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...

How Will the EU Navigate U.S.-China Tensions?

Paul Haenle, Rosa Balfour & more from Carnegie China
Over the past few years, Europe and the United States have each approached China’s rise differently. Washington has moved to reduce its economic reliance on Beijing while castigating its increasingly assertive global stance. Brussels, on the other...

Depth of Field

12.31.19

‘Nowhere to Dock’

Ye Ming, Yan Cong & more from Yuanjin Photo
In 2019, Depth of Field showcased stories covering a range of topics: Shi Yangkun’s nostaglic exploration of China’s last collective villages, Zhu Lingyu’s careful and artisitic portrayal of survivors of sexual violence, and cities seen through the...

China’s Shift to a More Assertive Foreign Policy

Paul Haenle & Shi Yinhong from Carnegie China
Shi points to two important turning points in China’s shift to a more assertive foreign policy: the 2008 global financial crisis, which made it clear that China’s economic development was an important engine for global growth; and Xi Jinping’s rise...

Devising a New Formula for Global Leadership

Paul Haenle & Yan Xuetong from Carnegie China
Yan asserts the U.S.-China relationship is experiencing structural disruptions, the resolution of which will have a lasting impact on the two countries. He says the tensions in the U.S.-China relationship are primarily due to the narrowing gap...

China’s Master Plan: How the West Can Fight Back

Hal Brands
Bloomberg
In the first three installments of this series, I've explored the changing nature of China's challenge to U.S. interests and the existing international order, with a particular focus on three issues: China’s progressively more global...

Mattis Says China Is ‘Out of Step’ With International Law

Nancy A. Youssef
Wall Street Journal
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that he rescinded China’s invitation to take part in a multinational Pacific Rim military exercise because Beijing is “out of step with international law” in how it has militarized the islands and reefs in...

Gap Apologizes for Selling T-Shirt with 'Incorrect Map' of China

Reuters Staff
Reuters
Disputed territories including south Tibet, Taiwan and the South China Sea were omitted.

Recent Developments Surrounding the South China Sea

AP
Associated Press
Weekly look at the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.

China Challenged Australian Warships in South China Sea, Reports Say

Ben Westcott and Jamie Tarabay
CNN
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asserted the right of the Australian navy to travel the South China Sea, after local media reported three Australian warships were challenged by the Chinese navy earlier this month.

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 Installed Military Jamming Equipment on Spratly Islands, U.S. Says

Michael R. Gordon and Jeremy Page
Wall Street Journal
China has installed equipment on two of its fortified outposts in the Spratly Islands capable of jamming communications and radar systems, a significant step in its creeping militarization of the South China Sea, U.S. officials say.

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.

Conversation

03.06.18

China’s Military Spending

Dhruva Jaishankar, Dennis J. Blasko & more
On March 5, during the opening of the National People’s Congress, China’s annual parliament, Beijing announced it plans to spend U.S.$175 billion on its military in 2018, an 8.1 percent rise from 2017. China’s military budget is the world’s second...

“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...

Harry Harris, Trump’s Pick for Australia Envoy, Slams Beijing’s Asia Ambitions

Ben Westcott
CNN
China is seeking to “undermine” the international order in the Asia Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, US President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Australia, said in Washington on Wednesday.

Britain to Test China by Sailing Ship in Disputed Sea

Jamie Smyth and Tom Hancock
Financial Times
Anti-submarine frigate to sail through contested waters of South China Sea.

Photos Show Beijing’s Militarisation of South China Sea in New Detail

Tom Phillips
Guardian
Beijing has been accused of building “island fortresses” in the South China Sea after a newspaper in the Philippines obtained aerial photographs offering what experts called the most detailed glimpse yet of China’s militarisation of the waterway.

Conversation

01.24.18

Is China Really a ‘Threat’ to the U.S.?

James Holmes, Zha Daojiong & more
In a move presaging tougher policies towards China, the Department of Defense’s National Defense Strategy announced that the “revisionist powers” China and Russia are the “central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security.” And on January 22, Donald...

Asia & Pacific China to U.S.: It’s Your Fault We Are in the South China Sea

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
Beijing has a message for the Trump administration: The more ships you send to the contested waters of the South China Sea, the more we will bolster our presence there.

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.

A Second Territorial Dispute in Asia Could Be More Dangerous Than the South China Sea

CNBC
When it comes to territorial disputes in Asia, the South China Sea typically commands the bulk of attention. 

The Arms Race in the South China Sea

Forbes
China’s increasingly assertive attitude in the South China Sea has its neighbors worried.

