China’s military said on Monday it “drove away” a U.S. warship that illegally entered Chinese waters near the Paracel Islands on Monday, the anniversary of an international court ruling that Beijing has no claim over the South China Sea. The USS Benfold entered the waters of the Paracels without the …
Read More »China condemns latest U.S. warship transit of Taiwan Strait
China condemned the United States on Wednesday as the region’s greatest security “risk creator” after a U.S. warship again sailed through the sensitive waterway that separates Taiwan from China.
Read More »After massed plane incursion near Taiwan, China says must respond to ‘collusion’
China does not tolerate foreign forces intervening in Taiwan issues and has to make strong responses to such acts of “collusion”, the government said on Wednesday after the island reported the largest incursion to date of Chinese aircraft. Twenty-eight Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan’s …
Read More »US Navy says carrier group operating in S.China Sea
A U.S. aircraft carrier group led by the USS Ronald Reagan has entered the South China Sea as part of a routine mission, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday, at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, which claims most of the disputed waterway. China frequently objects to …
Read More »Philippine military chief visits island in disputed waters
The head of the Philippine armed forces visited a coral-fringed island his country occupies in the South China Sea this week, a move that could stoke already heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing in disputed waters claimed by both countries. During Monday’s visit, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief …
Read More »Philippines protests China’s ‘illegal’ South China Sea presence
Manila lodges diplomatic protest against the ‘incessant and prolonged’ presence of Chinese vessels near Thitu Island. The Philippines has protested China’s “continuing illegal presence and activities” near islands it holds in the South China Sea. In a statement on Saturday, the Philippines’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had lodged …
Read More »China says US warship illegally enters its territory in South China Sea
China said on Thursday a US warship had illegally entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea, the latest salvo in the two nations’ dispute over Beijing’s territorial claims in the busy waterway. In a statement, the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said the USS Curtis Wilbur entered the …
Read More »Duterte defies Beijing, says he won’t withdraw vessels from disputed waters
The president of the Philippines has vowed not to withdraw his country’s ships from waters contested by China as a long-running dispute between the two nations over sovereignty of South China Sea territory heats up. Speaking in a televised address aired on Friday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would not …
Read More »China says disputed islands in East China Sea are its territory
Beijing says the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan disputes, are Chinese territory and that it has the right to conduct law enforcement activities there, after a US military commander said China had conducted “unprecedented incursions” around the islands. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that Beijing hoped the …
Read More »China hits back at Australia, defends sovereignty in South China Sea
Beijing has defended its sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea after Australia joined the United States in rejecting China’s territorial claims over a disputed group of islands in the strategic waterway, saying its rights have been historically established. At a daily press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, …
Read More »Australia joins US in rejecting Beijing’s South China Sea claims
Australia has joined the US in rejecting China’s territorial and maritime claims over a disputed group of islands in the South China Sea, ratcheting up already simmering tensions between Beijing and Canberra. In a formal declaration to the United Nations, Australia said there was “no legal basis” to several disputed …
Read More »US threatens China with sanctions over South China Sea claims
The United States has threatened to slap sanctions on China over accusations of Beijing’s exploitation of offshore resources in most of the South China Sea. The top US diplomat for East Asia said on Tuesday that Washington could respond with sanctions against Chinese officials and enterprises involved in what he …
Read More »China accuses US of sowing discord in South China Sea
China on Tuesday described a U.S. rejection of its maritime claims in the South China Sea as completely unjustified and accused the U.S. of attempting to sow discord between China and the Southeast Asian countries with which it has territorial disputes. The Chinese Embassy in Washington said that a statement …
Read More »China slams US for sending aircraft carriers to disputed sea
Beijing has slammed the United States for sending its aircraft carriers to the disputed waters of South China Sea, where the Chinese military was holding naval drills, saying the provocative move is aimed at driving a wedge between regional countries. Addressing a press briefing on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman …
Read More »U.S. Navy carriers conduct South China Sea drills as Chinese ships watch
Two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are conducting exercises in the contested South China Sea within sight of Chinese naval vessels spotted near the flotilla, the commander of one of the carriers, the USS Nimitz, told Reuters on Monday. “They have seen us and we have seen them,” Rear Admiral James …
Read More »US and Chinese naval exercises overlap in South China Sea
The US Navy will send two aircraft carriers and several accompanying warships to the South China Sea in the coming days to participate in a military exercise. The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Groups are conducting dual-carrier operations in the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea,” …
Read More »China rejects US criticism of military drills in South China Sea
China on Friday rejected criticism by the U.S. Defense Department of its plan to hold military exercises in the South China Sea and suggested that Washington was to blame for increased tensions in the region. The Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday that conducting military exercises over disputed territory …
Read More »US to China: Stop ‘bullying behavior’ in South China Sea
The United States has accused China of “bullying behavior” in the South China Sea and said it is concerned by the country’s “provocative actions” aimed at offshore oil and gas developments in the disputed waters. A Chinese government survey ship on Friday was tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia’s …
Read More »US destroyer sails in the disputed South China Sea amid trade talks
A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, a move likely to anger Beijing. The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-Chinese relationship, which include an escalating trade war, American sanctions …
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