Monthly Archives: March 2017

China Fishing Moratorium Likely to Anger Neighbors

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — China’s plan to declare an unusually strict fishing moratorium in the contested South China Sea this year threatens to shake relations with its neighbors, despite dialogue in recent months, and might violate a 2016 world arbitration court ruling, experts say. The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said in February it would impose its […]

China’s Navy Will ‘Intercept’ and ‘Follow’ Military Vessels and Aircraft

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) will continue to shadow foreign military vessels and intercept aircraft in the South China Sea, according to comments last week by a senior PLAN official. On the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang Weiming, deputy chief of staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation […]

Philippines questions Chinese presence at Benham Rise

The undersea Benham Rise, or Benham Plateau, is considered the Philippines’ extension as declared by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Namria graphic MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) sent on Friday a letter to the Chinese embassy in Manila following reports on the presence of Chinese […]

China’s Supreme Court extends its jurisdiction to cover all seas under its control, including South China Sea

In this July 8 photo released by the Xinhua News Agency, Chinese missile frigate Yuncheng launches an anti-ship missile during a military exercise in the South China Sea. | AP File Photo BEIJING: China’s Supreme Court has extended its maritime jurisdiction to cover all seas under the country’s ‘sovereign control’, as Beijing firmed up its […]

Looks like the Philippines may start building in the South China Sea as well

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announces the disbandment of police operations against illegal drugs at the Malacanang palace in Manila, Philippines early January 30, 2017. Picture taken January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Ezra Acayan Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announces the disbandment of police operations against illegal drugs at the Malacanang palace in Manila Thomson Reuters Philippine President Rodrigo […]

South China Sea Disputes Expected to Take Center Stage at ASEAN Summit

After upending the regional order by boldly declaring his “separation” from America in favor of joining China’s “ideological flow” last year, Philippine president Rodrigo Roa Duterte has assumed the rotational chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year. The Philippines’ newfound regional leadership has come at a particularly crucial juncture, as the […]

US halts China’s island reclamation

CHINA attempted to restart reclamation at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) but was stopped by the United States last year, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana bared on Thursday. The incident, according to Lorenzana, happened in May last year when the US “quietly” told China to stop reclamation in Panatag, […]

Philippine defence minister suspicious of Chinese ship activities

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine defence minister on Thursday said he was “disturbed” by what he believes are survey missions by Chinese ships deep into its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and in an area designated as its continental shelf. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Chinese ships had been monitored in recent months […]