SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte broke her silence for the first time regarding continued Chinese harassment of Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). But instead of giving her thoughts about the growing tension, she said: “No comment.” The Vice President made a brief statement on Monday, April 8, in an […]

SUMMARY PALAWAN, Philippines – Hello from Manila, but I write this to you on board the BRP Cabra, fresh off a joint Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) mission to Recto Bank, where we covered Filipino fisherfolk in installing payaos, or fish aggregating devices, in Rozul Reef. The mission, […]

SUMMARY The first Philippines-United States-Japan trilateral summit will be held this week in Washington DC. Prior to that, the vice foreign ministers of the three countries met in Tokyo in March. In 2023, the heads of the national security councils and foreign ministers also held the triad meetings. Three factors encouraged such moves.  First, over […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines, the United States, Australia, and Japan successfully engaged in the first multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea on Sunday, April 7, “with no untoward incident that happened.” In a statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said all planned exercises were conducted within the country’s […]

PALAWAN, Philippines – Two China Coast Guard (CCG) ships harassed and hounded a Philippine government mission to install payaos or fish aggregating devices in Recto Bank on April 4. Ships big and small — 25 fishing vessels, a Philippine Coast Guard ship, and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel — were subject to […]

SUMMARY PALAWAN, Philippines – Filipino fisherfolk were harassed by two China Coast Guard (CCG) ships as they installed payaos or local fish aggregating devices in the vicinity of Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea on Thursday, April 4. At one point, CCG personnel appeared to position in front of their ship’s water cannon, as […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines, the United States, Japan, and Australia will hold a “maritime cooperative activity” (MCA) in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Sunday, April 7, “in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” their defense ministers said in a joint statement. “Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States uphold […]

SUMMARY Claim: The Philippines has ordered the arrest of Chinese officials responsible for the destruction of coral reefs in the West Philippine Sea. Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a YouTube video posted on March 24 by a channel notorious for posting dubious claims on the West Philippine Sea. As of writing, […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – A trilateral summit between the leaders of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines will include a discussion of recent incidents in the South China Sea, Manila’s foreign ministry said on Friday, April 5. US President Joe Biden will host next week Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand […]

SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – On Maundy Thursday, March 28, as Catholics all over the Philippines were practicing their penance and braving the unforgiving heat of the dry season, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced “a response and countermeasure package” given China’s “attacks” in the West Philippine Sea.  “We seek no conflict with any nation, more so […]