Philippine and U.S. Marines provide supporting fire with U.S. Marine Amphibious Assault Vehicles to simulate suppressing enemy forces during a mechanized assault as part of Amphibious Landing Exercise 15 at Naval Education Training Command, Zambales, Luzon, Philippines in 2015. US Marine Corps Photo
The controversial president of the Philippines said his country will stop military exercises with the U.S., according to local press reports. Read More
An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows cruise vessel Haixun 1103 heading to the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol in South China Sea. Xinhua Photo
China has made clear that it refuses to accept an international arbitration panel’s ruling against its territorial claims in the South China Sea, but whether that stance leads to increased military tensions between Beijing and the United States or opens the door for broader negotiations is an open question. Read More
China’s Ambassador to U.S. Cui Tiankai in 2012. USDA Photo
The Chinese ambassador to the United States said Tuesday’s ruling against Beijing in its dispute with the Philippines by an international tribunal was “a clear attempt use legal instruments for political purposes” and has “taken place with military coercion” as a backdrop. Read More
A naval soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) views through a pair of binoculars onboard China’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning as it visits a military harbour on the South China Sea. Xinhua Photo
Long before Tuesday’s ruling by an international arbitration panel against it, China has been moving toward turning an international waterway such as the South China Sea “into a Caribbean” where Beijing exerts its peacetime dominance, a leading Japanese defense expert said. Read More
Chinese Marines exercise in Thailand in May. Xinhua Photo
China’s declaration of a ‘no sail’ zone in the South China Sea is technically a violation of maritime law, but not a new move from Beijing, maritime experts and U.S. officials told USNI News on Thursday. Read More
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter greets Deputy Chief of the Peoples Liberation Army (China) General Staff Adm. Sun Jianguo in Singapore on June 3, 2016. DoD Photo
Chinese officials took aim at U.S. assertions freedom of navigation rights in the South China Sea were being restricted by Beijing in a terse Monday statement. Read More
Lt. (jg) Travis Harlow, training officer aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93), explains his job responsibilities to senior leaders from the Vietnam People’s Navy in 2013. US Navy Photo
The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee is pushing for more interaction between the U.S. and Vietnamese navies, according to a copy of a May 20 letter to Vietnamese Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong obtained by USNI News. Read More
The following is a May 20, 2016 letter from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to General Secretary of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong on expanding U.S. and Vietnamese naval cooperation. Read More
The “Gunslingers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 105 conduct a flyover during their homecoming at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. on April 17, 2014. US Navy Photo
The Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday, laying out a spending plan that falls just short of a bill the House Armed Services Committee passed last month. Read More
People’s Liberation Army troops patrol an island in the South China Sea. PLA Photo
Chinese officials took a rhetorical hard line this week calling U.S. military actions in the South China Sea the “greatest threat” to stability in the region and vowed to increase its own military presence in the region, according to a Wednesday statement from the Chinese military. Read More
