On deck for Wednesday: Three Vietnamese bloggers get sentenced to jail for speaking out on corruption, South Korea faces a debt crisis, and protests roil Europe
vietnam
Why Asia’s Maritime Disputes Are Not Just About China
When it comes to feuds in the Pacific over islands and what lies beneath, it’s not simply a case of China against everyone else
As Aleppo Braces for a Bloodbath, Syria’s Regime is Far From Beaten
Rebel attacks on Syria’s two key cities had raised expectations that Assad was about to fall, but those may have been the Syrian equivalent to Vietnam’s Tet Offensive
China’s Newest City Raises Threat of Conflict in South China Sea
China has declared its establishment of a municipal settlement on a disputed island chain in the South China Sea. The move, combined with an earlier announcement about the islands’ militarization, further raises tensions in this …
As U.S. Eyes Afghanistan Withdrawal, Will China Up Its Role?
Beijing faces growing rivalries with its Pacific neighbors, but in Central Asia it finds a warmer welcome
Fun in the Sun? The Philippines Dreams Big for Tourism
The Philippine government has plans to turn Bohol province into a major Southeast Asian tourist destination. But the country is going to have to address its violent reputation and crumbling infrastructure first
As Panetta Visits Vietnam, China Warily Eyes U.S. Plans For Shift to Asia
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta filled in some details of the U.S. military‘s strategic ‘pivot’ to Asia, telling the Shangri-La Security Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday that the U.S. Navy will shift so that by 2020 the majority …
“We're a counterbalance to China. That's what we heard from the leaders in these countries.”
Will 2012 Be a Good Year for Elephants?
A new year offers the hope of a fresh start. Few need it more than African elephants. Last year saw a record number of large-scale seizures of illegal ivory—up 200% over 2010—weighing a total of 23 tonnes. That’s 2,500 dead elephants.
A Step Back From the Brink in the South China Sea
China and Vietnam, which traded accusations this summer over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, signed an agreement Tuesday outlining basic measures to help settle their ongoing dispute. The agreement, reached during a visit to Beijing by Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong, calls for China and Vietnam to hold biannual …
Is This How Wars Start? India and China Now Feud Over the South China Sea
Last week, one of the world’s most intractable disputes got even stickier. News leaked that the international-arm of India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was in talks with the government of Vietnam over hydrocarbon exploration rights in the South China Sea. In most parts of the world this would seem a …
Fire in the South China Sea: What a Sino-Vietnamese War May Look Like
First, let’s be clear: China and Vietnam are not about to go to war. But the current atmosphere of tensions, outlined by Beijing correspondent Austin Ramzy last week, leads one to wonder. On June 13, Vietnam conducted live-fire exercises off its coastal waters in the South China Sea. Vietnamese officials claimed the act had little to …
The Drumbeats of War? Tensions Rise in the South China Sea
Disputes over the South China Sea often provoke feelings of déjà-vu. That was especially the case this week, when Vietnam accused a Chinese ship of deliberately cutting exploration cables that were being towed by a seismic survey vessel working for PetroVietnam, the state-run oil and gas group. Vietnam says the June 9 incident occurred …