China’s foreign minister has spoken with US secretary of state John Kerry by telephone ahead of a key international court ruling on China’s South China Sea claims and warned Washington against moves that infringe on China’s sovereignty, Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency reported. Read Here – The Guardian
All signs show that both the South China Sea dispute and the steel oversupply issue will be realities beyond 2016. As far as the actual forum itself is concerned, the possibility of a 9th round of S&ED — an Obama administration initiative — is unclear, especially with lacking tangible results. Read Here – Global Risk […]
China is speeding up efforts to design and build a manned deep-sea platform to help it hunt for minerals in the South China Sea, one that may also serve a military purpose in the disputed waters. Read Here – Bloomberg
An obscure court in The Hague will soon issue a ruling likely to inflame tensions in the South China Sea and force Washington to clarify how far it is willing to go to defend its allies in Manila. Read Here – Foreign Policy
After years of simmering friction, the disputes have taken on some urgency as an international arbitration court in The Hague prepares to rule on a case brought by the Philippines against China. A ruling seen as unfavorable to Beijing could undermine its claims to more than 80 percent of the waters. Read Here – Bloomberg
China’s growing military might is a cause of concern for countries in the region, particularly its navy, now the biggest in the region. The East China Sea and South China Sea fleets are responsible for naval security around Taiwan and the South China Sea. The North Sea fleet protects Beijing and the northern coast. Read […]
Washington and New Delhi are getting a lot more serious about military-to-military ties. As the United States and India become more wary of an increasingly assertive China, the two countries are gradually edging closer together. Read Here – The National Interest
In New Delhi’s calculation vis-à-vis China, swinging back and forth may well create strategic leverage that can be more effective than simply deferring to China’s presumed opposition against India’s interaction with a third party on the sensitive issues…However, New Delhi also has to remember that such flip-flops on major power relations may also put itself […]
Indian diplomacy rests on engagement with major world powers instead of clinging to a particular country. By adopting an ambiguous strategy, India places itself in a position that all the major powers woo it, but it never explicitly promises anything regarding the policies of other nations. Read Here – Global Times
The U.S. is deploying nine aircraft and hundreds of U.S. troops and special operators to at least seven bases in the Philippines as part of a new, regular presence there, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced. Read Here – Stars and Stripes
looking beyond borders 