- (Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada 3/8) Amitav Acharya, The South China Sea Remains a Dangerous Flashpoint

- (Council on Foreign Relations 2/8) ASEAN Kicks the South China Sea Dispute down the Road, by Joshua Kurlantzick

- (Japan Times 3/8) U.S. reputation suffers in Asia: U.S. prominence in Asia since World War II has rested on a widespread belief among friends, foes and nonaligned nations alike that Washington would use its economic and military power to prevent what it saw as dangerous challenges to the region's peace, stability and growth.

- (The Diplomat 3/8) US vs China Undersea, by David Axe

- (Rediff 3/8) China to explore Indian Ocean, India worried: China has obtained approval to explore a 10,000 sq km polymetallic sulphide ore deposit in an international seabed region in the Indian Ocean, much to the disquiet of India.

- (Korea Times 3/8) China’s territorial ambition, by Choi Yearn-hong and Koh Choong-suk

- (Business World 3/8) China-run oil firm to drill in local seas? A CHINESE state-run firm is poised to take over majority control of an oil exploration venture in offshore Palawan, Energy Undersecretary Jose M. Layug, Jr. yesterday said.

- (Foreign Policy 3/8) The big worry about China on the energy patch: As American and Chinese energy officials and scientists meet in Chicago this week, the trick for the U.S. is how to collaborate in the battery laboratory without spilling any secrets.

- (CSM 3/8) Race for oil heats up territorial disputes in the South China Sea: The expansion of oil exploration and drilling in the South China Sea has raised the stakes in the various territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, particularly the Philippines.

- (Daily Yomiuri 3/8) Keep an eagle eye on China’s military buildup: China's military expansion is entering a new stage. Japan must not be lax in taking precautions against it.

- (China Post 3/8) Japan warns of China’s growing naval power, lack of transparency: apan voiced concern Tuesday over China's growing assertiveness and widening naval reach in nearby waters and the Pacific and over what it called the “opaqueness” of Beijing's military budget.

- (UPI 3/8) Japan warns of Beijing’s maritime policies: China's maritime activities are "overbearing" and arouse "anxiety about its future direction," Japan's annual Defense Ministry white paper states.

- (GMA News 3/8) China’s Communist newspaper warns PHL on Spratlys claim: China’s main Communist Party newspaper warned neighboring nations, including the Philippines, against asserting their territorial claims in the South China Sea, the New York (NY) Times reported Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

- (New York Times 3/8) China: Party Newspaper Warns the Philippines: China's main Communist Party newspaper sharply warned neighboring nations on Tuesday against asserting their claims to territory in the South China Sea, responding to a news report that thePhilippines was building shelter for troops on one of the disputed Spratly Islands, which the Chinese call the Nansha Islands.

- (Japanese Ministry of Defense 2011) DEFENSE OF JAPAN 2011

- (CSIS 1/8) Ernest Z. Bower, 18th ASEAN Regional Forum in Bali, Indonesia - Answer 5 questions: the ARF important to the US, the main issues were discussed at ARF this year, the U.S. priorities, other highlights occurred and the U.S.-Indonesia ties

- (Jakartar Post 2/8) ASEAN integration: A long way to go: Following the success of the 44th ASEAN ministerial meeting, leaders of the group’s 10 member states need to ask questions about the goals of integration and to what extent the concept of integration is to be developed.

- (The Mainichi Daily News 2/8) Japan's defense white paper cites concerns in South China Sea, has expressed strong concerns about China's increasingly active advances into the East and South China seas and its friction with ASEAN countries.

- (BBC 2/8) Japan warns of rise in China's naval activities: China's naval forces are stepping up their activities in the East and South China Seas, and the Pacific, Japan has warned in its annual defence report.

- (Atlantic Sentinel 2/8) Still Aiming for Strategic Reassurance?: for lack of a better strategy, America can only continue to aim for strategic reassurance.

- (New York Times 2/8) China Warns Neighbors on South China Sea: China’s main Communist Party newspaper sharply warned neighboring nations against asserting their claims to territory in the South China Sea in a front-page commentary on Tuesday.

- (Washington Times 1/8) China begins to build its own aircraft carrier: Pentagon sees Beijing flexing muscle for world

- (AFP 2/8) Philippines will seek oil in South China Sea: The Philippines plans to auction off areas of the South China Sea for oil exploration, despite worsening territorial disputes with China over the area, an official said Tuesday.

- (WSJ 2/8) Drilling Plans Raise Stakes in Disputed Seas: After appearing to make progress in cooling tensions over the South China Sea in recent weeks, Southeast Asia and China face the potential for more trouble ahead as oil and gas companies expand their exploration work in the contested waters; Japan Sharpens Rhetoric on China, Calling It 'Assertive' for First Time: accusing Beijing for the first time of "assertiveness" and saying it needs to keep a closer watch on how China views the contested waters between the two countries.

- (The Diplomat 2/8) Positive Steps in South China Sea, by Shen Dingli: a code of conduct to follow the declaration and the guidelines may well be worth considering prohibiting any unilateral exploration of seabed resources in disputed regions, while encouraging concerted development, certainly making a peaceful resolution of the conflicting claims more likely.

- (Sydney Morning Herald 2/8) Bluffing their way into crisis: Australia can play a role smoothing the waters between the US and China in the South China Sea.

- (Forbes 2/8) Challenge in the Pacific: The Rise of China: 

- (Airbus Military 1/8) Vietnam takes delivery of its first Airbus Military C212-400: The Vietnam Marine Police has taken delivery of the first of three C212-400 it ordered from Airbus Military.

- (The Age 2/8) Bluffing their way into crisis “The issue no longer concerns the rocks themselves, or even the oil and gas that might lie around them. It is about the growing rivalry between America and China over who exercises power in Asia. Unless both countries are very careful, a small incident in the Spratly Islands could shatter the US-China relationship, plunge Asia into a major crisis, and destroy the foundations of Australia’s foreign policy.”

- (Defence Web 1/8) China requires at least three aircraft carriers – general Luo Yuan, a senior researcher with the Academy of Military Sciences, was quoted as saying by Beijing News.

- (Strategy Page 1/8) Chinese Border Expansion Fails: The only problem is that China has a definition of territorial waters that the international community does not agree with.

- (US Navy 1/8) U.S., Vietnam Establish Formal Military Medical Partnership that will include subject matter expert exchanges, workshops, conferences, Medical Civil Action Projects (MEDCAPS), clinical exchanges, and medical research collaboration. 

- (AFP 1/8) US, Vietnam start first military relationship since their war, another sign of growing cooperation amid high tensions between Hanoi and China.

- (The Nation 1/8) South China Sea: be aware of undercurrent: It was amazing that given their cordial ties, China and Asean took almost a decade to agree on the guidelines for their conducts over the disputes South China Sea.

- (Japan Times 1/8) ASEAN rises to a challenge, by Mark J. Valencia

- (Richmond Time Dispatch 31/7) Chinese navy grows bolder: The modernization and recent blue water operations of the Chinese Navy are altering the naval power balance in the Pacific.

- (The Australian 1/8) Complacency is the danger in Asia's power games: Paul Wolfowitz summed up his response to China's rise as "hoping for the best, but preparing for the worse"; Rudd says he's not interested in being Beijing's 'pin-up' boy: Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says he does not aspire to be "a pin-up boy" in Beijing, and has strongly defended his diplomatic approach against suggestions it is too robust.

- (Ottawa Citizen 31/7) Chinese Launch Second Amphibious Landing Dock Ship Jinggang Shan could also play a significant role in the region, particularly given Beijing’s recent spats with Vietnam, the Philippines and the US.