MILITARY POSTURE
2024-03-26 | BY Lei Xiaolu
Currently, much attention has been attracted by the tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. The recurrent provocative activities of the Philippines in the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Dao), Second Thomas Shoal (Ren’ai Jiao), and Sandy Cay (Tiexian Jiao) encountered a firm response from the CCG at sea. Some commentators are worried about the possibility of the...
2024-03-21 | BY SCSPI
In 2023, the US military continued to strengthen its military deterrence against China, maintaining high-intensity activities including close-in reconnaissance operations, Taiwan Strait transits, forward presence, strategic cruising, military exercises and drills, and battlefield preparation in the South China Sea and its surrounding areas. Around 1,000 sorties of large reconnaissance aircraft conducted close-in reconnaissance, frequently approaching Chinese mainland airspace. Carrier strike groups (CSGs) and amphibious ready groups (ARGs) entered the South China Sea eight times, with increased duration, and training intensity. At least 11 nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) and two ballistic nuclear missile submarines (SSBNs) appeared in the region, signifying a clear intent for deterrence. Additionally, both joint operations with allies and partners and the use of unmanned systems were prominent among the US military activities in the South China Sea in 2023.
2024-01-10 | BY Zheng Zhihua
The grounding of the BRP Sierra Madre was publically acknowledged as accidental and temporary in nature. Since 2010, the Philippines has attempted to reinforce and refurbish the BRP Sierra Madre, and has consistently caused incidents in violation of the DOC's obligations for all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from occupying uninhabited features. It is attempting to unilaterally alter the status quo at Second Thomas Shoal. Manila claim that "Philippines has been in long, continuous, peaceful, uninterrupted, and effective possession of the shoal under international law" is a complete falsehood.[8] At present, there are still over a hundred uninhabited and features in the Spratly Islands. If the Philippines flagrantly violates this commitment, it could trigger a new wave of occupation activities, exacerbate tensions and chaos in the South China Sea, and significantly impede negotiations for a code of conduct in the region.
2023-12-28 | BY Lei Xiaolu
Currently, the China-Philippines relationship is at the crossroads. In 2023, the Philippines undertook a major shift in its orientation of the South China Sea policy. The Philippines and the US strengthened the military and paramilitary cooperation in the region, announcing 4 additional military sites under the 2014 EDCA and conducting joint patrols and joint exercise in the South China Sea. Despite this, the Philippines becomes more provocative at the sea.
2023-09-25 | BY Fu Ying
Recently, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) again started provocations over Huangyan Dao (also known as Scarborough Shoal). They have issued an announcement stating “strongly condemn the China Coast Guard’s (CCG’s) installation of floating barrier in the Southeast portion of Bajo de Masinloc (Huangyan Dao), which prevents Filipino Fishing Boats (FFBs) from entering the shoal and depriving them of their fishing and livelihood activities.” It is thus once again stirring up international attention on Huangyan Dao.
To provide more information on Huangyan Dao and the related issues, we are posting a piece of work from Fu Ying’s book "Seeing the World 2" which gives a complete narration of the 2012 Huangyan Dao incident. This piece is excerpted from the book’s Chapter Five“Peace Issues in Asia", the first article " Huangyan Dao: What Actually Happened in 2012". We hope this will help the readers better understand the situation.
2023-03-26 | BY SCSPI
In 2022, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US military placed great emphasis on military deterrence against China in the South China Sea, maintaining high-intensity activities including close-in reconnaissance operations, Taiwan Strait transits, forward presence, strategic deterrence, freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs), military exercises and drills, and battlefield construction. Around 1,000 sorties of large reconnaissance aircraft conducted close-in reconnaissance, including reportedly reaching the Chinese mainland’s territorial air space several times. CSGs and amphibious ready groups (ARGs) entered the South China Sea eight times, down from 12 times in 2021, but the duration of each deployment increased, mostly for more than 10 days. At least 12 nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) appeared in the South China Sea, with a clear aim to exert deterrence. As the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan escalated the Taiwan Strait Situation sharply, the US military’s forward deployment and operations in the South China Sea strengthened the linkage with the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea.
2022-08-17 | BY Qi Haotian
U.S. and Philippines are steadily improving bilateral intelligence and situation awareness sharing, enhancing interoperability, pushing forward a shift from bilateral to multilateral cooperation, and strengthening logistical support for the U.S. military. In this process, there are disagreements concerning specific matters, such as the ranking of priorities, facility accessibility, and funding issues. But these disagreements are not going to alter the overall trend of the bilateral military cooperation.
2022-03-27 | BY SCSPI
In 2021, as the US placed great emphasis on military deterrence against China, the US armed forces maintained a high tempo of military activities in the South China Sea, such as close-in reconnaissance operations, Taiwan Strait transits, forward presence, strategic deterrence, “freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs)”, military exercises and drills, and battlefield preparation. Specifically, large reconnaissance aircraft conducted nearly 1,200 close-in reconnaissance sorties over the South China Sea, several of which came close to only around 20 nautical miles away from China’s baselines. The US carrier strike groups (CSGs) and amphibious ready groups (ARGs) entered the South China Sea 12 times, more than twice the frequency in 2020. At least 11 nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) deployed to the South China Sea and its surrounding waters throughout the year, among which the Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22) even “struck an underwater mountain” in the northern waters of the South China Sea. In addition, with a significantly stronger focus on China, the US military has given more emphasis to “great power competition” with respect to strategies, tactics, concepts of operations (CONOPS) and weapons research and development.
2021-12-31 | BY Wang Tengfei, Song Runxi
Since 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across Vietnam, but a large-scale of Vietnamese fishing vessels continue to maintain their illegal presence in the South China Sea, and even with restrictions, many Vietnamese fishermen are still engaging in illegal fishing in other countries' waters, leading to constant maritime friction with neighboring countries. The interests and rights of China and...
2021-07-13 | BY SCSPI
SCSPI mapped out the paths through AIS data, with their activities showing the following features.