China is deploying aggressive gray-zone tactics around Taiwan and the South China Sea, walking a deliberate line between conventional military conflict and regional coercion to alter facts on the ground without triggering a hot war. According to security analysis, Beijing seeks to challenge the established international order while avoiding the catastrophic economic and military costs … Read more
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered a veiled rebuke of China during his state of the nation speech on Monday, vowing that his government will defend a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. According to the president, Filipinos “do not yield” to conquerors as territorial confrontations in the … Read more
Typhoon Noul made landfall along the coast of Huidong county in the city of Huizhou, southern Guangdong province, bringing maximum sustained winds of 90 mph near its center and prompting the evacuation of more than 340,000 people, according to state broadcaster CCTV and Hong Kong’s Observatory. Landfall and Evacuations in Guangdong Province Typhoon Noul made … Read more
Severe Tropical Storm Noul is tracking across the northeastern South China Sea toward Guangdong province, prompting the Hong Kong Observatory to weigh issuing the No 3 typhoon signal on Saturday afternoon. According to the Observatory, the storm was centered about 710 kilometers east-southeast of Hong Kong as of Friday evening and is forecast to intensify … Read more
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a gathering of southeast Asian foreign ministers, to discuss how to manage bilateral tensions ahead of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.The meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) … Read more
Southeast Asian diplomats are gathering in Manila this week to address a dual-front crisis: the escalating threat of a war between the United States and Iran and the persistent regional instability in Myanmar and the South China Sea. According to the Associated Press, the 11-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will use these meetings … Read more
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Russia’s Legal Stance on South China Sea Arbitration Deepens Regional Tensions Russia has reiterated its rejection of the so-called South China Sea arbitration, asserting that the dispute should be resolved through diplomatic channels rather than international judicial mechanisms, according to a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on July 16, 2026. The remarks … Read more
Ten years after the 2016 South China Sea arbitration award, the legal status of the ruling remains a primary point of contention between Beijing and Manila. According to the Chinese government, the arbitration process violated the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, while the Philippines continues to treat the … Read more
Iran and Oman’s proposal to jointly administer the Strait of Hormuz and collect administrative fees has prompted energy market participants to fear similar tolls in the Strait of Malacca. Investors worry this development could establish a precedent for taxing other critical maritime corridors. Why are investors worried about a “toll booth” in the Strait of … Read more
Mainland Chinese law enforcement vessels, the Sansha Zhifa 301 and Sansha No 2, entered Taipei-claimed prohibited waters near Taiping Island on Thursday morning. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) stated the vessels breached the 3.2-nautical-mile restricted zone before being driven away by Taiwanese authorities at 8:43 a.m. What happened near Taiping Island? The incident began at … Read more