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Last Friday, a U.S. State Department spokesman stated that Beijing’s recent decision to upgrade tiny Sansha City in the disputed Paracel Islands to a “prefecture-level city” and establish a military garrison there runs “counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences and risk further escalating tensions in the region.” That muted protest was just the …

Taiwan pours cement on maritime disputeBy Jens Kastner TAIPEI – The administration of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has been finding itself under pressure lately to give up on its hallmark low-key stance on sovereignty issues in disputed waters. To appease those who want him to be more aggressive, he reportedly plans to extend a runway …

By: B. Raman Maritime security, which was a two-dimensional concept before 2000 focussing essentially on likely threats and challenges from State actors and pirates, has now become a three dimensional concept as a result of the increasing threats of maritime terrorism with a global or trans-national reach. Till 2000, the concept was seen largely through the …

The Senate Republicans’ UNCLOS Blunder Thomas Wright A Map of Conflicts in the South China Sea (Sam Pepple / Sample Cartography). When U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), both vice presidential hopefuls,recently declared their opposition to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, they virtually guaranteed that it would be dead …

Navy chief says Indian Ocean is priority, not South China Sea Ajai Shukla / New Delhi Aug 08, 2012, 00:33 IST Seven months after US President Barack Obama signalled America’s new strategic focus on China, announcing a “rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region” and naming India as a key ally, India’s Navy chief stated that his …

I have a piece up at The Diplomat on RIMPAC, China, and ASW: As a regularly scheduled biennial exercise, RIMPAC happens regardless of the extant political situation in the Pacific. However, the absence of the People’s Liberation Army Navy – and the participation of Russia and India for the first time – combined with new …

Since its inception in 1971, the RIMPAC exercise has provided the opportunity for the U.S. Navy to build organizational partnerships across the Pacific. These partnerships serve not only to cement alliances, but also to make coordination easier in times of crisis. The potential for maritime cooperation in disaster relief loomed large during the exercises this year as …

BEIJING — When China created Sansha city last week to assert its authority over the South China Sea, nationalistic and enterprising Chinese started buying up Internet domain names with the word “Sansha.” They succeeded, mostly. But when it came to the prized sansha.com, they were thwarted — by a French company of the same name …

A new Chinese city and base on a disputed South China Sea island have kicked up tensions, but it will likely end there. The last thing China wants to do is give the US a reason to get involved. The United States and China splashed unusually harsh words on each other this week, but it …

The South China Sea: WikiLeak Cables, Little Tricks, Awash in ControversyBy Tim DaissPosted on Aug. 07, 2012 The South China Sea didn’t get a lot of respect – until the last few decades anyway. Now the area that rests between China and its fledgling Southeast Asian neighbors has become a geopolitical flash point. Tensions in …