The Class of ’77

Susan Jakes
In August 1971, Jaime FlorCruz arrived in Beijing for a short trip to learn about Maoist China. Just days later, the Filipino college student learned he had been put on a blacklist by then President Ferdinand Marcos. Facing certain arrest and likely...

Conversation

12.16.22

How Well Is China Advancing Its Interests in Southeast Asia?

Gregory B. Poling, Sharon Seah & more
Xi Jinping traveled to Southeast Asia last month to attend the G20 summit in Bali before moving on to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ meeting in Bangkok. The meetings came on the heels of Premier Li Keqiang’s...

Conversation

12.28.21

Three Questions for China’s Neighbors

Richard J. Heydarian, Nirupama Rao & more
“China was, is, and will always be a good neighbor,” China’s leader Xi Jinping told ASEAN representatives in a November 2021 virtual meeting, after a series of conflicts over Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea had raised tensions...

China Hasn’t Delivered on Its $24 Billion Philippines Promise

Jason Koutsoukis, Cecilia Yap
Bloomberg
Of the 27 deals signed between China and the Philippines during Duterte’s visit to Beijing in October 2016, China originally agreed to provide $9 billion in soft loans, including a $3 billion credit line with the Bank of China, with a further $15...

Why Is China Suddenly Seeking Filipino English Teachers?

Coco Liu
South China Morning Post
Beijing shifts its attitude towards workers from the Philippines.

Duterte Banks on China Ties to Repair War-Torn Philippine City

Ditas B Lopez and Andreo Calonzo
Bloomberg
China will have a chance to showcase warmer ties with the Philippines if it wins a contract to rebuild a city ravaged by Islamic State-inspired terrorists last year, a cabinet member said.

China and the Philippines Will Work Together to Tap the South China Sea’s Vast Oil Deposits

Ralph Jennings
Forbes
China needs fuel to grow the world’s second-largest economy by 6.5% this year as established this week at annual legislative sessions.

“Ignore the Missiles”: Duterte Says China’s South China Sea Militarization Is No Problem

Steve Mollman
Quartz
Generally speaking, a sovereign nation dislikes it when a foreign power establishes new military bases within striking range of its capital. But when it comes to China doing just that to the Philippines in the South China Sea, Rodrigo Duterte, it...

Philippines to Protest to China over Apparent Airbase on Manmade Island

Reuters Staff
Reuters
The United States has criticized China’s build-up of military facilities on the artificial islands and is concerned they could be used to restrict free movement along the key trade route.

China Telecom Picked to Become the Philippines' Third Telecoms Player

Reuters
South China Morning Post
China Telecom Corp could become the Philippines’ third nationwide telecommunications operator, officials of the Southeast Asian country said on Sunday, as the government sought to stir up competition to boost notoriously poor fixed-line broadband...

Trump Offers to Mediate on South China Sea

Steve Holland and Mai Nguyen
Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was prepared to mediate between claimants to the South China Sea, where five countries contest China’s sweeping claims to the busy waterway.

Philippines, Seeking to Appease Beijing, Halts Construction in South China Sea

Felipe Villamor
New York Times
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has ordered military officials to stop construction work on a sandbar in a disputed area of the South China Sea after Beijing complained, the country’s defense chief said on Wednesday.

Philippines Apologizes to China over Wrong Taiwan Logo

Jim Gomez
Bloomberg
The Philippine defense department has apologized to China for the "grievous but purely unintentional mistake" of using Taiwan's defense ministry logo during a ceremony where the Chinese ambassador turned over thousands of assault...

Depth of Field

06.29.17

Love, Robots, and Fireworks

Ye Ming, Yan Cong & more from Yuanjin Photo
Included in this Depth of Field column are stories of love, community, remembrance, and the future, told through the discerning eyes of some of China’s best photojournalists. Among them, the lives of African migrants in Guangzhou, seven years inside...

China, Philippines to Hold First South China Sea Talks Friday

CLIFF VENZON
Nikkei Asian Review
The meeting will take place in the southern Chinese province of Guizhou, which is also hosting talks on Thursday between China and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on establishing a framework for a code of conduct in the...

Philippines’ Duterte Says Helpless against China

Channel NewsAsia
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday (Apr 27) there was no point protesting Chinese artificial island building in disputed areas of the South China Sea because it could not be stopped.

