Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said if she became president the US would be ” more aggressive in helping our allies in that region push back against new Chinese aggression” on Wednesday’s broadcast of “CBS This Morning.” Fiorina was asked what
As a part of a continuing effort to expand Chinese naval presence and project power across the South China Sea, the communist government has completed construction of the world’s largest aircraft carrier dock. The dock is 700 feet long and can service two ships at a time.
China is attempting to strongarm the countries forming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to discuss its aggressive expansion of control in the South China Sea, issuing statements arguing that the venue is “improper” for such a topic. The Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, all who object to China’s expansion, strongly disagree.
Chinese officials are trying to downplay accusations of aggression at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this Tuesday.
The long-running Chinese complaint about U.S. activities in the South China Sea, which are proving inconvenient to Chinese activities in that disputed region, runs on through the pages of the state-run Xinhua news agency. Defense Ministry Spokesman Yang Yujun claims China was “greatly concerned about the United States’ push to ‘militarize'” the area.
Philippine Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio announced this week that his court had sufficient evidence to conclude China had destroyed 17 reefs near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, and had begun work dredging ten other reefs to build artificial islands in international waters.
Contents: US military says China is lying about its artificial islands; China state TV shows mock military attack on Taiwan; China faces nightmare political scenario with stock market plunge; Turkey-US ‘ISIS-free zone’ in Syria becomes increasingly controversial
The United States flew a Boeing P-8 surveillance plane over the disputed South China Sea on Saturday, a move that a top U.S. Navy admiral called “routine” to the dismay of China. China argues that such activities cause serious damage to U.S.-China relations, reports Reuters.
Contents: Kurds blame Erdogan for ISIS terrorist attack in southeastern Turkey; Philippines reinforces grounded ship to challenge China in South China Sea
The United States moved to reassure its jittery allies in the Asia-Pacific that it has enough firepower to maintain stability in the region that has seen increased Chinese muscle-flexing in recent years.
Venezuelan socialist head of state Nicolás Maduro has recalled his nation’s ambassador to neighboring Guyana after statements by the latter government that Venezuela was excessively intruding into Guyanese maritime territory.
An historic moment in U.S.-Vietnamese relations occurs this week. For the first time ever, the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party will visit the U.S. and the White House.
The Chinese government recently passed new legislation which will tighten the Communist Party’s hold on the country’s political process, and satellite photographs show the country’s artificial island in the South China Sea is nearly complete.
Under President Obama’s stated policy to fundamentally transform America, our influence on and leadership of the free world has not only been diminished but openly challenged by the likes of China, Russia and Iran. Our unilateral disarmament has only compounded the problem. Furthermore, our allies don’t trust us, and our enemies don’t fear us. That is the worst possible combination.
Japan is considering joining the United States on surveillance flights in the South China Sea, having already participated in one this week with the Philippines. The disputed waters, which China has claimed almost entirely as its own, have seen significant construction on its reefs by the communist power in the past year, angering its neighbors.
The Pentagon deployed a U.S. Navy Littoral Combat ship (LCS) to Asia, knowing weeks in advance that the vessel was vulnerable to a potential enemy attack, according to an unclassified assessment for Congress obtained by Bloomberg News.
Chinese state media outlet the People’s Daily released a report this week claiming that artificial island construction and the usurpation of international waters in the South China Sea would improve “marine meteorological monitoring, warning, forecasting, prediction and scientific research,” and benefit all neighboring countries with claims in the region.
Following protests from Guyana that the socialist Venezuelan government is attempting to usurp international waters for itself, the Colombian government issued a statement this weekend rejecting a Venezuelan decree claiming waters off the coast of Colombia for itself.
Following a bizarre statement that the “reclamation” of South China Sea areas historically not belonging to China is near completion, the Chinese government announced the passing of a new law which would require all private, civilian maritime vessels to be ready for military use “in cases of emergency.” Such a move converts civilian ships into military ships at any time.
Contents: China says it’s finished building artificial islands in South China Sea; China tests hypersonic missile designed to defeat American missile defenses; Greece’s bitter PM Tsipras hurls ultimatums and insults at IMF
The Chinese government announced in an official statement on Tuesday that it would “complete” the usurpation of Philippine, Vietnamese, and territory of other nations in the South China Sea “soon.” No timeline was given, nor were any geographic limits set to the expansion in the Spratly and Paracel Islands.
This article originally appeared at Bloomberg: With five million citizens to protect and billions of investment dollars at stake, China is rethinking its policy of keeping out of other countries’ affairs. China has long made loans conditional on contracts for its
The famous 1972 “Nixon to China” moment, in which President Richard Nixon opened up relations with the Chinese Communists to peel them away from the Soviet Union’s orbit, is often considered a major turning point in the Cold War. Since that time, those who guide U.S. foreign policy have mostly seen China as a long-term partner in a future, global system with America as the first among equals. The American eagle and Chinese dragon would rise together with “constructive engagement.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter met a top Chinese general on Thursday and repeated a U.S. call for a halt to land reclamation in the South China Sea while stressing that the Pentagon remained committed to expanding military contacts with China.
An Australian senator who made headlines this week by endorsing the massacre of peaceful protesters by the Chinese government in Tiananmen Square told an Australian media outlet today that he believes China has “valid” claims in the South China Sea, where Beijing has been slowly usurping large swaths of Vietnamese and Filipino waters.
