The move of the US Navy to sail near Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands shows Washington’s support for the Philippines‘ claims over the South China Sea. US officials earlier confirmed that guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey sailed within six nautical… Read More ›

Spratly Islands
China says war with US becoming practical reality
War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said. The remarks were published on the People’s Liberation Army website, apparently in response to the aggressive… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 19, 2016
All eyes went to Taiwan this week. The Taipei Times shows an uptick in article views. China held no less than three military activities that made headlines in Taiwan’s backyard, and is reported to have broken its promise not to… Read More ›
China flies nuclear-capable bomber in South China Sea after Trump Taiwan call
China flew a long-range nuclear-capable bomber outside China for the first time since President-elect Donald Trump spoke with the president of Taiwan, two US officials told Fox News. The dramatic show of force was meant to send a message to… Read More ›
Philippines, US halt plans on joint South China Sea patrols
Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Friday that he told the U.S. military that plans for joint patrols and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold, the first concrete break in defence cooperation after… Read More ›
China criticises US, Japan, Australia for ‘fanning’ tensions in South China Sea
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised the United States, Japan and Australia for a joint statement on the South China Sea that he said was only “fanning the flames” of regional tensions just as countries have agreed to cool them… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, June 6, 2016
This week we see a new classroom game called “China Says”. China wants everyone to say that the South Sea is theirs. Manila wants Japan to say that Pacific nations should say otherwise. China says that no one else should… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, May 30, 2016
China has reportedly announced that it has been outdone by US technology. This implication came from the statement that it can only respond to the US “freedom of navigation” exercises by sending nuclear subs to the South China Sea. While… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, April 25, 2016
North Korea launched a missile that travelled 1/10 the distance it needs to. Pyongyang considered it a “success”. China has come to a consensus about it’s activity in the South China Sea. The consensus did not include all ASEAN nations…. Read More ›
Manila-Beijing relations to determine ASEAN growth
As the two possible ‘Joint Development Areas’ — “off Triton Island in the Paracels” and “Reed Bank off Philippine Palawan” [Note 1] — have almost been out of the minds of both the analysts and general public of the Philippines,… Read More ›
US, Philippines launch joint South China Sea patrols
The US said Thursday it has launched joint South China Sea naval patrols with the Philippines, escalating its presence as it accused Beijing of “militarising” a region which is locked in territorial disputes. In a show of strength, US defence… Read More ›
The U.S. just sent a carrier strike group to confront China in the South China Sea
The U.S. Navy has dispatched a small armada to the South China Sea. The carrier John C. Stennis, two destroyers, two cruisers and the 7th Fleet flagship have sailed into the disputed waters in recent days, according to military officials. The carrier strike… Read More ›
US says China will be bound by maritime arbitration ruling in South China Sea
A senior U.S. official says that an upcoming ruling on a case brought by the Philippines to arbitrate territorial claims in the South China Sea will also be binding on China despite its boycott of the proceedings. China contends it… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, February 22, 2016
China is deploying weapons. The US is responding with pressure—mostly economic, some political, always involving alliances. Money and trade are atop the list. China’s unusual manipulation of its money is documented and under more scrutiny than ever. According to Chinese… Read More ›
U.S. says it is open to patrols with Philippines in waters disputed with China
The United States is open to the possibility of joint naval patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea, a U.S. diplomat said Wednesday, stressing it would continue to exercise “freedom of navigation” in the disputed waters. China claims… Read More ›
South China Sea: China creates facts, builds ground to serve them.
