Weekly Bulletin 14/09 - 20/09

China appears to be working on third airstrip on disputed South China Sea islets; Vietnam's Party Chief Holds Talks with Japanese Prime Minister; Philippines Hails Japan Security Bill; Carter calls China 'out of step' in South China Sea.

25/09/2015

What Does China Really Think About the South China Sea

While it’s still rare to hear Chinese representatives in any capacity directly contradict the Party line on particularly sensitive topics, in recent years they have nevertheless demonstrated a greater degree of flexibility and candor in discussing matters of strategic import.

26/09/2015

Weekly News 28/09-04/10

-(Thediplomat 04/10) One Step Closer to US Freedom of Navigation Patrols in the South China Sea: Washington’s moving closer and closer to staging freedom of navigation patrols near China’s artificial islands. -(Thediplomat 04/10) US to Support Taiwan in South China Sea Per 2016 Defense Budget Bill: U.S. support for Taiwan will extend into the South China Sea.

29/09/2015

The Great Unraveling of U.S. Policy in the South China Sea

Beijing may be playing coy over whether it considers the South China Sea part of its sovereign territory, but the country’s actions indicate that its preferred outcome is Chinese sovereignty within the “nine-dash line.”

29/09/2015

The Trillion-Dollar Question: Who Will Control the South China Sea?

Recent developments in the South China Sea have lumbered U.S. strategic planners with a number of pressing quandaries. Should the United States send warships through sea lanes claimed by China as territorial waters? 

30/09/2015

Weekly Bulletin 21/09 - 27/09

South China Sea issue in the 2015 US - China Summit; Vietnam raises protest over Chinese zoning plan on Vietnam’s archipelagoes; Philippines’ fishermen sue China at UN over sea dispute; Thailand Pledges to Probe into Fatal Shooting of Vietnamese Fishermen.

01/10/2015

In South China Sea, a Tougher U.S. Stance

The United States is poised to send naval ships and aircraft to the South China Sea in a challenge to Beijing’s territorial claims to its rapidly-built artificial islands, U.S. officials told Foreign Policy.

02/10/2015

Weekly News 05/10 - 11/10

-(Nasdaq 11/10) U.S. Patrols to Test China's Pledge on Islands: The U.S. determination to challenge China with patrols near Chinese-built islands in the SCS will test Xi Jinping's recent pledge that Beijing doesn't intend to "militarize" the islands. -(The Hindu 10/10) China monitors Japan’s role in Indo-U.S. naval ties: Observers point out that Chinese concerns have been heightened by the first...

06/10/2015

Why We Need South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Patrols

Until 1951, the U.S. Navy was governed by the Articles for the Government of the United States Navy, also known as “Rocks and Shoals” in part because Article 4, Section 10 stated that the punishment of death could be inflicted on any person in the naval service who intentionally or willfully caused a vessel to be “run upon rocks or shoals.”

06/10/2015

Weekly Bulletin 28/09 - 04/10

China island work violates international law; Beijing: No third party can explore oil, gas in South China Sea; U.S. Moves 30,000 Marines to counter China’s Assertiveness; Philippines, US joint amphibious landing exercises start.

08/10/2015