By Michael Snyder If the United States and China are supposed to be such “great friends”, why are both sides acting as if war is in our future? Thanks to events in the South China Sea and the blatant theft of the personal information of millions of U.S. government workers, tensions between the United States … Continue reading
By Pepe Escobar, Asia Times As Cold War 2.0 between the U.S. and Russia remains far from being defused, the last thing the world needs is a reincarnation of Bushist hawk Donald “known unknowns” Rumsfeld. Instead, the — predictable — “known known” we get is Pentagon supremo Ash Carter. Neocon Ash threw quite a show … Continue reading
By Daniel Wagner News that the People’s Republic of China is claiming ownership of and enlarging the size of some disputed islands in the South China Sea, and building air strips to enhance its ability to project its air power in the region, has been met with predictable alarm by a variety of countries in the … Continue reading
China’s 21st Century Maritime New Silk Road project may facilitate the resolution of longstanding maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Chinese media suggests. These disputes involve at least six parties, particularly China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Brunei has abandoned its territorial claim in the Spratlys and Malaysia has a relatively minor claim in … Continue reading
In China’s push for regional dominance, it is apparently not content with transforming reefs in the South Sea into air strips. China is now reportedly broadening its naval basing by building massive new floating island bases that will likely be used by the military, according to a report from Popular Science. According to the report, Jidong Development Group … Continue reading
By James Borton The South China Sea remains at the epicenter of one of the most volatile maritime areas in the world with little or no agreement on sovereignty claims to ownership of atolls, submerged banks, islands, reefs and rocks. Yet South China Sea fishermen, marine biologists and policy shapers agree that without an end to … Continue reading
By Andrew Korybko The regional grouping of Southeast Asian states has catapulted to the forefront of global economics, becoming one of the fastest growing blocs in the world. Its economies have stabilized after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, and have since then shown intense resilience by fully rebounding from the ‘Great Recession’ in 2010, much quicker … Continue reading
By Peter Symonds The latest US maritime strategic document, “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower: Forward, Engaged, Ready,” released yesterday, makes clear that Washington is pressing ahead with its “pivot to Asia” and military build-up against China. In doing so, the US is continuing to stoke up tensions in the East and South China seas, … Continue reading
China’s creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea is happening so fast that Beijing will be able to extend the range of its navy, air force, coastguard and fishing fleets before long, much to the alarm of rival claimants to the contested waters. Reclamation work is well advanced on six reefs in the … Continue reading
By Thomas Jandl For Vietnam’s leadership, 2014 was another year of growing into a role as an increasingly active international player, both diplomatically and economically. Two events — the Haiyang 981 oilrig incident and TPP accession negotiations — gave Vietnam a place in the spotlight and shed light on a continued path for 2015. Vietnamese … Continue reading