Carter Defends the South China Sea at Shangri-La

By , and | June 1, 2015 | Categories: China, Shangri La Dialogue, South China Sea, United States
On Saturday morning at the Shangri-La defense dialogue in Singapore, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter delivered a long-anticipated speech on security issues in Asia.  As tensions have mounted over China’s island building in the South China Sea, Carter has been one of the administration’s strongest voices, calling the militarization of the islands a challenge […]

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 […]

CSIS Transcript: Conference Call on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Visit to Washington

By | April 30, 2015 | Categories: Japan, United States
Center for Strategic and International Studies Conference Call on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Visit to Washington  Participants: Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS Matthew P. Goodman, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy and Senior Adviser for Asian Economics, CSIS Nicholas Szechenyi, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Japan […]

The 2015 U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines: End of a New Beginning

By | April 30, 2015 | Categories: Japan, United States
It has been nearly 15 years since the alliance last revised the Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation.  Both governments revised these Guidelines as a part of the security relationship’s transition to the post-Cold War environment, while abiding by the constraints of Japan defense policies at that time.  Speaking of the 1997 Defense Guidelines, Japan’s Ambassador […]

The Maritime Security Implications of the New U.S.-Japan Guidelines

By | April 30, 2015 | Categories: Japan, United States
The new U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines will upgrade bilateral operational cooperation and enhance the alliance structure. The new Guidelines enable Japanese and U.S. forces to conduct effective combined operations defending each other’s units and assets in the high seas—even beyond Japanese territorial waters. The new Alliance Coordination Mechanism will endorse this upgraded operational cooperation. Under this […]

Furthering U.S. Strategic Goals in the South China Sea

By | April 23, 2015 | Categories: China, International Law, Land Reclamation, South China Sea, United States
China’s reclamation blitz in the Spratly Islands continues unabated, despite condemnation from fellow claimants and outside nations. Chinese dredging ships have been hard at work expanding at least seven features: Cuarteron, Gaven, Hughes, Fiery Cross, Johnson South, Mischief, and Subi reefs. Their work will be largely complete in a matter of months, presenting the region […]

The Other Crisis in the South China Sea

By | April 21, 2015 | Categories: China, Land Reclamation, South China Sea
China’s accelerated construction activities in the South China Sea have understandably alarmed countries across the region and beyond. In particular, Southeast Asian claimant states such as Vietnam and the Philippines are deeply worried about the prospects of an irreversible Chinese consolidation of its sweeping maritime claims, more expansive Chinese paramilitary patrols in the area, and, […]

On the Defensive? China Explains Purposes of Land Reclamation in the South China Sea

By | April 20, 2015 | Categories: China, Land Reclamation, South China Sea
Growing international criticism of China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea and the publication of detailed images of China’s dredging and construction activities prompted the Chinese government to explain in greater detail than ever before the purpose of these activities. In response to U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s charge that China has “intensified the […]

U.S.-Philippines Balikatan Exercise in the Face of Chinese Island Building

By | April 17, 2015 | Categories: China, Land Reclamation, Military Exercises, Philippines, United States
The Philippines and the United States will hold a large-scale 10-day military exercise known as Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) from April 20-30. This takes place in the face of China’s island-building activities in the South China Sea.  For Balikatan 2015, 11,740 American, Filipino, and Australian troops will conduct joint training exercises and maneuvers in three separate locations […]

Terriclaims: The New Geopolitical Reality in the South China Sea

By | April 8, 2015 | Categories: China, International Law, United States
With revelations of China’s systematic and rapid reclamation or “island-building” of various features throughout the South China Sea, long-simmering dispute in the South China Sea seem closer to boiling over. Terriclaims, short for territorial reclamation, is a term that is useful for describing a nation’s reclamation activities when it seeks to preserve or expand territory […]

How Will China View the New Maritime Strategy?

By | April 8, 2015 | Categories: China, Strategy, United States
The military services responsible for American seapower (Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard) recently released their new maritime strategy, entitled “Forward, Engaged, Ready: A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower.”  The reviews thus far have been positive, with most analysts praising the specificity of the document, as compared to its 2007 predecessor, as well as its […]

China’s Maritime Law Enforcement Reform and its Implication on the Regional Maritime Disputes

By | April 1, 2015 | Categories: China, Coast Guard
The Chinese government announced in March 2013 its plan to centralize bureaucratic control over its maritime law enforcement agencies. Its decision to combine its separate maritime law enforcement bodies into an integrated one under the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), a part of the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources (MLR). China’s maritime law enforcement reform, […]