The Temperature in Canberra as the South China Sea Boils

By | June 4, 2015 | Categories: Australia, International Law, Shangri La Dialogue, South China Sea
By various accounts, policy is firming up in Australia on what to do about the South China Sea – specifically, whether Canberra should take an unambiguous stand on the destabilising impact of China’s island-building activities. Australian policymakers are not fooled by the surface calm with which discussions concluded at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. […]

Carter on the South China Sea: Committed and (Mostly) Clear

By | June 3, 2015 | Categories: Shangri La Dialogue, South China Sea, United States
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 30 amounted to a robust, but measured, defense of the United States’ rebalance to the Asia Pacific and its commitment to remain a Pacific power. The speech covered a broad spectrum of U.S. commitments to the region—economic, political, and security—before concluding with an enthusiastic […]

In Defense of Facts in the South China Sea

By | June 2, 2015 | Categories: ASEAN, China, Shangri La Dialogue, South China Sea, United States
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s address at this weekend’s Shangri-La Dialogue was generally well received by conference attendees and Asia-security watchers. A few critics have argued that Carter was “just talk.” What none have noted, however, is the fact that the Secretary’s remarks were the latest installation in a series of moves by the administration […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Post-Reclamation Scenario in the South China Sea: The Role of China and the United States.

By | March 23, 2015 | Categories: China, Land Reclamation, South China Sea
Since 2014, China has attracted tremendous regional and international attention through its land reclamation activities in some features of the Spratlys which it controls, namely Gaven Reef, Cuarteron Reef, Johnson South Reef and Fiery Cross. While many have criticisms and concerns, China feels this reclamation is necessary in order to keep up with others in […]

The Evolving Role of Military Exercises in Asia

By and | March 4, 2015 | Categories: China, Military Exercises, South China Sea, United States
AMTI Director Mira Rapp Hooper interviews former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead on the evolving role of military exercises in the Asia Pacific. Interview Transcript Mira Rapp Hooper: Hello everyone, I’m Mira Rapp Hooper, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and I’m very pleased to be here today with Admiral Gary Roughead. […]

The Contribution of Maritime Exercises to U.S. South China Sea Policy

By | March 4, 2015 | Categories: Military Exercises, South China Sea, United States
The U.S. policy approach to maritime disputes in the South China Sea is primarily diplomatic but not entirely so. While it focuses on creating stability by exhorting all the parties to follow the rules (international law) and explicitly defines how Washington would like conflicts to be solved (peacefully); it does not neglect hard-power initiatives aimed […]

Before and After: The South China Sea Transformed

By | February 18, 2015 | Categories: Land Reclamation, Malaysia, Philippines, South China Sea, Spratly Islands, Vietnam
Source image: Google Earth This map shows four land features in the Spratly Islands that have undergone significant construction or land reclamation work in the past year. They are: Itu Aba, Gaven Reef, Johnson South Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef. Read more details about the features of these projects and use click and drag the […]

Reclamation in the South China Sea: Legal Loopholes, Practical Impacts

By | February 18, 2015 | Categories: China, Land Reclamation, Philippines, South China Sea
As if they were not complicated enough, the South China Sea disputes took a new turn in 2014 when China began massive land reclamation work in the region. The Philippines released photographs showing an unprecedented transformation of formerly pristine and submerged Johnson South Reef into high and dry white sand swarming with construction activity. Satellite […]

The Legal Challenge of China’s Island Building

By | February 18, 2015 | Categories: China, Land Reclamation, Philippines, South China Sea, Vietnam
Those closely following the situation in the South China Sea have been wringing their hands about the military potential of China’s unprecedented island building work over the last year. This anxiety is understandable, and the expanded patrol and surveillance capacity that Beijing is constructing with facilities, docks, and probably at least one airstrip in the […]

Advancing the Rebalance in Southeast Asia

By and | January 7, 2015 | Categories: South China Sea, Southeast Asia, Strategy, United States
The year 2015 provides the Obama administration with new opportunities in Southeast Asia to reinforce and bolster the rebalance to Asia. Myanmar In Myanmar, the United States should expand its support and training efforts to build political parties, strengthen the parliament, and prepare for monitoring activities ahead of the country’s 2015 elections to ensure they […]