China South China Sea

Aside from the exceedingly volatile issue of Taiwan, the next most dangerous issue in China-U.S. relations involves the maritime realm.

In the night intercept, the Shenyang J-11 twin-engine fighter closed on the U.S. Air Force plane at an "uncontrolled excessive speed… putting both aircraft in danger of a collision.”

In 2018, Manila and Beijing began talks on the joint exploration of offshore oil and gas resources in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

The call forms a neat bookend to Duterte's six years of controversial rapprochement with China.

Jay L. Batongbacal, a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law, on the South China Sea disputes and international law.

The international community must respond to China’s maritime coercion.

The mass incursion of Chinese vessels into the Philippines' EEZ is a dramatic demonstration of the limits of the president's policy toward China.

Beijing’s behavior, while unsurprising, is only likely to further antagonize its neighbors.

Though recent allegations raise more questions than they provide answers, they should reinforce the need for greater transparency in the South China Sea.

The new tensions reinforce existing worries about Chinese conduct in the South China Sea.

While joint activities between regional states are no doubt significant, they need to be kept in perspective relative to broader trends.

The muted Philippine response has exacerbated existing concerns about the regional response to Beijing's maritime claims.