- (UPI 14/12) Seoul warns of tougher coast guard patrols: during the crackdown on illegal fishing by Chinese boats; (Asia News 14/12) Sino-South Korean tensions rise in Yellow Sea, as Japan considers action: Coast guard killed by Chinese fishermen involved in illegal fishing in Yellow Sea is laid to rest today. In South Korea, public opinion and political leaders call for tougher actions against Chinese encroachment. Japan might build a permanent base in the East China Sea. China’s policies undermine peace in the area; (Global Post 14/12) China in trouble in international waters, again: South Korea is up in arms after a Chinese fishing boat captain murdered a Korean coast guard officer this week.

- (Radio Australia News 14/12) South China Sea dispute escalates

- (Washington Post 14/12) Philippines launches its biggest warship amid South China Sea territorial dispute

- (Wordpress 13/12) China and U.S. Brinkmanship in the South China Sea: 

- (Bernama 13/12) Claimants of South China Sea Urged to Hold Formal Discussions: Dr Tran Truong Thuy said at the conference: "Any future discussion must take into accounts the issues related to security and freedom of navigation as it not only involves claimant states and surrounding countries but also the stakeholders and users of the sea."

- (Diplomat 14/12) Can China Handle America’s Return?: The United States’ decision to “pivot” back to the Asia-Pacific is welcome among its allies. But what about its most assertive rising power?

- (Brookings Institute 13/12) Chinese Public Opinion: Shaping China’s Foreign Policy, or Shaped by It?: More often than ever, especially in private conversations, Chinese officials and scholars seem to play the public opinion card to justify externally unpopular foreign policy moves.

- (Asian Journal 13/12) Aquino orders new military chief to defend Spratly claims

- (The National 13/12) India unease as China debates naval base in Seychelles: "This is clearly a case of China trying to establish a greater base in the Indian Ocean. They are expanding their reach,"

- (Global Research 13/12) Asia: Cold War To World War?: "If China's core interests, such as its sovereignty, national security, and unity are intruded on, a military conflict will be unavoidable." This was the statement by Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan, the Deputy Secretary General of the China Society of Military Science, after Pres. Obama’s announcement of the new military basing operations in Australia.(People's Daily, Nov. 17)

- (Oil price 12/12) Is War in the South China Sea Inevitable?: Is Beijing’s big nautical stick about to be deployed against other Southeast Asian nations contesting China’s South Sea sovereignty claims?

- (Guardian 12/12) South Korean coastguard stabbed to death while seizing Chinese boat: Chinese fishing boat crew resisted being boarded in the latest clash over diminishing fishing stocks in the Yellow Sea.

- (Washington Post 12/12) New Philippine military chief to focus on bolstering defense amid territorial disputes: recent developments in the South China Sea — obviously referring to renewed territorial spats in the potentially oil-rich region — have made upgrading external defenses inevitable for the Philippines.

- (Hindustan Times 13/12) China makes inroads into Indian Ocean, but says no military base: The game of one-upmanship between India and China in the Indian Ocean Region is set to take a new turn, with Beijing on Monday saying it plans to set up a base in the Seychelles.

- (Eurasia Review 12/12) The South China Sea: Likely Outcomes – Analysis: explores four likely scenarios in the region based interviews with maritime experts and media survey.

- (Global Research 12/12) Obama Raises the Military Stakes: Confrontation on the Borders with China and Russia.

- (Wall Street Journal 12/12) China Deploys Patrols Along Mekong: China launched joint patrols along the Mekong River together with Thailand, Laos and Myanmar in response to the killing of 13 Chinese sailors on Thailand's portion of the river, a move that underscores the country's security inroads into Southeast Asia; (MSN 11/12) Four nations start Mekong river patrol; (WSJ 9/12) Big Dam Project Delayed on Mekong: A contentious $3.5 billion dam project on the Mekong River was put on hold again Thursday as nations called for further study of the environmental effects, a setback for Laos's plan to reinvent itself as the hydropower battery of Southeast Asia.

- (Australian 10/12) India's rise as a superpower has China on edge: The birth of a superpower can be a strange and disturbing event to witness. There is a lot of screaming, a lot of pain, it's inherently messy; but sometimes something beautiful will emerge.

- (Financial Times 8/12) US seeks to calm Beijing containment fears: “The US does not seek to contain China, we do not view China as an adversary,” 

- (New York Times 7/12) U.S. and China Meet in Annual Military Review: 

- (Asia Times 8/12) Obama's risky oil threat to China: 

- (National Interest 9/12) America's Asia Pivot Threatens Regional Stability: