China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have held their largest-ever joint maritime rescue exercise, signalling a lull in South China Sea tensions. The drill on Tuesday simulated a collision between a Chinese passenger ship and a Cambodian cargo vessel off south China’s Guangdong province. It involved about 1,000 rescuers aboard 20…

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying denied these reports claiming “With regards to the Scarborough Shoal, China’s position is consistent and clear. We place great importance on Sino-Philippine relations.”

Some analysts, however, are skeptical of China’s intentions and believe the construction of such a station could boil Philippine relations after they’ve recently recovered.

“Data on water salinity and atmospheric conditions at sea, for example, is not only useful for furthering public knowledge,” explains Collin Koh, a research fellow Nanyang Technological University. “It could also be used to plan and execute military operations.”

Philippine Justice Minister Vitaliano Aguirre said on Monday that Manila would file a complaint against China’s supposed work on the Shoal.

China is continuing to test its neighbors with its construction of artificial islands on contested waters in the South China Sea, where pieces of territory are claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The region is strategic waterway which sees trillions of dollars’ worth of ship-borne goods pass.

The US think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative released satellite imagery it claimed showed that China had installed missiles and radars on these waters.

Beijing has also dragged the U.S. into the mix as former President Obama sent in Naval forces to defend freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Relations remain mixed at best under President Donald Trump. However, he is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping within the next month.

“We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that first, the island-building stops and second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed,” said Rex Tillerson before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The man-made islands are being built on reefs across the South China Sea. Beijing lays claim to the territory around these islands; however, they interfere with her neighbors’ 200 mile exclusive economic zones, as defined by UNESCO. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims on the South China Sea.

Back in the U.S., Tillerson is alluding to taking President Barrack Obama’s stance in the issue a step further. For years, the sitting administration has vehemently spoken out against China’s island building and routinely sent NAVY ships into contested waters to defend freedom of navigation. Obama has also strengthened ties with nations in Southeast Asia challenging China’s territorial claims. In recent years, American ships have had some close encounters with the Chinese military in the South China Sea.

Trump’s nominee is also calling to extend the scope to the East China Sea, where China has enacted a special air zone above Japanese islands.

“They are taking territory or control or declaring control of territories that are not rightfully China’s,” Tillerson said.

China has pushed forward with island building and establishing what it calls necessary military facilities for defensive purposes. Late last year, a think-tank published satellite images of what it believed to be military installations on some of these islands.

China maintains its acts are legal even though an international tribunal ruled against its territorial claims in a case brought by The Philippines. Beijing said it will not respect the ruling

Responding to Tillerson’s comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China had the right to conduct “normal activities” in its own territory.

On Saturday, China made its response. And spun its own version, too. A statement was made by China’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun, who said, “In order to prevent the device from causing harm to the safety of navigation and personnel of passing vessels, the Chinese naval lifeboat verified and examined the device in a professional and responsible manner,” according to a translation from state-run media Xinhua News.

The statement took a bitter turn, accusing the US of choosing to “dramatize” the situation:

“The Chinese side has decided to hand over it to the US in an appropriate manner. Both sides have been maintaining communication on the issue. The US side’s unilateral move to dramatize the issue in the process is inappropriate, and not conductive to its settlement. We regret that,” it read.

In a sort of international game of “he-says-she-says”, China is claiming the above, being that they confiscated the American drone to ‘prevent harm’ for passing boats in the area and to examine the device. Washington, however, says that the Chinese vessel was following the American ship, and that the origin of the UUV was not in question.

An NPR article published Friday explained the Pentagon’s version:

“The Bowditch was retrieving one vehicle when a Chinese warship pulled up, put a small boat in the water and retrieved the second UUV, officials told reporters.

“The U.S. sent radio messages requesting that the drone be returned, the Pentagon statement said, but the Chinese ship merely acknowledged the messages and ignored the request.

“No shots were fired by either vehicle, officials said, and the Chinese ship left with a final message that it was returning to normal operations — and with the drone.”

The drone-snatching incident occurred shortly after an American think tank released detailed satellite photos showing China’s increase in military presence on artificial islands the meganation built in the disputed maritime region.

