Tag: South China Sea

U.S. Says Chinese Fighter Jet Flew Dangerously Close to American Plane

Chin@Strategy

The U.S. military said on Thursday that a Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a U.S. Air Force aircraft that was conducting routine operations over the South China Sea on Dec. 21, nearly causing the planes to collide. The Chinese pilot of a J-11 jet “performed an unsafe maneuver,” flying in front and within 20 feet of the nose of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 plane, the U.S. military said in a statement, adding that the American pilot was forced to take “evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.” The…

Vietnam carries out ‘substantial’ expansion in South China Sea, US thinktank finds

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Vietnam has conducted a major expansion of dredging and landfill work at several of its South China Sea outposts in the second half of this year, signalling an intent to significantly fortify its claims in the disputed waterway. Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has said on Wednesday the work in the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by China and others, had created roughly 170 hectares (420 acres) of new land and brought the total area Vietnam had reclaimed in the past decade to 220 hectares. Basing…

Penny Wong issues emphatic plea to US and China to ‘prevent catastrophe’ of war

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Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has urged China to take up a US offer to put in place “guardrails” to prevent growing tensions from spiralling into war. Wong will use a speech in Washington DC on Thursday to hit back at claims that Australia’s plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines under Aukus is driving a regional arms race. Wong will also urge the leaders of China and the US to learn from diplomacy spurred by the Cuban missile crisis, saying she hopes “nationalistic domestic posturing won’t sink their efforts to…

China accused of seizing rocket debris from Philippines navy in South China Sea dispute

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China’s coast guard forcibly seized the suspected debris of a Chinese rocket that the Philippine navy was towing to its island in the South China Sea, Philippines military officials have said, in the latest confrontation in the disputed sea. The Chinese vessel twice blocked the Philippine naval boat before seizing the floating debris it was towing on Sunday off Philippine-occupied Thitu island, Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said on Monday. He said no one was injured in the incident. The incident occurred just hours before US vice-president Kamala Harris arrived in…

Typhoon Noru Aims for Vietnam After Hitting the Philippines

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Typhoon Noru, a powerful storm that hit the Philippines this week, was moving west across the South China Sea toward central Vietnam on Tuesday. Noru was forecast to make landfall in or near the city of Danang, one of the largest in Vietnam, by Wednesday. Among the places in its expected path was Hoi An, an ancient trading port and UNESCO World Heritage site south of Danang. More than 800,000 people in Danang and elsewhere in central Vietnam had been evacuated as of Tuesday evening local time, The Associated Press…

The Dugong ‘Sea Cow’ Has Vanished from China’s Waters, Study Says

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The dugong, a species of so-called sea cow that roams the ocean floor in Asia and Africa and is said to have inspired ancient legends of mermaids, has been spotted off China’s southern coast for centuries. Not lately, though. A new study suggests that the dugong has become the first large vertebrate to go functionally extinct in China’s coastal waters, the result of a rapid population collapse there that began in the mid-1970s. “Functional extinction” means that even if some dugongs are still alive off China’s coast, their numbers are…

‘Abusing China’s restraint’: Beijing accuses Australia of provocation at sea

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China has accused Australia of provocation in the South China Sea and said Australia – along with the United States and Canada – must “refrain from abusing China’s restraint”. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was responding to a question about recent military encounters in the South China Sea, including reports in Politico that a Chinese fighter jet had an “unsafe” and “unprofessional” interaction with an American C-130 aircraft. Politico reported that the interaction came amid more aggressive military actions by Chinese pilots involving Australian and Canadian planes. Just after the…

Biden to Host Southeast Asian Leaders as He Tries to Return Focus to China

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — President Biden plans to host the leaders of Southeast Asian nations at the White House on Thursday and Friday, delivering a message of solidarity — and aiming to provide a bulwark against Chinese influence in the region — even as much of his administration remains focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two-day summit will cover an array of topics including trade, human rights and climate change, but it is also part of an effort by Mr. Biden’s foreign policy team to highlight one of the president’s primary…

China has fully militarized three islands in South China Sea, US admiral says

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China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top US military commander said Sunday. US Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John C Aquilino said the hostile actions were in stark contrast to the Chinese president Xi Jinping’s past assurances that Beijing would not transform the artificial islands in contested waters into military bases. The efforts…

Navy Recovers Stealthy Jet From Deep in the South China Sea

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The Navy has recovered a stealthy F-35 warplane that fell into the South China Sea after it crashed while trying to land on a Navy aircraft carrier, the service announced on Thursday. The Navy’s Japan-based Seventh Fleet said a remote-operated vehicle attached lines to the plane, which was then lifted 12,400 feet to the surface of the ocean and winched aboard the deck of a civilian vessel called the Picasso that the Navy contracted to assist in the operation. “This deliberate approach resulted in the correct capabilities conducting recovery operations…