Before visiting his “friends” in Beijing at the end of this month, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte needs a strategy lesson or two on how to stop Chinese vessels from invading Philippine waters. And he needs a lesson on how to stop China from turning the Philippines into a modern day semi-colony. Duterte’s visit to Beijing […]
Fishing boats prepare to leave port on Hailing island in south China’s Guangdong province on Friday. Photo: Xinhua Vietnam repeated its demand that a Chinese survey ship and its escorts leave contested waters in the South China Sea as Beijing’s lifting of a ban on fishing in the area threatened to raise tensions further. […]
China started a series of military training exercises near the Paracel chain of islands in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, amid growing tensions with Vietnam over the vital maritime trade route. Ships were prohibited from entering three locations in and near the Paracels from Tuesday morning until Thursday afternoon, according to three brief […]
When relations between China and the West frayed in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping gave guidance that set Beijing’s course for several decades. “Hide our capacities and bide our time, be good at maintaining a low profile and never claim leadership,” he urged. As Deng and his successors […]
Chinese warships crossing Philippine waters are an “annoying” matter for Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who did not mince words about the latest challenge to Philippine sovereignty by China when he questioned the intention of these vessels. “I think this is not innocent anymore because this ha[s] been happening repeatedly,” Lorenzana said in an interview on […]
MANILA, Philippines—Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Friday (Aug. 16) raised concern over the location of Chinese casinos, also known as Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo), which appeared to be too close for comfort to Philippine military camps in Metro Manila. “This is very concerning until such time I saw the map,” Lorenzana told reporters. “They […]
Duterte, who made peace with China in 2016 by setting aside the dispute, said Aug. 8 that he would discuss with Chinese President Xi Jinping a 3-year-old World Court arbitral tribunal ruling in Manila’s favor and the prospects for a multicountry maritime code of conduct, the presidential office website says. China and the Philippines […]
IN a cacophony of stereotypes, two complement each other to nail the issue on the South China Sea once and for all: Truth hurts, and the truth shall set you free. I won’t need the advice of a former British prime minister to state my take on the recent pronouncement by Chinese ambassador to the […]
The Chinese navy is conducting a week-long exercise in the Gulf of Tonkin to test new warships and weapons, military experts said. The Maritime Safety Administration posted “no sail” notices for three parts of the gulf, warning vessels not to enter the zones because of live-fire drills. The exercises began on August 9 and are […]
The Philippines are beginning to show some resistance against the increasingly bothersome presence of Chinese militia ships in waters that everyone considers as belonging to the Philippines. The one country that is of a different opinion is, of course, China itself. The Chinese have over two million active military personnel and have the second largest […]