South China Sea Archives | Page 5 of 5 | Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

ASEAN’s Domestic Politics: Rule of Law on the Sea

By Ernest Bower | December 23, 2014 | Categories: ASEAN, China, South China Sea

When the Philippines announced its intent in January 2013 to file a case against China at a tribunal in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, many ASEAN countries remained silent or even worried out loud that Manila was “rolling the dice” and would be the subject of Beijing’s wrath. The mood in Southeast Asia has changed. […]

Intense Maneuvers at the Hague

By Matthew Waxman | December 23, 2014 | Categories: China, International Law, Philippines, South China Sea, Year in Review

In 2013, the Philippines instituted arbitration proceedings in the Hague against China over disputed South China Sea maritime claims – and in doing so it challenged legally of China’s nine-dash line claims over much of that area. Both states are parties to the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which allows for […]

KMT- DPP South China Sea Debate

By Yann-huei Song | December 23, 2014 | Categories: South China Sea, Taiwan, Year in Review

Taiwan’s local elections of 2014 were held on November 29 and elected 6 municipal mayors and 16 county magistrates. The KMT (Kuomintang, Nationalist Party), Taiwan’s ruling party, won only 6 out of the 22 local seats and gained just 40.7 percent of the vote. Jiang Yi-huah, Taiwan’s premier, resigned after election. President Ma Ying-jeou also […]

Beijing’s and Washington’s Dueling Papers

By Gregory Poling | December 15, 2014 | Categories: China, Philippines, South China Sea, United States, Vietnam

Beijing has reached its December 15 deadline to submit its defense in the arbitration case against its South China Sea claims brought by the Philippines. That case, brought under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea’s (UNCLOS) compulsory dispute mechanism, is summarized here. The Chinese government has no intention of taking part in […]

Paper Melee in Philippines v. China Arbitration

By Jay Batongbacal | December 15, 2014 | Categories: China, Philippines, South China Sea, United States, Vietnam

Today’s deadline for the submission of China’s counter-memorial in the Philippines v. China arbitration has created a four-cornered melee of positions papers over one of the key issues in dispute, the legality of China’s nine-dash line claim. The United States weighed in first on December 5th with the release of its Limits in the Seas […]

Fiery Cross Reef and Strategic Implications for Taiwan

By Yann-huei Song | December 10, 2014 | Categories: China, South China Sea, Taiwan

According to a satellite imagery reported by IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is building an airstrip on of Fiery Cross Reef. The United States, Philippines, and Vietnam have all voiced official objections to PRC activities. Unsurprisingly, PRC officials dismiss these criticisms, arguing that Fiery Cross Reef development is intended to […]

Assessing U.S. Policy in the South China Sea

By Michael McDevitt | December 10, 2014 | Categories: China, South China Sea, United States

A recent CNA Corporation report assessed current U.S. policy on the South China Sea and found it to be comprehensive and balanced. United States policy focuses on creating stability by exhorting all parties to follow the rules of international law. It also explicitly defines how Washington would like conflicts to be solved. Moreover, it includes […]

The Defense Authorization Act and China’s Maritime Moves

By Murray Hiebert | December 10, 2014 | Categories: China, South China Sea, United States

In a sign of growing congressional concern about China’s increased assertiveness in the South and East China seas, Congress has included a provision in the draft fiscal year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Department of Defense to report to key congressional committees an assessment of China’s moves to affect the current state of […]

Land Reclamation: A South China Sea Game Changer

By Tran Truong Thuy | December 10, 2014 | Categories: China, South China Sea

It is widely reported that China is conducting land reclamation on six of its seven occupied features in the Spratlys in the South China Sea, transforming the submerged reefs and rocks into full-pledged islands with airstrips, harbors and other military and civilian structures. Once reclamation works are completed, Fiery Cross Reef alone will be at […]

South China Sea Action at the East Asia Summit?

By Rory Medcalf | November 11, 2014 | Categories: East Asia Summit, South China Sea

The stakes in Asia’s maritime security tensions are high and getting higher. As each year the region moves closer to the global center of gravity in economic weight, military power and demographics, so too the consequences of any strategic breakdown among its powers become more grave. Accordingly, it is more important than ever to work […]