https://www.scmp.com/rss/295408/feed Bill Hayton is an associate fellow with the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House in London. He is the author of "The South China Sea: the struggle for power in Asia" and "The Invention of China". He continues to research the history of the South China Sea disputes. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Bill Hayton Bill Hayton A recent government reshuffle has reopened questions about the depth of Britain’s commitment to Asia. The role of minister for the Indo-Pacific is now a part-time job, held by an undersecretary of state who also serves as minister for equalities. While the change was being announced in September, British naval ships were steaming through the Sea of Japan for joint exercises with Japan and South Korea in a demonstration of the United Kingdom’s ability to project power and influence into Asia. But... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3333876/self-interest-now-main-driver-britains-asia-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3333876/self-interest-now-main-driver-britains-asia-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 01:16:33 +0000 Everyone knows the South China Sea disputes are too complex to fix. Too many countries are involved, there is too much history to unravel and too few people understand the details. This conventional wisdom is wrong, though. In the last few years, researchers have gathered enough information about the history of the South China Sea to resolve the competing territorial claims. The biggest obstacle to resolving the disputes is that Vietnam, China and the Philippines claim whole groups of islands... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3170787/simple-solution-complex-south-china-sea-disputes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3170787/simple-solution-complex-south-china-sea-disputes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Mar 2022 01:15:12 +0000 Where is the "southernmost point of Chinese territory"? It's a controversial question and the least controversial answer might be Hainan Island . More controversial options would be the Paracel (Xisha) islands or the Spratlys (Nansha). But officially the southernmost point is even further south - as far south as the James Shoal, about 100 kilometres from the coast of Borneo. What's more surprising is that this piece of the motherland is actually invisible. There's nothing there to see, unless... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1146151/how-non-existent-island-became-chinas-southernmost-territory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1146151/how-non-existent-island-became-chinas-southernmost-territory?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000