The revealing images were brought to light by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

AMTI’s director Greg Poling sat down for an interview with NPR’s Scott Simon Saturday. Responding to a question regarding any military or strategic interest the drone may have, Poling said, “The real interest, I suppose, would be if there was some advanced technology on this drone — and we’re not going to know that, of course. The Pentagon won’t tell you exactly what sensors were on it, whatnot — and the Chinese wanted to reverse-engineer it.”

“But even by Beijing’s own maps, this was [in] international waters,” Poling told NPR.

Washington says that USNS Bowditch – which according to the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command is a twenty-year-old ship that has “an all-civilian crew of civil service mariners and scientific support personnel” – was conducting ocean research when the Chinese warship overtook it.

In a new stunt to “teach” the world that the waters and islands in the South China Sea have always belonged to China, the government pulled out the big guns (not literally, thank goodness). The Chinese Communist Party has debuted a 3 minute 13 second video in the world’s most famous city: New York City.

The video is displayed on massive screens in NYC’s bustling hub of sensory overload, Times Square. Not only is China shoving the “truth” down the throats of visitors just wanting to experience the Big Apple with the sheer size of the video, but the government has also set the video to play an excessive 120 times a day.

How much does an antic like this cost? A lot. State-run media agency Xinhua began leasing a large block of screens in Times Square back in 2011 to air advertisements promoting itself and China’s attractions. Shanghaiist reports that at that time, the precious ad space cost an estimated $300,000 (2 million RMB) to $400,000 (2.6 million RMB) a month. Now that is a pretty penny.

The video, which has been called “Boring AF” by Buzzfeed, tells the story of a China that has been, is, and always will have the rights to the South China Sea. The ad is set to catchy music and shows beautiful footage of the picturesque subtropical waters and various Chinese cultural images as texts of propaganda fill the screen. Through the use of a variety of foreign officials and “experts”, the video emphasizes the historical and cultural importance of the South China Sea.

“China is the only true owner of the Nansha Islands,” Wu Shicun, President of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, is seen saying.

“China is the first to have discovered, named, and explored and exploited Nanhai Zhudao (the South China Sea Islands) and other relevant waters,” another text from the video reads.

The video is being played July 23rd until August 3rd. So if you’re headed to Times Square for the day, chances are, you’ll see it – almost certainly more than once.

Yes, you read that correctly. KFC. As in the Colonel Sanders’ finger-licking fried chicken joint. The American fast-food chain has over 4,000 branches in China and is “often seen as a symbol of US influence in the country,” BBC news reported.

In the past few days, small crowds of people have gathered outside KFCs in Hebei, Changsha, and Hangzhou, shouting anti-US slogans and holding up banners reading “Get out of China, KFC and McDonalds.”

Although the protests have yet to reach gargantuan proportion, the peculiar (and frankly absurd) nature of them have drawn criticism from Chinese state media.

“This is not the way to express patriotism,” said state-run Xinhua news.

The China Daily newspaper wrote: “Instead of being patriotic, it is their jingoism that does a disservice to the spirit of devotion to the nation.

“Those who organize such activities without going through the necessary procedures and unlawfully harass others in the name of patriotism should be held accountable according to the law.”

In China, protesting without obtaining permission from the government is against the law.

According to BBC news, both China Daily and People’s Daily newspapers said both authorities and state media were “calling for rational patriotism.”

However, in what resembles a child-like “sore-loser” response to the court’s decision, the Chinese government has made a public vow to “never stop” construction in the South China Sea, asserting that its operations in the region are “justified and lawful.”

Although Beijing claimed prior to the hearing that it “didn’t care” about the results, its behavior now tells a different story.

“We will never stop our construction on the Nansha Islands [China‘s name for the Spratly Islands] halfway,” Wu Shengli, commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, told US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson on Monday, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Commander Wu was adamant that the Spratlys are “China’s inherent territory, and our necessary construction on the islands is reasonable, justified and lawful.”

He further warned that “no matter what country or person applies pressure,” China will continue to completion with the construction on the islands as planned, stressing that “any attempt to force China to give in through flexing military muscles will only have the opposite effect.”

Admiral Richardson made a three-day visit to China this week to discuss the conflict in the South China Sea, during which China announced it is closing off part of the sea (Monday to Thursday) for military exercises. Beijing’s announcement also included a warning: freedom of navigation patrols by foreign navies could end “in disaster.”

