China has significantly moderated its attitude toward its neighbors in Southeast Asia, without withdrawing any of its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in Brunei last week for an annual meeting with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said that the new Chinese leadership under President Xi […]
MANILA – The five-member United Nations tribunal that will hear the arbitration case the Philippines sought over its territorial dispute with China is now meeting in Hamburg, where it will decide whether it has jurisdiction over the case, University of the Philippines law professor Atty. Harry Roque said. Roque, of UP’s Institute of International Legal […]
MANILA, Philippines – An official of the Department of National Defense (DND) confirmed Monday that Chinese ships have returned to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal a few days after they left the area off Zambales in the West Philippine Sea. Security sources had earlier said that two Chinese maritime surveillance (CMS) vessels were sighted near Panatag Shoal […]
China has been under withering political and legal attack for allegedly violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Although at the recent meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Brunei, Beijing declared its willingness to discuss a code of conduct for the South China Sea, there has been no change […]
TOKYO — China’s “coercive” behaviour in waters around islands at the centre of a bitter dispute with Japan is dangerous and could trigger an incident, Tokyo said in a new defence paper Tuesday. At a cabinet meeting, hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ministers adopted the white paper, the first annual report on Japan’s […]
Two Chinese vessels have been spotted again in the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal off northern Philippines, days after it was reported that the ships have left the area, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. “Yesterday [Sunday], we received a report from the Philippine Navy confirming that Chinese ships are back in Bajo de Masinloc,” […]
Southeast Asia has seen its fair share of happenings in recent months, ranging from the maritime incidents in the South China Sea to the recurring haze problems affecting some ASEAN members. Moreover, the much vaunted ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is supposed to mold ASEAN into a single market and production base, is scheduled to […]
TWO WEEKS ago, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused ASEAN of an anti-Beijing conspiracy over disputed South China Sea (SCS) territory at the start of the foreign ministers meeting in Brunei, and called the Philippines a provocateur for stirring tensions in the SCS. That imperious salvo triggered a sharp response from DFA Secretary Albert del […]
China’s agreement to discuss a code of conduct with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations aimed at avoiding tension and conflict in the South China Sea is a significant change of tone in relations with the 10-member group that reflects its growing role as a regional and global power. A framework for co-operation agreed between […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario refused to give importance to a Chinese general’s accusations against the Philippines, an official said Friday. DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said in a press conference that he consulted Del Rosario about a remark by People’s Liberation Army Major General Luo Yuan who […]