In The News

Roads & Kingdoms: Shifting Current

Matthew Bremner August 8, 2017
The number of active Scottish fishermen has halved in the past half century, and the industry blames the European Union and ideals of free movement of labor and capital. Accordingly, “while 60 percent of Scotland’s population voted ‘Remain’ in last year’s Brexit referendum, more than 90 percent of its fishermen did the opposite,” reports Matthew Bremner. The EU treats the North Sea, like all...

BBC News: What Lies Ahead for Divided Venezuela?

Will Grant July 31, 2017
Venezuela is in crisis even though it has the largest proved oil reserves in the world. The country depends heavily on oil revenues and mismanaged the industry. President Nicolás Maduro, in office since 2013, lacks control and credibility. Election results of assembly members charged with changing the constitution are suspect: The government claims that more than 40 percent of the electorate...

The Straits Times: Great Expectations for South China Sea Code of Conduct Will Be Dashed

Mark J. Valencia May 4, 2017
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China suggest that negotiators are making progress on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, but details and implementation won’t be easy, argues Mark Valencia for the Straits Times. “China will resist any provision that could subject it to third-party dispute-settlement processes without its consent,” he explains, adding that it opposes non-...

Takeaways on China's Theft of a US Drone in Philippine Waters in the South China Sea

Ankit Panda December 21, 2016
China returned a US underwater drone taken from the South China Sea. The US Department of Defense reports the buoyancy glider was seized about 90 kilometers northwest of Subic Bay. China claims the removal was for safety reasons, but also opposes US reconnaissance activities in the sea. “The development is effectively unprecedented in U.S.-China military-to-military interactions,” notes Ankit...

Submarine Sanctuary: Why China Is Determined to Establish Dominance Over South China Sea

Nayan Chanda September 29, 2016
China is expanding reefs and rocks in the South China Sea and installing military equipment. “Establishing dominance of the semi-closed South China Sea is but the first essential step in achieving China’s blue water ambitions, which Washington is unlikely to support,” explains Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, in his column for Times of India. He adds that Beijing expects other...

Law Challenges China Dream for Control of South China Sea

Nayan Chanda July 14, 2016
In a unanimous decision, the Arbitral Tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines against China’s claims to virtually all of the South China Sea and suggested China’s actions violate the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Both the Philippines and China are signatories to the treaty. In rejecting China’s wide claims and describing its activities...

Hague Tribunal Rejects Beijing’s Claims in South China Sea

Jane Perlez July 12, 2016
A long-awaited decision from the international Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague has rejected China’s claims to most of the South China Sea along with the construction of artificial islands and damage to coral reefs. “The landmark case, brought by the Philippines, was seen as an important crossroads in China’s rise as a global power,” writes Jane Perlez for the New York Times. “It is...