In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: South China Sea
Philippines Says Water Cannon Attack Injured Crew; China Alleges Illegal Incursion at Disputed Shoal
The Philippines said one person was injured Tuesday when a water cannon attack by a China Coast Guard vessel shattered a window on the bridge of a fisheries bureau ship near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. Two Chinese ...
China Warns the Philippines After Drills with U.S. and Japan in EEZ
China’s military on Sunday warned the Philippines to stop “provoking incidents” and bringing in “external forces” in the South China Sea. The warning from China came a day after Manila, the United States, and Japan finished joint maritime drills. The drill ...
Rubio Backs Philippines Against ‘Coercive’ Sea Nature Reserve
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday backed the Philippines in protesting Beijing's plan for a "nature reserve" on disputed Scarborough Shoal, saying it was part of a "coercive" strategy in the South China Sea.
Philippines to Protest Over China’s ‘Nature Reserve’ Plan
The Philippines said Thursday it will file a diplomatic protest and slammed as “illegitimate and unlawful” China’s plan to declare a “Huangyan Dao National Nature Reserve” at Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea. China rejected what it called “unreasonable” accusations and dismissed Manila’s “so-called” ...
China Declares Disputed Scarborough Shoal a Nature Reserve
The Chinese authorities announced on Wednesday that they had approved the establishment of a marine reserve around the Scarborough Shoal, an area in the South China Sea also claimed by the Philippines. The move will likely raise tensions in a region ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Beijing Accuses Manila of Trouble, Warns of Firm Countermeasures
China has accused the Philippines of “causing trouble” in the South China Sea and warned of firm countermeasures. Beijing's accusation sharpens its claim that the United States and allied partners are driving instability as Manila deepens defense cooperation with Australia ...
Indonesia Mulls Joint Patrol with Vietnam in South China Sea
Indonesia said it is weighing the possibility of carrying out coordinated coast-guard patrols with Vietnam in parts of the South China Sea also claimed by China, signaling closer maritime cooperation between the two Southeast Asian neighbors while risking friction with Beijing. ...
Vietnam Expands Island-Building in the South China Sea
Vietnam's development of 21 Vietnamese-claimed rocks and low-tide elevations in the South China Sea has expanded considerably since 2021 to the point where it will match and possibly even exceed Chinese reclamation activity in the region. The findings in a new report ...
German Foreign Minister Says China’s ‘Assertiveness’ Threatens European Interests
China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tensions in the Taiwan Strait threaten international security and European interests, Germany's foreign minister said on Wednesday. "What happens here in the Indo-Pacific has a direct impact on European security and vice ...
Tensions Surge in the South China Sea as PLA Confronts U.S., Philippines Presence
Chinese warships and fighter jets were out in force on Wednesday near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in a bid to push out a pair of U.S. warships and a Philippine Coast Guard surveillance plane flying overhead. ...
Chinese Vessels Collide While Pursuing Philippine Boat in South China Sea: Manila
A Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its coast guard while chasing a Philippines patrol boat in the South China Sea, Manila said Monday, releasing dramatic video footage of the confrontation. The incident occurred near the contested Scarborough Shoal as ...
Tariffed by the U.S., Shunned by China: India–Philippines Naval Drill Sparks Nationalist Glee on Chinese Social Media
As India and the Philippines held their first-ever joint naval exercise in the South China Sea on August 3–4, Chinese social media lit up not with surprise, but with sarcasm. The timing was key: both countries had just been hit with punishing U.S. tariffs. ...