The fishermen of Masinloc and Sta. Cruz, Zambales had fished the Scarborough Shoal for generations. In the past several years, Filipino fishing boats had been harassed and prevented from fishing near the fish-rich shoal by incursions of Chinese fishing and militia boats. In June 2019, a Chinese militia ship sank a Filipino boat in […]

  Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 27) – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations said Saturday international law must be followed, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, amid the South China Sea row. The UNCLOS is an international treaty that covers a comprehensive regime of law and order in […]

MANILA, Philippines — Southeast Asian leaders said a 1982 U.N. oceans treaty should be the basis of sovereign rights and entitlements in the South China Sea, in one of their strongest remarks opposing China’s claim to virtually the entire disputed waters on historical grounds. The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations took the […]

  In a bold move, the US moved three aircraft carriers and their accompanying strike groups to the Western Pacific, positioning them to control the South China Sea. On Sunday, the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) strike groups commenced dual carrier flight operations in the Philippine Sea. While at sea, […]

China has been lashing out at rivals during the coronavirus pandemic, from a brutal brawl with Indian soldiers high in the Himalayas to a diplomatic war of words with Australia. Now, Japan is firmly in its sights. Just days ago Tokyo filed a formal diplomatic protest with Beijing over Chinese Coast Guard vessels violating the […]

TENSIONS are mounting after the US Navy and the Japanese military conducted bilateral exercises while sailing together in the South China Sea. The USS Gabrielle Giffords and Japan’s JS Kashim and Shimayuki met at sea on June 23 where they reportedly practiced and enhanced bilateral interoperability between the two navies. In April Gabrielle Giffords sailed […]

  MANILA, Philippines – Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said China’s reported plan to establish an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, violates the rules-based order, and that Beijing should desist from it. “It is my fervent hope that China would not proceed with this planned action […]

A Chinese think tank has accused the United States of sending military aircraft to conduct surveillance missions over waters nearTaiwan on Thursday.According to the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), which operates out of Peking University’s Institute of Ocean Research, three US warplanes flew over the Bashi Channel andSouth China Sea “On the […]

MANILA, Philippines—China’s plan to establish an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the disputed South China Sea could lead to mishaps and miscalculations at sea and in the air, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Thursday (June 25). “It is my fervent hope that China would not proceed with this planned action for the continued […]

JAKARTA: Amid recent activities in the South China Sea, the Indonesian government has reiterated its position on the rule of international law through diplomatic notes addressed to the United Nations, while declining China’s offer to hold bilateral talks on overlapping claims. In a diplomatic note dated May 26, Indonesia reiterated that it is not a […]