MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has a chance to raise the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in the West Philippine Sea during the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Thailand. Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Junever Mahilum-West said the South China Sea, part of which is the West Philippine Sea, will be on […]

  In the wake of various incidents involving Philippine claims and interests in the South China Sea (SCS), that body of water west of the Philippines that separates us from China in the north, Vietnam in the west, and Brunei and Malaysia in the south, some Philippine officials have voiced a need to review the […]

  The US has been steadily ratcheting up the pressure on China’s sea forces in a way that could lower the threshold for conflict in the South China Sea, which is already a hotbed of tension. The US is signaling a tougher stance toward the Chinese maritime militia, a paramilitary sea force disguised as a […]

MANILA, Philippines – The sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese ship in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) evoked memories of a similar incident involving a Vietnamese boat in 2014. On May 26, 2014, a large Chinese ship chased and rammed a Vietnamese fishing boat near an oil rig close to […]

MANILA, Philippines – China’s statement on the sinking of a Philippine boat in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) insults the intelligence of Filipinos, said a leading maritime law expert, as he enumerated falsehoods made by China. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the […]

  MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines should send a strong signal to China that a repeat of the ramming of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea could lead to a break of diplomatic ties, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Saturday. A staunch critic of […]

  MANILA, Philippines — Foreign government-sanctioned attacks initiated by militia or armed civilians in the South China Sea may trigger the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) of the United States and the Philippines, US ambassador to Manila Sung Kim said. Kim, in an interview with “The Chiefs” aired on Cignal TV’s One News on Friday night, […]

For sure President Duterte is aware of the comments: he’s ready to declare war over garbage sales contracted by private parties, but his silence is deafening when Chinese believed to be maritime militias hit and sink a Filipino fishing boat and then abandon the fishermen to the elements. The sinking in Recto or Reed Bank […]

The Philippines has asked the United Nations to make protecting life at sea a priority after the collision this month between a Filipino fishing boat and a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, in a post on his Twitter account, said he authorized the Philippine embassy in London to […]