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Tag Archives: Hainan island

The Hague Rules, China Reacts

The Hague Rules, China Reacts

On July 12, an international tribunal in The Hague issued a scathing rebuttal to China’s expansive claims. What has been Beijing’s reaction so far?

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A Case of Improper Airmanship

A Case of Improper Airmanship

Coinciding with Kerry’s visit to Beijing for high-level security talks, a Chinese fighter jet carried out an “unsafe” intercept of a U.S. spy plane.

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Will Beijing Declare Another Air Defense Zone?

Will Beijing Declare Another Air Defense Zone?

In a potential geopolitical tit-for-tat, some analysts warn Beijing may soon declare an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea, should the U.S. go ahead with plans to conduct a freedom of navigation exercise announced for April.

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Fear and Loathing in Vietnam

Fear and Loathing in Vietnam

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Vietnam this week, the first by a Chinese president in ten years, drew mixed reaction among the Vietnamese.

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Beijing Attempts to Stifle South China Sea Discussion at ASEAN

Beijing Attempts to Stifle South China Sea Discussion at ASEAN

Beijing attempted to quash any mention of the South China Sea dispute prior to Tuesday’s meeting in Kuala Lumpur of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

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Beijing Asserts, Hanoi Beefs Up

Beijing Asserts, Hanoi Beefs Up

Here in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the local government last week ordered its travel and tourism departments to draw up a feasibility study for tours to the Truong Sa (Spratly) islands, which Vietnam currently occupies.

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No Shangri-La in South China Sea

No Shangri-La in South China Sea

On Saturday in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter addressed the attendants at the 14th Shangri-La Dialogue, a high-level security forum, asserting China’s recent land reclamation in the South China Sea was “out of step” with international norms, and adding his opposition to “any further militarization” in the region.

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U.S. Confronts China Over Airspace in South China Sea

U.S. Confronts China Over Airspace in South China Sea

I had not given much thought to the flight plan of the airline I recently booked to go back to the U.S. from Vietnam, but recent events in the airspace over the South China Sea prompted an online search. As I discovered, my commercial flight will be flying not far from where a U.S. surveillance plane was warned on Wednesday to leave by a Chinese radar operator.

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Should the U.S./EU Send Naval Observers to the South China Sea?

Should the U.S./EU Send Naval Observers to the South China Sea?

The Boston Global Forum (BGF), a non-profit forum for international scholars, hosted its opening session on July 2, aiming to engage leaders from the United States, Asia, and the United Nations to discuss the crisis in the South China Sea.  BGF Chairman and Co-Founder Michael Dukakis moderated the discussion, with the active participation of Professor […]

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Why is China Building Artificial Islands?

Why is China Building Artificial Islands?

When planning an international beach holiday, few holidaymakers think of China when choosing to spend their time on a beach.  China does boast one top destination for beachgoers, Hainan island, but the quality of most of its mainland beaches has diminished greatly in recent years by floating trash, oil slicks, or abundant algae. Given the […]

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Rock, Paper, Scissors in the South China Sea

Rock, Paper, Scissors in the South China Sea

photo: WN.com Rock, paper, scissors is a popular game among youth in China, and can be played anywhere and anytime between two people.  In the game, both participants count to three and then reveal their hand – a fist symbolizes a rock, a flat hand is paper, and two fingers signify scissors.  The winner is […]

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Vietnamese Woman Burns Self to Protest China

Vietnamese Woman Burns Self to Protest China

Protest continued in Vietnam this past weekend as a 67-year-old Vietnamese woman burned herself to death at the front gate of Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday morning. Vietnamese authorities believe the suicide was the result of personal troubles and anger, as they discovered a bag at the scene containing seven banners […]

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Sovereingty questions at sea: China’s maritime claims

Sovereingty questions at sea: China’s maritime claims

Who owns the ocean? In reference to the water south of China, it depends on who you ask. Newer claims by China would extend its sovereignty well south to the island of Borneo, passing by Vietnam, Malaysia, and Philippines in the process. Let’s a take a look at what’s gone on and what it says […]

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Is Beijing Prepared to go to War over a Fishing Incident?

Is Beijing Prepared to go to War over a Fishing Incident?

  After Beijing unilaterally declared an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea last month, to include the disputed Tokyo-controlled islands called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, the reaction by regional neighbors and the U.S. was swift. But with each action, a subsequent and escalating reaction has been triggered. China’s […]

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The Pentagon Flies in the Face of Beijing’s New Air Defense Zone

The Pentagon Flies in the Face of Beijing’s New Air Defense Zone

In a rare slap in the face to Beijing, last week the U.S. flew two of its unarmed B-52 bombers into China’s newly-established East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone.  The air defense zone had been recently created in order to assert Beijing’s claim to disputed territorial waters of the East China Sea and to […]

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