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Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea

U.S. Submarine Hits Object in South China Sea

  • Eleven sailors were injured after a U.S. submarine struck an unknown object in the South China Sea, according to unnamed officials (BBC)

Ninety-Three Chinese Military Sorties Near Taiwan Over Three Days Prompts U.S. Warning

  • The United States warned against China’s provocative military activity in the disputed area following China’s record number of military flights (Wall Street Journal)

United States Enters South China Sea for Second Time This Year

  • The United States sent the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group into the disputed waters of the South China Sea for the second time this year (South China Morning Post)

China Denies German Warship Access to Harbor

  • The German foreign ministry said that the Chinese government refused to allow a German warship on a mission to the South China Sea entry to a Chinese harbor (Reuters)
  • Separately, The Biden administration announced that the United States and the United Kingdom will help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines, which could allow Australia to patrol parts of the South China Sea (New York Times)

Biden, Xi Speak on Phone for First Time Since February

  • President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a ninety-minute phone conversation (South China Morning Post)
  • The White House said they discussed how to keep U.S.-China competition from escalating into conflict (White House)

German Warship, Headed to the Indo-Pacific, Expected to Sail Through South China Sea

  • A German frigate was dispatched yesterday on a mission aimed at strengthening Germany’s presence in the Indo-Pacific, the first trip by a German warship to the region in nearly twenty years. The ship is expected to sail through the disputed South China Sea in December (Agence France-Presse)
  • Beijing called on Berlin to clarify the intentions of the frigate’s trip for it to make a port call in Shanghai (South China Morning Post)

China Condemns U.S. Navy FONOP in South China Sea

  • Beijing said a U.S. warship “intruded into” disputed waters that China claims near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea and urged the U.S. military to stop such “provocations”. The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the ship conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in accordance with international law (Straits Times)

China Protests U.S. Activities in South China Sea

  • China protested U.S. naval activities in the South China Sea, its second complaint in two days. China said the guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur illegally entered its waters around the disputed Paracel Islands today, and complained yesterday when the Wilbur passed through the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet said China was advancing “excessive and illegitimate maritime claims” (Associated Press)

Philippines: China Moving More Ships Into South China Sea

  • Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said China has moved more ships into disputed waters in the South China Sea despite repeated objections from Manila (Bloomberg)

Top Philippine Diplomat Blasts China in Profane Tweet

  • In a tweet containing profanity and other crude language, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. demanded Chinese ships leave waters in the South China Sea that are claimed by the Philippines, escalating a long-standing territorial dispute (New York Times)
  • Beijing urged Manila to observe “basic etiquette” (CNA)

Philippines, United States Begin Join Military Exercises

  • The Philippines and the United States kick off two weeks of military exercises today amid heightened tensions between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea. The annual exercises were canceled last year due to the pandemic (Nikkei)

U.S. Warns China Against Aggression Toward Philippines

  • U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said an attack on the Philippines would “trigger” U.S. obligations under a joint defense treaty and echoed Philippine concerns about a buildup of Chinese vessels in the contested South China Sea (CNA)

Philippines Criticizes Chinese Ships in South China Sea

  • Aides to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte issued some of his government’s strongest criticisms yet about the presence of hundreds of Chinese vessels in parts of the South China Sea claimed by China and the Philippines (Reuters)

Philippines Protests Hundreds of Chinese Boats in South China Sea

  • Manila launched a diplomatic protest against Beijing and urged it to recall more than two hundred allegedly Chinese boats seen in a contested area of the South China Sea earlier this month, Philippine officials said (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

China, Singapore Hold Joint Military Exercise

  • The Chinese and Singaporean navies began their first joint exercise since 2016 as China seeks to deepen regional military cooperation and counter increased U.S. operations in the South China Sea. China’s defense ministry said the navies would perform search-and-rescue and communication exercises (South China Morning Post)

U.S. Navy Carries Out Exercise in South China Sea

  • Two U.S. aircraft carrier groups held joint drills in the South China Sea in the first operation of its kind since July (Al Jazeera)
  • In a call with reporters, the carriers’ commanders said Chinese military capacity in the South China Sea has recently increased but emphasized that the joint exercise did not target any country (Financial Times)

U.S. Sails Warship Near Parcel Islands in South China Sea

  • A U.S. warship sailed by the Chinese-controlled Parcel Islands in the South China Sea in the Biden administration’s first freedom of navigation operation. China dispatched naval and air units to warn the ship away (Reuters)

U.S. Backs Allies in East, South China Seas Disputes

  • The Biden administration pledged to support the Philippines in the event that it is attacked in the South China Sea and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to back Japan in disputes in the East China Sea. China claims much of the seas (South China Morning Post)

U.S. Navy Vows to Be ‘More Assertive’ Toward China

  • The Pentagon said in a goal-setting document that Navy warships will be “more assertive” when responding to violations of international law, including those by China in the South China Sea (Agence France-Presse)
  • Beijing did not attend a routine military safety meeting with Washington this week, blaming Washington for disrupting the dialogue with bullying behavior (Wall Street Journal)

China Drafts Law Expanding Coast Guard’s Power

  • Beijing is moving to enact a law that would let its coast guard fire on foreign ships and demolish foreign structures built on reefs claimed by China (South China Morning Post)
  • The country is engaged in maritime disputes with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea and with Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea (Asahi Shimbun)

China Reportedly Fires Missiles in South China Sea

  • China launched missiles into the South China Sea as it conducted military exercises in the disputed waters, according to a source close to the Chinese military (South China Morning Post)
  • Separately, the United States announced new sanctions on Chinese companies and executives with ties to the South China Sea (Wall Street Journal)

Malaysia Criticizes China Over South China Sea Claims

  • Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein criticized China’s claims in the South China Sea as having “no basis” in international law and announced that Kuala Lumpur had submitted a claim to the United Nations over territory off Malaysia’s coast. Malaysia has previously avoided criticizing China, its largest trading partner (Bloomberg)

Australia Agrees to Increased Cooperation With U.S. in the South China Sea

  • Australia agreed to pursue “increased and regularized maritime cooperation” in the South China, including combating disinformation, with United States. The pledge follows mounting Australian pressure against China’s claims to the South China Sea, though Canberra is likely to stop short of any action that could injure its relationship with Beijing (Guardian)

Japan Joins U.S., Australia in Exercises Near South China Sea

  • The country’s Maritime Self-Defense Force joined a naval exercise with the Australian and U.S. navies near the disputed South China Sea in a move that will likely anger China (Japan Times)

Pompeo: China’s Claims in South China Sea Are Unlawful

  • U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that most of China’s claims in the disputed South China Sea are unlawful and said the world would not allow Beijing to treat the region as its “maritime empire” (State Department)
  • Pompeo’s announcement could presage military confrontations with Beijing and sanctions against Chinese companies. He aligned U.S. policy with a 2016 ruling from an international tribunal that found China had violated international law in the South China Sea; Beijing rejected the ruling (New York Times)
  • A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson blasted Pompeo’s remarks, saying China had no plans to become a maritime empire and accusing Washington of stirring up “disunity” (South China Morning Post)