Nations have begun to rally in defense of “freedom of navigation” around the South China Sea most of which is claimed by a nine-dashed line (initially 11 dashes by a Chinese idealist in 1936). As controversy builds around the issue, prominent Chinese scholars have come forward to debunk this ox-tongue demarcation that a Republic of […]
Exasperation with the FONOP was probably heightened by the fact that the PLA Navy had cleverly conducted its own “innocent passage” exercise through the territorial waters of the Aleutian Islands in September 2015, thereby diminishing the consequences of a close sailby of Subi Reef as a cathartic piece of defiance against PRC aggrandizement in the […]
The U.S. Navy may be gearing up for its second freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese artificial island. Bill Gertz, at the Washington Free Beacon, citing U.S. officials with knowledge of matter, reports that two U.S. Navy warships will sail within 12 nautical miles of […]
USS Lassen (DDG-82) is underway in the Philippine Sea in 2013. US Navy Photo Much has been made about the recent transit of the USS Lassen (DDG-82) within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef in the South China Sea. To review, that is because China has built an artificial island on top of Subi Reef, […]
In an attempt to lay claim to territory in the South China Sea, China has been building artificial islands and placing artillery and landing strips on them. Neighbouring nations such as Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam have also disputed the sovereignty of lands and waters in the area. Here’s how China is building its man-made islands: […]
WASHINGTON — For months, lawmakers and national security hawks have urged President Obama to stand up to China’s land reclamation of disputed islands in the South China Sea. But now that the Obama administration finally has, the White House does not want to talk about it. In sending a guided missile destroyer into waters China […]
A U.S. guided-missile destroyer sailed close to one of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea on Tuesday, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said it had tracked and warned the ship and called in the U.S. ambassador to protest. The USS Lassen’s patrol was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to the […]
Updated Oct. 27 at 3:00 pm in Hong Kong with the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement. This article has been corrected. The United States sent a warship through disputed waters claimed by several countries, but which China considers entirely its own territory, and had pledged to defend. The USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed within 12 […]
BEIJING – Chinese authorities monitored, followed and warned U.S. warship USS Lassen as it “illegally” entered waters near disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said. “China strongly urges the U.S. side to conscientiously handle China’s serious representations, immediately correct its mistake and not take any dangerous or […]
The People’s Liberation Army may deliberately ram a vessel into a US warship if the US Navy makes further ventures into waters claimed by China, says the Beijing-based Sina Military News, just as US officials confirmed that they have sent a destroyer to pass within 12 nautical miles of one of China’s artificial islands in […]