Tag: South China Sea

Japan to closely monitor China’s increased defense spending
7Mar By Grace TsoiNo Comments
China, World

Japan to closely monitor China’s increased defense spending

Amid China’s incessant attempts to change the status quo of east and south China seas, defense officials in Japan on Sunday said that they intend to closely monitor how China will increase its defense spending this year.As per 2021’s draft budget at the annual session of the National People’s Congress, the Chinese government increased its defense budget by 6.8 per cent from last year to about 209 billion dollars. That’s around four times Japan’s defense budget for fiscal 2021, starting in April.China has been claiming the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and there have been many incidents of incursions of Chinese ships in Japanese territorial waters.Japan controls the islands but China and Taiwan also lay their claim. Japan maintains the islands as an inherent part of its territory, i
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To counter China’s coastguard law, Philippines will deploy more naval assets in South China Sea
11Feb By Grace TsoiNo Comments
China, World

To counter China’s coastguard law, Philippines will deploy more naval assets in South China Sea

To effectively counter China’s new law giving powers to its coastguard to fire on foreign vessels and demolish structures built in disputed waters, the Philippines’ military chief Cirilito Sobejana has said that it will increase its naval presence in the South China Sea to protect its fisherman.“We will increase our visibility through the deployment of more naval assets, but I just want to make clear our navy presence there is not (to) wage war against China but to secure our own people,” said Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana.“That pronouncement by China that their coastguard can open fire at people intruding into their territory is very alarming,” Sobejana added.The Philippines has protested against the new law, which country’s officials said would heighten risks of a miscalculation.C
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Taiwan reports large incursion by Chinese air force
24Jan By Grace TsoiNo Comments
China, World

Taiwan reports large incursion by Chinese air force

Taiwan’s defense ministry on said that a total of eight Chinese bomber planes and four fighter jets entered the southwestern corner of the island’s air defense identification zone on Saturday.In recent months, China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has conducted almost daily flights over the waters between the southern part of Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea. However, they have generally consisted of just one or two reconnaissance aircraft.The presence of so many Chinese combat aircraft on this mission – Taiwan said it was made up of eight nuclear-capable H-6K bombers and four J-16 fighter jets – was unusual.A map provided by Taiwan’s defense ministry showed that the Chinese aircraft, including a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, flew over the sa
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Alarm grows at China’s military trajectory
27Oct By Yusara AskariNo Comments
Asia

Alarm grows at China’s military trajectory

India-China border, the South China Sea and the East China Sea have caused a growing chorus of worldwide alarm at Beijing's ambitions and military capability, as exemplified in the Pentagon's latest annual report on military developments in China.China owns the largest ground force, navy, coast guard and maritime militia in the world, plus it has the largest air force in the Indo-Pacific region.In many senses, the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) does not make strategic sense. Chairman Xi Jinping and the Chinese nation are facing multiple points of friction, so why would it add the Indian border to that list?Yun Jiang and Adam Ni, the editors of the China Neican newsletter, assessed, "Neither China nor India wants a continued row over their...
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China’s ‘Malacca dilemma’ remains
30Sep By Joanne SerriehNo Comments
China

China’s ‘Malacca dilemma’ remains

According to a media report, amid the border standoff between India and China, the latter has suffered a severe blow from Thailand, which said it will scrap the Kra Canal project that Beijing wanted to build to shorten its access to the Indian Ocean and also delayed the purchase of two Chinese submarines worth USD 724 million giving in to the public pressure.China was pinning its hopes on the Kra Canal project, a proposal to construct a 120-kilometre mega canal cutting through the isthmus of Kra in Thailand.This canal could have been a crucial strategic asset for China, allowing its navy to quickly move ships between its newly constructed bases in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean without diverting over 1,100 kilometres south to round the tip of Malaysia.This was in line with Beijin...
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U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese enterprises and executives active in South China Sea
17Sep By Grace TsoiNo Comments
World

U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese enterprises and executives active in South China Sea

Increasing China’s troubles, the United States has imposed a set of visa and export restrictions against Chinese state-owned enterprises and executives involved in advancing Beijing’s territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.These restrictions by the US Department of State apply to various state-owned firms, including subsidiaries of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), a leading contractor for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).“The Department of State will begin imposing visa restrictions on People’s Republic of China (PRC) individuals responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea, or the PRC’s use of coercion against Southeast Asian claima
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US stealth bombers in Diego Garcia, warships in South China Sea, boost morale from Ladakh to Taiwan
14Sep By Grace TsoiNo Comments
Politics, World

US stealth bombers in Diego Garcia, warships in South China Sea, boost morale from Ladakh to Taiwan

With the deployment of three B-2 stealth bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons in the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, the United States has given a clear message to China to deter from starting a war in the India-Pacific.In Ladakh on the Indo-China border and in Taiwan, military tensions are showing no signs of abating.The three radar-evading bombers, widely recognised as the most advanced in the world, arrived at Diego Garcia on August 12.By deploying at the Indian Ocean island, which falls under the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), China was being sent an unambiguous signal - that Washington was committed to safeguard the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean, South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, under well-defined rules.Because of their ultra-long-range endurance, and freedom ...
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Malaysia rejects Beijing’s claims in South China Sea
4Sep By Grace TsoiNo Comments
World

Malaysia rejects Beijing’s claims in South China Sea

Following the steps of the United States, now, Malaysia has rejected China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, saying Beijing’s claims in the waters “have no basis” under international law. “Malaysia opposes China’s claim that they have historic rights over those waters,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the Parliament.“The Malaysian government also considers China’s claims over maritime features in the South China Sea to have no basis whatsoever under international law,” he added while answering questions from Members of Parliament on the status of China’s demands for territory in the South China Sea.This is an unusual move for Malaysia, which in the past had avoided reproaching China openly.A recent Malaysian government report disclosed the Chinese shi
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China’s expansionist policies irks Russia; Moscow issues warning
28Aug By Joanne SerriehNo Comments
China

China’s expansionist policies irks Russia; Moscow issues warning

Irked by China’s aggressive expansionist policies, Russia has issued a warning to the former saying that it will perceive any ballistic missile launched at its territory as a nuclear attack that warrants a nuclear retaliation.Experts believe this reaction is a result of China eating into Russia’s sphere of influence. Beijing’s political and economic rise has irked Moscow at many levels. While others believe that this warning was aimed at Moscow’s rival - the United States.According to reports, the harsh warning came in the official military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star).China’s attempts to undermine Russian influence in the Arctic and Central Asia and its claims in the Russian Far East strongly has angered the Vladimir Putin administration. Russia had also accused China of copying i
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India successfully gains allies while confronting China
26Aug By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

India successfully gains allies while confronting China

"Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak”. This is exactly what China seems to have put in action now. China's weakness was highlighted when it failed to effectively handle the outbreak of coronavirus in its initial stages and was caught on the back foot with the U.S., Australia and other countries blaming it and seeking an investigation.So, rather than adopting a remorseful demeanor, China portrayed itself as "strong" by displaying an aggressive attitude. Not only did the Chinese diplomats turn into "wolf warriors," but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime also came down harsh on Hong Kong, displayed belligerence in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea and East China Sea, and engaged in land border clashes with India.But this time, China seems to have gone too far
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