First the Golan Heights, now the South China Sea – The United States used to patrol this regularly to ensure “freedom of navigation” for all the nations who claim part (or all) of the sea and the islands within it. Now it is being reported that it has called its aircraft carriers home and left…
Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, both China and the US have kicked off a massive naval buildup, and both cite fears of the other’s increasing maritime military power as the reason. Are we to see another arms race between the rival powers? According to media reports, China is about to secure a massive…
The foreign-policy issues confronting the United States are vast and complex. They range from terror groups such Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to Russia’s attempt at re-exerting its status as a major world power. One issue, competition to control the South China Sea, pits mainland China against its lesser rivals: Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei,…
Washington’s attempts to militarize the South China Sea and “tame the Chinese dragon” would see Beijing deploying weapons systems in the contested area, a state-run newspaper wrote in an op-ed addressed to the US military brass. The article comes on the heels of heightened tensions between the two world powers in the South China Sea,…
China says it respects the principles of freedom of navigation and overflight, but “opposes” when other states undermine its sovereignty using this pretext. The statement comes after a US aircraft carrier group began patrols in disputed South China Sea waters. “China always respects the freedom of navigation and overflight all countries enjoy under international law,”…
Ignoring repeated warnings from Beijing not to aggravate tensions in Southeast Asia, the US Navy has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group for “routine” maritime patrols in the vicinity of the disputed South China Sea waters. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, together with aircraft from the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, and the…