It was 1829 and a young nation seeking to protect key sea lanes dispatched a commodore to remote islets and reefs, “over which the sea broke.” He found safe anchorage and went on to report if a hostile power should… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, January 6, 2016
No one is happier today than Beijing. More hoops for law-abiding gun owners to hop through means an easier cakewalk if China invaded it’s number one enemy. Without the logistic ability to invade the US, all of China’s antics in… Read More ›
China buys Russian Su-35 fighter jets to patrol South China Sea
The following is based on a translation of a report on a Chinese news site: A report in mil.huanqiu.com says that China had a long and hard discussion with Russia for 7 years for the purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets,… Read More ›
Malaysia joins the stand against China in South China Sea dispute
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister said the country must defend encroachment of its sovereignty in a veiled swipe at China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, as tensions flared ahead of a regional meeting that Beijing will attend. Without directly… Read More ›
Chinese admiral says South China Sea belongs to China – because it has ‘China’ in its name
Speaking at this year’s First Sea Lord/RUSI International Sea Power Conference in London, Chinese Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai, commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) North Sea Fleet, did not shy away from controversy. He emphatically stated that the… Read More ›
China to turn Mischief Reef into ‘Pearl Harbor of the South China Sea’
The following is based on a translation of a report in Chinese media: The “On Military and War” column of news.ifeng.com published an article titled “Turning Mischief Reef into the Pearl Harbor of the South China Sea is of vital… Read More ›
China deployed artillery on disputed island in South China Sea
The United States has spotted a pair of mobile artillery vehicles on an artificial island that China is building in the South China Sea, a resource-rich stretch of ocean crossed by vital shipping lanes, American officials said. China’s construction program… Read More ›
China’s aggression is a godsend for the United States
In colonial texts about China, the ruling mandarins were often described as inscrutable—cunning, and full of intricate stratagems born of the world’s oldest bureaucracy. The opacity of its Communist leaders helped perpetuate some of those stereotypes, but they are truly… Read More ›
China responds to US ‘provocations’ in South China Sea by a direct challenge, increasing building on artificial islands
The following is based on translations from reports in Chinese media: In the face of the Pentagon’s anticipated next move to send warships and warplanes to patrol the areas of the South China Sea that China claims as its territorial… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, May 18, 2015
It all happened in a week. Man-made land isn’t sovereign land says UN. 12 nautical miles is “sovereign”. US Navy to park inside 12 miles of China’s man-made islets in the making; a volatile military standoff is inevitable. A US… Read More ›
US to deploy nuclear-capable bombers to Australia to send message to China
The United States announced that it will deploy nuclear-capable strategic bombers in Australia as China becomes increasingly concerned about US interference at what China claims is its borders. The United States will station B-1 strategic bombers in Australia, US Assistant… Read More ›
U.S. proposes military challenge to China over South China Sea claims
The U.S. military is considering using aircraft and Navy ships to directly contest Chinese territorial claims to a chain of rapidly expanding artificial islands, U.S. officials said, in a move that would raise the stakes in a regional showdown over… Read More ›
China is claiming air space over disputed areas of the South China Sea
China has warned Philippine air force and navy planes at least six times to leave areas around the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine military commander responsible for the region told a Senate hearing on Thursday. While Vice Admiral Alexander… Read More ›
Calls to punish China grow
Following a year of China’s flagrant and aggressive activities in contested waters, some in Washington are calling for President Obama to cancel China’s invitation to the largest maritime military exercise in the world. Some leaders in Congress and the military… Read More ›
Asean chief says ‘can’t accept’ China’s South China Sea claims
The secretary-general of Southeast Asia’s 10-member trade and security bloc Sunday said the group can’t agree to China’s use of its so-called nine-dash line to claim the contested waters of the South China Sea as Beijing continues its land-reclamation efforts… Read More ›
China using ground effect aircraft to strengthen its claim in the South China Sea
The following is based on a translation from Chinese media: China reported some time ago that it was developing large ground effect vehicles as a means of transport between China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea. In this way,… Read More ›
China connects Spratly Islands to TV and mobile phone networks, so troops will no longer feel lonely
The following is based on translations from Chinese media: China’s qianzhan.com reports that in early March, the islands and reefs occupied by China in the Spratly Islands will covered by China’s mobile phone and TV networks. That is quite a… Read More ›
South China Sea: China reclaims land on yet another reef, to show disregard to US, Vietnam and Philippines
