Spratlys
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South China Sea tensions Shift in ASEAN against Chinese buildup
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USASINGAPORE — Malaysia, Indonesia and others are stepping up criticism of China’s island-building in the South China Sea, abandoning previously neutral stances and potentially swinging the balance of opinion in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations against the regional heavyweight. Defense ministers from ASEAN members and observer nations including China, the U.S., South […]
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South China Sea ruling in Hague could be mid-2016 – PH lawyer
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAAn aerial photo taken through a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on mischief reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, in this May 11, 2015 file photo. Ritchie B. Tongo, Reuters WASHINGTON – The chief counsel for the […]
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World War III Predictions in 2016
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAPredictions that a possible World War 3 could erupt from a skirmish that occurred last week between the U.S. and China in the South China Sea have come from a particularly troubling and high-level source, according to a report by Reuters on Friday. That source was none other than the chief of the China Navy […]
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Breaking down the Philippines’ legal victory in the West Philippine Sea
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAThe widely-anticipated decision of an arbitration body, formed under the aegis of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to exercise jurisdiction on the Philippines’ arbitration case against China represents a major victory for those who seek a semblance of rule of law in the West Philippine Sea. Interestingly, it happened shortly […]
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Protecting the sea lanes of Asia
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAThe Permanent Court of Arbitration, an agency at the United Nations that listens to disputes about the UN’s Law of the Sea, has agreed to hear the Philippines‘ case against China for building military bases on reefs in the South China Sea a thousand miles south of its Mainland. To no one’s surprise, China indicates […]
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Philippines v. China: Court Rules Favorably on Jurisdiction, Case Will Proceed
China’s nine-dash line will have its day in international court. On Thursday, October 29, the Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded its first decision in the The Republic of Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China. The court ruled that the case was “properly constituted” under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, […]
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South China Sea ‘islands’ only demilitarized until first warbird touches down
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAAt last. After weeks of Hamlet-esque public debate, U.S. defense officials ordered Aegis destroyer USS Lassen to cruise within 12 nautical miles (nm) of Subi Reef on Oct. 27. The reef is an undersea rock in the South China Sea that Beijing has built into an artificial island in the contested Spratly Islands. It wants […]
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In defeat for Beijing, Hague court to hear China Sea dispute
AMSTERDAM, Oct 29 (Reuters) – An arbitration court in the Netherlands ruled on Thursday that it has jurisdiction to hear some territorial claims the Philippines has filed against China over disputed areas in the South China Sea. In a legal defeat for China, the Hague-based tribunal rejected Beijing’s claim that the disputes were about its […]
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UN tribunal on UNCLOS rules to admit Manila’s case vs. Beijing in maritime row
TV5 screenshot of the Permanent Court of Arbitration when it conducted hearings in The Hague last July. It said Thursday that the tribunal on UNCLOS has ruled to admit the Philippine case against China, resolving the issue of jurisdiction over the latter’s objections. MANILA – (UPDATE3, 1:51 a.m.) The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in […]
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How China Maintains Strategic Ambiguity in the South China Sea
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, Artificial Islands, China, Militarization, Military Conflict, Philippines, Reclamation, Regular Patrols, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, USAChina’s official government reactions to the recent U.S. Navy “freedom of navigation” (FON) operation within 12 nautical miles (nm) of a Chinese-occupied constructed island in the South China Sea are a multilingual puzzle. A careful examination of Chinese-language versions of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministry statements, however, reveals extreme subtlety in wording and […]