From Reuters

 

[excerpt]

 

China, Vietnam, Philippines press maritime claims

Tue Jun 7, 2011 8:47am GMT

 

MANILA, June 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. military presence in the South China Sea can help protect rights of smaller countries, the Philippines said on Tuesday, as China pressed its claim to a long-disputed arhipelago.

 

CV32: One wonders where the Shi Lang and her "air wing" will head on their maiden voyage?

From Reuters

 

[excerpt]

 

China scolds Philippines over disputed waters

BEIJING, June 8 | Wed Jun 8, 2011 6:14am BST

 

(Reuters) - China stepped up criticism of the Philippines in a fresh exchange of invective over disputed waters, calling on Manila to stop infringing its sovereignty with irresponsible claims over the South China Sea.

From Reuters

 

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China says to hold "routine" navy drills in western Pacific

BEIJING | Thu Jun 9, 2011 12:54pm BST

 

(Reuters) - China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday the country's navy would hold "routine" drills at the end of the month in international waters in the western Pacific Ocean.

From DefenseNews

 

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Vietnam Plans Live-Fire Drill as China Rift Grows

By IAN TIMBERLAKE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Published: 10 Jun 2011 12:52

 

HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam announced June 10 that it would hold a live-fire naval drill next week in the South China Sea as an escalating maritime dispute fuels tensions with Beijing.

From DefenseNews

 

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U.S. Urges Calm As Vietnam-China Spat Escalates

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Published: 10 Jun 2011 16:43

 

WASHINGTON - The United States is "troubled" by tensions triggered by a maritime border dispute in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said June 10, calling for a "peaceful" resolution to the crisis.

We are looking at the Spratly Islands and near border troubles for years, but just that's the World is not needing in 2011, a new hotspot

From The Hill

 

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China's naval harassments cannot be tolerated

By Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) - 06/21/11 12:24 PM ET

 

Over the past twelve months, China has been carrying out calculated acts of naval harassment in the South China Sea. This is just the latest from Communist China, a country which -- for several years -- has declared much of the South China Sea as its exclusive economic zone. This has threatened the other countries (nine in all) of the region who have overlapping claims to the 1.35 million square miles of water.

A pretty compelling article from someone who knows the region.

 

From Foreign Policy

 

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The South China Sea Is the Future of Conflict

The 21st century's defining battleground is going to be on water.

BY ROBERT D. KAPLAN | SEPT/OCT 2011

 

Europe is a landscape; East Asia a seascape. Therein lies a crucial difference between the 20th and 21st centuries. The most contested areas of the globe in the last century lay on dry land in Europe, particularly in the flat expanse that rendered the eastern and western borders of Germany artificial and exposed to the inexorable march of armies. But over the span of the decades, the demographic and economic axis of the Earth has shifted measurably to the opposite end of Eurasia, where the spaces between major population centers are overwhelmingly maritime.