South China Sea Boils Up
The overlapping territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam have recently been moving from bad to worse.
Vietnam is seeking to upgrade its air defences by acquiring western fighter jets and drones, a move which would further militarize a dispute with Beijing over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Taiwan's coast guard has commissioned its biggest ships for duty in the form of two 3,000-ton patrol vessels, as the island boosts defenses amid concerns about China's growing footprint in the disputed South China Sea, says a report in the Reuters.
The new vessels will be able to dock at a new port being constructed on Taiping Island, the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, before the end of this year.
In a troubling sign that tensions continue to grow over the contested South China Sea, the Philippine government is claiming a Chinese warship has opened fire, with warning shots directed at one of its fishing boats in the area.
The development follows a war of words between the two nations after the Philippine president, Benigno Aquino, this week likened China's behaviour to that of Nazi Germany in the lead-up to World War II.
A Chinese coast guard vessel has been accused of encroaching on Malaysia's territorial waters in the South China Sea.
Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, an official in Malaysia's prime minister's department, said they have sent vessels from the Royal Malaysian Navy and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency to monitor the area around the clock "to ensure the sovereignty of the country."
He added that the area belongs to Malaysia and that the government will do whatever it takes to protect and defend Malaysian waters in the South China Sea from being encroached on by intruders or unlicensed foreign fisherman.
Meanwhile, US defense chief Ash Carter said that China's island-building in the South China Sea is undermining security in the Asia Pacific.
However, China encouraged the United States to take essential steps to reduce mounting tensions over Beijing's reclamation project in the South China Sea.
Several countries claim islands and surrounding waters in the South China Sea, including Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines. China claims most of the area. The naval corridor is an important shipping route and the region is thought to have oil and gas reserves.