China Hits Back at U.S. Criticism over South China Sea ‘Restrictions’

Megha Rajagopalan
Reuters
Free overflights and navigation doesn't equal foreign warships and jets to violate sovereignty and security, Beijing said.

Google Alters Name of Disputed South China Sea Reef

Katie Hunt
CNN
Google says it has altered its map of a disputed reef in the South China Sea, removing its Chinese name in favor of what it says is its internationally recognized moniker.

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.

Both China and Taiwan Have South China Sea Obligations

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China and Taiwan share claims to the South China Sea, a legacy of the civil war when the Communists beat the Nationalists and took control of the mainland in 1949.

Beijing's National Security Law Could Create New Tensions

Michelle FlorCruz
International Business Times
China adopted a national security law which defines issues in cyberspace, outer space, the deep sea and, the South China Sea, as areas it has the right to defend.

China Nears Completion of Controversial Airstrip in South China Sea

Oliver Holmes
Guardian
The runway is large enough for heavy military transport planes and fighters. It is only a third complete, showing that it has since been constructed at a rapid rate.

Russia Delivers Submarine To Vietnam For Defense Over South China Sea Dispute

Elizabeth Whitman
International Business Times
The submarines are Vietnam's effort to deter China's military from building up in the South China Sea.

The Truth About China’s South China Sea Land Reclamation Announcement

Prashanth Parameswaran
Diplomat
China's building of artificial islands is illegal and detrimental to peace and stability in the South China Sea.

China Voice: South China Sea Issue Should not Hinder China-U.S. Ties

Xinhua
A U.S. anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft flew over waters off China's Nansha Islands last month.

The Ultimate Irony: Is China the ‘America’ of Asia?

Doug Bandow
National Interest
Beijing’s claims in Asia are as valid as those made by the U.S. States against Mexico and Great Britain in the mid-19th century.

China Cares Little for Other Countries’ Territorial Claims

Steve Tsang
Guardian
Beijing’s actions in building man-made islands in the South China Sea are motivated by a desire to impose its sovereignty.

Conversation

05.29.15

Did the Game Just Change in the South China Sea? (And What Should the U.S. Do About It?)

Yanmei Xie , Andrew S. Erickson & more
As the 14th annual Asia Security Summit—or the Shangri-La Dialogue, as it has come to be known—gets underway in Singapore, we asked contributors to comment on what appears to be a recent escalation in tensions between the U.S. and China over the two...

How America Should Respond to China’s Moves in the South China Sea

J. Randy Forbes
National Interest
U.S. military superiority is required to keep the Asia-Pacific region from getting out of hand. 

China to Expand Naval Operations Amid Growing Tensions With U.S.

Chun Han Wong
Wall Street Journal
Changes designed to address U.S. rebalance in Asia and other challenges.

Environment

05.19.15

Dredging For Disaster

from Foreign Policy
Tensions are rising in the South China Sea. On May 16, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Beijing for talks which will likely focus on the territorial disputes. But China’s controversial effort to assert its sovereignty in the South China...

Despite Tension, Xi says U.S.-China Relations are Stable

David Brunnstrom
Reuters
John Kerry's trip has been dominated by security concerns about Beijing’s maritime ambitions in the So China Sea.

Kerry Expected to Bring Up China’s Sea Claims During Visit

Andrew Jacobs
New York Times
The U.S. might send ships and aircraft to within 12 nautical miles of built-up reefs near the Philippines.

Dredging For Disaster

Foreign Policy
Beijing’s massive So. China Sea island-building is destroying the region’s irreplaceable coral reefs.

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.

How the South China Sea Could help Beijing Level the Nuclear Playing Field

Will Englund
Washington Post
China bases its nuclear submarines, including the four equipped to launch ballistic missiles, on Hainan Island.

U.S. Gambit Risks Conflict With China

Andrew Browne
Wall Street Journal
Option to challenge Beijing in South China Sea is fraught with danger.

China Lashes Out Over U.S. Plan on South China Sea

Eva Dou and James Hookway
Wall Street Journal
Pentagon proposal to use aircraft and Navy vessels in region prompts swift response: ‘We are severely concerned’.

