Foreign Policy Blogs

South China Sea

Climate Change v. Artificial Islands

Climate Change v. Artificial Islands

Rough seas are seen underneath a maritime platform in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago. Photo: Tuoi Tre The new year rang in a series of devastating winter storms ranging from the “bomb cyclone” hitting the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. to the deadly storm Eleanor battering Western Europe – examples of extreme weather which many scientists […]

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Will China Activate its Anti-Secession Law in Taiwan?

Will China Activate its Anti-Secession Law in Taiwan?

Chinese embassy Minister Li Kexin (Central News Agency) Chinese diplomat Li Kexin has warned Washington that Beijing could soon activate its Anti-Secession Law if the United States sent its navy ships to Taiwan. The comments by Li, made in Washington on December 8 at a Chinese embassy event, were in reference to the passage of […]

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Fish Wars?

Fish Wars?

   Japan Coast Guard security team members display tracking and capture drills in October 2016  (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP, File) The sovereignty of the South China Sea has been hotly debated in recent years among China and the littoral nations (especially the Philippines and Vietnam).  Beijing lays claim to some 90 percent of the […]

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Beijing Threatens Hanoi Over Drilling in South China Sea

Beijing Threatens Hanoi Over Drilling in South China Sea

Following threats from Beijing, Vietnamese authorities have ordered a foreign joint venture to abandon its gas-drilling efforts in a disputed area of the South China Sea.

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Using Economic Muscle, Beijing Sways Panama over Taiwan

Using Economic Muscle, Beijing Sways Panama over Taiwan

President Tsai Ing-wen arriving in Panama City on her first overseas state trip in June 2016 (photo: The China Post) The days of countries paying tribute to China, in order to stay in China’s good graces, may long be gone, but nowadays the tribute appears to flow in the opposite direction.  Since opening up its […]

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Chinese General Exits Hanoi Early

Chinese General Exits Hanoi Early

Just when Chinese and Vietnamese relations appeared to be going well, the waters of the South China Sea (and East Sea) may be heating up again.

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Mattis and Inada Draw Fire at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore

Mattis and Inada Draw Fire at Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore

The Shangri-La Dialogue concluded last weekend in Singapore was marked by sharp differences between Washington, Tokyo, and Beijing over the South China Sea.

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Trump Courts Duterte, Duterte Courts Xi

Trump Courts Duterte, Duterte Courts Xi

Earlier this month Duterte visited three Chinese warships on Mindanao island in the Philippines—the first Chinese navy port call to the country since 2010.

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Hanoi Protests China’s Fishing Ban

Hanoi Protests China’s Fishing Ban

Hanoi officially expressed its displeasure over Beijing’s annual fishing ban in the South China Sea at a regular press conference last week.

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With Its Second Aircraft Carrier, China Extends its Global Reach

With Its Second Aircraft Carrier, China Extends its Global Reach

By expanding its land reclamation activities in the South China Sea and growing the PLA’s global clout, China is reinforcing its influence in the Asia-Pacific.

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Manila Asserts Claims Over South China Sea Island

Manila Asserts Claims Over South China Sea Island

After bowing to Beijing’s request to retract his decision to plant a flag on Thitu Island over Philippine Independence Day, the President Rodrigo Duterte has likely angered the Chinese again.

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Duterte Backs Off Hawkish Rhetoric Over Spratly Islands

Duterte Backs Off Hawkish Rhetoric Over Spratly Islands

The unpredictable Duterte, has again changed course in the South China Sea, cancelling his plans to plant a flag on Thitu Island over Philippine Independence Day.

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Beijing Seeks to Bolster Claims to Disputed Islands

Beijing Seeks to Bolster Claims to Disputed Islands

Vietnam reacted strongly in response to a recent visit by a Chinese cruise ship to the disputed Paracel archipelago. Hanoi pressed for an end to the cruise ship visits, which have taken hundreds of Chinese tourists to the island chain since 2013.

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Tillerson Gives Beijing Face

Tillerson Gives Beijing Face

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson concluded his visit to China earlier this month, pledging that relations between the two countries would be based on “non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.”

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H.R. McMaster on China

H.R. McMaster on China

McMaster drew parallels between Russia’s activities on its borders with similar Chinese activities in the South China Sea, declaring China was “challenging U.S. interests at the far reaches of American power”.

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