Contents: President Trump orders missile strikes on Bashar al-Assad’s Syria; Philippines president Duterte orders military to occupy South China Sea islands; Philippines sends warship to Benham Rise to protect from China
A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman denied the existence of Chinese-made artificial islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, a bizarre development given the open construction of such islands and promotion of their newly-installed assets in Chinese media.
In 2013, the Philippines took China to court over Beijing’s seizure of Scarborough Shoal, which lies within Manila’s 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ. The South China Sea and its resources do not belong solely to China, the Philippine government said, but to all of the nations– Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam—that surround it.
Contents: Increasingly angry China rams Vietnamese boat as tribunal ruling expected; Japan’s election opens the way to repeal ‘pacifism’ constitution clause; US will send 560 more troops to Iraq
Contents: South China Sea tension set to escalate after July 12 arbitration ruling; Obama flip-flops again on Afghanistan
Contents: China claims that 60 countries support its South China Sea policy; China cites UNCLOS in disagreement with Japan; South China Sea: Which countries are on China’s side?; Cognitive dissonance and doubling down in China
Contents: Taiwan may reverse South China Sea policy and oppose China; Burundi calls planned African Union peacekeeping force ‘an attack’
In a rare exercise of foreign policy backbone, President Obama exhibited Reaganesque-like leadership against China last month—or did he?
