US Astrategic Ambiguity in the South China Sea?

Last week, after months of public debate, the U.S. Navy finally conducted a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea (SCS) when the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles (nm) of Subi Reef, a low tide elevation located hundreds of miles from the Chinese mainland and one of seven massive land reclamation projects undertaken by China since late December 2013.

05/11/2015

Redemption in the South China Sea

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is hoping to send a strong signal in the South China Sea with a visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier together with Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin. But if he wants the visit to pack a real punch, he must make sure that the Obama administration gets the messaging right back in Washington - something it failed to do following last week’s freedom...

05/11/2015

U.S. navigation moves in South China Sea will continue: Carter

The United States will conduct freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea again, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a speech on Saturday, although he gave no timeline for any such actions.

07/11/2015

Washington Misreads Beijing's South China Sea Ambitions

The South China Sea has become increasingly contested in 2015. Prompted by China’s extensive reclamation program, the complex and multilayered dispute has become a dominant feature in regional diplomacy and strategic dialogue.

09/11/2015

Amid Tensions, US, China Assert South China Sea Positions

Nearly two weeks after the first U.S. freedom of navigation operation near a Chinese artificial island in the South China Sea, tensions remain high. On Saturday, speaking on opposite ends of the Pacific Ocean, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter delivered parallel remarks on the South China Sea that highlighted the rift between the U.S. and Chinese positions on the...

09/11/2015

Weekly News 09/11 - 15/11

-(LAtimes 15/11) Chinese presence softens Philippines' view of U.S. Navy as Washington is being welcomed back with open arms here at Subic Bay. -(Japantoday15/11) Abe, Turnbull condemn Paris attacks; share concern over South China Sea: Chinese activities in the East China Sea and the South China Sea are “a big source of regional concern,” Abe told Turnbull

09/11/2015

China's Great South China Sea Challenge: What Next and How to Respond

China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea has generated concern across Asia about China’s challenge to U.S. strategic primacy in the Western Pacific.

10/11/2015

America vs. China: Showdown in the South China Sea?

That is the succinct response of a senior U.S. defense official when asked informally whether the dispatch in October of a U.S. Navy ship within 12 nautical miles of one of China’s newly constructed islands in the Spratly Island chain was a one-off event.

10/11/2015

Could Climate Change Cooperation Ease Tensions in the South China Sea?

In a little more than a fortnight, over 25,000 delegates from almost 200 nations will arrive in Paris for the UN’s Climate Change Conference. The leaders of two of the globe’s largest emitters, China and the United States, will be on hand in Paris.

14/11/2015

Weekly News 16/11 - 22/11

-(Japantimes 22/11) Abe raises South China Sea dispute at ASEAN. China received “verbal attacks from all corners during the meeting.” -(WSJ 22/11) Asian Nations Look Beyond Asean to Solve South China Sea Disputes: This shift in strategy has played into the hands of U.S. President Barack Obama as he signed a new U.S.-Asean strategic partnership before attending EAS.

18/11/2015