MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has summoned the charge d’affaires of China to protest the firing of water cannons at Filipino fishermen in a disputed shoal last January 27. In a press conference on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Spokesman Raul Hernandez said the incident involving a China Coast Guard vessel is only one […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government will ask the People’s Republic of China to explain why the Chinese coast guard fired water cannons at the Filipino fishermen who were at the disputed Scarborough Shoal on January 27. President Benigno Aquino III said both the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of National Defense are now […]
MANILA – The water cannon incident at Scarborough Shoal won’t merit any military response since the goal of the Philippines is to resolve the sea dispute in a peaceful manner, an official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said. In a press conference, AFP Spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said: “We have to […]
Manila: The Philippines lodged a strong protest against China on Tuesday over allegations by Filipino fishermen that the Chinese coastguard had attacked them with water cannon near a disputed shoal. The foreign department summoned the Chinese charge d’affaires to receive the formal protest over the January 27 incident at the Scarborough Shoal, said department spokesman […]
MANILA, Philippines – China has maintained a continued naval presence on Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, which is widely seen as a preparation for the establishment of a permanent structure well within Philippine territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). A confidential Philippine government report acknowledged that Beijing will use its […]
(Reuters) – China plans to occupy a disputed chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea to expand its territory before regional rules on maritime behaviour come into effect, the Philippines’ top diplomat said on Wednesday. The Philippines believes China’s incursion into the Scarborough Shoal is a threat to peace in Southeast Asia, […]
Whatever happened to the much-heralded Chinese policy of a “peaceful rise”? While the other great powers lauded the awakening giant for the emphasis it placed on “peaceful,” China’s smaller neighbors noted with increasing concern its single-minded focus on “rise.” In Asia, the reality is clear and stark: The operative term in the famous Chinese policy […]
After fortifying its naval outposts in the South China Sea, China has established a maritime surveillance patrol route that covers practically all disputed reefs, shoals and islets in the sea, even those within 85 nautical miles of the Philippines’ westernmost island province of Palawan, a classified military report seen Monday by Kyodo News says. The […]
The rusty BRP Sierra Madre has been an effective deterrence against further Chinese incursion into Philippine territorial claims. FILE PHOTO BY ABIGAIL KWOK (Editor’s note: Jose Antonio A. Custodio is a security and defense consultant and was a technical adviser for a US defense company working for the US Pacific Command. He also specializes in […]
The Supreme Court yesterday issued a temporary environment protection order (TEPO) against 94 “small-scale mines” that extract nickel in Zambales. Among the “small” mines are at least five fronts of giant nickel miners from China (see Gotcha, 24 July 2013). Allegedly operating outside the allowable area, the mines are illegal, pollutive, unregulated, untaxed, and destabilizing […]