SUMMARY Claim: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared war against China. Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim has 7,700 views, 551 likes, and 94 comments. The YouTube page that uploaded the video, which has 216,000 subscribers, is notorious for spreading disinformation. Text on the video’s thumbnail implies that Marcos has declared war: […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Navy’s spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea said on Friday, May 24, there was no reason to investigate a Naval commander embroiled in controversy over a wiretapped conversation with the defense attache of Chinese embassy in Manila. Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, newly-appointed Naval Inspector General and the Navy’s concurrent […]
SUMMARY China can claim the existence of bilateral agreements as much as it wants but without proof and without consent from the Philippines, that’s all they are – claims. “[China] says there are agreements. But where? Show us. I don’t recall ever having discussed proposals to have such agreements,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – As a Senate panel probed the wiretapping of a call between a Philippine naval commander and a Chinese diplomat, on Wednesday, May 22, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo described the current state of bilateral relations between Manila and Beijing as “a bit choppy.” “I would say they’re a bit choppy. There are […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos broke his silence on Wednesday, May 22, and denied forging an agreement with China on a “new model” to handle West Philippine Sea tensions as allegedly recorded in a wiretapped call. “I did not forge any agreement at the level and magnitude that will bind our two […]
SUMMARY From a promise to ride a jetski to the West Philippine Sea that turned into policies that bended to Beijing’s will, then a vow to be a “friend to all” that turned into a declaration that “Filipinos do not yield,” the Philippines has seen dramatic shifts in its policy and approach to handling our […]
SUMMARY It is easy to get lost in the fog of the word war between the Philippines and China. What is clear is this: China wants to take what isn’t theirs, primarily Ayungin Shoal. It’s their low-hanging fruit, the feature that they can occupy once the rusty and decaying BRP Sierra Madre collapses. That’s why the Chinese […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – A joint House panel has formally sought the explanation of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet officials for failing to attend a crucial hearing on West Philippine Sea issues. The House committee on national defense and security and the committee on West Philippine Sea slapped the show cause order against former defense […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ security sector on Monday, May 20, called on Filipino fisherfolk not to be afraid of the latest regulation of the China Coast Guard (CCG) on “Chinese waters.” The new directive would not have an effect because it has no legal basis, they said in a press conference. “Continue fishing […]
SUMMARY Baguio, the summer capital blessed with more pleasant weather than the rest of our boiling cities, felt some sting of heat last Saturday, May 18, from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The President, who’s also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, addressed 278 cadets at their graduation from the Philippine Military Academy […]