The recent passage of Chinese warships through the Sulu Sea generated an outburst of criticism by Philippine officials and pundits. Since February 2019, at least 14 Chinese warships including its aircraft carrier have passed through Philippines’ territorial and archipelagic waters in the Sulu Sea using the Balabac Strait -Sibutu Passage route in a manner […]

Whether Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is scheduled to visit China from Wednesday to Sunday, will discuss the South China Sea issue with Beijing has caused quite a stir among some Western and Philippine media outlets. The interaction between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea issue in 2019 has seen interference by […]

  MANILA – The Philippines may have lost credibility and valuable support for its arbitration win against China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea after the government decided to shelve the victory for the past 3 years, an analyst said Tuesday. A United Nations-backed court in 2016 junked Beijing’s “historic rights” to nearly 90 […]

Zhao Jianhua, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines says they will not accept Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on July 2016 or Arbitral ruling on South China Sea in a statement on Sunday, August 25. Zhao told, “We expressed that we will not accept it. We will not recognize that. That remains. Our position has not […]

  Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio’s keynote speech at the Democracy and Disinformation conference in Davao last Friday presented the case against what he called “the fake news of the century,” the “disinformation of the millennium.” He was referring to China’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea, based on fraudulent, fabricated history. “This […]

  Beijing may have ordered its navy not to stray into Philippine waters after the recent string of sightings of Chinese warships passing unannounced through the Sibutu Strait triggered a series of protests from Manila, a ranking military official said Sunday. “I think there’s been guidance from the national leadership of China to their navy […]

  MANILA- A lawmaker urged the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte Monday to view National Heroes’ Day as a reminder to protect Philippine sovereignty. Magdalo party-list Rep. Manuel Cabochan III said present-day Filipinos owe it to heroes of the past to “protect the peace and sovereignty of our nation which they have fought for.” “At […]

  MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will send one of its warships to join the first-ever maritime exercise between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the United States in the Gulf of Thailand early September, as Washington and Beijing jostle for influence in the region. The US has traditionally been the dominant naval […]

  The stamping by Philippine consulates in China of a design depicting the farthest extent of Philippine territory on top of China’s ‘’nine-dash-line’’ stamp on the passports of its citizens was just plain ‘’ingenious.’’ Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, thus, commended Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin for generating this idea to impress […]

  MANILA, Philippines – Much hype has been built around Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s declared plan to “raise” the Hague ruling during his August 29 bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But even if he does bring up the landmark 2016 ruling, don’t expect much from China, especially if Duterte stops at mentioning the […]