The folly in President Duterte’s challenge to debate Antonio Carpio was that people expected him to back out. Upon announcement of his retreat, friends and foes groaned in texts: “Hay, sabi ko na nga ba!” The Cabinet’s assignment of his spox Harry Roque in his stead only magnified the shame. Memes instantly mocked, “Sa Japan […]
MANILA – The mixed messages sent between President Rodrigo Duterte’s conciliatory tone towards China and the barrage of protests from his own foreign and defence ministries over apparent incursions into Philippine-claimed waters have led to a cognitive dissonance in Manila’s disputes with Beijing over the South China Sea. On Wednesday (May 5), he dismissed a […]
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Wednesday said its maritime patrols had twice driven Chinese vessels away from a shoal within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It was the first time since President Duterte took office in 2016 that the government disclosed such a move by Philippine ships against Chinese vessels. The action […]
MANILA (2nd UPDATE) – Around 200 ships are still moored at West Philippine Sea, a geospatial intelligence firm bared Thursday, which the company said were likely the same fleet that were monitored over Julian Felipe Reef in March. As of May 3, some 7 ships were only spotted over Julian Felipe Reef or Whitsun Reef, […]
MANILA— Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on Thursday said it was a “national tragedy” that President Rodrigo Duterte considers the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s excessive claims in the South China Sea a mere scrap of paper. In a statement, Del Rosario said the country’s allies such as the United States, Australia, […]
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday (May 6) the historic legal victory for the Philippines against China over the South China Sea amounted to “just paper” fit for the rubbish bin. “That paper, in reality among nations, is just paper. It’s nothing… In street talk, I will tell you to give it to […]
By: Antonio T. Carpio – @inquirerdotnetPhilippine Daily Inquirer / 05:06 AM May 06, 2021 Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque praised President Duterte’s policies in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) as “careful, calibrated, and calculated.” In contrast, Roque assailed proposals from former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario and myself as “illegal, impractical, and irresponsible.” Let us examine […]
MANILA – A political science professor from the University of the Philippines on Tuesday said it is wrong to blame former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario for the withdrawal of Philippine ships from Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal to end the 2012 standoff there with China. “Ang nag-mediate niyan, US. Ang ibig sabihin niyan, we are […]
The Philippines foreign minister has issued an expletive-laced post on social media over China’s incursions into its territories. https://www.news.com.au/world/get-the-fk-out-south-china-sea-dispute-escalates/video/1f90ae78cc4f82b2cd9c8e1c576bb354
China called for “basic manners” and cautioned against “megaphone diplomacy” after Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. lashed out at Beijing in an offensive tweet. On Monday, Locsin told China in a tweet to “get the f— out” as the two countries engaged in a war of words over the South China Sea. […]