EACS Situation Room is a center for situation monitoring in crisis situations, which is activated when necessary in the event of major security changes in the world.
We are currently monitoring the South China Sea dispute.
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 24.4.2024
Australia, Japan, Philippines, and the US announce joint military exercises in the South China Sea.
US House of Representatives approves military aid package for US allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
Leaders of Japan, the Philippines, and the US attend the first strategic trilateral summit in Washington.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: US Embassy Manila)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 7.7.2023
ASEAN’s first-ever joint military exercises moved to the South Natuna Sea away from disputed parts of the South China Sea.
China’s defence ministry spokesperson accused US of interfering in China’s internal affairs and escalating tensions with its latest sales of military equipment to Taiwan.
US Treasury secretary in Beijing for a four-day visit to improve relations between the US and China and meet with Chinese officials and business leaders.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Mark R Cristino/EPA)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 18.6.2023
Japan approved a major revision to its development aid policy with focus on maritime and economic security and helping developing nations in the region.
An anonymous US official told The Wall Street Journal that China has been conducting surveillance operations from Cuba since 2019.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in China on a high-level diplomatic visit that will focus on stabilising relations between two competing powers.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Leah Millis/Reuters)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 4.6.2023
The US has revealed that the Chinese hacking group Volt Typhoon spied on a wide range of critical US infrastructure, including one at a military outpost in Guam in the Pacific.
Pentagon releases video of an incident between a US surveillance aircraft and Chinese fighter jet over South China Sea.
US and Chinese defence ministers’ speeches during Shangri-La Dialogue summit reveal deep divisions between the two states.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: IISS/Flickr)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 14.5.2023
US and Philippines establish new guidelines for defence cooperation.
US National Security Advisor met with this Chinese counterpart in Vienna.
Philippines Coast Guard sets up five buoys to mark its EEZ in response to incursions of Chinese vessels.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Philippines Coast Guard/Reuters)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 23.4.2023
United States and Philippines launched one of their largest military exercises in decades.
European Commission President presented the EU’s strategy towards China and its growing global influence to the European Parliament.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Vietnam to further strengthen cooperation.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Andrew Harnik/Reuters)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 10.4.2023
US Armed Forces to gain access to four new military bases in the Philippines.
Meeting of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Speaker of the US House Kevin McCarthy on US soil echoed loudly in the Indo-Pacific.
In response to Tsai-McCarthy meeting China conducted extensive military exercise including simulated strike on Taiwan.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 16.5.2022
Sattelite images show China is continuing with the constriction and militarisation in disputed areas.
Chinese aircraft carrier carries out large-scale exercise.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the son of the controversial former president wins Philippines presidential election by a landslide.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 11.4.2022
The Philippines and the US organized a large, combined military exercise featuring over 8000 soldiers.
A draft proposal for a security agreement between the Solomon Islands and China leaks, causing diplomatic condemnations.
US confirmes sale of $95 million military equipment package for Taiwan air defence systems.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: dw.com, AFP, AP)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 21.3.2022
China allegedly fabricated a statement by Joseph Borell, referring to it as a peace-loving superpower.
Taiwan scrambles air force fighters in response to another incursion by 13 Chinese planes into air defence identification zone.
Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong transits Taiwan strait hours ahead of Biden-Jinping call.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: AFP)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 7.3.2022
China continues to hold periodic military exercises in disputed areas.
US Navy successfully recovered its F-35 fighter jet which sank in the South China Sea after an accident in January.
China announces a 7,1% rise in military spending.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: SCMP)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 21.2.2022
The Philippines finalises a deal to acquire Indian shore-based anti-ship missile system
China seems to shift from the ‘nine-dash line’, to the four ‘sha’ principle to substantiate its claims.
The UK pledges £25 million for a security pact with Australia, to counter the growing Chinese threat.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: US Navy Photo at USNI News)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 30.9.2021
In a series of statements both the US and China have repeatedly accused each other of escalating the situation in the region.
China continues to stage large-scale military exercises, many of them near Taiwan.
The US, the UK, and Germany have sailed major warships through the South China Sea to demonstrate freedom of navigation.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Reuters)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 28.7.2021
The UK aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has entered the South China Sea.
China has conducted numerous military exercises in the South China Sea and the Taiwan straits.
US Secretary of Defense Lloys Austin began his two-day visit to Vietnam.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Chad J. McNeeley/DOD)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 21.7.2021
The US to send 25 F-22 fighters to an exercise in the Western Pacific, more than to any previous exercise.
The UK announced it would permanently station two warships in Asian waters.
US Secretary of State presented the US views on Chinese territorial claims at the ASEAN-US Ministerial meeting.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: US Air Force Photo)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 14.7.2021
This week marked the fifth anniversary of the ruling of the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration, dismissing Chinese claims.
Relations between China and the US continue to worsen, as China threatens another US Navy destroyer sailing through disputed waters.
Satellite analysis shows China is releasing massive amounts of pollutants into the South China Sea, damaging the local ecosystem.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: PCA)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 7.7.2021
Netflix removed Australian spy drama from its services in Vietnam after a governmental complaint about the appearance of a map that depicted China’s nine dash line in the disputed sea.
