Monthly Archives: October 2015

US warship near disputed reefs leaves Xi in quandary: scholar

President Xi Jinping of China is faced with a dilemma on how to respond to a US Navy vessel’s patrol close to two reefs controlled by China in the disputed South China Sea, Ding Shuh-fan, director of the Institute of International Relations of National Chengchi University in Taipei said Tuesday. The USS Lassen sailed to […]

China is building man-made islands in the South China sea. Here’s how they’re doing it

In an attempt to lay claim to territory in the South China Sea, China has been building artificial islands and placing artillery and landing strips on them. Neighbouring nations such as Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam have also disputed the sovereignty of lands and waters in the area. Here’s how China is building its man-made islands: […]

White House Moves to Reassure Allies With South China Sea Patrol, but Quietly

WASHINGTON — For months, lawmakers and national security hawks have urged President Obama to stand up to China’s land reclamation of disputed islands in the South China Sea. But now that the Obama administration finally has, the White House does not want to talk about it. In sending a guided missile destroyer into waters China […]

Angry China shadows U.S. warship near man-made islands

A U.S. guided-missile destroyer sailed close to one of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea on Tuesday, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said it had tracked and warned the ship and called in the U.S. ambassador to protest. The USS Lassen’s patrol was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to the […]

U.S. destroyer passes island in South China Sea

The U.S. Navy sent a destroyer within 12 miles of one of China’s man-made islands in a contested area of the South China Sea on Tuesday, a U.S. defense official told CNN. The operation has since concluded, the official said. The U.S. Navy plans to send a destroyer within 12 miles of China’s man-made islands […]

US Navy Set to Send Destroyer Within 12 Nautical Miles of Subi, Mischief Reefs

After weeks of signaling that it would initiate freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs), the U.S. Navy is set to deploy the USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, within 12 nautical miles of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea. Reuters, citing a U.S. defense official, confirmed that operations were set to begin “within 24 […]

US warship heads for South China sea

Washington – The US Navy plans to send the destroyer USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea within 24 hours, in the first of a series of challenges to China’s territorial claims, a US defense official said on Monday. The patrol would occur near Subi […]

No guns as China’s coast guard chases boats in South China Sea

ARMED with little more than flashing lights, loud hailers and water cannons, China’s coast guard is becoming the vanguard for the country’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the ongoing land reclamation by China in the South China Sea. — […]