South China Sea NewsWire
The aggregator service for balanced and insightful news
Diplomacy
U.S. upgrades Vietnam ties as Biden blasts China for ‘changing rules’
11 September, 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden denied trying to “hurt” China as he upgraded ties with Vietnam on Sunday, seeking to boost trade while navigating a thicket of challenges from human rights to climate and geoeconomic competition.
Science
Chinese scientists mark tech first with underwater survey near South China Sea’s Scarborough Shoal
11 September, 2023
‘Entirely home-grown technology’ used as Chinese marine geologists explore 100km stretch along disputed Scarborough Shoal. Made in China devices not only cheaper but seen as capable of evading technological sanctions as the US and its allies step up containment drive.
Diplomacy
U.S.-China rivalry dominates ASEAN talks as summits wrap up
8 September, 2023
Concerns about geopolitical rivalries overshadowed three days of meetings this week between top officials and leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its global partners, with this year’s chair Indonesia calling on world leaders to step back from confrontation.
Diplomacy
ASEAN risks irrelevance from ‘damaging’ non-response to tensions
6 September, 2023
With ASEAN centrality at stake, it would be a ‘huge miss’ if the bloc does not even issue a statement to uphold international law, observers say. Conflicting claims and a reluctance to ‘stick their necks out’ against China are seen as among the reasons for a lack of a unified ASEAN stance.
Diplomacy
China’s Claim on the South China Sea: How Many Dashes Make a Line?
6 September, 2023
China’s recent release of a new “standard” map of the South China Sea by the Ministry of Natural Resources has provoked some negative reactions from China’s neighbors. The map, which was released on 28 August, included a dashed line encircling large parts of the South China Sea.
Security
Philippines, US navies hold South China Sea sail
4 September, 2023
Naval vessels from the Philippines and United States conducted a joint sail through areas of the South China Sea within the Southeast Asian nation’s exclusive economic zone, the Philippine military said on Monday. It was the first time Manila and Washington carried out a joint sail in waters west of Palawan island, the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Command said in a statement.
Diplomacy
Vietnam Opposes New China Map Claiming South China Sea Islands
31 August, 2023
Vietnam said China’s official map released this week violates its sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel Islands and jurisdiction over its waters, according to a statement posted on the nation’s government news website. China’s sovereignty and maritime claims based on the nine-dotted line on the map are “invalid,” said the statement.
Diplomacy
Indonesia’s ‘significant’ South China Sea comments not a sign of ‘nascent alliance’ with US
31 August, 2023
Indonesia’s joint statement with the US on the South China Sea is seen as a move to increase support for Southeast Asian claimants, analysts say. The ‘important and necessary’ statement is also a significant shift from Indonesia’s previous neutral stance on the territorial dispute.
Security
US given OK to enforce maritime law around Palau as Washington vies with China for Pacific influence
29 August, 2023
The United States has signed a new agreement with Palau, which gives Coast Guard ships the authorization to unilaterally enforce maritime regulations in the tiny Pacific island nation’s exclusive economic zone.
Analysis
Commentary
Podcasts
Videos
Conferences
Recommended Books
Blue Security Issue 3 “Fair Winds and Following Seas: Maritime Security & Hedging in the South China Sea”
The Blue Security Program engages with and facilitates high quality research on issues of critical maritime security across the Indo-Pacific. Bringing together leading regional experts in politics, international law and strategic studies, Blue Security focuses on three key pillars of maritime security: order, law and power.
Vietnam and the United States have finally arrived at a new higher level of bilateral relationship after a protracted and difficult journey through a complicated history of conflict and cooperation. In order to strengthen strategic interests for peace, stability, and prosperity for both sides, and promote a rules-based international order, President Joe Biden and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong reached a historic accord to upgrade the bilateral relationship between the two countries in a two-day visit by President Biden to Hanoi on September 10-11.
US-Vietnam Relations: From Bitter Enemies to Strategic Partners
Vietnam, like other Southeast Asian countries, does not want to align with either side in the growing competition between China and the United States but instead navigate between the two powers to pursue its own interests. The author argues that Vietnam remains closer to China and will move slowly in building stronger ties with the United States.
Where Is Vietnam on the Sino-U.S. Spectrum? | CSIS
In this episode, Ms. Rushali Saha speaks to Mr. Lucio Blanco Pitlo about the timing and significance of ASEAN’s Maritime Outlook (AMO) Document and what it means for the region’s geopolitical landscape.
The Outlaw Ocean Podcast is a seven-part series that explores a gritty and lawless realm rarely seen, populated by traffickers and smugglers, pirates and mercenaries, wreck thieves and repo men, vigilante conservationists and elusive poachers, seabound abortion providers, clandestine oil dumpers, shackled slaves and cast-adrift stowaways.
President Marcos wants a maritime pact between the Philippines and Vietnam amid tensions in the South China Sea.
CSIS hosts Thirteenth Annual South China Sea Conference
Dispatches from the South China Sea: Navigating to Common Ground by James Borton This book’s blend of participatory research and field reportage paves the way for a transformation of policy and provides a basis for the eventual resolution of some of today’s major maritime conflicts.
On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea by Gregory Poling The author’s sweeping and comprehensive understanding of America policy offers insightful understanding of all the various claimant nations issues in the contested waters since the nineteenth century.
Raging Waters in the South China Sea by Rachel A. Winston and Ishika Sachdeva In this book the two authors succinctly offer analysis on what’s at stake in this region and graphically document the region with charts, graphs and maps.
Each month, South China Sea NewsWire identifies and features the most crucial articles on political, economic, and other developments in the South China Sea and surrounding regions. We provide top-level summaries of articles for easy access to selected news, conferences, podcasts, videos and integrated media. We offer a reading experience that favors discovery over opinion. South China Sea NewsWire is powered by article data from the Perigon News API. Perigon’s AI-enriched technology provides structured, intelligently classified news data in real time from over 80,000 global sources.
