Weekly Bulletin 31/10-6/11

Vietnam welcomes Philippines’s settlement of fishermen issue; China still controls Scarborough Shoal; Indonesian President Joko Widodo says 'no compromise on sovereignty'; US, Royal Cambodian Forces Combine for CARAT Cambodia 2016…

07/11/2016

Follow the Fish: Considering Options in the South China Sea

Nearly four months after the landmark UNCLOS arbitration ruling in the case brought by the Philippines against China, President Rodrigo Duterte’s about-face in his approach to the Philippines’ bilateral disputes with China has dominated regional discussion.

07/11/2016

Post-election, will the US have an Asia policy?

The Obama administration’s rebalance to Asia has sought to energise US partnerships in the region, stabilise relations with an increasingly assertive China and embed the United States in the economic prosperity of the region. But as Obama’s time in office comes to an end, the rebalance has been found wanting. 

05/11/2016

Weekly News 31/10 - 6/11

 -(Thediplomat 04/11) Sub Hunters in the South China Sea? China Launches 4: China is launching one new corvette every six weeks.   -(MorningnewsUSA 03/11) Australia to Team Up With Indonesia in Sea Patrols: Julie Bishop, Australia’s foreign minister said her country is seriously considering talking with the Indonesian government in such endeavor

04/11/2016

Duterte’s Uncertain China Gamble

Breaking with tradition, the Philippines’ controversial leader Rodrigo Duterte chose China for the first major state visit of his presidency. Traditionally, Filipino leaders have visited “all-weather” friends such as Washington or Tokyo before Beijing. This time, however, the Filipino president decided to postpone a scheduled visit to Japan in favor of China, while signaling strategic “separation”...

03/11/2016

How World War III Could Start

Similar confrontations and now commonplace. They offer frightening reminders of the infamous 2001 Hainan Incident, which was triggered when two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a Navy EP-3 spy plane operating near the Paracel Islands and Hainan Island.

03/11/2016

Weekly Bulletin 24/10-30/10

Vietnam calls for law observance at sea, ocean; Philippines Duterte tells U.S. to forget about defense deal 'if I stay longer’; Indonesia proposes joint patrols with Australia; Philippines, Japan to boost maritime safety...

01/11/2016

Sun Tzu Explains China’s Shaping Operations in the South China Sea

In the past two weeks, Filipino President Duterte has agreed to 13.5 billion dollars in trade deals with China, softened his country’s claims to Scarborough Shoal, and called for the expulsion of U.S. troops. This Chinese relations coup, along with growing Asian appetite for alternative trade deals to the stalled Trans-Pacific Partnership and the creation of the Asian infrastructure development...

01/11/2016

Tangled up in the blue of the South China Sea

On 19 August 2016, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs went public with an unusual, but outside Japan largely overlooked, statement that since 5 August, 15 Chinese government vessels, accompanying “approximately 200 to 300” fishing boats, had entered the contiguous zone and “at least 32 Chinese government vessels intruded into Japan’s territorial waters” of the disputed but Japan-controlled Diaoyu...

28/10/2016

What Does China Actually Want in the South China Sea?

The complex disputes over islands, rocks and reefs in the South China Sea involve six countries: China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. They have a long history, with their origins in the interruption of traditional practices by European and Japanese colonialism, and compounded by the post-WWII conflicts in Southeast Asia. These disputes are among the most vexing issues in the...

27/10/2016