The Philippines is beginning to pay the price for President Rodrigo Duterte’s South China Sea policy flip-flops in the form of repeated challenges to the country’s sovereignty by Beijing. China considers the South China Sea its own sea, all of it. And it seems to be prepared to do whatever it takes to assert control […]

  Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario commended President Rodrigo Duterte for taking a strong stance against perceived Chinese aggression in the disputed South China Sea amid huge presence of its vessels near islands occupied by the Philippines. “Our President is manifesting his own brand of leadership which in this instance is both appropriate […]

  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to send his troops on a “suicide mission” if Beijing doesn’t “lay off” a Manila-occupied island in the South China Sea, the media reported on Friday. Duterte’s speech at a rally in the city of Puerto Princesa in Palawan came days after the Philippine government claimed as many […]

  BANGKOK — The presence of large numbers of Chinese vessels near islands and islets occupied by the Philippines is “a concern,” a senior US defense official said on Friday. The Philippine government protested the Chinese ship movements on Thursday after its military monitored more than 200 Chinese vessels from January to March in a […]

  B-52 bombers from Guam have trained with Air Self-Defense Force and Okinawa-based U.S. fighter jets in the Western Pacific, just days after China sent a total of six bombers and other aircraft through a key entryway into the Pacific for their own military exercises. “Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force […]

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte may take the country’s fight for disputed islands in the South China Sea to the United Nations if Beijing blocks Manila’s access to Thitu Island. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte may raise before the UN General Assembly the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration if bilateral negotiations did […]

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 4) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) called as illegal the Chinese vessels swarming around Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea. In a statement on Thursday, the DFA said Pag-asa, seat of the Kalayaan municipal government under the province of Palawan, “is an integral part of the […]

MANILA, Philippines — Addressing concerns over the presence of Chinese ships in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea, President Rodrigo Duterte said the vessels are not directed at the country. He added the Philippines will not allow China to occupy the island, which is part of Palawan. The military earlier confirmed […]

SOUTH China Sea tensions surged after Beijing sent more than 200 militia vessels to the disputed waters, sparking major concerns they are about to launch an undeclared invasion. The Philippines has condemned China for swarming the waters near a Philippine-based island in the contested seas. According to news.com.au, around 275 vessels were spotted close to […]

  A military handout photo of Thitu island, also known as Pag-asa, in 2015. Photograph: PAO,AFP,GHQ/Handout Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned Beijing to back off from a disputed island in the South China Sea, warning of “suicide missions” if China touches it. Duterte, aiming to attract trade and investment from China, has mostly withheld […]