One such “foreign navy” hinted at in this statement is the United States; Washington strongly opposes Beijing’s recent actions in the South China Sea – the setting up of defense installations. As such, the US has deployed additional warships in the area. China is calling the US’s involvement the “greatest threat” to the region.

Victor Gao, director of the China National Association of International Studies, told RT News that he believes the US was “very much involved in this arbitration case brought by the Philippines…trying to put pressure on China.”

“China will stand firm on the matter of principle and China will also use all military resources to make sure that the US will not win this battle against China,” Mr. Gao added.

Since then, Beijing has announced it will ignore the ruling; “as the panel has no jurisdiction, the decision is naturally null and void,” state-run news agency Xinhua said.

Another such country announcing similar rejection of the court’s ruling is Taiwan. The Taiwanese government held a security meeting Tuesday before the tribunal’s results were released, deciding it will renounce the findings, as they have no legal binding authority (according to its government).

The repudiation is specifically regarding Taiping Island, the largest of the controversial Spratly Islands and which is administered by Taiwan.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration, in ruling against Chinese claims to much of the territory in the South China Sea, also declared that “features that remain above water at high-tide in the Spratlys had the legal status as ‘rocks’, including Taiping,” South China Morning Post wrote.

Taipei has long considered the 46-hectare (113 acre) feature an island.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen briefly boarded a naval warship on Wednesday to address the crew before it departed to defend the contested island.

President Tsai told the crew to do all they could to “defend Taiwan’s territory” in the region.

“Your patrol mission to the South China Sea, which is being conducted ahead of schedule, is highly significant in view of the new development. The South China arbitration ruling, especially in the part about Taiping Island, has seriously hurt our rights to the South China Sea islands and their relevant waters,” Tsai, who is also the Commander in Chief of Taiwan’s armed forces, said.

“This naval mission is to demonstrate the resolution of Taiwanese people in defending our national interests.”

Several of Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party government agencies, including the foreign, defense, interior, and mainland affairs ministries, reasserted that Taiwan has historical claims to islands in the South China Sea.

Chiu Chui-cheng, vice chairman of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, made this statement: “The Republic of China [in Taiwan] enjoys the rights to various South China Sea islands and relevant waters in line with international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the locations of those South China Sea islands are based on the map [the ROC] had drawn in 1947.”

Yes, Tsai told her fleet to sail to toward the disputed area to defend their country, but the Taiwanese leader also displayed her diplomatic nature; she assured Taiwan still supported resolving the territorial issues happening in the South China Sea through amicable negotiations.

“We are willing to join other countries in promoting peace and stability in the South China Sea under a equal footing,” Tsai said.

Nations surrounding the region in the South China Sea – including the Philippines and China – have been enveloped in this bickering for years, each laying their claim to the advantageous set of islands, coral reefs, and lagoons sprawled in waters rich with fish and potential oil and gas reserves.

Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and Indonesia also make territorial claims in the region, but the quarrel between China and the Philippines has recently hogged the spotlight.

The island nation brought suit against China in February 2013 – appealing to international law and using the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as its platform – over diplomatic disputes in the area, particularly the Scarborough Shoal and Spratly Islands. The Philippines asserts that China’s “nine-dash line”, the demarcation point which the Chinese government uses for their claims, is unlawful under UNCLOS, of which both countries are signatories.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration determined Tuesday that Beijing had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights, and the Asian powerhouse had caused “severe harm to the coral reef environment” by building artificial islands in the sea.  

The court said there was no evidence that China had “historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or resources,” BBC News wrote.

The international tribunal was deciding on seven of fifteen points brought by the Philippines.

BBC News lays out some of the hearing’s key findings:

• Fishermen from the Philippines and China both had fishing rights around the disputed Scarborough Shoal area, and China had interfered by restricting access
• China had “destroyed evidence of the natural condition of features in the South China Sea” that formed part of the dispute
• Transient use of features above water did not constitute inhabitation – one of the key conditions for claiming land rights of 200 nautical miles, rather than the 12 miles granted for rocks visible at high tide

As previously announced in the months, weeks, and days leading up to the tribunal, Beijing says the court’s ruling is baseless, that China “doesn’t care” about the result.

