Since long before the steel-hulled fishing boats from foreign countries arrived in the South Pacific its people have had their own systems for sharing the ocean’s catches. In the New Zealand territory of Tokelau, in the middle of the region, the 1,400 people living on its three atolls practise a system called inati, which ensures […]
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has stoked a feud with boxer Manny Pacquiao by criticising his “shallow” foreign policy knowledge, after the senator and eight-division champion said he found the leader’s stand on the South China Sea was “lacking”. In a late night interview with SMNI news channel on Tuesday, Duterte said Pacquiao, a senator and […]
The Philippines has for the third time suspended a decision to scrap a two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, its foreign minister said on Monday, amid a territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said the suspension would be for a further six months while President […]
A US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Ronald Reagan has entered the South China Sea as part of a routine mission, the US Navy said, at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, which claims most of the disputed waterway. The carrier is being accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh […]
SINGAPORE — Defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will meet online on Tuesday to discuss regional security, with South China Sea tensions and recent Chinese moves expected to be high on the agenda. The 10-member bloc will also hold an expanded meeting the next day with counterparts from eight key countries, including […]
Rule of law matters by Marites VitugShare Hello reader, China has three science research laboratories in the West Philippine Sea. This is a big deal. But this fact hasn’t caught as much attention as the hundreds of ships that have recently swarmed Julian Felipe Reef as well as Pag-asa in 2020. It’s because the might […]
In a published statement, the Maritime Law Association of the Philippines (MARLAWPh) called on national leaders to capitalize on the landmark Arbitral Award and to undertake a focused, determined and unwavering defense of our maritime jurisdiction and entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). I was the 2016 MARLAW president when […]
Boxer-turned-politician Manny Pacquiao is emerging as an obstacle to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s succession plans when his single six-year term ends next year. Pacquiao, a loyal ally to Duterte since his shock election win in 2016, has rankled loyalists to the strongman leader since becoming acting head of the president’s ruling PDP-Laban party in December. […]
Deputy Permanent Representative Elizabeth Te of the Philippines Mission to Asean said during her Commission on Appointments. MANILA, Philippines — China has been “remiss” in its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a Filipino envoy to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) said as the Philippines protests […]
Are maps relevant in territorial disputes over ownership of tiny islands in the South China Sea? The question arises because maps are usually drawn unilaterally by one state. This raises the issue of whether such maps showing islands as part of the territory of the state drawing the map can bind another state which also […]