Category: South China Sea

The Chinese Navy blocked off a large swathe of the South China Sea on Tuesday for two days of live fire exercises, according to a statement by the Maritime Safety Administration (MSA). Neither the MSA nor the PLA Navy provided details as ...

Chinese media and official channels shifted into overdrive this week in condemnation of U.S. hegemony as the true source of tensions in the South China Sea, despite the friction ostensibly being a China-Philippines territorial dispute. Government statements called out the U.S.’s ...

Nerves are back on edge in the South China Sea as confrontations between Chinese and Filipino forces resume after a brief lull in activity. The Philippines is accusing China of “swarming” a disputed reef in the area with more than 100 ...

China condemned the U.S. for sending a navy warship through disputed waters in the South China Sea, highlighting ongoing military tensions between the countries. The USS Gabrielle Giffords reportedly sailed near the Second Thomas Shoal on Monday, “seriously violating China’s sovereignty ...

The Philippines' defense secretary struck a pessimistic tone about territorial discussions with China, saying they were futile unless Beijing was willing to be more sincere and respect a rules-based order. “If there are going to be bilateral discussions, it must be based on ...

Australia and the Philippines have begun joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea amid growing tensions with China. Australian warship HMAS Toowoomba on Saturday began "Maritime Cooperative Activity" in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines, under a ...

The United States is reportedly advising the Philippines on repairing the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship being used as a makeshift military base and a key marker of Philippine claims on the South China Sea. Manila in 1999 intentionally ...

While the U.S. and the Philippines have conducted numerous joint military drills this year in and around the South China Sea — often alongside Western or regional partners — joint maritime and air patrols have largely been suspended since 2016, as then-President Rodrigo Duterte sought closer ties ...

The Philippines is pursuing bilateral agreements with Southeast Asian countries to minimize the risk of conflict in the South China Sea, as movement to form a regional code of conduct with China appears stalled. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made the ...

The leaders of China and the Philippines squeezed in a seemingly impromptu 20-minute bilateral meeting at the very end of the APEC Summit in San Francisco on Friday in an effort to defuse steadily escalating tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

ASEAN defense ministers gathering in Jakarta expanded talks on Thursday to include defense chiefs from China, the U.S., Japan, and India. U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin attended but did not meet with a Chinese counterpart. ...

China-Philippines tensions in the South China Sea are atop the agenda for this week's gathering of ASEAN defense ministers in Jakarta. The bloc’s defense chiefs held talks on Wednesday on a range of issues, including the frequent — and at times dangerous ...