China released its first white paper on military strategy at the end of last month. Issued by the State Council Information Office, the white paper outlines China’s strategy of “active defense,” and highlights four critical security domains: the ocean, outer space, cyberspace, and nuclear forces. For the states of Southeast Asia, China’s outlined military strategy […]
MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday, June 3, said the Philippines will assert itself in the disputed South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) once it fully implements a new but legally questioned military agreement with the United States. “Once everything has been ironed out – there’s a challenge before the Supreme Court […]
China’s moves to explore for oil and undertake land reclamation projects on contested islets in the South China Sea have upset a number of its neighbors, including Vietnam. But none has taken a tougher stance against Beijing’s moves than the Philippines. The archipelago has shaped up as the loudest voice in Southeast Asia against China’s […]
From the air, the Spratly Islands, a cluster of miniature rocks and sandbars 425,000 kilometres square in the middle of the South China Sea, are almost imperceptible. Even up close, the Spratlys do not look like much – a few islands have tiny rocky beaches or occasional makeshift buildings. A tiny contingent of Filipino marines […]
Government lawyers on Tuesday maintained that the country’s Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States is a valid executive agreement that does not need Senate concurrence. In a final effort to defend the EDCA before the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, in a 42-page memorandum, said referring the EDCA to the Senate, […]
Senators have started their inquiry on the defense agreement that the Philippines signed with the United States. – ANC, Prime Time, December 1, 2014 Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/12/01/14/why-senators-doubt-us-help-vs-china
BEIJING stopped harassing Filipino ships in disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea after the signing of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between Manila and Washington, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin claimed before a Senate committee on Monday. Gazmin made the claim even as Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago argued that the failure of the Aquino administration to […]
MalacaÑang has found an ally in Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in defending the legality and benefits of its controversial Philippine-United States Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) when she said that the country needs the help of the US to improve the country’s military capability amid its dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea. […]
MANILA, Philippines — Chinese officials pushing for Beijing’s claims on the West Philippine Sea believe the Philippines is still a “factotum” of the United States. This is what lawyer Harry Roque, among the petitioners questioning the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), noted before the Supreme Court during the oral arguments on Tuesday. Senior Associate Justice […]
President Barack Obama’s visit to the Philippines, the last leg of his recent 4-nation Asian tour, produced a new bilateral defense agreement that was touted by some observers as the single most significant outcome of his regional foray. The agreement was said to contribute to his goals of reassuring allies and signaling that the United […]