While much of the world was busy watching Russia swallow Crimea, few realised that an also dangerous territorial tit-for-tat had begun to unfold earlier this month more in the South China Sea. At Second Thomas Shoal, a handful of Philippine marines have long been stationed and re-provisioned on the rusting deck of the BRP Sierra Madre, […]
MANILA, Apr 2 2014 (IPS) – After a year of futile diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the South China Sea disputes, the Philippines has risked permanent estrangement with China by pressing ahead with an unprecedented arbitration case before a United Nations court at The Hague, while ironing out a new security pact with the U.S. […]
MANILA, Philippines – China should join the Philippines’ peaceful and diplomatic approach to settling the West Philippine Sea dispute rather than make adverse statements or accuse Manila of damaging relations with Beijing. In a press briefing, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Philippines is entitled to pursue whatever it feels is […]
MANILA, Philippines – Preserving the decrepit BRP Sierra Madre and keeping it habitable for a handful of soldiers guarding the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal may be costly, but the stake – the country’s sovereignty – is priceless. This is according to the Marines assigned to the remote outpost, which of late had been a target […]
MANILA, Philippines – China has called on the United States to stop making “irresponsible remarks” supporting Manila’s position on the West Philippine Sea issue and denouncing Chinese vessels’ blockade of Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. “We urge the US to respect facts, stop making irresponsible remarks and cease to encourage the provocative and risky actions of […]
With tension running high between the Philippines and China because of their maritime dispute, one wrong move could see Beijing grabbing all the disputed islands, say regional experts. “The danger really is a short, sharp conflict due to miscalculation,” said Chito Santa Romana, former ABC News Beijing bureau chief who was once shortlisted to become […]
MANILA, Philippines — Chinese Embassy in Manila spokesperson Zhang Hua on Thursday released a position paper on the sea disputes with the Philippines. The full text of the document is copied below: On March 30, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs stated that it submitted its Memorial to the Arbitral Tribunal that is hearing the […]
In a significant policy shift, Indonesian officials on March 12 announced that China’s nine-dash line map outlining its claims in the South China Sea overlaps with Indonesia’s Riau province, which includes the Natuna Island chain. For over two decades, Indonesia has positioned itself as an independent mediator in the South China Sea disputes between its […]
MANILA, Philippines – China remains convinced that a bilateral negotiation, and not international arbitration, is the best way to settle its territorial dispute with a “good neighbor” and long-standing “friend” like the Philippines. “A resort to arbitration does not meet people’s expectations for friendship in both China and the Philippines,” said Zhang Hua, spokesperson of […]
HONG KONG: Last week German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping at a dinner where they exchanged gifts. Merkel presented to Xi a 1735 map of China made by prolific French cartographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville and printed by a German publishing house. According to an antique-maps website, d’Anville’s map was based on […]