MANILA, Philippines – Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr on Wednesday, October 2, ordered the filing of a diplomatic protest against China over the presence of its vessels near Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea. “DFA Philippines fire off another diplomatic protest. Now,” Locsin tweeted past midnight on Tuesday. Locsin made […]

  CHINA President Xi Jinping has unveiled a colossal weapons arsenal as Beijing celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, but he also sent a chilling warning to the US as a trade war orchestrated by US President Donald Trump continues and disputes over the South China Sea rumble […]

  China has a new offshore oil exploration platform called the Haiyang Shiyou 982 sitting in the South China Sea that is raising concerns about another confrontation with Vietnam. In 2012, China put the new rig’s smaller predecessor, the Haiyang Shiyou 981, into operation but moved it in 2014 when Vietnam claimed it violated its […]

  When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing on August 29, expectations were high that progress would be made on the South China Sea territorial dispute. After all, under mounting domestic pressure, Duterte had promised—for the first time—that he would bring up the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling during his […]

  CHINA flexed its military might on Tuesday, unveiling a series of highly sophisticated and deadly weapons on the streets of Beijing. A reported 15,000 soldiers marched while The Ministry of National Defence claimed that 59 different elements of the armed forces would be present, on top of the 580 pieces of military equipment rolling […]

  As Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte passes the midway point of his six-year term, questions are rising fast and furious about whether his government will deliver the Chinese aid and investment-led economic boom it has promised. While not a single China-backed infrastructure project has broken ground under Duterte, the Philippines’ traditional and more discreet partner […]

  President Duterte still trusts China despite the lingering maritime conflict in the South China Sea, Malacañang said Monday. “The President still trusts them,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo during a Palace press briefing. Panelo, however, said they would ask the Department of National Defense (DND) to verify the reported increased presence of Chinese ships near […]

  THE past 70 years witnessed the development of the Chinese nation from standing up to becoming richer and stronger. China has grown into the world’s second largest economy, the largest manufacturing country, the largest trader of goods and its aggregate economic output has exceeded RMB 90 trillion (approximately $13.6 trillion). China’s per capita GDP […]

CHINA is struggling to grab a hold of the situation in Hong Kong as protests overshadow the 70th China Anniversary celebrations on Tuesday in Beijing, and the unrest could have a negative effect on Xi Jinping’s military ambitions. The People’s Liberation Army of China is set to show off 15,000 soldiers tomorrow in the country’s […]

  THE PHILIPPINE military has reported the unannounced entry of Chinese vessels near Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea to the Foreign Affairs department for appropriate diplomatic action, its newly appointed chief said yesterday. “The mere presence there if there is no request for passage prior to that will have to be reported,” […]