Delhi dives in to the South China Sea dispute

The Cold War between the United States and China over the South China Sea is heating up. Washington has raised the stakes on China’s “militarisation” of the South China Sea, warning that “specific actions will have specific consequences,” if it continues down the path of militarising the region.

24/03/2016

Beijing Faces Twin Threats of New U.S. Military Presence and Pushback from an Old Frien

China suffered two major setbacks in the South China Sea this week. First, sparks flew between the PRC and Indonesia when the bungled seizure of a Chinese fishing vessel in Indonesian waters almost led to a direct conflict. Later in the week, the United States and the Philippines announce a new decade-long pact that will allow American troops to rotate between five PH bases.

25/03/2016

Philippines Creates New South China Sea Task Force

The Philippine government said that it had created a new task force to coordinate its policy on the South China Sea amid rising tensions with China and ahead of a verdict on a case which it has filed against Beijing.

25/03/2016

The South China Sea's ‘White-Hull’ Warfare

Coast guard–type forces, commonly called “white hulls,” ought to constitute a stabilizing presence compared to regular navy forces (or “grey hulls”), as sea-power theorist Harold Kearsley wrote in Maritime Power and the Twenty-First Century in 1992. “White hulls” do not convey the same overtly militaristic, war-fighting impression as regular naval forces employed for this purpose.

26/03/2016

China v the rest

For years China has sought to divide and rule in the South China Sea. It worked hard to prevent the countries challenging it over some or all of its absurdly aggrandising territorial claims in the sea from ganging up against it. So when tensions with one rival claimant were high, it tended not to provoke others.

26/03/2016

In the South China Sea, China's Gaze Moves South

In the sea's south, China's relationships with Indonesia and Malaysia have largely been unexplored. Though not as dramatic as maneuvers in the east, developments in the south offer a more holistic picture of the maritime trade, energy flows and resource use that define disputes in the South China Sea.

26/03/2016

Japan opens radar station close to disputed isles, drawing angry China response

Japan on Monday switched on a radar station in the East China Sea, giving it a permanent intelligence gathering post close to Taiwan and a group of islands disputed by Japan and China, drawing an angry response from Beijing.

27/03/2016

Weekly News 21/03 - 27/03

-(Philstar 28/03) US contingent for Balikatan exercises arriving today: The exercises would focus on maritime law enforcement and disaster response efforts.   -(Straitstimes 28/03) Chinese poachers caught with coral haul near Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in South China Sea: The Coast Guard Administration said it would continue to crack down on Chinese fishing boats trespassing in the area.

27/03/2016

Beijing Ups the Ante in South China Sea Dispute with HQ-9 Deployment

China’s recent deployment of HQ-9 missiles to the Paracel Islands represent part of a larger effort to consolidate the country’s position in the South China Sea. 

28/03/2016

Weekly Bulletin 21/03 - 27/03

China deploys oil-rig to the disputed South China Sea; Vietnam demands Taiwan to respect its sovereignty; 100 China-registered boats, ships encroaching into Malaysian waters; Australia’s PM criticized China’s assertive actions on the South China Sea.

29/03/2016