By Deep Pal China’s decision to pull out deep water rig HYSY 981 from Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone last week was as sudden as the decision to deploy it near the Paracel Islands in the first place. The owner…
By Jonathan London & Vu Quang Viet The chaos and violence that erupted in Vietnam in early May diverted the world’s attention from the fundamental causes of tensions between China and Vietnam and, indeed, China and the region. These stem…
By Zachary Abuza The Philippine economy has been one of the fastest-growing in Asia in recent years, and if there is ever a time for Manila to invest in boosting its military capability, it is now. The Philippines has born…
The Philippines hosted the annual World Economic Forum on East Asia in Manila from May 21-23. While it served as an opportunity for President Benigno Aquino to showcase the turnaround of the Philippine economy since he took office in June…
By Bill Hayton Should ASEAN declare war on China? The question is ludicrous but if you had spent the past 10 days reading commentaries on ASEAN’s summit in Myanmar, you might be forgiven for thinking it was a viable policy…
On May 1, CSIS hosted Jejomar C. Binay, vice president of the Republic of the Philippines, at our Banyan Tree Leadership Forum. Mr. Binay spoke about the U.S.-Philippines alliance in light of President Barack Obama’s April visit, the significance of…
By Priscilla A. Tacujan Philippine undersecretary of defense Lorenzo Batino said April 11 that negotiators had reached “consensus on key points” of a new deal to allow a greater U.S. rotational military presence in the Philippines. But this raises a…
By Greg Poling Recent months have seen a steady progression of China’s long-term strategy in the South China Sea, which can be loosely divided into two parts. Beijing is building up its maritime surveillance forces in the area and strengthening…
By Bonnie Glaser & Ely Ratner With the world watching Ukraine with wary eyes, the U.S. Navy’s lead admiral in the Pacific suggested Asia could face a similar crisis if the continent’s other major power continues on its current path. Since 2009, China has…
Who is he? John Sevilla is the new Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioner in the Philippines. He took his post on December 4, 2013, replacing Ruffy Biazon, who resigned after being indicted in a multi-million dollar corruption scandal. Sevilla had…
