Latest in Water Wars
Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone continue to escalate; Japan makes unprecedented defense pledges, to China’s chagrin; U.S. submarine collision gives China an opportunity to push back on U.S. operations in South China Sea
Biden announces “AUKUS is born,” marking the United States’ continued shift toward the Indo-Pacific, while China implements a new maritime identification law to regulate foreign vessels within its territorial waters.
The United States attempts to focus on its military and diplomatic interests in Asia despite the ongoing debacle in Afghanistan; Japan and Taiwan continue to grow closer; India seeks to cement its position; and European nations send mixed signals.
ASEAN member states met in June as tensions in the South China Sea continue to rise.
Relations between China and the Philippines continue to smolder; U.S. freedom of navigation operations continue; Japan and Europe move to address broader Indo-Pacific stability.
China’s “gray-zone” tactics around the South China Sea, diplomatic developments with Taiwan and applying the Law of the Sea in the Spratly Islands.
China increases incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and masses its maritime militia in the Spratly Islands, reminiscent of its 2018 actions around Thitu Island.
Return of the Quad, China’s “real combat” training, and maritime lawfare in the East and South China Seas.
Continued tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, a reemphasized U.S. naval focus on China, and Japanese outreach to European nations.
Philippine and Chinese officials will launch a joint investigation into the at-sea collision that left 22 Filipino fishermen stranded in the South China Sea. On June 9—the official Philippines-China Friendship Day—a Chinese vessel rammed and sank a Philippine fishing vessel near Reed Bank (known in Tagalog as Recto Bank), northeast of the Spratly Islands, and reportedly fled after the collision. A Vietnamese fishing vessel later rescued the Filipino crew members who had been left in the water.