Vietnam
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China-ASEAN Relations: Hamstrung Soft Power In South China Sea? – Analysis
China’s multi-faceted relations with Southeast Asia is often hamstrung by Beijing’s hard line position on territorial claims in the South China Sea. Is it possible to isolate the maritime disputes from other aspects of the Sino-Southeast Asian relationship? By Lim Kheng Swe CHINA AND Southeast Asia are more intertwined than ever. Trade between these two […]
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Xisha (Paracel) Islands: The Inconvenient Truth – Analysis
The Xisha Islands (Paracel in English), consist of a group of about 30 islands, reefs, banks and cays in the South China Sea, with a maritime area of approximately 15,000 square kilometres. It is located about 180 nautical miles southeast of Hainan Island and about 260 nautical miles from the coast of Vietnam. There are […]
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China’s Occupation on Disputed South China Sea Continues, Says Philippines Government
Calderon Reef, China, Gaven Reefs, Mabini Reef, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, Spratlys, UNCLOS, VietnamThe Philippines government has released a latest picture of reclamation work being done by China on one of the disputed Kennan [Chigua] reefs in the South China Sea. Obtained from intelligence sources in the government, the picture shows huge cranes, construction raw material, tin containers to be used as shelter for people and a cemented […]
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Chinese naval push could affect global trade
Tensions in the South China Sea—scene of naval standoffs in the past year as China has pressed its smaller neighbors on the open sea—may seem far off to many Western investors, but any conflict in the region could affect the global economy. Coast guard vessels from China (rear) and Vietnam in a disputed part of […]
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What China wants
Analysis, China, Diplomatic Relations, Domestic Policy, Economics, Foreign Policy, History, Military Upgrade, Oil Rig, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, USA, VietnamMATTHEW BOULTON, James Watt’s partner in the development of the steam engine and one of the 18th century’s greatest industrialists, was in no doubt about the importance of Britain’s first embassy to the court of the Chinese emperor. “I conceive”, he wrote to James Cobb, secretary of the East India Company, “the present occasion to […]
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Eye on Dragon, Vietnam renews lease of Indian oil blocks in South China Sea
NEW DELHI: Vietnam has renewed India’s lease of two oil blocks in the South China Sea for another year, on the eve of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj’s first visit to Hanoi next week. The move reaffirms India’s position as a continuing commercial stakeholder in a region where territorial disputes between southeast Asian nations and China […]
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Should Asia be Afraid? China’s Strategy in the South China Sea Emerges
China continues to play a long game in asserting its territorial claims and hegemonic ambitions in the South China Sea (SCS). After its confrontation with Vietnam over the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in May this year, Beijing has recently announced that it intends to build lighthouses on five islands in the SCS, two of […]
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Freedom of Navigation and China: What Should Europe Do?
Analysis, China, EEZ, Foreign Relations, Japan, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOS, USA, VietnamEurope should take note of the challenge that China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi set the United States at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting earlier this month. In remarks to the press, Wang challenged Washington’s advocacy of high seas freedoms by arguing that the “current situation of the South China Sea is generally stable, and the […]
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China’s Crafty South China Sea Gambit
In a recent piece for China US Focus, Zhai Kun, director of the Institute of World Political Studies at CICIR, described the South China Sea as “a chessboard of international politics.” Noting the sea’s fluctuating role in relations between China and its neighbours, Zhai then claimed that the current focus on the South China Sea […]