The fishermen asserted they were operating in Vietnamese waters prior to the apprehension

From left, Cao Van Hoang, Luu Van Ly, Le Thanh Thien, Hua Minh Trung, and Le Thanh Thua. Photo: Tuoi Tre

CNN – US flexes naval muscle in Asia ahead of Trump’s visit

 By Brad Lendon, CNN

Updated 4:54 AM ET, Wed October 25, 2017

channelnewsasia 

Filre photo of USS Chafee, a US Navy destroyer which operates 100 per cent on biofuel, sailing about 241 kilometres north of the island of Oahu during the RIMPAC Naval exercises off Hawaii. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)

First posted on UNCLOSforum.wordpress.com on July 11, 2014

S.Res.412 – A resolution reaffirming the strong support of the United States Government for freedom of navigation and other internationally lawful uses of sea and airspace in the Asia-Pacific region, and for the peaceful diplomatic resolution of outstanding territorial and maritime claims and disputes.113th Congress (2013-2014)

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CSIS – BY SOUTH CHINA SEA EXPERT WORKING GROUP | SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

AMTI UPDATE

This is the first product of the CSIS Expert Working Group on the South China Sea, which seeks to chart a feasible model for claimants to manage the maritime disputes.  

On the top, the relatively healthy but overfished reef flat surrounding Thitu Island; on the bottom, a reef flat approximately 1.5 nautical miles away destroyed by Chinese clam harvesters. Both photos dated February 2016, courtesy of John McManus. 

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NDTV – China and Vietnam have long traded barbs over the strategic and resource-rich South China Sea, which Beijing claims most of.

World | Agence France-Presse | Updated: September 06, 2017 10:40 IST

Tensions have flared in recent months between the two countries over the disputed sea

Hanoi:  Vietnam has delivered a sharp rebuke to China over military drills in the South China Sea, the second such warning in a week as tensions rise between the countries over the disputed waterway.

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Channelnewsasia

The US has conducted three “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea since January — the last one by the USS John S. McCain, a destroyer that collided with a cargo ship days later off Singapore, killing 10 sailors AFP/James Vazquez

02 Sep 2017 04:51PM (Updated: 02 Sep 2017 04:59PM)

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is planning to conduct more regular patrols in the South China Sea – as many as two to three a month – to assert freedom of navigation in disputed waters claimed by China, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday (Sep 1).

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Vox Since 2014, China has been building islands in the middle of the South China Sea. What were once underwater reefs are now sandy islands complete with airfields, roads, buildings, and missile systems. In less than two years, China has turned seven reefs into seven military bases in the South China Sea, one of the most contentious bodies of water in the world.

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