The South China Sea at Shangri-La 2015: A Primer

By and | May 29, 2015 | Categories: ASEAN, China, Japan, Shangri La Dialogue, South China Sea, United States
As delegates assemble for the 14th annual Asia Security Summit, better known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, regional tensions are running high over China’s island building in the South China Sea.  As the weekend summit gets under way, here are the issues to watch. Stormy Seas and Skies: In the last several months, the region and […]

Highlights from Shangri-La Dialogue 2014

By | May 28, 2015 | Categories: ASEAN, China, East China Sea, Japan, Shangri La Dialogue, South China Sea, United States
Highlights from Shangri-la Dialogue 2014. Video credit: IISS. The 2015 Shangri-La Dialogue kicks off on Friday, May 29, in Singapore and runs through the weekend.   The defense summit will feature a keynote speech by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong and plenary remarks by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Japanese Minister of Defense Gen […]

Moving Toward Casus Belli? Interpreting Recent Chinese Activity in the South China Sea

By | May 21, 2015 | Categories: ASEAN, China, South China Sea, United States
Satellite imagery of the South China Sea has established  that over the previous twelve months, China has expanded its presence there by up to 1500 acres. The Chinese have been actively reclaiming land at the following reefs: Cuarteron, Fiery Cross, Gaven, Hughes, Subi, and the Union reefs (Johnson South and Johnson North reefs). One perspective […]

China’s Relations with Southeast Asia – USCC Hearing

By | May 15, 2015 | Categories: China, South China Sea, Southeast Asia, United States
On Wednesday May 13 the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission held hearings on China’s Relations with Southeast Asia. The first panel (40:27 – 2:22:01 above) reviewed the security dimensions of China’s relations with Southeast Asia. Testimony was issued by AMTI director Mira Rapp-Hooper, CSIS Senior Adviser for Asia Bonnie Glaser, the Center for a New American Security’s Patrick Cronin, and Chin-Hao […]

Safeguarding American Interests in the East and South China Seas – SFRC Hearing

By | May 15, 2015 | Categories: China, South China Sea, Southeast Asia, United States
On Wednesday, May 13, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on American interests in and strategy for the East and South China Seas. Team AMTI has identified some choice […]

South China Sea: Forging a Maritime Coalition of the Willing

By | May 7, 2015 | Categories: ASEAN, China, South China Sea
China’s expansive and accelerated construction activities in the South China Sea have elicited growing criticism from across the region and beyond. While some countries, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines, are primarily worried over the impact of China’s reclamation activities on their maritime claims in the area, other countries, from Singapore to Japan and the United […]

Environmental Aggression in the South China Sea

By | May 7, 2015 | Categories: China, Environment, South China Sea
China’s reclamation activities in the South China Sea remain a matter of grave concern for reasons that are not solely political. The radical transformation of major coral atolls in the region’s marine ecosystem affects far more than the already huge area physically occupied by China’s new islands. The biophysical impacts extend well beyond their artificial […]