An undated photo pf President of the The Philippines Benigno Aquino visiting a bridge simulator at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy
As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was preparing to speak before a joint session of Congress on expanding trade in the Pacific, a delegation of legislators and businessmen from the Philippine maritime industry were meeting with transportation officials and would later meet with their American counterparts to find means to better educate their ratings and put more officers aboard the world’s merchant fleet. Read More
Vice Adm. Robert Thomas, commander of U.S. 7th Fleet, delivers remarks during a change of command ceremony aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). US Navy Photo
The head of U.S. naval forces in the Western Pacific said the U.S. would support an emerging plan to create multi-national patrols in the South China Sea that could bear similarities to anti-piracy patrols in the Strait of Malacca. Read More
Undated photo of ships of the China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in 2012. PLAN Photo via Press TV
China’s ambiguous claim to the South China Sea, approximately demarcated by a series of hash marks known as the “nine-dashed line,” faced objections from an expanding number of parties over the past two weeks. While a challenge from the United States came from an unsurprising source, actions by Indonesia and Vietnam were unexpected in their tone and timing. Read More
The following is the Dec. 5, 2014 U.S. State Department Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs report, China: Maritime Claims to the South China Sea. Read More
An undated photo of a Chinese Jiangdao-class corvette.
China has commissioned a corvette variant focused on anti submarine warfare (ASW), expanding the capability of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to find and hunt submarines in the South China Sea, according to Tuesday local press reports via Jane’s Defence Weekly.
An undated photo of a Marine with the Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines. DoD Photo
The decreasing threat from al Qaeda-linked terror groups in the Philippines has prompted Pentagon leaders to shutter one of the U.S. military’s long-running counterterrorism operations, but will maintain a sizable special operations force (SOF) in country for the foreseeable future. Read More
Adm. Jonathan Greenert testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 6, 2014. US Navy Photo
The sea service’s expanding presence in the Asia-Pacific is already starting to pay dividends in tamping down tensions between China and U.S allies in the region, the Navy’s top officer said Monday. Read More
Chinese soldier near the Johnson South Reef. Xinhua Photo
A new Chinese military outpost located in the South China Sea is again inflaming tensions between Beijing and and its regional neighbors in the Pacific. Read More
Philippine and U.S. Marines participating as part of Exercise Balikatan 2013. US Marine Corps Photo
Days after Washington and Manila struck a new defense pact to increase U.S. military presence in the Philippines, thousands of American troops are streaming into the southern part of the country for a new round of large-scale military exercises. Read More
