BEIJING – China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, a top law-making body, passed a revised version of China’s surveying and mapping law intended to safeguard the security of China’s geographic information, lawmakers told reporters in Beijing. Hefty new penalties were attached to “intimidate” foreigners who carry out surveying work without permission. President Xi Jinping has […]
MANILA – China’s support for finalizing a code of conduct in the hotly contested South China Sea is generating some hope in Southeast Asia of settling disputes, but those working out the terms remain unconvinced of Beijing’s sincerity. Signing China up to a legally binding and enforceable code for the strategic waterway has long been […]
Here and abroad, the common (mis)perception is that the current government is too cozy with China and, correspondingly, relaxing its claims in the West Philippine Sea. After all, you have a chief executive, who never fails to praise Beijing as a friendly, brotherly nation, which could serve as an indispensable partner for national development in […]
Beijing’s South China Sea ambitions encompass defense, trade — and pride A U.S. Navy F-18 fighter jet lands on the USS Carl Vinson following a patrol of the South China Sea. © AP The question of what China actually wants in the South China Sea is surprisingly little-studied in the West. Too many international analysts […]
China has expressed alarm over the visit of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año to Pag-Asa Island last Friday, saying it ran counter to an “important consensus” reached between the leaders of the two countries. FMPRC/Released MANILA, Philippines – China has expressed alarm over the visit of Defense Secretary Delfin […]
Philippine authorities are working to confirm reports that Chinese Coast Guard vessels harassed and drove away Filipino fishermen at Union Bank in the Spratly group in the South China Sea. According to early reports, Chinese Coast Guard vessels fired warning shots to deny fishermen access to disputed waters. The location of the incident, which occurred […]
MANILA, Philippines — The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies reiterated its opposition to the militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea. The ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States maintained their commitment to maintaining a rules-based maritime order based on international […]
BEIJING–China softened its attitude toward the international community after facing strong criticism from its neighbors and the United States for building military bases on islets in the South China Sea from 2014. Although Beijing’s change could be a response to that criticism, it might also mean that China feels its major objectives have already been […]
The Philippines can cooperate with other countries to establish joint areas of protection as a way to reinforce the South China Sea arbitral ruling. File MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines should work with other claimant-states to create “no-take zones” to reinforce national and international fisheries management agenda as a way to reinforce the South China […]
While it had achieved renown—or notoriety—for the protracted political tug-of-war, the South China Sea is, first and foremost, one of the most diverse and productive marine ecosystems in the world. The area covers some 3.5 million square kilometers of rich waters, responsible for an estimated 10 million to 16 million tons of fisheries landings, or […]