SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines on Thursday, November 16, called on China to remove all its “illegal structures” in the Spratlys, an archipelago of islands, cays, and reefs that’s rich in marine life and, possibly, oil and gas. “We call on China to remove all these illegal structures, cease reclamations in the South China […]
SUMMARY Note: Remarks delivered by retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio T. Carpio during the inauguration last November 10, 2023 of the ANU Philippines Institute. ANU is the Australia National University at Canberra, Australia. The South China Sea dispute is the most complicated dispute in the world today. The dispute involves both a maritime dispute and […]
SUMMARY JAKARTA, Indonesia – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday, September 7, urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its allies to stand against the “dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea.” Marcos, who was speaking at the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) attended by […]
SUMMARY JAKARTA, Indonesia – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said tensions in the South China Sea cannot be seen “solely through the lens of strategic competition between two powerful countries.” “The Philippines firmly rejects misleading narratives that frame the disputes in the South China Sea solely through the lens of strategic competition between two powerful […]
SUMMARY China’s most mind-boggling claim to the South China Sea is the nine-dash line, which encloses about 85.7% of the waters of the South China Sea. China’s narrative is that it owned all the islands, oil, gas, fish and other resources within the nine-dash line 2,000 years ago. Never mind that it was only in the mid-20th […]
SUMMARY China told the Philippines on Monday, August 7, to remove its grounded warship from the Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, in the South China Sea after blocking two Manila supply ships with water cannons over the weekend as both sides asserted their claims of the area. The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard of […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ top security adviser said on Friday, May 26, that there was nothing provocative about the country’s decision to place navigational buoys within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Describing them as “safety measures,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said their placement is based merely on the “international order,” referring to […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ top security adviser said on Friday, May 26, that there was nothing provocative about the country’s decision to place navigational buoys within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Describing them as “safety measures,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said their placement is based merely on the “international order,” referring to […]
SUMMARY Grayzone operations is integral to the Chinese Communist Party’s maritime strategy in the South China Sea; and it continues to defy any political, naval, or legal solution. Former Associate Chief Justice Antonio Carpio’s points at the risk, if this remains unaddressed: “ At stake is the survival of the legal order enshrined in the […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is in talks to possibly include Australia and Japan in planned joint South China Sea patrols with the United States, a senior diplomat said on Monday, February 27, in another sign of concern over Beijing’s activities in the strategic waters. “Meetings have already been set and probably we may have the Japanese and […]