MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he is now invoking the Philippines’ Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States amid the country’s maritime dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea. “I’m calling now America. I’m invoking the RP-US pact. I would like America to gather all their Seventh Fleet in […]

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 17) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said the United States should enforce the mutual defense treaty (MDT) with the Philippines in the wake of maritime tension in the South China Sea. “I’m calling now America. I am invoking the RP-US pact, and I would like America to gather their […]

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 15) — Solicitor General Jose Calida warned that lawyers of fishermen who asked the Supreme Court (SC) to order the government to protect the West Philippine Sea may face disbarment raps for supposedly keeping their clients in the dark about the real nature of the writ of kalikasan petition they […]

Rear Admiral Lou Yuan, deputy head of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, has told an audience in Shenzhen that the ongoing disputes over the ownership of the East and South China Seas could be resolved by sinking two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. Admiral Lou gave a wide-ranging speech on the state of Sino-U.S. relations. […]

What could be worse than having that “verbal agreement” that allows China to fish in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ)? Talking about it in the President’s State of the Nation Address (Sona). That’s the warning Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has aired, as he pointed out the grave danger that could arise […]

France will continue to sail in the South China Sea, the French ambassador has said amid China’s objections to the presence of western countries in the region. According to JP Soriano’s report on “State of the Nation with Jessica Soho”, French Ambassador Nicolas Galey said his country adhered to the United Nations Conventions on the […]

CHINA has sent a stern warning to the West after Beijing fired six Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles (ASBS) in the disputed South China Sea. The naval tests were conducted between June 29 and 30, just days after Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US President Donald Trump to try and ease relations at the G20 summit […]

MANILA, Philippines – Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Sunday responded to President Rodrigo Duterte’s challenge to come up with a plan to enforce the Philippines’ legal victory against China in the West Philippine Sea / South China Sea territorial dispute. Speaking at the Ateneo Law School’s graduation rites, Carpio enumerated possible options […]

MANILA, Philippines – Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio urged the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to stop its “defeatist attitude” toward asserting the country’s rights against China in the West Philippine Sea. Carpio said it is the government’s duty to enforce the rule of law under the United Nations Convention on the […]

MANILA, Philippines — The United States underscored the United Nations arbitral tribunal’s 2016 decision invalidating China’s nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea is “final” and “legally binding,” as Washington strongly opposed Beijing’s efforts to assert its “unlawful” maritime claims. The US Department of State over the weekend emphasized that violating the tribunal decision […]