Page 3 - South China Sea
US, Australia, Canada, Philippines stage hold sea drills in South China Sea
The United States, Australia, Canada and the Philippines held air and naval manoeuvre Wednesday in a show of force in the disputed South China Sea, where China has increasingly asserted its territorial claims. In an apparent response, China said it conducted air and sea combat patrols on the same day. Adm. Samuel Paparo, who heads the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and top military and defense commanders from Australia, Canada and the Philippines said in a joint statement that they stand together to address common maritime challenges and underscore our shared dedication to upholding international law and the rules-based order. They said they were staging the two-day exercises to uphold unhindered passage in the Indo-Pacific region. China has long claimed much of the South China Sea, a key global trade and security route, and vowed to defend its territorial interests at all costs. Its claims overlap those of smaller coastal states, including the Philippines and Vietnam, hampering their ..
Philippines, Vietnam holds joint exercises amid South China Sea tensions
This collaboration follows an agreement between Manila and Beijing to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea, specifically regarding Philippine resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal.
China reports 7 more deaths from torrential rains brought by tropical storm
Torrential rains have left at least seven people dead and three others missing in southeastern China, state media said on Tuesday, raising the death toll from a tropical storm to 22. All the deaths have been in Hunan province. Heavy rains have been falling on eastern Hunan for days as Tropical Storm Gaemi moved inland after making landfall at typhoon strength in neighbouring Fujian province on the Chinese coast. Four deaths and three missing people were reported in four villages in Zixing city, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The rain has damaged hundreds of homes in the city and prompted the evacuation of more than 11,000 people, Xinhua said. The bodies of three other missing people were found in a village in a nearby city, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report. They were victims of a sudden mudslide caused by the rain, according to CCTV. The seven deaths are in an area south of a summertime tourist region where a mudslide killed 15 people and injured six others af
Taiwan detects 4 Chinese aircraft, surge in activity near its territory
Amid the growing threat, Taiwan, starting Monday, began military exercises to test its war-fighting capabilities
Southeast Asian diplomats meet China's Wang Yi over maritime dispute
Top diplomats from Southeast Asia met Friday morning in Vientiane with China's Foreign Minister for talks that come as friction continues to escalate over Beijing's growing effort to press its sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. Several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation have disputes with China, which has led to direct confrontations that many worry could lead to broader conflict. One wrong step in the South China Sea will turn a small fire into a terrible firestorm, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi ahead of the talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have conflicts with China over its claims of sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world's most crucial waterways for shipping. Indonesia has also expressed concern about what it sees as Beijing's encroachment on its exclusive economic zone. The United States and its allies, meanwhile, have bee
Eyeing strategic advantages near China sea, US builds Australia's bases
Tender documents show that intelligence briefing rooms, upgraded runways for bombers, warehouses, data centres and maintenance hangars are in the works
Myanmar violence tops discussion as Southeast Asian diplomats meet in Laos
Southeast Asian foreign ministers and top diplomats from key partners including the United States and China were gathering in the Laotian capital on Thursday for the start of three days of talks expected to focus on the increasingly violent civil war in Myanmar, tensions in the South China Sea and other regional issues. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are expected to hold one-on-one talks on the sidelines of the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Vientiane, which come as both Beijing and Washington are looking to expand their influence in the region. Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith thanked ASEAN members and partners for their unwavering collective effort that has led to its past achievements and emphasized the importance of the bloc's continuous work to promote peace and stability. In light of the rapid and complex geopolitical and geoeconomic changes, we need to further enhance ASEAN centrality and unity so
Taiwan begins military exercise with combat drills amid rising China threat
The five-day drill is being held even as China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) flew a record number of aircraft close to the island this month
Tensions rise in South China Sea as Taiwan rejects Philippines' claims
MOFA said the claims made by the two nations were unacceptable and stressed the sovereign rights of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to its islands in the South China Sea
Taiwan tracks 18 Chinese military aircraft, 8 vessels near its territory
So far in July, the Taiwan's MND has detected Chinese military aircraft 294 times and naval ships 84 times
Japan, Philippines sign defense pact in face of shared alarm over China
Japan and the Philippines signed a key defence pact on Monday allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint drills in the Southeast Asian nation that came under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II but is now building an alliance with Tokyo as both face an increasingly assertive China. The Reciprocal Access Agreement, which similarly allows Filipino forces to enter Japan for joint combat training, was signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in a Manila ceremony witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It would take effect after ratification by the countries' legislatures, Philippine and Japanese officials said. Kamikawa called the signing a groundbreaking achievement" that should further boost defence cooperation between the countries. The Japanese and Philippine officials expressed serious concern over the dangerous and escalatory actions by China in Second Thomas Shoal, the scene of a recent confrontation
Japan, Philippines sign defence pact in the face of shared alarm over China
Japan and the Philippines signed a key defence pact Monday allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint military exercises, including live-fire drills, to the Southeast Asian nation that came under brutal Japanese occupation in World War II but is now building an alliance with Tokyo as they face an increasingly assertive China. The Reciprocal Access Agreement, which similarly allows Filipino forces to enter Japan for joint combat training, was signed by Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in a Manila ceremony witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It would take effect after ratification by the countries' legislatures, Philippine and Japanese officials said. Kamikawa called the signing of the defence agreement a groundbreaking achievement" that should further boost defence cooperation between Japan and the Philippines. A free and open international order based on the rule of law is the foundation of regional peace and
China deploys aircraft carrier off Philippine coast amid tensions
China has deployed its second aircraft carrier 'Shandong' which was spotted patrolling waters off the Philippine coast as Manila stepped up efforts to assert its claims over a shoal in the disputed South China Sea firmly opposing Beijing's counterclaims. Shandong, an aircraft carrier with a displacement of about 70,000 tonnes, was seen patrolling the waters of the Philippines which serves as a deterrence against "continuous Philippine provocations" on Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea, state-run Global Times media reported on Monday. The aircraft carrier is likely on a scheduled exercise that could also prepare it for a potential far sea voyage into the West Pacific, it quoted Chinese experts as saying. Shandong's deployment comes after the People's Liberation Army (PLA) deployed major surface combat ships, including large and medium destroyers as well as the main amphibious landing ship in the South China Sea as the maritime territorial conflict with Manila ...
N Korea launches ballistic missile toward sea, after US-S Korea-Japan drill
North Korea launched at least one short-range ballistic missile off its east coast Monday, South Korea's military said, a day after the North vowed offensive and overwhelming responses to a new US military drill with South Korea and Japan. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from North Korea's southeastern town of Jangyon at 5.05 am. It said an additional, unidentified ballistic missile launch trajectory was detected 10 minutes later, a suggestion that North Korea might have performed two missile launches. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korea's military has boosted its surveillance posture and is closely exchanging related information with the United States and Japan. The launch came two days after South Korea, the US and Japan ended their new multidomain trilateral drills in the region. In recent years, the three countries have been expanding their trilateral security partnership to better cope with North Korea's evolving nuclear threats and China's ...
Philippines should 'do more' than just protest China actions, says Marcos
We have filed over a hundred protests, we have already made a similar number of demarche, Marcos told reporters. We have to do more than just that
Chinese, Japanese coast guard ships in standoff near disputed islands
The islands, referred to as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China, are claimed by both countries
Taiwan detects 15 Chinese military aircraft, 6 naval ships around island
According to Taiwan News, in response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor the PLA activity
Won't back down, says Philippines after clash with Chinese Coast Guard
The president of the Philippines said Sunday his country would not yield to any foreign power after Chinese forces injured Filipino navy personnel and damaged at least two military boats with machetes, axes and hammers in a clash in the disputed South China Sea, but added the Philippines would never instigate a war. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew with his top generals and defence chief to the western island province of Palawan, which faces the South China Sea, to meet and award medals to navy personnel who came under assault by the Chinese coast guard Monday as they attempted to deliver food and other supplies to an outpost on the hotly contested Second Thomas Shoal. Videos and pictures of the chaotic face-off made public by the military showed Chinese coast guard personnel hitting a Philippine navy boat with a wooden bar and seizing a bag while blaring sirens and using blinding strobe lights. The Chinese government said that its coast guard had to take action after Filipino ..
China could take control of Taiwan without firing shot: US think tank
Analysts and military strategists said that there are two key options available to China - a full-scale invasion or a military blockade
Decoded: What's fuelling the China-Philippines dispute in South China Sea?
China's claim over mostly entire South China Sea through the nine-dash line has been at the source of conflict with other island nations in the region
