SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Microsoft’s April 2024 Threat Intelligence Report found that “China-based threat actors” are continuing to target entities, mostly from the government and telecommunications sectors from countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), amid tensions in the region and the West Philippine Sea. Microsoft found that these cyber actors affiliated with […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his administration has no idea about a supposed gentleman’s agreement between the administration of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte and China on the West Philippine Sea conflict, but asserted that the thought of it was appalling. “I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised, through […]
SUMMARY In the aftermath of the recent sea skirmish at Ayungin Shoal, both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro issued strongly worded statements during the Holy Week. This was capped by a policy pronouncement from the office of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Easter Sunday morning. President Marcos issued instructions based on […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Protesters in Manila trampled on an effigy of Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, April 9, as they condemned China’s “aggression” against the Philippines in the South China Sea. The protesters marched towards the Chinese consulate in Manila, chanting “China leave!” while others called out China’s “aggression” against Filipino people in […]
SUMMARY Claim: The Philippines has formed its version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) amid ongoing Chinese hostility in the West Philippine Sea. Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a YouTube video posted on April 6, which has 66,529 views, 1,900 likes, and 365 comments as of writing. The video’s title […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte broke her silence for the first time regarding continued Chinese harassment of Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). But instead of giving her thoughts about the growing tension, she said: “No comment.” The Vice President made a brief statement on Monday, April 8, in an […]
SUMMARY PALAWAN, Philippines – Hello from Manila, but I write this to you on board the BRP Cabra, fresh off a joint Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) mission to Recto Bank, where we covered Filipino fisherfolk in installing payaos, or fish aggregating devices, in Rozul Reef. The mission, […]
SUMMARY The first Philippines-United States-Japan trilateral summit will be held this week in Washington DC. Prior to that, the vice foreign ministers of the three countries met in Tokyo in March. In 2023, the heads of the national security councils and foreign ministers also held the triad meetings. Three factors encouraged such moves. First, over […]
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines, the United States, Australia, and Japan successfully engaged in the first multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea on Sunday, April 7, “with no untoward incident that happened.” In a statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said all planned exercises were conducted within the country’s […]
PALAWAN, Philippines – Two China Coast Guard (CCG) ships harassed and hounded a Philippine government mission to install payaos or fish aggregating devices in Recto Bank on April 4. Ships big and small — 25 fishing vessels, a Philippine Coast Guard ship, and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel — were subject to […]