South China Sea
A flare up in China’s deliberate pattern of aggression
It’s time to be alarmed not just alert. On Sunday, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles revealed a “very dangerous” intercept by a People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s …
Taming troubled waters
While regional countries respond to Covid-19 and the many social and economic consequences, ensuring peace and stability in the South China Sea has become even more important due…
Protecting law and order at sea means educating people on their rights
In recent years, the rise of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities, transnational organised crime at sea, expansion of terrorist networks and activities by…
Cause and effect: The right security architecture for the Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific maritime security order consists of international treaties, multilateral diplomatic forums and, increasingly, minilateral security initiatives. The first two are…
“Lawfare” in the South China Sea disputes
The term “lawfare”, and its etymology in the term warfare, has traditionally been perceived as negative, based on the notion that it meant the misuse of law or legal institutions…
Stiffening the ASEAN spine in the South China Sea
“Coalition” is one of those politically loaded terms that the sovereignty-conscious member-states of ASEAN tend to avoid – especially in dealing with disputed claims in the South…
Navigating the limits in the South China Sea
Barely noticed, but nevertheless of some international legal consequence, is the latest effort by the United States to cast doubt upon the legality of Chinese maritime claims in…
Indonesia standing between great powers
China recently upped its game against Indonesia in the South China Sea. It lodged an unprecedented protest over exploratory off-shore drilling for natural gas in waters known as…
Could minilateralism work in the South China Sea?
Tensions with China over the South China Sea have prompted Indonesia to invite maritime security officials from five ASEAN member states – Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia,…
Myths that stir trouble in the South China Sea
US officials regularly present China as an aggressive and expansionist military power while Chinese state sources criticise the United States in similar terms. The verbal sparring…