Conversation

12.19.17

Trump’s National Security Strategy and China

Zha Daojiong, Pamela Kyle Crossley & more
On December 18, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced the United States’ new national security strategy. He called China a “strategic competitor,” and, along with Russia, called it a “revisionist power.” Those two nations, Trump said, are...

Australian Senator Loses Leadership Role over China Remarks

BBC
An Australian senator has been stripped of his senior duties after a recording revealed he had contradicted his party's policy on the South China Sea.

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.

China and Vietnam, Best ‘Frenemies’ Forever

Forbes
You know those boyfriend-girlfriend relationships that break up, get back together, and break up again? Maybe the two viscerally don’t get along but need each other for some indispensable reason. That pattern describes ties between China and Vietnam...

Beijing Says It Peacefully Resolved a South China Sea Dispute with Vietnam

CNBC
China and Vietnam have reached an agreement on managing their dispute in the South China Sea through friendly talks, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, following an ugly spat over the summer between the two communist neighbors.

Conversation

11.02.17

Trump Goes to Asia

Ely Ratner, David Dollar & more
Chinese officials like to talk about practicing “win-win” diplomacy. Their American counterparts sometime joke that this means China wins twice. From November 3 to November 14, Donald Trump will visit Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines,...

Singapore’s Delicate Balancing Act between the US and China

Jamie Tarabay
CNN
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong may have been in Washington on Monday to consolidate his country's economic and political partnerships with the US, but he appeared to dedicate much of his time concentrating on another nation whose...

China Threatens U.S. Congress for Crossing Its ‘Red Line’ on Taiwan

Josh Rogin
Washington Post
In a rare pressure campaign, the Chinese government is demanding that the U.S. Congress back off passing new laws that would strengthen the U.S. relationship with Taiwan. Beijing’s efforts are the latest sign that it is stepping up its campaign to...

China Says Taiwan Not a Country, Taiwan Says China Needs Reality Check

Reuters
China warned self-ruled Taiwan on Wednesday that it would “reap the consequences” of promoting formal independence, a red line for Beijing which claims the island as its own.

China Brushes off Vietnam Protests over South China Sea Drills

Reuters
Reuters
China on Wednesday dismissed Vietnamese condemnation of its military live-fire exercises in the disputed South China Sea, saying it was acting within its sovereign rights.

Conversation

08.29.17

Is the United States Still the Predominant Power in the Pacific?

Dennis J. Blasko, James Holmes & more
In late August, a U.S. destroyer collided with an oil tanker—the fourth such accident for the U.S. Navy in Asia since January. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has increased troop commitments in Afghanistan, threatened to strike North Korea with “...

If a Crisis Shuts down the South China Sea, Here Are the Losers — and a Few Winners

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
Several industries are trying to assess what open confrontation in the South China Sea would cost them, and a lot of them don't like what they’re finding. The world’s second–largest economy is getting more wary — and...

After U.S. Destroyer Collision, Chinese Paper Says U.S. Navy a Hazard

Reuters
The U.S. navy’s latest collision at sea, the fourth in its Pacific fleet this year, shows it is becoming an increasing risk to shipping in Asia despite its claims of helping to protect freedom of navigation, an official Chinese newspaper said.

US, China Military Chiefs Reach Deal to Reduce 'Risk of Miscalculation’

James Griffiths
CNN
Top US and Chinese military commanders have signed a deal to improve communications between the two forces amid ongoing disputes in the South and East China seas.

South China Sea: Vietnam Takes Up Fight Against China

Gregory Poling
CNN
When it comes to the disputed waters of the South China Sea, Vietnam’s leaders must feel very lonely these days.Their fellow Southeast Asian claimants have either reversed course after years of escalating tensions with Beijing, or are...

U.S. Warship Sails Close to China-Held Island in Disputed Sea

ABC
A U.S. warship sailed close to a Chinese man-made island in the disputed the South China Sea in an operation that challenged China’s vast territorial claims in busy international waters, a U.S. Navy official said Thursday.

Singapore Will Not ‘Roll over’ for China

Bhavan Jaipragas
South China Morning Post
Despite assertions from a former top diplomat, an ambassador-at-large says the Lion City will always speak up when its interests are at stake

China’s Quest to End Its Century of Shame

New York Times
At an ocean research center on Hainan Island off China’s southern coast, officials routinely usher visitors into a darkened screening room to watch a lavishly produced People’s Liberation Army video about China’s ambitions to reassert itself as a...

