Last Friday, on the heels of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declaring his “separation from the United States” during a visit to China, the USS Decatur conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Julian Ku has written about this operation here. The Paracels are […]
President Rodrigo Duterte misstated in Beijing that China never has invaded any part of Philippine territory. This was pointed out last week by Supreme Court Senior Justice Antonio Carpio. For, China did grab Scarborough Shoal in 2012. Expert in international law, Carpio called on the government immediately to correct Duterte’s history lapse, lest it be […]
China and the Philippines could begin exploiting long-untapped energy reserves in the South China Sea, according to reports coming out of this week’s meeting between Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte and high-ranking Chinese officials — including a Thursday sit-down with Chinese President Xi Jinping — in Beijing. How soon that may happen remains unclear, however, as […]
Next week Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who took power in late June, will make his first state visit to China. Of course he’s hoping for a bonanza of loans and trade deals. What he’s not expecting or demanding: the return of Scarborough Shoal, which China seized from the Philippines in 2012, sparking demonstrations by Filipinos […]
‘We cannot win that,’ President Rodrigo Duterte said of Scarborough Shoal this week. ‘We can’t beat” China. Next week Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who took power in late June, will make his first state visit to China. Of course he’s hoping for a bonanza of loans and trade deals. What he’s not expecting or demanding: […]
MANILA—President Rodrigo Duterte aims to upend the delicate geopolitics of the South China Sea during a state visit to Beijing this week, gambling that pulling away from the U.S.—the Philippines’ longtime military ally—will reset the strategic calculus in Southeast Asia in his poor country’s favor. http://www.wsj.com/articles/philippine-leader-rodrigo-duterte-rolls-dice-with-embrace-of-china-1476639455
The government will not compromise on the sovereignty of the country in light of the ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today. He also said Malaysia’s stand on the disputes is that problems, differences and rows should be handled and resolved through dialogue and peaceful negotiations. […]
VietNamNet Bridge – Two months before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) made its statement on the case between the Philippines and China, China launched a global media campaign. The illegal deployment of HD-981 oil rig deep in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf of Vietnam in 2014 is a “daring test” of […]
President Rodrigo Duterte has said there was no way he would have ridden a jet ski to the disputed Scarborough Shoal as he proclaimed in a debate during the presidential campaign earlier this year. In an interview with Al Jazeera that aired over the weekend, Duterte said it was a hyperbole to drive home the […]
Admitting to be a tyro in diplomacy, President Rodrigo Duterte is to square off with a 4,000-year master of the craft: China. His visit to the giant neighbor this week aims for some economic favors. Bulging in his coat pocket would be an international court ruling favoring Manila against Beijing’s spurious ownership claim over the […]