Headlines
A bill that would integrate the Philippines’ South China Sea territorial claims into school curricula could further integrate the issue into national identity and strengthen public support, experts told Radio Free Asia.
A U.S. plan to build a critical technology hub in the Philippines is a symbolic return to the site of one of its largest overseas former bases, experts in the country told Radio Free Asia.
As the Philippines marks the 10th anniversary of an arbitration ruling it won against China in the disputed South China Sea this weekend, analysts told Radio Free Asia that Manila should counter Beijing’s continued aggression in the disputed area through diplomatic means, while Philippine military officials called for deterrence with the help of allies.
When Taiwan’s military in early June unveiled robot dogs designed to patrol remote South China Sea outposts, it was more than a showcase of a new novelty. It was a signal that militaries around the entire region are shifting towards unmanned technologies, observers told Radio Free Asia.
When Chinese researchers recently announced the discovery of a large gathering of endangered hawksbill sea turtles around Scarborough Shoal, they may have had ulterior motives – experts told Radio Free Asia that scientific studies serve a broader strategic purpose by reinforcing China’s presence and authority in contested areas of the South China Sea.
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.