Though China’s first naval exercise with a foreign military in waters east of Taiwan this month was a relatively small operation, it could go a long way toward normalizing Beijing’s presence around the democratic island. The Chinese frigate Honghe and Indonesia’s KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai-332 conducted a passing exercise east of Taiwan on Aug. 12, involving maritime communications, formation maneuvers and replenishment of fuel and supplies at sea. Reuters described it as China’s first joint operation with a foreign military in those waters. China, which considers Taiwan to be…
Tag: South China Sea
Maps: Tracking Typhoon Noul
1-day forecast precipitation Sources and notes NYT
Chinese, Philippine personnel clash in the South China Sea
China Coast Guard personnel on a rigid hull inflatable boat clashed with Philippine Navy personnel aboard a rubber boat using wooden batons in the South China Sea on 20 July. According to Philippine authorities, one of their sailors suffered a serious head injury when a Chinese crew member allegedly struck him with a wooden baton. The Guardian
Chinese warship holds live-fire drills inside Japan’s economic waters for first time
A Chinese missile destroyer fired live rounds for the first time inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) during a drill on Sunday, a day before Chinese and Philippine sailors clashed in the South China Sea. Three Chinese warships and a Russian frigate were spotted sailing between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako island into the Pacific on Thursday, before being picked up again around 330km south-west of Okinotori in the early hours of Sunday morning. The Chinese missile destroyer then issued a warning to shipping that it would be carrying out…
Philippines demands ‘racist’ Chinese state media video depicting Filipinos as monkeys be taken down
The Philippines strongly condemned state-run China Daily for releasing an AI-generated video that depicted Filipinos as monkeys, saying the “racist” imagery is “offensive, distressing and unacceptable” and drawing a firm line against dehumanising propaganda. Manila demanded that the video posted on China Daily’s Facebook account on 10 July be taken down. The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The video portrayed a monkey dressed in Filipino attire being directed by arms representing the US and Japan on what to sing. After being called…
China Raises Pressure on Taiwan With Expanded Coast Guard Patrols
China is opening a new front in its pressure campaign against Taiwan, sending ships to its east to drive home a political point: Beijing claims not only the island itself but also the seas around it. The China Coast Guard announced on Saturday that its ships would conduct “law-enforcement patrols” in the Western Pacific waters east of Taiwan, a self-ruled island of 23 million people that Beijing claims as its territory. The Western Pacific is crowded with commercial traffic and would be a vital arena if Beijing ever tried to…
Satellite pics reveal Vietnamese construction boom in disputed Spratly chain
Vietnam is building military and maritime infrastructure at 27 sites across at least 18 reefs in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, satellite imagery analyzed by Radio Free Asia revealed. The improvements include ports, runways, military facilities and communications arrays that will improve Hanoi’s maritime and airspace awareness, experts told RFA. “Hanoi is likely hoping that this development will deter Chinese action against Vietnamese economic activity at sea, including fishing and offshore oil and gas,” Harrison Prétat, deputy director of the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, or…
EXPLAINED: Why Taiwan wants U.S. weapons and why Washington supplies them
With Taiwan hoping for swift delivery of a US$14 billion weapons sale approved by the U.S. Congress in January, a U.S. official said last week in a Senate hearing that foreign military sales are on pause to protect munitions stockpiles as conflict in Iran continues. U.S. weapons sales have been an integral part of Taiwan’s security since Washington ended diplomatic recognition of Taipei in favor of Beijing in 1979. Despite the loss of recognition, through arms sales and other agreements, Washington is still a de-facto military protector of the democratic…
The Tragic Decline of the American Navy
Alfred Thayer Mahan, a 19th-century naval officer and pre-eminent military strategist, believed his young country was destined to be great because of its Navy. Toward the end of his service, Mahan, then a U.S. Navy captain, wrote a landmark book about the age of sailing ships. Read avidly by kings, prime ministers and presidents — including Theodore Roosevelt, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the young Winston Churchill — the book posited the idea of a free world anchored by American sea power. Mahan believed America needed a large number of ships…
How China Is Building Its Next Outpost at Sea
NYT