SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Even until the very end – as Filipino soldiers were trying to evacuate a severely injured comrade from Ayungin Shoal to mainland Palawan – personnel of the China Coast Guard (CCG) blocked and harassed Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea. The disclosure was made by the injured soldier himself, Seaman […]

SUMMARY Apparently alluding to the Ayungin shoal incident where China Coast Guard personnel attacked Filipino soldiers with knives and clubs to prevent them  from delivering supplies, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  recently said: “We are not in the business to instigate wars.”  Unfortunately, such statement – sounding so cliché – does not rise to the level of a declaration exuding  national […]

SUMMARY Apparently alluding to the Ayungin shoal incident where China Coast Guard personnel attacked Filipino soldiers with knives and clubs to prevent them  from delivering supplies, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  recently said: “We are not in the business to instigate wars.”  Unfortunately, such statement – sounding so cliché – does not rise to the level of a declaration exuding  national […]

SUMMARY In case you missed it, Vladimir Putin was in the neighborhood – driving a limousine with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, signing a military pact with the rogue state, and then flying to Hanoi, where he earned lavish praise from its communist leaders. That’s enough to rattle an already-rattled region that, early in June, played […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – With a chuckle, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, chairperson of the newly-formed National Maritime Council, sought to shoot down talk of invoking the Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) over the Chinese coast guard’s harassment of a June 17 military resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).   “This was […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Days after the newly-established National Maritime Council (NCM) called the Chinese harassment of a June 17 resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal a “misunderstanding” and recommended to “announce” future resupply missions, the Philippines has changed its tune, now describing Chinese actions in the West Philippine Sea as “deliberate.” “After our visit to […]

SUMMARY The BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal is the symbol of our commitment to defend our sovereignty and protect our sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). On the downside, our approach to it also reflects the lack of coherence in the government’s strategy in the face of Beijing’s coercive tactics at sea. […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is asserting that there was “no reason” to interpret the actions of the Chinese coast guard on June 17 – which included ramming a Philippine government ship, brandishing machetes and knives, and taking disassembled rifles – as an “armed attack” on Philippine military personnel. “There is no reason na i-interpret […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Some of the Philippines’ biggest business groups have broken their silence and condemned the “continued harassment” of military personnel, hinting that businesses are beginning to worry about the potential economic spillovers of rising tensions with China in the West Philippine Sea. “We deplore the continued harassment of the AFP (Armed forces […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ newly-established National Maritime Council (NMC) announced Friday, June 21, that it has recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the “announcement” of resupply missions to Ayungin or Second Thomas Shoal, a flashpoint for tensions between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea.  “As a result of the meeting today, the […]