Crossing the Rubicon: Duterte, China and Resource-Sharing in the South China Sea

By Richard Javad Heydarian

October 23, 2018

The only way for a Joint Development Agreement to push through is that Duterte would manage to amend the Philippine constitution, largely ignore his country’s arbitration award victory, and overcome deep-seated public antipathy towards resource-sharing agreements with China.

Prepare for a Stormy 2017 in the South China Sea

By Gregory Poling

January 17, 2017

The desire to see Chinese diplomatic softening as a sign of a new status quo is understandable, and it is important that the door be left open for Beijing to deescalate. But China’s recent behavior should be seen as the best ...

National Interests and the Role of Major and Middle Powers in the South China Sea: Australia’s Cautiously Calibrated Approach

By Euan Graham

December 31, 2016

However vocally supportive Canberra is of the United States in the South China Sea, in an operational sense Australia has held back since Washington began its current freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs), in October 2015, shortly after Malcolm Turnbull took over ...

The South China Sea in the Broader Maritime Security of the Indo-Pacific: The Economic Context for Regional Conflict and Cooperation

By David Jay Green

December 22, 2016

East and Southeast Asia have seen considerable economic growth over the past few decades. The pace of development in China has been virtually unprecedented, with millions of people being raised above severe poverty to a middle-class lifestyle. This outcome has resulted ...

Critical Security and Economic Dilemmas for Southeast Asia in the South China Sea: A Philippine Perspective

By Aileen SP Baviera & Lucio B. Pitlo III

November 14, 2016

South China is economically more important for the Philippines than it is to China. Aside from rich fisheries, the country’s biggest natural gas field and its promising offshore energy fields are all located in the South China Sea.