“IS this how the Philippines should deal with its powerhouse neighbor?” Former President Fidel V. Ramos raised this question in 2011 following conflicting reports on the dates of President Benigno S. Aquino’s state visit to China. But back then, relations between the Philippines and China were still in good shape. Hu Jintao was then the […]
THE Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the Chinese government is violating the sovereign rights of the Filipino people for insisting that the Ayuningin Shoal and eight other islands within the exclusive economic zone of Philippines in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) belong to China. Pamalakaya Vice Chairman Salvador France […]
MANILA – China has not only deployed and maintained the presence of its surveillance and navy ships in the West Philippine Sea, but has positioned advanced communications equipment as well to eavesdrop on all naval and maritime activities of the Philippine military based in Palawan. “The Chinese, using their advanced communication equipment, are now capable […]
MANILA, Philippines – The US assisted the Philippine Navy in the tense mission to rotate troops trapped for 5 months in the disputed Ayungin Shoal following China’s “blockade,” Philippine Ambassador to US Jose Cuisia Jr. said Friday, April 11. (READ: China harasses ship before pleading day and Ayungin trip ‘betrays’ PH intent) “I don’t specifically […]
China is facing serious challenges to its maritime rights, with its resources being plundered and seas carved up, a senior oceanic official said Friday. Some islands have been encroached on and the security of strategic thoroughfares is threatened. Various conflicts have occurred in China’s waters, said Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), […]
The Ayungin Shoal recently came into focus in the Philippine public mind when Chinese coast guard ships prevented a Philippine civilian government boat from provisioning the marine outpost aboard the derelict BRP Sierra Madre. The latter was intentionally grounded by the Philippines in 1999, four years after the Chinese troops seized the nearby Mischief Reef […]
On March 30, the Philippines submitted a memorial detailing its arguments and evidence against China’s nine-dash line and other aspects of Beijing’s South China Sea claims to an arbitration tribunal at The Hague. The 10-volume, nearly 4,000-page document marks a bold step by Manila, and one that Beijing seems to have believed never would actually […]
HOORAY. Marine Sgt. Rey Sarmiento (R) and Pfc. Ryan Esteban react when the PH supply ship arrives March 29, alongside BRP Sierra Madre, their home for 138 days. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE AYUNGIN SHOAL, West Philippine Sea—Standing on the bridge of the AM700, our small resupply vessel, Navy Lt. (s.g.) Ferdinand Gato had his eyes on […]
MANILA – Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison on Friday said the Philippine government is right in filing a case against China before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Sison, chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), said in a statement that […]
WASHINGTON—“There should be no doubt about resolve of the United States. We stand by our allies and we stand by our commitments,” Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat for East Asia, told a Senate panel that oversees policy in the region. The United States on Thursday cautioned China that it will […]