China sent an oil rig and other accompanying vessels into an area within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of Vietnam. From there, things took a […]
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In the South China Sea, China Is Already Acting Like a Superpower
Supposedly fraternal ties between China and Vietnam failed to keep hostilities from bubbling to the surface this week, when vessels from both nations tangled near a Chinese oil rig that Hanoi claims is planning to illegally drill into the country’s continental shelf. At least six people were injured during the skirmish on May 7, after […]
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China Downplays Dispute with Vietnam in South China Sea
China, Diplomatic Relations, Intentional Rammings, Oil Rig, Paracels, South China Sea Dispute, Vietnam, Water CannonChina is downplaying an incident in which Chinese and Vietnamese vessels collided in a disputed area of the South China Sea, where Beijing has set up a state-run oil rig over the objections of Hanoi. Speaking Thursday in Beijing, Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping declined to describe the incident as a “clash.” He also said […]
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Vietnam Releases Video of China Ramming Ships
Earlier today Shannon and myself noted that Vietnam and Chinese vessels had collided in the South China Sea as Hanoi tried to prevent China from setting up an oil rig in the disputed waters. On Wednesday, Ngo Ngoc Thu, vice commander of the High Command of Vietnam Marine Police, held a press conference on Wednesday […]