MANILA, Philippines – Beijing’s intentions in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea are perplexing, but would not distract the Philippines from its resolve to defend its territory through peaceful means, President Aquino said in an interview with The New York Times last Tuesday. In the interview, Aquino also said he would like the […]
During President Ferdinand Marcos’ State Visit to China in 1975 to establish diplomatic relations, among China’s leaders he met was First Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping. During this meeting, Marcos raised the issue of the Spratlys but Deng said that this issue should be left to future generations to discuss. China lays claim to all of the […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has expressed concern over recent developments in the South China Sea, after China imposed a controversial new fisheries law requiring all foreign vessels to obtain approval from Chinese authorities before engaging in fishing or surveying activities. China earlier imposed an Air Defense Identification Zone over […]
On November 29, 2013, six days after China’s Ministry of National Defense announced the establishment of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea, Hainan province quietly issued new regulations on fishing in the South China Sea. These regulations were announced on December 3 and came into force on January 1, 2014. […]
CHINA’S unilateral declaration of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea has ruffled the feathers of Japan, the United States, South Korea and Australia. They have all criticised or registered their displeasure at the move, which is widely viewed as stoking the embers of an unsettled East Asia. The way in […]
As tensions in portions of the South China Sea, referred to by Manila as West Philippine Sea, once again fall into focus after Beijing’s declaration of an air zone, Philippine Ambassador Erlinda Basilio to China said the Philippines’ move to seek arbitration on its territorial dispute with China was not an “unfriendly act.” In an […]
(Publication Version) Speech delivered before the Philippine Bar Association 29 August 2013 Justice Antonio T. Carpio In the 17th century, England, Spain and Portugal, the naval superpowers of the day, claimed ownership of the oceans and seas they discovered, and enforced their claims through the barrel of the naval cannon. In 1609, Hugo Grotius, the […]
In 1980, Indonesia and Malaysia were prepared to sell off both Thailand’s interest as a front line state and the related concerns of Singapore and the Philippines. Indonesia and Malaysia’s interests were more abstract. Their priority was to assure the long-term preservation and expansion of ASEAN and to keep outside powers from interfering. Addressing their […]
(Reuters) – The Philippines’ legal challenge against China’s claims in the South China Sea is gathering pace, emerging as a “proxy battle” over Beijing’s territorial reach. Manila has assembled a crack international legal team to fight its unprecedented arbitration case under the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea – ignoring growing pressure […]
A series of high-level ASEAN meetings culminated in Suzhou, China on September 15, when senior officials from the forum for the first time met to formally discuss the possibility of a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting ended positively, with an agreement […]