US warning 'might makes right' imposed on Asia

A resurgent trend of "might makes right" has settled over vulnerable waters in the South China Sea, the commander of the US Pacific fleet has warned.

16/03/2016

Philippines v. China Won't End South China Sea Disputes

Observers of Asian geopolitics are by now familiar with the legal challenge brought by the Philippines challenging China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea.

17/03/2016

India Must Operate Closely With Vietnam

The South China Sea has become an important concern for China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and Brunei. China claims the entire South China Sea and unilaterally occupied the Paracel islands from the erstwhile South Vietnamese regime in 1974. 

20/03/2016

China’s Scarborough Gambit

The U.S. and its Asian allies are facing another test in the South China Sea. John Richardson, the U.S. chief of naval operations, has told Reuters that the behavior of Chinese survey ships suggests Beijing intends to start building an artificial island atop Scarborough Shoal, a rocky outcrop that it seized by force from the Philippines in 2012.

21/03/2016

Is Indonesia Ready to Be a Major Player in the South China Sea?

Last Sunday’s incident north of Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, in which two armed Chinese coastguard ships forced an Indonesian patrol craft to release an intruding Chinese trawler, shows once again that Jakarta must confront the reality of an overlap between its 200-mile economic zone and China’s "historic" nine-dash line of maritime sovereignty that penetrates deep into the South China Sea. 

21/03/2016

Why Malaysia is adopting a tougher South China Sea stance

“Pushback” is a word rarely, if ever, used by Malaysian leaders in connection with China’s increasingly unnerving actions in the South China Sea.

21/03/2016

Indonesia feels efforts 'sabotaged' after latest dispute with China

Indonesia "feels sabotaged" in its efforts to maintain peace in the disputed South China Sea and may bring its latest maritime dispute with China to an international court, a minister said on Monday (March 21).

21/03/2016

After Natuna incident, the SCS tensions likely to get worse

A recent high-level visitor to China told The Diplomat that he detected a new sense of urgency in Beijing to complete its consolidation of control over the South China Sea before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal hands down its decision on the claims made by the Philippines against China.

22/03/2016

Weekly Bulletin 14/03 - 20/03

China to build International maritime judicial center; US Navy admiral accuses Beijing of ‘might makes right’ attitude over SCS; Malaysia, Australia to discuss China moves in disputed SCS; 18th ASEAN-India SOM voiced their deep concerns over the complicated developments in the SCS.

22/03/2016

China's hold on South China Sea tightening

The saga of the South China Sea twists and turns, with a flurry of developments this week peppering the region that China seeks to dominate.

23/03/2016