Beijing's bombers in disputed South China Sea raising tensions: Hanoi
Recent activity by China's strategic bombers in the South China Sea's Paracel Islands seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty over the disputed territory, Vietnam's foreign ministry said on Monday. China's air force said bombers such as the H-6K had landed and taken off from islands and reefs ...
Manila drops South China Sea hut construction on sandbar after Beijing gripes
Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana acknowledged Wednesday that the military canceled construction of structures in a disputed area of the South China Sea after China complained about it. Lorenzana said President Rodrigo Duterte ordered a stop to the construction of nipa huts on a sandbar ...
As attention focuses on North Korea threat, Beijing quietly expanding South China Sea militarization
China has quietly undertaken more construction and reclamation in the South China Sea, recent satellite images show, and is likely to more powerfully reassert its claims over the waterway soon, regional diplomats and military officers say. With global attention focused on North Korea and Beijing ...
Yokosuka-based U.S. destroyer challenges Beijing's claims in disputed South China Sea
China said it was "very displeased" after a U.S. Navy destroyer conducted a so-called freedom of navigation patrol (FONOP) within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea. The operation, which involved the Yokosuka, Kanagawa ...
China has built new military facilities on South China Sea isles, U.S. think tank says
China has built new military facilities on islands in the South China Sea, a U.S. think tank reported on Thursday, a move that could raise tensions with Washington, which has accused Beijing of militarizing the vital waterway. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of ...
When it comes to the South China Sea, the world cannot afford to let Beijing make light of international law and its own promises of restraint.
Vietnam dredging at disputed Spratly reef in South China Sea: Reuters
Vietnam has begun dredging work on a disputed reef in the South China Sea, Reuters news service reported Thursday, a move that will likely anger China, which claims virtually the entire sea. A commercial satellite image taken on Nov. 30 shows activity on Vietnam-controlled Ladd ...
Fortified hangars on disputed China-held islets can hold any fighter: CSIS
Satellite photographs taken in late July show China appears to have built reinforced aircraft hangars on its holdings in disputed South China Sea isletss, a Washington-based research group said. The hangars on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs in the Spratly islands have room for ...
Beijing's Paracel military buildup seen as precursor to Spratly ambitions
From listening posts to jet fighter deployments and now surface-to-air missiles, China's expanding facilities in the Paracel Islands are a signal of long-term plans to strengthen its military reach across the disputed South China Sea. Diplomats and security experts in contact with Chinese military strategists ...
U.S. Navy spy plane's Singapore deployment drawing close China scrutiny
China's military is paying "close attention" to an agreement between the United States and Singapore to deploy the U.S. P-8 Poseidon spy plane to the city state and hopes the move does not harm regional stability, the defense ministry said. "We are paying close attention ...
Two U.S. B-52 strategic bombers flew near artificial Chinese islands in the South China Sea this week, the Pentagon said Thursday, calling the planes' appearance routine. The mission followed a patrol last month by a U.S. guided-missile destroyer, which passed within waters that Beijing claims. During ...
Philippines to station warplanes, frigates at former U.S. Subic base facing disputed sea
The Philippines will station new fighter jets and two frigates at the former U.S. naval facility in Subic Bay from early next year, officials said, the first time the massive installation has functioned as a military base in 23 years. Using Subic Bay would allow ...
