Vietnam is protesting about China’s move to expand construction on the disputed Spratly islands, which Vietnam calls Truong Sa, in the South China Sea. “Vietnam strongly protests and demands that China respect Vietnam’s sovereignty and immediately stop its illegal activities in the area of Truong Sa archipelago and that China strictly adhere to the Declaration […]
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative has released a special issue on land reclamation and development activities in the South China Sea. As part of its ongoing effort to promote transparency in maritime Asia, AMTI obtained exclusive, never-before-published, imagery of China’s recent building efforts in the Spratly Islands. The collection of exclusive photographs includes coverage of […]
Notwithstanding the protest by smaller Asian nations over the swift pace that China has been constructing facilities in disputed islands in the South China Sea, Beijing again flexed its military muscle by claiming a seventh reef. The news of another China claim comes from the Philippines, one of the Southeast Asian nations that is contesting […]
China is beefing up its rapid deployment force in the disputed Spratly Islands to enable it to respond at short notice in case tensions flare up in the South China Sea, which geologists believe contains huge oil and mineral gas deposits, according to Philippine government officials. Beijing’s rapid expansion and upgrading of military infrastructure on […]
New satellite images have largely confirmed earlier reports that China is building a military base near the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands that Japan also claims and administers. Last week IHS Jane’s reported that satellite images from October 2014 show that China is building a heliport with 10 landing pads and wind turbines on Nanji Island, which is […]
Satellite imagery analysis by IHS Jane’s has confirmed that China is building a military base on islands 300 km away from the dispute Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. The imagery, captured on 13 October 2014 by Airbus Defence and Space’s Pleaides satellite, shows a heliport with 10 landing pads in the centre of Nanji Island, one of a […]
China’s East Sea policy has a clear delineation between short term and long term. The strategy to maintain a continuous presence in the undisputed waters to gradually turn them into disputed areas has been resolutely pursued by Beijing. The 981 oil rig incident is a typical example. China used this oil rig as a “mobile […]
As part of a broader project of land reclamation, beginning in November China started efforts to develop Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands. As of late November the reef had been built up to 3,000 meters long and between two and three hundred wide. This makes it large enough, in the assessment of analysts […]
MANILA, Philippines — Chinese designs of a proposed man-made island on Philippine-claimed Mabini (Johnson South) Reef in the South China Sea were recently released by an arm of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. The Ninth Design and Research Institute of the state-owned contractor bared three-dimensional design plans for reclamation project on disputed waters showing an […]
MANILA, Philippines – China plans to build a $5-billion artificial island envisioned to be a ”super aircraft carrier” in the Spratlys within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The online news site Qianzhan.com reported that the No. 9 Design and Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corp. has come up with a proposed design […]