Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte tried to allay fears over China’s construction of military bases on man-made islands in the South China Sea, saying they are a defence against the US, not made to attack Asian states. “It’s not intended for us,” he said in a speech to Chinese-Filipino businessmen on Monday. “The contending ideological powers […]

MANILA, Phillippines — Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo party-list) on Tuesday reminded Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano that the Philippines effectively lost control of Sandy Cay in the West Philippine Sea under the Duterte administration. The Magdalo lawmaker was responding to the DFA secretary’s challenge to prove that the country lost an island to Beijing […]

WIN-WIN DEAL Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano support joint venture in the South China Sea. —AFP Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano. AFP FILE The Philippines and China “co-control” the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Monday night, despite […]

Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano admitted that many of the country’s career diplomats still had “a hard time” following President Rodrigo Duterte’s foreign policy. A senator before he was appointed the country’s top diplomat a little over a year ago, Cayetano thanked officers and staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for being professionals. “To […]

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that China’s reported deployment of weapons in the South China Sea in recent weeks has escalated tensions in the contested waters. In an interview with Channel News Asia on June 1, which was aired last week, the defense chief finally spoke of China’s installation of weapons in the artificial islands […]

China gave Trump $500 million to get rid of the ZTE sanctions, but the Senate voted to reimpose the sanctions 85-10 as part of the must-pass NDAA legislation. Politico reported, “The provision targeting ZTE was part of the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass defense spending bill that cleared the Senate by a vote of […]

President Rodrigo Duterte uses the term ‘barter’ to describe the uneven ‘exchange’ of goods between China Coast Guard and Filipino fishermen, a word also used by Chinese envoy MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte downplayed the taking of Filipino fishermen’s catch by the China Coast Guard, saying it was a “barter” exchange and thus […]

Public backlash as documentary shows Filipino fishermen accusing Chinese para-military forces of forcibly taking the best of their catch Once again, the Scarborough Shoal dispute is threatening to torpedo Philippine-China relations. Two years into office, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is facing a widespread public backlash over reports that the Chinese coast guard is controlling the […]

Barely 24 hours after the U.S. hit China with new tariffs on imports, Beijing fired a return salvo Saturday in a growing trade dispute with President Donald Trump by imposing duties on a $34 billion list of U.S. goods ranging from soybeans to whiskey to cigars. Beginning July 6, China will slap an extra 25 […]

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte wants China out of the Philippine-claimed areas in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), but yesterday reiterated he would not declare war over the maritime row as Beijing is not a pushover that can be scared easily. Duterte, who has been accused of not doing enough to assert the […]