MANILA, Philippines —Commenting on the presence of Chinese ships near a Philippine-occupied feature in the West Philippine Sea, pro-Duterte blogger Sass Rogando Sasot argued in a series of social media posts on Tuesday that waters around Pag-asa island in the Spratlys “remain international waters.” “As long as the sovereignty issue over the Spratlys hasn’t […]

  Protesters in Manila descended on the Chinese embassy in Manila to oppose what they describe as Beijing’s growing influence in the country. The protest followed the sighting of hundreds of Chinese vessels sailing close to Thitu Island, an area in the South China Sea claimed by Manila. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told China to […]

  Vietnam has been stealthily militarising disputed islets, reefs and sandbanks, adding to tensions in the strategically important South China Sea. Satellite photographs show that it is not only China that has been at work. While the focus of international criticism has been directed against China, its regional rival, Vietnam, is also taking part in […]

The US sent a fighter-jet-carrying warship to join drills near the disputed Scarborough Shoal for the first time, sending a pointed message to China as tensions simmer over territorial claims in the region. The USS Wasp — an amphibious assault ship outfitted last year with F-35B jets — joined the annual Exercise Balikatan with the […]

BY ANTONIO CONTRERAS “THE China Syndrome” is a 1979 movie which starred Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas. The title refers to a fictional nuclear plant meltdown, where radioactive materials melted through their compartments deep into the earth hitting the groundwater and seriously contaminating the surrounding area, with intensity that was exaggerated to have […]

MANILA, Philippines — The West Philippine Sea is “ours” and China “took it,” Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Wednesday. “The stand is that it is ours. And they took it. World’s highest court ruled that. Period,” Locsin tweeted in response to a Twitter user who asked for the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) […]

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged Filipinos to remain steadfast in upholding the country’s sovereignty, as about 1,000 protesters descended on the Chinese Embassy in Manila to oppose the Asian superpower’s presence in the disputed South China Sea. 📷MEMORIALIZING A MEMORY. Anti-China protesters carrying the tricolors and placards march towards the Chinese Embassy grounds through […]

  One of the more successful regional relationships that China has pursued in the past few years is with the Philippines. Before Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in May 2016, he had for several months been the front runner in the contest and concerns had been expressed among Filipinos that Duterte’s established style – […]

  There may be a greater risk of incidents between the United States and Chinese navies in the South China Sea because the US military has been given more decision-making authority, a Chinese think tank warned on Tuesday. In a report, the think tank said the White House National Security Council had become less involved […]

The US has sailed its USS Wasp amphibious assault vessel (pictured) near a strategic reef claimed by the Philippines but occupied by China around 230km from the Philippine coast. Filipino fishing crews reported seeing the large ship near Scarborough Shoal and said planes were landing and taking off from the vessel. The US military refused […]