The following is a translation from Chinese media: In addition to the artificial islands China has been building on Johnson South Reef, Cuarteron Reef, Hughes Reef, Mckennan Reef, Gaven Reef, Eldad Reef, Fiery Cross Reef and Mischief Reef, China has… Read More ›
Destroy Chinese military bases in South China Sea now, says Philippines
This is the reality: China’s military leaders are rushing the construction of military bases in six different reef areas inside the Philippines’ exclusive 200 mile economic zone. The Philippines is doing nothing to immediately stop it. In a year’s time,… Read More ›
With J-20 fighters on artificial islands, China plans to dominate the South China Sea
In my article “Chinese Troops to Seize Zhongye Island Back from the Philippines in 2014” on January 11, 2014, I said, Chinese troops were planning to seize Zhongye Island back from the Philippines in 2014”. In my article two days… Read More ›
Confirmed: China is building a military base near Japan
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… Read More ›
Vietnam launches legal challenge against China’s South China Sea claims
Vietnam and China moved their sabre-rattling over the South China Sea into the legal arena this week as Hanoi lodged a submission with an arbitral tribunal at The Hague and rejected a Chinese position paper. Beijing swiftly dismissed Vietnam’s challenge…. Read More ›
US State Department says China’s nine-dashed line in South China Sea wouldn’t pass any legal test
Last week the US State Department released a useful report on China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. As M Taylor Fravel tweeted, it is a must-read for anyone interested in maritime security, the law of the sea, or… Read More ›
China rejects arbitration with Philippines in South China Sea dispute
The following commentary is based on media releases by the Chinese government: Reuters says in its report “China denounces Philippine ‘pressure’ over sea dispute arbitration” yesterday, that China has denounced the Philippines for putting it under pressure with international arbitration… Read More ›
Vietnam warships visit Philippines amid South China Sea dispute
Vietnam on Tuesday showed off its two most powerful warships in the first-ever port call to the Philippines, but an official said it was not trying to challenge China’s superior naval forces amid tension in the South China Sea. Hanoi… Read More ›
Philippines convicts Chinese poachers despite Beijing’s warnings
A Philippine court on Monday found nine Chinese fishermen guilty of poaching and environmental crimes for fishing in disputed waters, in a case that has strained relations with China. The nine, arrested in May, were fined $100,000 each for poaching… Read More ›
China building South China Sea island big enough for airstrip
Satellite images show China is building an island on a reef in the disputed Spratly Islands large enough to accommodate what could be its first offshore airstrip in the South China Sea, a leading defence publication said. The construction has… Read More ›
China’s reclamation projects in South China Sea will not strengthen its claims
China‘s reclamation projects in the disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea won’t strengthen its claims, a legal analyst said. Robert Beckman, director of the Centre for International Law, said in a S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) commentary… Read More ›
Philippines General seeks arms upgrade as China threat expands
Philippine military chief Gregorio Pio Catapang likens his task to a boxing match. Dwarfed by neighbours like China, with whom ties are strained, he’d like his forces to last at least a few rounds in the ring. “Even if we… Read More ›
Philippines to propose no action to raise tension with China in sea disputes
The Philippines will propose a freeze on all activity that raises tension in disputed waters in the South China Sea as part of a three-part plan at a regional security meeting next month, Manila‘s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Southeast… Read More ›
The Cham: Vietnam’s descendants of ancient rulers of South China Sea
In Vietnam, roughly 160,000 members of the Cham ethnic minority, whose forebears dominated the South China Sea for more than a millennium, are quietly watching on the sidelines of the escalating conflict in the waters they may have a historical… Read More ›
Prelude to Conflict: Asia, May 26
Prelude To Conflict China and the West want China and the West to know that they are in a prelude to war. Here are a few reasons why from recently… Taiwan, Vietnam in discussions over protecting investors …Taiwan-Vietnam relations continue… Read More ›
China continues advance into South China Sea; military base to be built on artificial island
The No. 9 Design & Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation recently displayed on its official website its proposed design of an artificial island to be built on a reef in the South China Sea. It aims at providing… Read More ›
Chinese warships aim uncovered guns at Vietnamese ships in South China Sea
Chinese vessels guarding the oil rig illegally planted in Vietnam’s waters threatened and even attempted to ram Vietnamese vessels on Wednesday, but the Vietnamese force did not waver in the face of the attacks. The attacks by Chinese ships began… Read More ›
Philippines says China appears to be building airstrip on disputed reef
The Philippines accused China on Wednesday of reclaiming land on a reef in disputed islands in the South China Sea, apparently to build an airstrip, only a day after Washington described Beijing’s actions in the region as “provocative”. If confirmed,… Read More ›