The next stage in the Philippines’ closely-watched arbitration case against China’s maritime claims will come in March when Manila’s lawyers submit their answers to questions posed last month by the five judge panel overseeing the case. The Philippines has put together a clever case, one that seeks to skirt China’s exemptions to compulsory arbitration as […]
On June 9 China unexpectedly opened a new front when Wang Min, Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, presented Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a formal position paper on the dispute with a request that he circulate it to all 193 UN members. China’s action in internationalizing its dispute with Vietnam does not represent a change […]
BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday stated China’s basic view and policy on the South China Sea during talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Wang said the overall situation in the South China Sea is stable. China is capable and confident of working with members of the […]
Film buffs familiar with the works of Mel Brooks probably know “To Be or Not to Be,” where he did an amusing impersonation of Adolf Hitler and launched into a musical number that went: “I don’t want war, all I want is peace… A little piece of Poland, a little piece of France, a little […]
In response to reports by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun that a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) was imminent, following on the heels of the East China Sea ADIZ, China has accused Japan of spreading rumors. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, in a press release quoted by Xinhua, said that “We sternly warned these forces not […]
There are always two sides to the question. This is especially true with the recent Chinese reiteration of rules about fishing in the South China Sea. The rules are not new. It has been there for decades but those who were more interested in escalating conflict between the two countries worked overtime to interpret it […]
BEIJING — China will base a 5,000-ton civilian patrol ship on one of the main islands it controls in the disputed South China Sea and begin regular patrols, an official newspaper said on Tuesday. The move is likely to add fuel to territorial disputes with neighbors. The China Ocean News, published by the State Oceanic Administration, […]
MANILA, Philippines – Joining a United Nations arbitration process to resolve territorial disputes is the course of action China should take and not just meeting Manila “halfway” on a controversial fisheries regulation in disputed waters, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday. “The nine-dash line claim is in gross violation of international law. It […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines wants to acquire two more navy ships from the United States to boost its maritime defense capability amid threats from China, Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said yesterday. The new acquisitions would come under the fresh US military assistance announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry when he […]
On Tuesday, the United States House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee and the House Foreign Affairs Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee held a hearing on China’s maritime disputes in the South and East China Sea. The hearing, according to a description posted on Rep. Randy Forbes’ website, was an “opportunity to assess how recent […]