State-run agency Xinhua News said that “as the panel has no jurisdiction, its decision is naturally null and void.”

In living up to his declaration that China will ignore the Hague’s ruling, Chinese President Xi Jinping made this remark: “China’s territorial sovereignty and marine rights in the South China Sea will not be affected by the so-called Philippines South China Sea ruling in any way.”

Xi continued, saying his country was “determined to maintain peace and stability” and committed to resolve the conflict “through negotiations based on respects to historical facts and according to international laws”.

While China has chosen denial as its response strategy, the Philippines is relieved by the Permanent Court of the Arbitration’s ruling. Philippe Sands, a lawyer on the Philippines side of the case, said it was a “clear and unanimous judgement that upholds the rule of law and the rights claimed by the Philippines”.

Some of you – definitely including myself – may be wondering “what the heck is an air defense identification zone??”  Well, here it is: ADIZ is airspace over land or water in which location, identification, and control of civil aircraft (non-military aviation, that is) is operated in the name of national security. Essentially, it’s a maneuver to over-extend a nation’s control of airspace by saying it is in the interest of “national security.” I hope that clears up some confusion.

China implemented a similar ADIZ only two years ago in the East China Sea.

South China Morning Post reports that one source asserted that the timing of any official declaration of the defense system depends largely on the security conditions in the region, particularly the U.S.’s military presence and recent strengthening of diplomatic ties with surrounding countries, both of which pose threat to China’s reach in the area.

“If the U.S. military keeps making provocative moves to challenge China’s sovereignty in the region, it will give Beijing a good opportunity to declare an ADIZ in the South China Sea,” the source said.

This news was revealed just ahead of a high-profile 3-day security forum in Singapore. The Shangri-la Dialogue, as it is called, is attended by defense leaders from a variety of countries, including Admiral Sun ­Jianguo and United States Secretary of ­Defense Ash Carter. The contentious situation in the South China Sea is set to head the agenda for the talks, which begin Friday.

China’s defense ministry responded to the South China Morning Post about the zone with a written statement, saying it was “the right of a sovereign state” to designate an ADIZ.

“Regarding when to declare such a zone, it will depend on whether China is facing security threats from the air, and what the level of the air safety threat is,” it read.

Tensions have continuously risen this year in the South China Sea, as China and its neighbors Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines all lay claim to the set of islands, coral reefs, and lagoons situated in waters rich with fish as well as potential gas and oil preserves – highly prized and advantageous territory indeed.

A recent report in Kanwa Defense Review, a specialized military affairs magazine based in Canada, stated that the Chinese government has defined the area of the ADIZ in the South China Sea and that their decision of when to announce would be a political one.

The new ADIZ would be based on the exclusive economic zone of Woody Island (the largest of the Paracel Islands smack in the middle of the South China Sea) as well as China’s set of seven new artificial islands in Spratly Chain.

Since I am untrained in international security terminology, I yet again had to do my homework. And I did. An exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, is a sea zone which is sanctioned by the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights for exploring and and using marine resources (i.e. energy from water and wind). The area extends seaward to a distance of no more than 200 nautical miles (roughly 230 miles) from its coastal baseline. Interestingly enough, an EEZ only refers to the country’s rights below the surface of the sea; the waters seen from above – say, on a map or from a helicopter – are actually international waters.

Back to the topic at hand, China’s preparation of an ADIZ. Editor-in-Chief of the Kanwa Defense Review Andrei Chang said, “China’s new ADIZ will overlap with the EEZs of Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, which are also planning their own ADIZs – with U.S. backing – if China ­announced it.”

Shanghai-based military commentator Ni Lexiong said China’s seven artificial islands had laid the foundation for the nation to establish the ADIZ in the South China Sea.

However, naval expert Li Jie offers a different view. He said there were signs that regional tensions would actually ease up after Rodrigo Duterte took office as President of the Philippines.

In a bureaucratic move, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended a congratulatory message to Duterte Monday, saying China hoped “the two sides can work together to bring bilateral relations back on a healthy track.”

With the revelation that China is ready to impose an ADIZ, Xi’s statement seems like a futile effort – but let’s hope there is some substance to his claim.