Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s comment during his confirmation hearing that the United States would deny China access to its man-made island bases in the South China Sea caused a predictable furor. However, few people seriously think the US is going to blockade the islands. This is a poor option anyway. China’s military is not […]

With the incoming administration likely to grapple early with South China Sea issues, the CSIS Southeast Asia Program, directed by Dr. Amy Searight, worked in collaboration with other Asia colleagues at CSIS—Dr. Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair; Dr. Zack Cooper, Fellow, Japan Chair; Bonnie Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia and […]

A critical and early Chinese test of U.S. resolve is likely to come in the South China Sea, where Washington has struggled to respond effectively to assertive Chinese behavior. Enduring U.S. interests — freedom of navigation and overflight, support for the rules-based international order, and the peaceful resolution of disputes — are at risk in […]

On 12 January, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong arrived in China for a lavish, well publicised four-day official visit. Nguyen’s trip symbolised the significant improvement in Sino–Vietnamese relations since their nadir during the HYSY-981 oil rig confrontations in mid-2014. Hanoi’s subsequent suppression of nationalist protests marking the 19 January anniversary of China’s […]

Biggest Pacific land and sea grabs since the Japanese invasions of 1930s and 1940s ‘almost complete’ CHINA is stealing the oil and gas rich South China Sea and it’s “too late” for US President Donald Trump to stop them, a senior defence expert warns. Former head of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Sir Angus Houston […]

Notwithstanding the warming relations between China and the Philippines, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Secretary of National Defense voiced the country’s displeasure over China’s “very troubling” military activities in the disputed areas of the South China Sea. “The actions of China in militarizing those disputed features are very troubling,” Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said. “They do not […]