China's oceanographic survey activities routinely conflate legitimate scientific research with assertion of excessive maritime claims and collection of military intelligence--a classic gray zone tactic.

A recent incident around the contested Senkaku Islands highlight's Tokyo's need for more and better options to counter Beijing's maritime aggression.

Despite Beijing’s assertions that the environmental condition of Scarborough Shoal is “excellent” and that authorities have cracked down on giant clam harvesting, the preponderance of the evidence—including legal documents, investigative journalism, satellite imagery and even Chinese state records—demonstrates that its stewardship since 2012 has actually resulted in severe damage to the shoal and its ecosystem.

Over the past 12 months, China has vastly increased its forces blocking Philippine access to Scarborough Shoal, building a huge exclusion zone around the contested feature as the Philippines has pushed back with what it can.

After South Korea confronted China with suspicions about its Yellow Sea aquaculture operations--culminating in a tense maritime standoff--SeaLight broke the story open with newly published images of the "steel structures" roiling tensions in Northeast Asia.

Updated post: Optical weapons are non-lethal weapons used to cause temporary blindness or confuse personnel. They include lasers (dazzlers) and stroboscopic lights.

China's increasing use of sonic weapons as a gray zone tactic against its rivals includes sirens, sonar and long-range acoustic devices.

China's campaign of quiet aggression has already achieved many of its expansionist maritime objectives. Its neighbors and the world have started to notice, but checking Beijing's ambitions will take more than our attention.

Two recent RAND reports serve as a wake-up call: integrating resilience, capacity, and coordinated efforts isn’t just beneficial for combatting China's gray-zone warfare, it’s absolutely imperative for long-term regional stability.

As the world watches China’s increasingly aggressive moves at sea, its quiet expansion across land borders in the Himalayas serves as a reminder that its ambitions extend far beyond the South China Sea or Taiwan. China is methodically expanding its reach, targeting small, vulnerable neighbors like Nepal and Bhutan.

The United States aircraft carrier USS Nimitz continues to operate in the South China Sea, satellite imagery shows, as the Chinese navy expands its presence in the Pacific Ocean.

A Chinese ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-controlled island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said yesterday.

Analysts say quiet incursions are part of a deliberate effort by China to normalise its presence in previously unpatrolled areas

With continued U.S.-Philippine cooperation in the Philippines, activity by Chinese-owned vessels in these waters demands close monitoring. More broadly, An Da Kang 3689 is not the only commercial Chinese vessel that raises concerns.

Three days underway with the Philippine Coast Guard in the South China Sea.

"China has become more active than ever," warned Japan's defense chief, as four nations voice serious concern and vow to increase defense coordination.

A United States destroyer recently conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea, challenging claims by China and other countries, the Navy told Newsweek.

Today (May 31) is the fourth anniversary of a major air incursion by China PLAAF into the Malaysian controlled airspace which is under the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The PLAAF did not fly into Malaysian airspace though. Although PLAAF is staying away during the anniversary, China Coast Guard, is continuing its presence in the MY and other Asean countries EEZ.

China has a "deficit of trust and credibility" it needs to overcome in order to mend its fraught defence ties with the Philippines, though any breakthrough in the near term remains unlikely, Manila's top defence official said on Saturday.

The Philippine foreign ministry said on Thursday that China has no right to object to or interfere with its lawful and routine activities in the South China Sea. The ministry said it also "rejects and refutes" recent statements of the Chinese embassy in Manila that Beijing has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands.