United States Archives | Page 3 of 3 | Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

Washington’s Thai PR Problem

By Gregory Poling | March 3, 2015 | Categories: Military Exercises, Thailand, United States

Cobra Gold, the weeks-long multinational military exercise that began on Feb. 9 in Thailand, highlighted the difficult balancing act facing Washington as it engages with the military-backed government of its long-time ally. The annual training exercise, the largest in the Asia-Pacific, has evolved in recent years into a marquee event for both the U.S.-Thai alliance […]

China Responds to Reclamation Reports

By Mira Rapp-Hooper | February 26, 2015 | Categories: China, Land Reclamation, Philippines, United States, Vietnam

On February 26, the semi-official China Military Online reported that Beijing is conducting “large-scale” land reclamation in the disputed Spratly Islands—activities that the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and major news outlets worldwide have been watching closely in recent weeks. In a follow-on article, Reuters called this public acknowledgment of work on six reefs “unusual.” We […]

In Confidence: Will We Know if US-China CBMs Are Working?

By Mira Rapp-Hooper and Bonnie Glaser | February 4, 2015 | Categories: China, Confidence Building Measures, United States

In November 2014, the United States and China concluded two major confidence-building measures (CBMs), which they announced at a bilateral summit. The CBMs include an agreement that each side will notify the other of major military activities, and a code of conduct for safe maritime and air encounters. Where the code of conduct is concerned, […]

What’s in a CBM?: Watching for Direct and Indirect Measures of Confidence

By Rory Medcalf | February 4, 2015 | Categories: China, Confidence Building Measures, United States

It’s hard to imagine that the risk of war in Asia could hinge on something as pedestrian and mundane-sounding as “confidence-building measures” or CBMs. Yet this obscure piece of security terminology, originating during the Cold War, is now front and center in discussions of the future of U.S.-China strategic relations. Policymakers and military leaders in […]

A New Vision for U.S.-India Cooperation in Asia

By Richard Rossow | February 4, 2015 | Categories: Confidence Building Measures, India, United States

President Barack Obama’s visit to India on January 25-27, 2015 renewed India’s place as a centerpiece of the “pivot to Asia.” Moving ahead with long-pending strategic deals on civilian nuclear trade and defense co-development, along with the renewal of our expiring New Framework for the U.S. India Defense Relationship, underscores the new cooperative spirit with […]

Advancing the Rebalance in Southeast Asia

By Murray Hiebert and Gregory Poling | 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 […]

Explaining and Resourcing the Rebalance

By Michael Green, Zack Cooper and Mira Rapp-Hooper | January 7, 2015 | Categories: China, Strategy, United States

There is robust support for the pivot to Asia in the United States and the region, but there are questions about the goal of the strategy and the resources available. U.S. agencies have made parallel efforts to expand engagement in Asia, but there is no unifying strategic plan that aligns these efforts to national goals. […]

China: Building Confidence while Setting Expectations

By Bonnie Glaser and Chris Johnson | January 7, 2015 | Categories: China, Strategy, United States

Where China is concerned, successful implementation of the rebalance hinges upon a recognition in both capitals that neither country can hope to organize the future order in East Asia without the other. Chinese and U.S. leaderships say they subscribe to this axiom, but their respective behavior suggests that both sides seem reluctant to truly eschew […]

The Visibility-Vulnerability Dilemma and Defense

By Zack Cooper | January 7, 2015 | Categories: Strategy, United States

In this last quarter of the Obama administration, U.S. leaders have a critical opportunity to make progress on a host of policies vital to strengthening the U.S. position in Asia. While the Trans-Pacific Partnership will rightfully dominate the domestic debate in early 2015, an equally important debate is occurring in the halls of the Pentagon […]

Heavy Lifting in Washington on Asian Maritime Security

By Gary Roughead | January 7, 2015 | Categories: Strategy, United States

Asian maritime security issues will continue to be topical in Washington in 2015 and there will be a lot of D.C. chatter about events in the Indo-Pacific region. To make a difference and to produce favorable outcomes for the United States, however, some heavy lifting must take place in Washington. The most important maritime activity […]

Enhancing Philippine Maritime Security

By Renato Cruz de Castro | December 23, 2014 | Categories: Philippines, United States, Year in Review

On 28 April 2014, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The EDCA is not a new agreement since it merely updates and enhances the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty. It provides the framework by which the Philippines and the U.S. can develop their […]

A 2015 Resolution for Risk Reduction

By Rory Medcalf | December 23, 2014 | Categories: China, Japan, United States, Year in Review

In tracking Asia’s maritime tensions in 2015, what I will be looking for above all is evidence that China is actually following through on its newfound commitments to risk-reduction and crisis-management. For much of the time since Chinese maritime assertiveness increased, from 2009 onwards, the guiding attitude seemed to be that Chinese forces were willing […]

The United States and Maritime Asia in 2015

By Michael Green | December 23, 2014 | Categories: Indo-Pacific Region, United States, Year in Review

Despite the growing interest in maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region among experts, it remains an open question how focused the Obama administration will be on the challenges in that region in 2015. It is doubtful that the security of the offshore Pacific island chain ranks in the top five issues for National Security Advisor […]

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 […]

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 […]

A Step Forward in US-China Military Ties: Two CBM Agreements

By Bonnie Glaser | November 11, 2014 | Categories: China, United States

In 1998 the United States and China established the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) to avoid accidents when their respective maritime and air forces operate in close proximity. Sixteen years of negotiations yielded little progress, until now. Two agreements on military confidence building measures were inked at the US-China summit in Beijing: notification of major […]