Rise of China: China is a rising revisionist power, seeking to realign the status quo in the Pacific and assure its security via domination of its periphery regions, after a “century of humiliation.” In 1978, its GDP was a mere US$150 billion, while 39 years later, its economy stands at $11.2 trillion, with the […]
MANY concerned Filipinos are horrified seeing China’s leaders and diplomats running circles around our one-year-old President and his three-month-old sidekick of a Foreign Secretary. The diplomatic duo looks on helplessly as some of our outlying islets are being occupied, enlarged and armed with weapons disguised as navigational aids – with the artificial islands […]
The U.S. should leverage the prospect of new military balancing capabilities to establish an accommodation with China in the South China Sea. The South China Sea is the nexus of numerous disputes among China and its Southeast Asian neighbors, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia, and involving extra-regional powers like Japan and the […]
In 2012, China wrested control of Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea from the Philippines. With the shoal—reefs, rocks, and a vast lagoon—located just 220 km (137 miles) from the Philippines’ main island Luzon, the incident heightened tensions and embarrassed Manila, which the following year opened a case in an international tribunal challenging […]
Every nation is hypocritical. Just like every man. There are, of course, differences in magnitude. Such as right now: China tells other navies not to sail through its waters—as it sails through theirs. In July, China sent two ships to sit off the coasts of Alaska, United States, and Queensland, Australia. Because the two were […]
Not long after the Philippines hosted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meetings, reports emerged that Chinese vessels have been gathering near Pag-Asa (Thitu) island in the West Philippine Sea. The source of the information is reportedly the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which has been monitoring Chinese activities close to our […]
Recent events near Pag-asa Island raise distressing questions. Last week, a Philippine lawmaker, Congressman Gary Alejano, released images showing Chinese coast guard, naval, and civilian vessels within a stone’s throw of Pag-asa, or Thitu, Island — a significant Philippine possession in the disputed Spratly group. Pag-asa, which is administered as part of Kalayaan municipality, an […]
Justice Antonio T. Carpio A pleasant afternoon to everyone. On behalf of this year’s alumni awardees, I wish to thank the Board of Directors of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association headed by its President, Atty. Ramon Maronilla, for this signal award conferred on us. I am sure I speak for the all […]
Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio urged the government to act on what he called an “invasion of Philippine territory by China” as he confirmed Chinese ships were now guarding a newly created island well within Philippine territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea. In a statement […]