CHINA has sent a chilling warning to the US President Donald Trump not to provoke a “mishap” after US warships patrolled the contested waters of the South China Sea last week, infuriating Beijing. President Xi Jinping urged the US to stop “provocative actions” in the region, as the two superpower leaders battle for political and […]

  MANILA – Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged lawmakers on Tuesday to investigate China’s access to Philippines’ power grid, warning of a security threat and possible sabotage due to its stake in the nation’s only transmission firm. Hontiveros filed a resolution warning of Chinese-engineered power and internet outages and interference in elections if safeguards remained absent, […]

  MANILA, Philippines — A Chinese aerostat was seen floating above Mischief Reef, one of Beijing’s artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. ImageSat International posted a photo of the aerostat, which is probably used for military intelligence-gathering purposes. “The use of #aerostat allows China a continuous situational awareness in this resource-rich region,” ImageSat […]

MANILA, Philippines — In terms of fishing rights and mineral resources, China is actually the “number one beneficiary” of the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated its sweeping claims in the South China Sea, retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio pointed out Tuesday. “Whatever China lost in the South China Sea […]

  President Rodrigo Duterte and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in did not discuss the South China Sea dispute in their bilateral meeting on Monday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday. “Wala. Hindi nabanggit ‘yun,” Lorenzana told reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea (ASEAN-ROK) Commemorative Summit in Busan, […]

  (CNN) — The Philippines’ power grid is under the full control of the Chinese government and could be shut off in time of conflict, according to an internal report prepared for lawmakers seen by CNN. China’s State Grid Corporation has a 40% stake in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), a private […]

  China should ban the giant-clam trade to save the coral reefs in the South China Sea from furtherdegradation, according to a US marine biologist. Kent Carpenter from Old Dominion University in Virginia testified in favour of the Philippines in its territorial disputes with China, saying Beijing’s activity has devastated the marine environment. The academic […]

  A seminar in Manila last Friday (Nov 22) heard how reclamation work carried out by China in the South China Sea while the Philippines sat through a lengthy and costly arbitration hearing has caused extensive damage that extends to global ecosystems. Of this 104 square kilometers (40 sq.miles) was damaged by China’s giant clam […]

  Key point: The Philippines currently has a limited maritime patrol capability. In a move that won’t please China, the Philippines is planning to acquire U.S. P-3 long-range maritime patrol planes. “It will be good if we acquire even one P-3 Orion,” said Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. “Provided it has all its […]