German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer discussed the situation in the South China Sea with her Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe.
The U.S. and Japan conducted joint military exercises in the South China and East China seas.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Netflix)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 30.6.2021
US approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets and missile systems to the Philippines.
Indonesia and US agree to establish a maritime training facility.
China deployed its J-20 combat aircraft to units monitoring Taiwan Strait and other disputed waters.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Top Aces/Air Force magazine)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 23.6.2021
Chinese military aircraft again flew into the Taiwan air defence identification zone.
Japanese defence minister called on European states to increase cooperation in Asia-Pacific.
US sent a navy destroyer on a freedom of navigation operation to sail through the Taiwan Straits.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: SCMP/Handout)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 16.6.2021
NATO leaders declare China a security challenge.
28 Chinese military aircraft flew through the Taiwanese air defence identification zone.
There is worsening congestion of container ships in southern Chinese ports due to disinfection measures amid COVID flareup.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Yves Herman/Pool/AP)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 9.6.2021
Malaysia’s foreign ministry said it would summon China’s ambassador after an airspace intrusion by Chinese military planes.
The foreign ministers of ASEAN and China commit to easing tensions and a renewal of negotiations on the Code of Conduct.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg to present his NATO 2030 plan which calls for NATO to be the key forum for transatlantic consultations on all issues that affect transatlantic security, including the South China Sea.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Katie Park / NPR)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 2.6.2021
Malaysia accused China of breaching national airspace after 16 Chinese military aircraft flew over disputed waters off Malaysian eastern federal state of Sarawak.
The Philippines issued a diplomatic protest over China’s continuing illegal presence and activities near Thitu island in the South China Sea.
Chinese and Vietnamese navy chiefs agreed to set up a crisis communication hotline.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: AFP/Handout)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 26.5.2021
China issued a protest on Thursday, 20 May, over United States naval activity in the region.
According to the Chinese-run state media, the Chinese air force tested an upgraded version of one of its most advanced air-defence missile systems.
The Philippines’ foreign ministry said on Saturday, 22 May that the Philippines and China held friendly and candid talks on the South China Sea.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: CCTV)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 19.5.2021
Beijing and ASEAN are planning a meeting of foreign ministers around 7 or 8 June. Both parties are expected to revive talks toward a Code of Conduct to avoid conflict in the South China Sea.
The US Navy sent the guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, 18 May.
The U.S. Army announced a new hypersonic long-range missile which would allow the US to parry Russia and China.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Flickr/ASEAN Secretariat)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 12.5.2021
The Chinese Army conducted an amphibious landing drill as a warning to Taiwan.
Foreign ministers from the G7 countries condemned Chinese actions in the region.
Around 200 ships are still moored at reefs in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippine Coast Guard continues to deploy its ships and air assets over the area.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: PLA Navy)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 5.5.2021
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he will not withdraw navy and coastguard vessels patrolling the disputed South China Sea.
China renewed its unilateral ban on fishing for all countries in the South China Sea between May and September. Vietnam has already rejected the ban.
Kathleen Hicks, the US Deputy Defence Secretary, said that a conflict with China is not inevitable.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: | Str/AFP [Scoll.in] | China’s South Sea fleet taking part in a drill in the Xisha Islands, or the Paracel Islands, in the South China Sea)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 28.4.2021
The Philippines remain concerned over the presence and activities of 160 Chinese fishing and militia vessels around the Spratly islands and Scarborough shoal. Five Chinese coastguard vessels were also spotted in the area.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that she is worried that a provocation in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea could turn into a regional military conflict.
The UK is set to send its largest fleet in recent years into the troubled waters in Asia this May led by the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Royal Navy)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 21.4.2021
Philippine President Duterte is prepared to send military ships into the South China Sea to stake a claim over oil and mineral resources in the disputed part of the Philippines strategic waterway.
A US Navy destroyer sailed near the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning.
Malaysia and Vietnam intend to sign a memorandum of understanding that could end their dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: U.S. Navy)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 14.4.2021
The US Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group entered the South China Sea. It joined the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.
China sent a group of 25 military planes into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. The group included four nuclear capable bombers.
Armed Chinese ships chased down a civilian naval craft carrying a Filipino news crew which was sailing within its own exclusive economic zone.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: U.S. Navy/MCSN Faith McCollum)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 7.4.2021
The US has sent the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to the South China Sea for a second time this year.
A Chinese military anti-submarine aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest air defence identification zone.
France, US, Japan, India and Australia began two days of joint naval exercises in the South China Sea.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: U.S. Navy/MCSN Eduardo A. Torres)
Sitaution Room – South China Sea dispute, 31.3.2021
220 Chinese fishing ships are still anchored in the Whitsun Reef, within the claimed exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
Twenty Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.
Taiwanese military increased their force training and further strengthened its defence infrastructure on Itu Abo Island.
More details in the article at the link.
(Picture source: Maxar Technologies/AFP)