WASHINGTON – The United States has called on China to allow the Philippines to continue to maintain its presence on Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea and said Chinese efforts to prevent Filipinos from resupplying the outpost were “provocative and destabilizing.” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf, in a press briefing on Monday, […]
BEIJING – China summoned Philippine Ambassador Erlinda Basilio on Monday to lodge a strong complaint over Manila’s seeking of international arbitration. The filing of the case against China on Sunday at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague subjected Beijing to international legal scrutiny over disputed waters of the South China Sea for the first time. […]
MANILA, Philippines — The acknowledged Father of Singapore weighed in on the long-standing maritime disputes in the South China Sea, particularly that of China and the Philippines. Lee Kuan Yew said the claims of the Asian power and its Southeast Asian neighbor will not meet on the same grounds and a resolution seems far-fetched. “The […]
WHY AFRAID?: China believes in the validity of its sovereign claim over shoals and islets in the West Philippines Sea. It insists on a one-on-one discussion to resolve territorial disputes with neighbors, while avowing friendship and peaceful intentions in dealing with the Philippines. It is a member of the United Nations and signatory to the […]
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said the Philippines has no intention to provoke a military confrontation with China, after challenging its claims over the West Philippine Sea in a formal pleading before the United Nations tribunal in The Hague. “We are not here to challenge China or to provoke them into any action. But I do […]
As expected, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario announced Sunday that the Philippines has submitted a memorial seeking a ruling on China’s “nine dash line” from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The Philippines seeks to have China’s claim to much of the South China Sea, including several features within the […]
BEIJING – China summoned the Philippines ambassador on Monday to lodge a strong complaint over Manila’s seeking of international arbitration in a festering territorial dispute over the South China Sea. The Philippines filed the case against China on Sunday at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, subjecting Beijing to international legal scrutiny over the waters […]