MANILA, Philippines — Armed Forces chief Gen Emmanuel Bautista said 2 to 5 Chinese ships are circling the Ayungin (Second Thomas Shoal) and Panatag (Scarborough) shoals at any given time and some have gone as close as 2 nautical miles or about 4 kilometers to Ayungin. These are combinations of Chinese Maritime Surveillance (CMS) ships, […]
I have written repeatedly about the need to resolve the West Philippines Sea dispute with China through litigation. At the time when the Department of Foreign Affairs was still debating internally on whether to submit the issue to arbitration or resolve it through diplomacy, I was already arguing that arbitration was the only option given […]
After fortifying its naval outposts in the South China Sea, China has established a maritime surveillance patrol route that covers practically all disputed reefs, shoals and islets in the sea, even those within 85 nautical miles of the Philippines’ westernmost island province of Palawan, a classified military report seen Monday by Kyodo News says. The […]
Sino-Japanese relations do not look promising at the moment. Obviously, the Diaoyu-Senkaku dispute is not the only factor in play, but it does focus nationalist passions on both sides. Yet both countries are capable of wiser conduct if their leaders can manage to rise above the dangerous temptations to beat military drums. As China and […]
The rusty BRP Sierra Madre has been an effective deterrence against further Chinese incursion into Philippine territorial claims. FILE PHOTO BY ABIGAIL KWOK (Editor’s note: Jose Antonio A. Custodio is a security and defense consultant and was a technical adviser for a US defense company working for the US Pacific Command. He also specializes in […]
Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. is pushing China to negotiate quickly with Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, an area that’s a “major, major, major highway of commerce.” China agreed during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations-hosted forum in Brunei late last month to meet with […]
Fish the real hazard in South China Seas By Lucio Blanco Pitlo III The hydrocarbon potential of the South China Sea (SCS) has become a source of tension between the littoral states of the region and, to a certain extent, a number of outside actors. However, the SCS’s significance to global oil and gas supplies […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Western Command vowed that it will not abandon Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Reef) in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) even as China maintained its presence there. “As far as the Wescom is concerned we are continuously monitoring our good friends in that area with what is available with my […]
The hydrocarbon potential of the South China Sea (SCS) has become a source of tension between the littoral states of the region and, to a certain extent, a number of outside actors. However, the SCS’s significance to global oil and gas supplies is over-hyped. Instead, it is the region’s fisheries rather than fossil fuels that […]
Two Chinese vessels have been spotted again in the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal off northern Philippines, days after it was reported that the ships have left the area, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. “Yesterday [Sunday], we received a report from the Philippine Navy confirming that Chinese ships are back in Bajo de Masinloc,” […]