SUMMARY BEIJING, China – Chinese state media accused the Philippines on Monday, December 25, of repeatedly infringing on China’s territory in the South China Sea, spreading false information and colluding with extraterritorial forces to cause trouble. The Philippines has relied on US support to continually provoke China, with such “extremely dangerous” behavior seriously harming regional […]
A U.S. naval ship conducted Monday the first known freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, a move condemned by China as “illegal.” “On December 4, the USS Giffords littoral combat ship trespassed into the waters adjacent to Ren’ai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands without the […]
In the past few weeks, the tension arising from China’s coercive tactics at the West Philippine Sea (WPS) has escalated. At the Second Thomas Shoal last November 10, 38 Chinese vessels swarmed around the adjacent waters; water cannons along with reckless maneuvers were employed to harass our vessels involved in the resupply mission. In a […]
MANILA, Philippines – A historic civilian-led convoy to the West Philippine Sea won’t be pushing through after all, following the “constant shadowing” of China vessels, and the China Coast Guard’s (CCG) use of water cannons against Philippine vessels during a military resupply mission to a shoal nearby, some 105 nautical miles off the coast of […]
MANILA, Philippines -Billionaire Teresita Sy-Coson, head of the shopping mall and banking giant SM Investments Corp., is cautiously optimistic about growth in 2024 as spiking tensions in the West Philippine Sea temper the robust economic outlook. “Left to ourselves, we are going to do well but there are geopolitical tensions and climate change,” Coson, who […]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 17) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his administration is striving to settle the West Philippine Sea dispute so that new energy exploration projects could begin before the Malampaya gas field starts to run dry. “We are still at a deadlock right now. It is in a conflict area. So, […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned the Philippines that any miscalculation in their escalating dispute in the South China Sea would bring a resolute response, and urged dialogue to address “serious difficulties” between the two neighbors. Beijing and Manila have traded sharp accusations in recent months over a succession of run-ins in the […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine defense minister rebuked China on Wednesday, December 20, for accusing his country of provoking tension and stirring trouble in the South China Sea, saying only Beijing believed what it was saying. “Truth and in fact, no country in the world, none, supports unequivocally their claim to the whole of […]
SUMMARY Claim: A video shows the United States Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) arriving in the Philippines to confront China over its recent acts of aggression in the West Philippine Sea. Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video published on December 10 has over 137,575 views and 1,400 likes as of writing. At the […]
SUMMARY After back-to-back water cannon incidents in the West Philippine Sea and calls for Manila to reject Beijing’s top envoy here, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appears to be taking a step back, saying it’s important “to be very careful that we do not overreact” when it comes to what he calls the “most complex geopolitical […]