Ask The Vietnamese About War, And They Think China, Not The U.S.

Michael Sullivan
NPR
Vietnam's brief but bloody border war with China in 1979 left more than 50,000 dead.

Commentary: South China Sea No Showcase for U.S.-Japanese Alliance

Zhu Dongyang
Xinhua
As long as Japan refuses to face WWII atrocities, the world community will never loosen the screw.

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.

American Admiral Flexing Muscles

Sydney Morning Herald
After taking aim at China's “Great Wall of Sand” China’s in the South China Sea, U.S. Admiral Harris has to make a plan. 

U.S. Navy Alarmed at Beijing’s ‘Great Wall of Sand’ in So China Sea

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
US Admiral says competing territorial claims in the South China Sea are “increasing regional tensions and the potential for miscalculation." 

Indonesian President Says China’s Main Claim in South China Sea Has No Legal Basis

Kanupriya Kapoor and Linda Sieg
Reuters
Jakarta says it wants to remain an "honest broker" in one of Asia's most thorny territorial disputes.

US Should Consider Establishing a So China Sea Intl Ops Ctr in Indonesia

Jeff W. Benson
USNI News
The PLA Navy is building more submarines and ships and intends to operate three aircraft carriers.

China 2015 Defense Budget to Grow 10.1 Pct, Lowest in 5 Years

Xinhua
Projected spending of $144.2 billion lowest in five years as country confronts economic slowdown.

India China submarine fleet comparison - Business Insider

Jeremy Bender
Business Insider
This chart shows the competition between India and China's submarine fleet http://www.businessinsider.com/india-china-submarine-fleet-comparison-2015-3

China’s Neighbors Build Up Militaries

Trefor Moss
Wall Street Journal
China’s neighbors are moving forward with the modernization of their militaries with new fighter jets, submarines and other hardware, even as Beijing has tried to tamp down territorial tensions in the region.

The South China Sea: Oil on Troubled Waters

The Economist
Economist
Two Chinese oil companies show contrasting approaches in their attempts to operate in the South China Sea where, to the discomfort of its smaller neighbours, China’s claims in disputed waters have grown increasingly assertive.

Beijing Rejects Hanoi’s Legal Challenge on Spratly, Paracel Islands Disputes

Zuraidah Ibrahim and Kristine Kwok
South China Morning Post
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei dismissed the Vietnamese action on Thursday, describing its claims over the Spratly and Paracel islands—known in China as the Nansha and Xisha—as invalid.

China Says Can Build What It Wants On South China Sea Isles

BEN BLANCHARD
Reuters
China can build whatever it wants on its islands in the South China Sea, a senior Chinese official said on Monday, rejecting proposals ahead of a key regional meeting to freeze any activity that may raise tensions in disputed waters there.

China Says Can Build What it Wants on South China Sea Isles

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China can build whatever it wants on its islands in the South China Sea, a senior Chinese official said, rejecting proposals ahead of a key regional meeting to freeze any activity that may raise tensions in disputed waters there.

Chinese Oil Rig Near Vietnam to Be Moved

Jane Perlez
New York Times
The China National Petroleum Corporation, a state-owned company, said the billion-dollar rig, known as HD 981, would be relocated to an area around the Qiongdongnan basin, closer to Hainan Island, a southern province of China, and apparently in...

China Tells U.S. To Stay Out of South China Seas Dispute

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China told the United States on Tuesday to stay out of disputes over the South China Sea and leave countries in the region to resolve problems themselves, after Washington said it wanted a freeze on stoking tension.

U.S. Navy Official Says China Military Relations Have Improved ‘Modestly’

Chun Han Wong
Wall Street Journal
Relations between the U.S. and Chinese militaries have improved “modestly” in the past year, a senior U.S. Navy official said, despite discord over territorial tensions and strategic issues in the Asian-Pacific region.

Vietnam Vows Stand Against China as Sea Collisions Continue

John Boudreau and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen
Bloomberg
Vietnam accused Chinese ships of ramming one of its fishing boats yesterday, saying relations between the two countries have been “deeply damaged” by the their standoff over a disputed oil rig in the South China Sea.

