Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday China’s leaders told him they were prepared to go to war over competing claims in the South China Sea. Duterte, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing this week, said he was making the threat public in response to domestic criticism he was … Read more
Two Chinese Sukhoi Su-30 jets have conducted an “unprofessional” intercept of a US aircraft, the US military said. The US WC-135 plane was on a mission to detect radiation in international airspace over the East China Sea. One of the Chinese jets came as close as 150ft (45m) to the US aircraft, according to US … Read more
Japan said Friday it scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese vessel sailing in disputed waters launched a drone, the latest bout of tension in a longstanding territorial row. The two countries are at odds over a group of small uninhabited islands in the East China Sea administered as the Senkakus by Japan but claimed as … Read more
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took a step towards easing tensions in the South China Sea, state media reported Thursday, agreeing to a framework for a “code of conduct” to prevent incidents in the disputed waters. The competing claims to the sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and … Read more
Four Indonesian soldiers have been killed and eight others injured by artillery fire in an accident during training on a South China Sea island, the army said Thursday. It took place Wednesday when an artillery cannon malfunctioned during the exercise involving an army reserve battalion on Tanjung Datuk Natuna, on the northwestern fringe of the … Read more
The Philippines and China will open bilateral talks on their dispute over the South China Sea next week, Manila’s ambassador to Beijing said on Saturday. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to deepen relations with China despite its extensive island-building in disputed parts of the South China Sea, in the hopes of securing billions of … Read more
Southeast Asian leaders will express concern this week about an “escalation of activities” in the South China Sea but avoid directly criticising China, according to the draft of a summit statement. The statement, set to be released on Saturday at the end of a two-day leaders’ meeting in Manila, reflects Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s efforts … Read more
A group of Filipino fishermen have accused China’s coast guard of shooting at their vessel in disputed South China Sea waters, Philippine authorities said Friday. Philippine officials said they were investigating the reported attack on the Princess Johann boat, which the crew said occurred near a Chinese-occupied section of the Spratly archipelago on March 27. … Read more
The Philippines’ military said Friday that it plans to upgrade and improve facilities on islands it already occupies in the disputed South China Sea, not embark on a new land grab. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday that he had ordered the armed forces to “occupy all” remote reefs claimed by Manila, in a move … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered Filipino troops to deploy on unoccupied South China Sea islands and reefs claimed by Manila, in a move that could provoke rival claimants including Beijing. In a surprise announcement, Duterte told reporters he has ordered soldiers to build structures on Philippine-claimed islands and reefs in the strategically located … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered Filipino troops to deploy on unoccupied South China Sea islands and reefs claimed by Manila, in a move that could provoke rival claimants including Beijing. In a surprise announcement, Duterte told reporters he has ordered soldiers to build structures on Philippine-claimed islands and reefs in the strategically located … Read more
China and the Philippines will hold direct talks on their maritime dispute in May, Filipino officials said Wednesday, as President Rodrigo Duterte seeks stronger economic ties with Beijing. Last year a United Nations-backed international tribunal rejected Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea, including disputed areas close to the coasts of its neighbours. … Read more
The Philippines Monday took delivery of two Japanese military surveillance aircraft to help it patrol vital sea lanes in the South China Sea, despite Manila’s increasingly conciliatory stance to Beijing’s claims over the disputed waters. Japan will lease a total of five surplus Beechcraft TC-90 planes to the Philippines, according to Manila’s defence secretary Delfin … Read more
China is not militarising the disputed South China Sea, the country’s premier insisted in Australia on Friday, claiming defence equipment Beijing has installed on artificial islands is “primarily” for civilian use. The sea is a source of growing regional tension, with Beijing insisting it has sovereignty over virtually all the resource-rich waters, which are also … Read more
China Wednesday denied plans to build an environmental monitoring station on a disputed shoal near the Philippines’ coastline, after a local official last week announced the plan. “As we have learned from relevant authorities, the report on establishing an environmental monitoring station is false. This is not true at all,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday he could not stop China from building on a disputed shoal near his country’s west coast because it was too powerful. The mayor of China’s Sansha city has reportedly said his country would set up an environmental monitoring station on Scarborough Shoal, which China seized from the Philippines in … Read more
Japan plans to dispatch its largest warship on a three-month tour through the South China Sea beginning in May, three sources said, in its biggest show of naval force in the region since World War Two. China claims almost all the disputed waters and its growing military presence has fueled concern in Japan and the … Read more
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Tuesday played down the possibility that Australia and Indonesia would stage joint patrols in the disputed South China Sea, a move that would have angered Beijing. Australian and Indonesian officials first discussed the possibility of patrols last year, and President Joko Widodo reportedly said he wanted to raise the issue with … Read more
China says it will increase military spending by about 7% this year, just days after Donald Trump outlined a boost to the US defence budget. The scheduled announcement was made ahead of the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing. China has been modernising its armed forces recently as its economy expands. China’s announced defence … Read more
China will raise defence spending by “around seven percent” this year as it guards against “outside meddling” in its disputed territorial claims in Asian waters, a top official said Saturday. “We call for a peaceful settlement through dialogue and consultation (of the disputes). At the same time we need the ability to safeguard our sovereignty … Read more