- (Financial Times 31/8) China confronts Indian navy vessel: A Chinese warship confronted an Indian navy vessel shortly after it left Vietnamese waters in late July in the first such reported encounter between the two countries’ navies in the South China Sea.

- (Bloomberg 1/9) China Wants ‘Binding’ S. China Code: Aquino: Philippines President Benigno Aquino said China wants a “binding” code of conduct in the South China Sea, a move that may reduce tensions in the disputed waters as countries vie for oil and gas resources.

- (Japan Times 1/9) Beijing wastes no time with Noda: China lost no time warning Yoshihiko Noda what it expected of him, after he was chosen by the ruling Democratic Party of Japan as its leader this week and subsequently was elected prime minister.

- (Asia Times 31/8) Aquino focuses on China trade: Philippine President Benigno Aquino starts a five-day visit to China today hoping that recent disputes over islands in the South China Sea will not obstruct multi-million dollar trade agreements that should boost his country's economy. 

- (PhilStar 31/8) Careful of joint oil explorations: President Noynoy Aquino’s aides needed to qualify that any new joint oil exploration with China would be in “disputed waters only.” This was to dissociate it from the iniquitous JMSU (Joint Marine Seismic Understanding) of the Arroyo regime.

- (Eurasiareview 30/8) South China Sea Of “Slavery”: 

- (Project Syndicate 30/8) A Long March with China: US Vice President Joe Biden’s recent four-day visit to China ended on a high note. He assured Chinese leaders that the United States is committed to honoring all its debts, despite its recent credit downgrade; he talked enthusiastically about US-China interdependence; and he showcased his granddaughter, who has studied Chinese for several years, as a future bridge between the two countries.

- (FInancial Times 30/8) Philippine leader seeks to repair China ties: president of the Philippines, has arrived in Beijing on a mission to repair relations with China, which have soured amid increased tensions in the South China Sea and Manila’s anti-corruption drive; Water is the new weapon in Beijing’s armoury: China has aroused international alarm by using its virtual monopoly of rare earths as a trade instrument and by stalling multilateral efforts to resolve disputes in the South China Sea. Among its neighbours, there is deep concern at the way it is seeking to make water a political weapon.

- (Gulf Times 31/8) Aquino on mission to boost trade with China: Philippine President Benigno Aquino III travelled to China yesterday for a five-day visit aimed at boosting trade despite recent tensions between the two countries over disputes in the South China Sea.

- (VOA 29/8) Taiwan Considers Eco-Tourism to Assert Territorial Claims: 

- (Crienglish.com 29/8) China, Vietnam Pledge to Resolve Disputes: The pledge came out of a meeting between Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and Vietnamese Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh.

- (China Daily 30/8) Message from Manila: 

- (WSJ 29/8) Aquino Walks a Fine Line With China: Philippine President Benigno Aquino III faces a delicate task in China this week: taking up his country's claim to the troubled waters of the South China Sea without undermining the increasingly important economic relationship between the two countries.

- (Foreign Affairs September 2011) The Middling Kingdom: The Hype and the Reality of China’s Rise vs The Inevitable Superpower: Why China’s Dominance Is a Sure Thing 

- (Sun Star 29/8) Group vows to oppose oil exploration with China: Bayan Muna party-list group on Monday vowed to block the joint exploration planned between the Philippine Government and China-owned Sino Petroleum Corporation in the disputed Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.

- (Asia Sentinel 29/8) Leadership with Chinese Characteristics: A common theme in the international media and academic papers emphasizes China’s rise vs. America’s decline and presents China as the coming superpower. However, the question is how China can lead the globe if it is not trusted in its own turf.

- (People's Daily 29/8) Win-win for President Aquino's China visit: 

- (Washington Quarterly Spring 2011) Can China Defend A "Core Interest" In The South China Sea?

- (Bloomberg 28/8) Changing Vietnam Yearns for Closer U.S. Embrace: interview with Vietnamese newly elected Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

- (Eurasia Review 27/8) Why China Is Subject To Suspicion And Hostility: It is time the Beijing leaders made some deep introspection to discover why it is the most distrusted large power in the world.

- (Sunday London Times 28/8) China tries to test Obama’s nerves, by Michael Sheridan: "If America is paralysed by division, China is paralysed by consensus."

- (Democracy Journal Summer 2011) A World of Our Making, by John Ikenberry: The international order that America created will endure—if we make the transition to a grand strategy based on reciprocity and shared leadership (with criticisms by Niall Ferguson, Martin Jacques...)

- (Global Times 28/8) Soft approach conceals devious new US strategy: "The latest conflicts over South China Sea issue also saw smart diplomatic maneuvers by the US, which declared its neutrality but was virtually on the side of Vietnam and the Philippines. 

- (Dissent Aug 2011) The United States, China, and the Kissinger Doctrine: Unusual view from the American Left.  (This reviewer is the only one who notes: "Much like the Chinese, however, [Kissinger] neglects to discuss the humiliations [the Chinese] inflicted on their neighbors in the course of the centuries during which their leaders built the Chinese Empire—the maximum extent of which the PRC now claims as its territory").