Asian countries that pride themselves on neutral foreign policies face growing pressure to support either China or the United States in a sticky maritime sovereignty dispute, but they are expected to bid for both and keep the aid coming in. Southeast Asian claimants to the disputed South China Sea grappled with the prospect of choosingRead more

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe held talks Friday in Singapore, as the secretary worked to build the U.S.-China military relationship while reprimanding Chinese “bad behavior.” The two spoke on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La defense forum, as relations have been strained between the two countries by increased tensionsRead more

Taiwan said Tuesday it will continue doing “humanitarian” search and rescue work in the South China Sea, where it holds the largest of about 500 tiny islets.  In a statement, the Coast Guard Administration said it will “deepen its cooperation mechanism” with surrounding countries, the agency said. China, the most powerful claimant to the 3.5Read more

Japan is shaping up as China’s chief rival in the disputed South China Sea because it has a sustained, multi-pronged approach and a unique set of reasons to test Beijing’s growing influence, analysts say. The country has emerged since 2017 as a force in the sea. It works with the United States on joint navalRead more

The United States military said one of its warships in the South China Sea sailed Monday near the disputed Scarborough Shoal claimed by China and the Philippines. “USS Preble sailed within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Reef in order to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law,”Read more

A rare U.S. Coast Guard exercise in the South China Sea this month shows that the United States is broadening its reach in a disputed waterway, a new pressure point between Washington and the sea’s chief claimant Beijing. On May 14 the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bertholf joined two Philippine coast guard vessels for trainingRead more

The deployment this year of a second aircraft carrier and construction of a third will allow China to position one of the carriers in the contested South China Sea, maritime policy experts believe. A carrier known only as Type 001 has been tested in China for formal use by September. Another is being built forRead more

China and Southeast Asian countries that dispute sovereignty over a strategic Asian sea aim to speed up talks toward a code of conduct that would lower the risk of accidents and help keep the U.S. government out of the fray. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his country and a bloc of Southeast Asian statesRead more

China objected Monday to the passage of two U.S. warships near disputed islands in the South China Sea. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the warships entered the waters without Chinese permission. He said the warships had violated China’s sovereignty, while also harming peace, security “and good order in the relevant seas.” China has expandedRead more

Beijing has declared a moratorium on fishing in about half the heavily disputed South China Sea every year since 1995. And every year other countries with competing sovereignty claims keep letting their own fishing fleets do as they wish.  The Chinese coast guard says the ban that took effect May 1 this year will beRead more