MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will send one of its warships to join the first-ever maritime exercise between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the United States in the Gulf of Thailand early September, as Washington and Beijing jostle for influence in the region. The US has traditionally been the dominant naval […]
The stamping by Philippine consulates in China of a design depicting the farthest extent of Philippine territory on top of China’s ‘’nine-dash-line’’ stamp on the passports of its citizens was just plain ‘’ingenious.’’ Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, thus, commended Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin for generating this idea to impress […]
MANILA, Philippines – Much hype has been built around Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s declared plan to “raise” the Hague ruling during his August 29 bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But even if he does bring up the landmark 2016 ruling, don’t expect much from China, especially if Duterte stops at mentioning the […]
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte remains undaunted over China’s remarks that it would not recognize the July 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims over the disputed South China Sea, his spokesman said Monday. Duterte is set to fly to Beijing on Wednesday for a bilateral […]
A new public opinion study has found that Philippine trust in China has dropped over the past year. The study, carried out by Manila-based Social Weather Stations, found that 51 percent of people questioned felt “little trust” in China. Just 27 percent said they placed “much trust” in China. The drop in trust levels […]
Australia on Friday urged nations in Asia to stand up for their “independence and sovereignty,” following renewed concerns aired by allies Vietnam and the United States over China’s actions in the disputed South China Sea. The comments by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who was in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a three-day visit, came after […]
Filipinos would do well to support and pray for President Duterte in his dialogue next week with China President Xi Jinping to firm up his resolve to invoke the 2016 arbitral ruling favoring the Philippines versus China based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The time has come for […]
We support the decision to include the disputed territories issue in the agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte in his visit to China later this month. As of press time, Mr. Duterte is expected to bring up this sensitive topic with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. That said, we would be disappointed if that is […]
Former ISAFP chief Gen. Victor Corpus is consistent in the view that what is being contested in the simmering tension between the Philippines and China is the Manila Trench. According to Vic, the trench is ideal for movements of US nuclear submarines in the event of outbreak of hostilities between the United States and […]
With another act of maritime defiance against one of its South China Sea neighbors, the Chinese research vessel “Zhang Jian” has again entered the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Friday, Aug. 23. This latest intrusion comes just days after the Philippine government issued a warning that foreign ships will be met with an […]