News
Vietnam Joins ASEAN Neighbors in Denouncing Chinese Map
Vietnam has joined three other Southeast Asian governments in denouncing a new map published by China’s government, which depicted the country’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. The so-called “new standard” map, which was published by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources on August 28, has ...
Sebastian Strangio
Geopolitical standoff in South China Sea leads to environmental fallout
A long-running territorial standoff over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea has seen vessels dumping enough raw sewage to threaten the marine ecosystem there — and the degradation is extensive enough to be seen from space. On July 12, U.S.-based geospatial tech company Simularity ...
Leilani Chavez
Standing on the shoulders of science above the South China Sea fray
The waters of the South China Sea face environmental peril that is ‘inseparable from the territorial disputes that plague it’. As claimants solidify their positions through artificial island construction, with China driving the most ambitious builds, habitats with wide-ranging ecological and economic value are being ...
James Borton
China, Thailand exchange in-depth views on South China Sea issue
Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai held here Saturday strategic consultations and exchanged in-depth views on the South China Sea issue. Talking positively about the situation in the South China Sea which is getting stable, the two ...
ASEAN meet rocks no boats on Rakhine, South China Sea
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Friday hewed to the group’s practice of reaching the least provocative consensus possible in discussions of such divisive issues as Myanmar’s Rakhine crisis and China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. A two-day Foreign Ministers’ ...
South China Sea disputes: Makings of a new Cold War?
Tensions in the South China Sea have somewhat abated but the latent flashpoint remains. In mid-October 2018, a near collision took place between a US and Chinese warship. The US has attacked Beijing’s expansionism. In September 2018, Japan conducted its first-ever submarine drills in the ...
Beyond the South China Sea: Beijing may target these waterways next
The South China Sea and Indian Ocean have been the principal theaters for Beijing’s naval ambitions in Asia. The Pacific Ocean and Mekong River, each rife with strategic advantages, could soon be next. Keep reading ...
China eyes its next prize – the Mekong
Beijing’s islands-building in the South China Sea and their militarisation, replete with surface-to-air missiles, is near complete. With guile, threat, and coercion, China can now seize control of one of the main transport arteries of Southeast Asia, making a mockery of international laws and norms. ...
A Fragile New ‘Normal’ Descends on South China Sea Claimants
The United States and China have apparently reached a tacit agreement to disagree and maintain a leaky status quo in the South China Sea. Not coincidentally, relations on this issue between Asean claimants and between Asean and China are more or less at the same place. Keep ...
Avoiding a South China Sea trap on mainland South-east Asia
A month ago, the Third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, with the Lao, Thai and Vietnamese premiers joining host Prime Minister Hun Sen. As in the previous meetings, China, the upstream nation, was present, but only as a dialogue ...
