I am reprinting portions of an article written by Filipina Johanna Son, a resident of Bangkok which had extensive quotes from Marites D. Vitug. It came out in the Bangkok Post on Aug. 20, 2018 which I also reprinted with permission. Based on recent pronouncements from the Palace, it would seem that President Duterte […]

  CHINA is violating international law for the unauthorized entry of its warships into Philippine waters, President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s spokesman said yesterday. “It’s a violation of the UNCLOS,” presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo told reporters yesterday, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. “I am sure the secretary of […]

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang will ask Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua to explain the presence of Chinese warships in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) without informing the Philippine government, a move that broke the Chinese envoy’s earlier commitment. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier said Zhao assured him on July 22 that the Chinese Navy will […]

Malacañang on Thursday stood by the arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s expansive claim to the South China Sea after Beijing’s envoy said their position on the matter remained the same. Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua indicated last week that Beijing will continue to not recognize the Philippines’ victory at The Hague-based Permanent Court […]

MANILA – The Philippines remains firm in its victory against China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea and would push for talks to settle the maritime dispute, a Malacañang official said Thursday. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Manila would not be swayed from raising its arbitral victory even as Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines […]

Dark clouds continue to hang over the East Sea horizon because of China’s provocative actions in offshore oil and gas operations in disputed waters, and the nearby escalating Hong Kong protests, forcing many observers to give pause about the mariner weather lore: “Red sky in the morning, sailors (citizens) take warning.” At last month’s Center […]

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese warships have been recently spotted passing through unannounced within Philippine territorial waters, the military said Wednesday. Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said two Chinese warships were spotted in Sibutu Strait by the Philippine Navy on separate occasions in July and three more in August. “It was not an […]

Revisionists claim that China is not war-like, that it never invades neighbors, like the Malays. History belies that. In 1293 Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty tried to subjugate Java, seat of the emergent Majapahit Empire, now part of Indonesia. In the past 2,000 years China has coveted surrounding riches. Kublai Khan dispatched 30,000 foot […]

  Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo said citizens were worried Rodrigo Duterte was “selling out” to Beijing and called on the president to take a stronger stand to protect the country’s sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea. Robredo, who is keeping her options open regarding the presidential race in 2022, said in an interview on […]

Even if China and the US agree on new trade terms, the view in Washington has fundamentally changed. The U.S.-China trade war that began last year continues to drag on as a long-term war of attrition. Negotiators ended their latest round of talks at the end of July with few results, and each side rang […]