China tries to nick another speck in the sea from the Philippines
Whitsun Reef is three times farther from China than the Philippines
THE CHINESE ships that appeared around Whitsun Reef in March were unusual for fishing vessels. They seemed to do little fishing, for a start. Satellite images revealed them to be pristine and lined up with military precision. China said the ships were simply sheltering from bad weather. But the Philippine government said they belonged to China’s “maritime militia”, a naval auxiliary force under the command of the People’s Liberation Army. The result is the latest stand-off in the South China Sea.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Reef madness”
Asia April 10th 2021
- India is recording more cases of covid-19 than any other country
- Bhutan vaccinated almost all adults against covid-19 in a week
- China tries to nick another speck in the sea from the Philippines
- Another species harmed by climate change: Japanese poets
- Thailand’s democracy protests are dwindling
- Pakistan’s generals are ever more involved in running the country
- Asia’s air bridges and travel bubbles will expand only slowly
From the April 10th 2021 edition
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