Tag - islands

 
 

ISLANDS

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 21, 2017
Did America's top diplomat inadvertently offer China a 'new great power relationship'?
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's use of phrases and language commonly employed by China's Communist Party during his first trip to the country as top diplomat has left some regional experts wondering if he may have inadvertently endorsed Beijing's push for a new "great power relationship."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2017
Vietnam seeks South Korean support in South China Sea
Vietnam's prime minister sought support for the nation's stance in the South China Sea when he met South Korea's foreign minister in Hanoi on Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 20, 2017
Japan, Russia hold first 'two-plus-two' talks since Crimea annexation
Japan and Russia agreed Monday to closely cooperate on efforts to curb North Korea's nuclear provocations, holding their first ministerial talks on foreign policy and security since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 20, 2017
Internal Chinese Navy magazine says country has secured military dominance in South China Sea
China has secured the central leadership role in the South China Sea and other players cannot match its military supremacy in the region, according to an internal magazine of the People's Liberation Army obtained by Kyodo News.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 18, 2017
Japan, Russia open talks on isle development projects
Senior Japanese and Russian officials held their first meeting Saturday to discuss ways of jointly developing four Russia-held islands off Hokkaido claimed by Japan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 18, 2017
Philippines to strengthen military facilities in contested South China Sea
The Philippines said Friday it will strengthen its military facilities on islands and shoals in the disputed South China Sea and announced initial plans to build a new port and pave an existing rough airstrip.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 17, 2017
China planning 'monitoring station' on hotly contested South China Sea shoal
China is planning to build an "environmental monitoring station" on a hotly disputed reef at the center of an ongoing territorial row over the South China Sea, according to a top official who administers Beijing's regional island claims.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 15, 2017
China begins new work on disputed South China Sea island
China has started fresh construction work in the disputed South China Sea, new satellite images show, a sign that Beijing is continuing to strengthen its military reach across the vital trade waterway.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 13, 2017
Vietnam demands China halt cruises in disputed South China Sea
Vietnam demanded on Monday that China stop sending cruise ships to the South China Sea in a response to one of Beijing's latest steps to bolster its claims in the strategic waterway.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2017
MSDF, U.S. Navy conducting joint drill in East China Sea
The Maritime Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Navy are conducting a joint military exercise in the East China Sea, a Japanese government source said Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2017
Japan's border islands to get ¥5 billion boon for tourism, defense
The government has earmarked ¥5 billion in increased economic assistance to 71 islands off the coast of eight prefectures, as concerns over declining populations are compounded by recurring intrusions into sovereign territory by foreign vessels.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 8, 2017
China says first draft of South China Sea code of conduct ready
A first draft of a code of conduct for behavior in the disputed South China Sea has been completed, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday, adding tension in the waterway had eased notably.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 7, 2017
Australia says no plan for joint South China Sea patrols with Indonesia
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday that his country aimed to work more closely with Indonesia on maritime security, but there was no plan for the neighbors to hold joint patrols in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2017
China to boost defense spending by 'about 7%' in 2017 amid 'outside meddling' in maritime disputes
China will boost its defense budget by "around 7 percent" this year, a top official said Saturday, as Beijing seeks to inject more cash into its increasingly modern military amid "outside meddling" in territorial disputes in the East and South China seas.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2017
China launches new ship for South China Sea cruises
A new Chinese cruise ship has embarked on its maiden voyage to the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Friday, the latest effort by Beijing to bolster its claims in the strategic waterway.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 4, 2017
Chinese envoy accuses Japan, U.S. of treating Beijing as an 'enemy'
Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua has lashed out at Japan and the United States, criticizing the two countries' agreement to further boost their bilateral security alliance as a move to position Beijing as an "enemy."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2017
Is Beijing outflanking U.S. in South China Sea?
Beijing's military buildup is part of its strategy to dominate many disputed territories in the South China Sea — and push America back.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 2, 2017
Japan to propose joint medical services on Russian-held isles
Japan will propose to Russia that the countries jointly offer advanced medical services on the disputed islands off Hokkaido that are controlled by Moscow, a diplomatic source has said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 1, 2017
In speech to Congress, Trump urges military allies to do more — a demand Abe may welcome
In U.S. President Donald Trump's first address to Congress, he used the speech to remind security allies — including Japan — they must “pay their fair share” of the alliances' costs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2017
Japan protests Russian defense chief's plan to deploy on disputed isles
Tokyo has lodged a protest with Moscow over a potential plan to deploy a military division later this year on Russian-controlled islets claimed by Japan off Hokkaido, the government's top spokesman said Thursday, a move that could exacerbate the decades-old territorial row.

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Tour guide and history buff Rory Dent left his job at a U.K.-based tour operator to move to Japan and start his own business.
Guiding Japan through the challenges of overtourism