Books

07.06.17

China’s Asian Dream

Tom Miller
“China,” Napoleon once remarked, “is a sleeping lion. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will shake the world.” In 2014, President Xi Jinping triumphantly declared that the lion had awoken. Under his leadership, China is pursuing a dream to restore its historical position as the dominant power in Asia.From the Mekong River Basin to the Central Asian steppe, China is flexing its economic muscles for strategic ends. By setting up new regional financial institutions, Beijing is challenging the post-World War II order established under the watchful eye of Washington. And by funding and building roads, railways, ports, and power lines—a New Silk Road across Eurasia and through the South China Sea and Indian Ocean—China aims to draw its neighbors ever tighter into its embrace.Combining a geopolitical overview with on-the-ground reportage from a dozen countries, China’s Asian Dream offers a fresh perspective on one of the most important questions of our time: what does China’s rise mean for the future of Asia. —Zed Books{chop}

China’s Trump Honeymoon: Unexpected, and at Risk of Ending

Steven Lee Myers
New York Times
Mr. Trump’s assertion that China had failed to pressure North Korea into curbing its nuclear and ballistic missile program means that Beijing must now confront the prospect of a stormier relationship ahead — not just over North Korea but also...

China Cancels Military Meeting With Vietnam Over Territorial Dispute

Mike Ives
New York Times
Analysts, citing government sources, said that the Chinese delegation had unexpectedly cut short a trip to Vietnam after tempers flared during a closed-door discussion on disputed territories in the South China Sea.

Are China and the United States Headed for War?

New Yorker
Professors, pundits, and journalists weigh in on a heated topic.

China Says It Is Vigilant as Two U.S. Bombers Fly over South China Sea

Reuters
The U.S. military conducts such "freedom of navigation" patrols to show China it is not entitled to territorial waters there, U.S. officials said at the time.

Beijing Lashes Out Over Pentagon Report on Chinese Military

Christopher Bodeen
Associated Press
Beijing says it is “firmly opposed” to a Pentagon report that highlighted China's construction of military facilities in the South China Sea and speculated that Beijing would likely build more bases overseas.

China Tries to Play Nice at Key Security Forum

Nikkei Asian Review
Although China attempted to strike a more conciliatory tone in this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, a major Asian security forum held here through Sunday, officials’ uncompromising comments on Taiwan and the South China Sea only highlighted its rifts...

Trump May Turn to Vietnam for Help on South China Sea

CNBC
On Wednesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will be the first ASEAN leader to visit the White House since President Donald Trump’s election and the U.S. may look to tap into the emerging market’s friction with China.

South China Sea: U.S. Warship Challenges China’s Claims with First Operation under Trump

CNN
A U.S. Navy destroyer has sailed close to a disputed South China Sea island controlled by China for the first time under U.S. President Donald Trump.

Philippines, China Play down Duterte's Talk of War in Disputed Sea

Reuters
The Philippines and China played down on Monday a warning by President Rodrigo Duterte that China would go to war if the Philippines drilled for oil in the disputed South China Sea.

Why China Still Can’t Beat U.S. to Become the World’s Most Powerful Navy

Minnie Chan
South China Morning Post
China will eventually become the world’s No 2 aircraft carrier power, trailing only the United States, but its carrier strike group air crews are still far below international standard, military experts say.

Taiwan’s Failure to Face the Threat from China

ENOCH Y. WU
New York Times
China’s aggression in the Asia-Pacific region has been met with little tangible response from the United States and other countries. China’s neighbors have acquiesced to Beijing’s claims to the airspace above the East China Sea and have stood by as...

What Belt and Road Snub Means for Singapore’s Ties with China

BHAVAN JAIPRAGAS
South China Morning Post
China’s decision not to invite Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to last weekend’s Belt and Road Forum highlights the still-strained ties between the two countries, observers say, though officials in the Lion City have tried to shrug off...

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...

China, Philippines to Start South China Sea Talks: Ambassador

Benjamin Kang Lim
China and the Philippines will start bilateral consultations on the disputed South China Sea this week, the Philippine ambassador to Beijing said, as Manila looks to ease tensions with Asia’s top economic power.

China’s Huge Dam Projects Will Threaten Southeast Asia as Water Scarcity Builds Downstream

Daniel Rechtschaffen
Forbes
A river is born high in the Tibetan Plateau, before snaking its way 3,000 miles south and emptying itself into the South China Sea.

Asian Nations Pulled into China’s Orbit as Trump Puts America First

Manuel Mogato, Martin Petty
Reuters
Across Asia, more and more countries are being pulled into Beijing’s orbit, with the timid stance adopted by Southeast Asian nations on the South China Sea at a weekend summit a clear sign this fundamental geostrategic shift is gathering momentum.

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.