BEIJING: China said it summoned Vietnam’s ambassador Thursday and strongly protested a law adopted by the Vietnamese parliament that places the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands under Hanoi’s sovereignty. China and Vietnam, as well as other neighbouring nations, are locked in long-standing territorial disputes over the South China Sea, including the mineral-rich Spratly and Paracel […]
By Derek Bolton The highly publicized dispute between China and the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal in recent weeks has become yet another reminder of the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea. The upheaval began when a former U.S. coast guard ship refitted by the Philippines navy attempted to detain Chinese fishermen off the […]
In early June, an article in the New York Times quoted a TV interview with Gen.Ma Xiaotian, a Deputy Chief of the General Staff in the People’s Liberation Army. The Times, however, did not discuss the most interesting part of what he said. The rest of the interview illuminated China’s strategy in the South China Sea, especially an […]
By Derek Bolton The highly publicized dispute between China and the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal in recent weeks has become yet another reminder of the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea. The upheaval began when a former U.S. coast guard ship refitted by the Philippines navy attempted to detain Chinese fishermen off the […]
New legislation on the measures to be taken to protect Cyprus ships from acts of piracy and other illegal acts is passing through Parliament. The draft law affirms the general principle that necessary measures must be taken for the safety of ships and the prevention of illegal acts in accordance with Chapter XI-2 of the […]
Carlyle A. Thayer CANBERRA: The term “rocky relations” took on new meaning after Chinese civilian maritime enforcement ships confronted a Philippines Navy frigate in a standoff over a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. The Scarborough Shoal is marked by five rocks, the tallest of which projects 3 meters above water at high tide. The […]
Opinion The Piracy Bill, introduced in Parliament recently, seeks to tackle the growing incidence of piracy on the high seas. Abimanyu Nagarajan examines the proposed law Piracy on the high seas has been rampant in recent years. Many of these pirates are from Somalia. On several occasions Indian merchant ships in the Arabian Sea and elsewhere have […]
SINGAPORE—In the turbulent seascape of East and Southeast Asia, no area is of greater strategic importance than the South China Sea. Approximately one-third of the world’s annual maritime trade and more than half its annual merchant fleet tonnage passes through this area. Every year, $1.2 trillion in U.S. trade crosses the South China Sea, as […]
The United States and the Philippines said on Friday they were expanding intelligence-sharing and cooperation on maritime security, as President Barack Obama reiterated Washington’s desire to be viewed as a Pacific power. Obama met at the White House with President Benigno Aquino III on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning in Manila) against the backdrop of a […]
US PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR SURVEILLANCE OF RP COAST 06/10/2012 President Aquino appeared to have obtained what he ventured to get from the United States in his official visit which is more surplus military hardware from the world superpower but likely at the cost of further incensing China which suspects the US of trying to encircle […]