The Philippine Coast Guard’s highlighting of China’s harassment of its vessels near Second Thomas Shoal has undoubtedly boosted sympathy for Manila in its David-versus-Goliath struggle to maintain jurisdiction and sovereignty in the South China Sea. …
It’s well known that China has the world’s largest navy and coastguard—the result of a tenfold increase in military spending since 1995—which it uses to advance its pugnacious revisionism. But there are also numerous lesser-known—indeed, …
Last weekend, China’s coastguard and maritime militia carried out dangerous and aggressive manoeuvres against a small Philippines boat, blocking and blasting it with a powerful water cannon. The vessel was trying to resupply a remote …
During China’s high-level ‘two sessions’ (两会) meetings this year, defence ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei (谭克非) disclosed that ¥1.58 trillion ($338 billion) had been allocated in the 2023 national budget for defence, up 7.2% on the …
The Asia–Pacific’s premier defence dialogue uses the name of the mythical place ‘Shangri-La’, a utopia of peace high in the mountains in the 90-year-old novel Lost Horizon. Amid the tough talk at the 20th dialogue …