Philippine Ministers Cry Foul over China’s Island Plans

Michael Peel
Financial Times
Fears of a Chinese plan to build a radar station on a disputed ocean outcrop have laid bare tensions in the Philippine government over President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign to woo Beijing.

Books

03.02.17

The Silver Way

Peter Gordon and Juan José Morales
Long before London and New York rose to international prominence, a trading route was discovered between Spanish America and China that ushered in a new era of globalization. The “Ruta de la Plata,” or “Silver Way,” catalyzed economic and cultural exchange, built the foundations for the first global currency, and led to the rise of the first “world city.” And yet, for all its importance, the Silver Way is too often neglected in conventional narratives on the birth of globalization. Gordon and Morales re-establish its fascinating role in economic and cultural history, with direct consequences for how we understand China today. —Penguin China{chop}

Philippines’ Duterte Asks China to Patrol Piracy-Plagued Waters

Reuters
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he had asked China to help in the fight against Islamic State-linked militants by sending ships to patrol southern waters plagued by raids on commercial vessels.

Japan And China Are Competing To Win Over The Philippines

Ralph Jennings
Forbes
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing away the United States in favor of its geopolitical rival China. But the man in office still likes Japan.

China is No Longer Ruining Their Livelihoods, but These Filipino Fishermen are Not Entirely Grateful

Ana Santos
Los Angeles Times
“We cannot forget China’s aggression towards us. They bumped our boats, they fired their water cannons on us"

Law of the Sea and the U.S. Election

Paul Haenle & John Bellinger from Carnegie China
The South China Sea has been a central point of tension in the U.S.-China relationship under the Obama administration. In this podcast, Paul Haenle speaks with John Bellinger, the most senior international lawyer in the George W. Bush administration...

Philippines Says China Vessels Have Left Disputed Scarborough Shoal

Reuters
South China Morning Post
Unimpeded access for first time in four years, Philippine minister says

Conversation

10.25.16

How Many U.S. Allies Can China Turn?

Zhang Baohui, Richard J. Heydarian & more
Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines since June, visited China this week and signaled his interest in shifting Manila’s allegiance away from Washington toward Beijing. While his predecessor sued China in an international court to contest...

Duterte’s Fling With China Could Prove Fleeting

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
Beijing will soon discover that Manila’s affections can be fickle

‘I Am Chinese’: Philippine President Duterte’s Awkward Charm Offensive in China

Charlie Campbell
Time
Having sanctioned thousands of extrajudicial killings, Duterte says his visit to China is “the defining moment of my presidency”

China Courts Philippines Leader Duterte Amid Signs of U.S. Rift

Tom Phillips and Oliver Holmes
Guardian
The Philippines president is visiting China, but whether his focus is on building relations or his country’s infrastructure remains to be seen

Is Philippine President Duterte Playing the United States and China?

Raissa Robles
South China Morning Post
Is the pivot away from the U.S. and towards China real, or is Manila just trying to play the two superpowers against each other?

Phillippines’ Duterte Wants to ‘Open Alliances’ With Russia, China

Manuel Mogato and Enrico dela Cruz
Reuters
Duterte turns after reaching "the point of no return" with the U.S.

Obama’s Asia Legacy

Paul Haenle & Michael Green from Carnegie China
As President Obama enters his final months in office and a new administration prepares to take the helm in 2017, what will his legacy be in the Asia-Pacific? In this podcast, Paul Haenle and Michael Green, former senior director for Asian affairs at...

Media

08.17.16

How the Philippines Can Win in the South China Sea

The Philippine Islands has a problem. It has international law on its side in its quarrel with China over maritime territory, but no policeman walking his beat to enforce the law. That means that, despite an international court’s findings, the...

China: The People’s Fury

Richard Bernstein from New York Review of Books
It has long been routine to find in both China’s official news organizations and its social media a barrage of anti-American comment, but rarely has it reached quite the intensity and fury of the last few days. There have been calls from citizens on...

Conversation

07.12.16

China’s Claims in the South China Sea Rejected

Andrew S. Erickson, Peter Dutton & more
On Tuesday in the Hague, the Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected China’s claims that a scattering of rocks and reefs in the contested South China Sea qualify as Exclusive Economic Zones for China. The court found in favor of the Philippines’...

South China Sea: Tribunal Backs Case Against China Brought By Philippines

BBC
Tribunal in The Hague says China has violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights....