To Bolster Its Claims, China Plants Islands in Disputed Waters

Edward Wong and Jonathan Ansfield
New York Times
China has been moving sand onto reefs and shoals to add several new islands to the Spratly archipelago, in what foreign officials say is a new effort to expand the Chinese footprint in the South China Sea.

China Cultivates India Amid Tension With Neighbors

Christopher Bodeen
ABC
Amid fierce disputes with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, China is reaching out to India in a warming trend that could help ramp up economic exchanges and dissipate decades of distrust between the two giant neighbors.

Japan Slams China Over Close Encounter of Jets

Washington Post
Japan lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing on Wednesday after Chinese military jets flew near Japanese military aircraft over the East China Sea, an official said.

Vietnam Says China Moving Rig; China Denies Sending Warships

Ho Binh Minh and Ben Blanchard
Reuters
Vietnam said on Wednesday a Chinese oil rig at the centre of an increasingly bitter territorial dispute appeared to be on the move again, as China denied Vietnamese accusations that it had sent warships to the scene.

Viewpoint

06.03.14

China’s Maritime Provocations

Susan Shirk
Last weekend I attended the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of Asian, European, and American defense and military officials and strategic experts in Singapore hosted by the London International Institute of Strategic Studies. China sent a...

Malaysia Seeks Code of Conduct for South China Sea

Jason Ng
Wall Street Journal
Malaysia urged a rapid conclusion to creating a long-stalled code of conduct in the South China Sea, as tensions grow over conflicting territorial ambitions in Asian waters between Beijing and neighboring countries.

Why Vietnam Can’t Count on Its Neighbors to Rally Against China

Bruce Einhorn
Businessweek
China knows Vietnam can do little to stop it; while an appeal by Vietnam to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations could make the fight more equal, it’s not likely to be very effective.

Wide Support on Chinese Social Media for Boat Attack

Didi Kirsten Tatlow
New York Times
After a Chinese fishing boat rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near a Chinese deep sea oil rig placed in waters contested by both countries, social media reaction appeared overwhelmingly supportive — even bellicose.

China Tensions Grow After Vietnamese Ship Sinks in Clash

Jane Perlez
New York Times
Hair-trigger tensions in the South China Sea escalated as China and Vietnam traded accusations over the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing vessel in the vicinity of a Chinese oil rig parked in disputed waters off Vietnam’s coast.

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.

Vietnam PM Says Considering Legal Action Against China Over Disputed Waters

Rosemarie Francisco and Manuel Mogato
Reuters
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said his government was considering various "defense options" against China, including legal action, following the deployment of a Chinese oil rig to South China Sea waters Hanoi also claims.

China’s Xi Issues Veiled Warning to Asia Over Military Alliances

John Ruwitch
Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to warn some Asian nations about strengthening military alliances to counter China, saying this would not benefit regional security.

Anger Grows in Vietnam Over Dispute With China

Mike Ives and Thomas Fuller
New York Times
Thousands of workers rampaged through an industrial area in southern Vietnam in what reportedly began as protests against China’s stationing of an oil rig in disputed waters off of Vietnam’s coast.

Protestors Torch Factories in Southern Vietnam as China Protests Escalate

Euan McKirdy
CNN
Properties in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) I & II in Binh Duong were targeted by thousands of protesters demonstrating over China's deployment of an oil rig in disputed waters.

A Beijing Power Play in the South China Sea is Met with U.S. Inaction

Washington Post
With a $1 billion oil rig the size of a football field, China has literally laid down a new marker in its ambition to dominate the South China Sea, only weeks after Barack Obama's tour of the region.

China Says Vietnam Efforts to Rope in Others on Spat Will Fail

Ben Blanchard and Manuel Mogato
Reuters
Tensions rose in the resource-rich South China Sea last week after China positioned a giant oil rig in an area also claimed by Vietnam. Each country accused the other of ramming its ships near the disputed Paracel Islands.

Conversation

05.09.14

The China-Vietnam Standoff: How Will It End?

Daniel Kliman, Ely Ratner & more
Daniel Kliman:Five thousand miles from Ukraine, off the coast of Vietnam, China is taking a page from Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s playbook. Beijing’s recent placement of a huge oil drilling rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea leverages...

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.