Headlines
The Philippines is actively upgrading facilities on two islands it controls in the disputed Spratly chain in the South China Sea, satellite images reviewed by Radio Free Asia revealed.
Desperate for a new source of income because his business was failing, a Filipino man in his mid-20s answered an online advertisement in 2024 for what he thought was a U.S.-based publication looking for a writer focusing on Philippine defense.
A rare visit by Taiwan’s coast guard minister to Taiping Island is part of Taipei’s strategy to assert its claim over the disputed South China Sea outpost and a move taken right out of Beijing’s “gray zone” playbook, analysts told Radio Free Asia.
Southeast Asian leaders are unlikely to resolve long-standing disputes in the South China Sea at next month’s ASEAN Summit, but they could make “incremental progress” towards a Code of Conduct, or COC, aimed at managing tensions there, analysts told Radio Free Asia.
The Philippines is slowly shifting to a more “active defense posture,” analysts told Radio Free Asia, as Manila and Washington launch the largest-ever iteration of their annual war games this week.
Washington is planning a fuel depot in the southern Philippines that could support humanitarian and maritime security missions of its key Southeast Asian ally, which is locked in an increasingly hostile territorial tussle with China.
Japan sending combat troops to participate in upcoming exercises in the Philippines is a signal of a shift towards a more networked, multi-layered security structure in the South China Sea that is still anchored by the United States, analysts in the region told Radio Free Asia.
Vietnam has condemned China’s land reclamation activities at Antelope reef in the disputed Paracel Islands, following reports of accelerated dredging, landfill and construction operations there that, according to a U.S.-based think tank, could make it “China’s largest feature” in the South China Sea.
Indian and Philippine naval crews sailed together for the first time in the South China Sea, officials said on Monday, one of several joint exercises the Philippine navy has held to counter China’s far-reaching maritime claims.