Filipino Nationalists Say Flag-Planting on Disputed Shoal Halted by China

Megha Rajagopalan
Reuters
The Filipinos' move comes as the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague prepares to deliver a ruling.

Conversation

05.16.16

Escalation in the South China Sea

Julian G. Ku, M. Taylor Fravel & more
International tensions are rising over the shipping lanes and land formations in the South China Sea. Last week, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force scrambled fighter jets in response to a U.S. Navy ship sailing near the disputed Fiery Cross Reef...

China Says Has Wide Support for Stance on South China Sea Case

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China says it is fully within its rights not to participate in a legal case lodged by the Philippines against Chinese claims.

Philippine Front-Runner Duterte Floats New Tactic in South China Sea Dispute

Jeremy Page and Trefor Moss
Wall Street Journal
Davao City mayor’s proposal is at odds with U.S.’s multilateral response on maritime disputes.

China Expresses Alarm at Philippines-Japan Aircraft Deal

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
Philippines will lease five aircraft from Japan to help patrol the disputed South China Sea.

Conversation

02.02.16

How Close Was the Latest Close Call in the South China Sea?

Julian G. Ku, Feng Zhang & more
Had things in fact calmed down in recent weeks as the Chinese official press claimed, only to be stirred up again needlessly by another Freedom of Navigation sail by the U.S. Navy?

Viewpoint

01.08.16

The Storm Beneath the Calm: China’s Regional Relations in 2016

Yanmei Xie
On the surface, 2015 came to a close in a moment of relative tranquility after a turbulent year for China’s neighborhood. But the calm is misleading: the optics of regional diplomacy have become increasingly detached from the reality of the...

The Philippines Takes China to Court

Al Jazeera
The Philippines argued at a closed that an international court should intervene in its dispute with China over rights to exploit natural resources and fish in the South China Sea.

Philippines Ramps Up Military Spending in Face of China Threat

MANUEL MOGATO
Reuters
The Philippines plans to ramp up military spending over the next 13 years, earmaking more than $20 billion in face of Beijing's maritime ambitions in the disputed South China Sea. 

South China Sea Dispute Between China, Philippines Heads To Court

TOBY STERLING
Reuters
The Philippines argued at a closed hearing on Tuesday that an international court should intervene in its dispute with China over the right in the South China Sea. 

U.S., China Set for High-Stakes Rivalry in Skies Above South China Sea

Greg Torode
Reuters
Experts say it's increasingly likley that Beijing will declare an Air Defense Identification Zone in the area.

Philippines Starts South China Sea War Games With U.S.

Norman P. Acquino
Bloomberg
More than 11,000 soldiers from the Philippines, U.S. and Australia will take part in joint drills in the South China Sea.

Images Show Rapid Chinese Progress on New South China Sea Airstrip

David Brunnstrom
Reuters
China's new airstrips sit in a shipping lane through which $5 trillion of trade passes each year.

China’s Island-Building Is Ruining Coral Reefs, Philippines Says

Floyd Whaley
New York Times
China’s South China Sea neighbors could lose up to $100 million a year because reefs are fish breeding grounds.

China warns Japan, Philippines Accuses China in Maritime Spat

Sui-Lee Wee and Manuel Mogato
Reuters
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting rival claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Philippines Challenges China Over Disputed Atoll

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
The Philippines has protested signs of land reclamation by China aimed at expanding a disputed coral atoll near the southern Philippines, the latest in a series of disputes pitting China against its neighbors.

Obama in the Philippines: ‘Our Goal Is Not to Contain China’

Emily Rauhala
Time
The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement took eight months to negotiate but mere days to anger Beijing, which sees U.S. involvement in East Asia as interference despite President Obama's insistence the goal is not to "contain" China.

Commentary: Philippine Leader's Senseless Attack Against China Smells of Amateurish Politician

Ming Jinwei
Xinhua
A Xinhua writer fiercely responds to Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III’s comparison of China to Nazy Germany.

Philippine Leader Sounds Alarm on China

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
President Benigno S. Aquino III called for nations around the world to support the Philippines in resisting China’s claims to the seas near his country, drawing a comparison to the West’s failure to support Czechoslovakia against Hitler’s demands...

China is Playing Chicken with the U.S. Military in the South China Sea

Benjamin Carlson
Global Post
Vessels from the U.S. military and other countries increasingly find themselves in high-stakes confrontations in the region.