SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said on Tuesday, June 18, that China’s disruption of a Philippine resupply mission to the West Philippine Sea on June 17 was “an escalation in a pattern of deeply concerning and destabilizing behavior by China.” The statement came just after Chinese Premier Li […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed on Tuesday evening, June 18, that a soldier from the Philippine Navy “sustained severe injury” after China rammed a Philippine vessel during a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal on June 17. “A Philippine Navy personnel sustained severe injury after the CCG’s (China Coast […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Relations between Manila and Beijing have soured under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with Manila pivoting back towards the United States which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China. Here is a timeline of key events since 2023 that have escalated tensions between the Philippines and China: […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The United States State Department on Tuesday, June 18 (Monday, June 17 in Washington) reaffirmed that armed attacks on Philippine armed forces and public vessels could be basis to invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty between Washington and Manila, a day after a “ramming and towing” incident in the West Philippine Sea. […]
SUMMARY Aldwin Pagaoa retired as a seaman 10 years ago and started in his hometown of Candon City, Ilocos Sur, a cottage industry to build scale models of ships mainly for seafarers like him. But recently, he has been busy building scale models of a grounded Filipino ship that has become a symbol of the […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ treaty-ally, the United States, condemned on Monday, June 17, China’s “aggressive, dangerous maneuvers” during a Philippine resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. In a statement, US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson said Chinese actions “caused bodily injury, damaged Philippine vessels, and hindered lawful maritime operations […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) said Monday evening, June 17, that China used “dangerous maneuvers, including ramming and towing,” to disrupt a routine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. The statement came more than 12 hours after the China Coast Guard, in a statement, claimed a […]
SUMMARY Angela Bofill, my generation’s senti icon, passed away at the age of 70 last week. Her songs’ lasting stirrings in our hearts reverberated on the Rappler site; her death was the most read story on the day we published it on Saturday, June 15. “Break it to me gently,” crooned a Bofill classic for […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The United States, Canada, Japan, and the Philippines conducted a two-day joint maritime exercise in Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, the US Pacific Fleet said on its website on Monday, June 17. The maritime cooperative activity was aimed at “upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, reaffirming the […]
SUMMARY BEIJING, China – A Philippine supply ship dangerously approached a Chinese ship resulting in a slight collision after it illegally intruded into waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal or Ayungin Shoal in the South China Sea, the Chinese Coast Guard said on Monday, June 17. The Philippine transport and replenishment ship ignored China’s […]