MANILA, Philippines – Recent developments in the West Philippine Sea showed that China’s expansive claim to the area has remained unchanged despite friendlier ties with the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duerte. On Thursday, August 15, Rappler editor-at-large Marites Vitug talks to Bill Hayton of Chatham House – or the Royal Institute of International Affairs […]

  MANILA – Eighteen more fishermen have opted to withdraw a writ of kalikasan petition before the Supreme Court, based on a filing by their counsel the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Wednesday. In its submission to the high court, the IBP said its lawyers were able to talk to 2 more fisherfolk […]

President Duterte’s oft-repeated assertion that we risk war if we push back China’s aggressive encroachments on our waters is a phantom fear. Given China’s deep-seated sense of self-identity as Zhong Guo — the center of the world — and its current thrusting on the world’s stage as a superpower, it is not likely that it […]

  Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) established the concept of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), an area in the sea measuring 200 miles (370 kilometers) from a country’s coast. It established special rights on the exploration and use of marine resources, such as energy from any petroleum deposits in the land under the […]

THE PENTAGON – Chinese officials are denying two U.S. warships port visits to Hong Kong amidst ongoing protests against the government in Beijing. USS Green Bay (LPD-20) and USS Lake Erie (CG-70) were denied requests to visit Hong Kong, U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Nate Christensen told USNI News on Tuesday. “The U.S. Navy has […]

  INTERNATIONAL – Cambodia and China have struck an agreement for the increase of purchases within the arms trade. China has agreed to invest $290 million to expand its military presence in Cambodia. The MOU signed, will give China access to the Cambodian naval base, and the rights to the infrastructure investment of a base […]

  PHILIPPINES officials have gone into crisis over fears their own President is allowing Beijing to take over their own territory as the row over the South China Sea continues. Under President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines has shifted to a more pro-China stance. Mr Duterte recently announced that there was nothing the country could do […]

CHINA has re-entered disputed waters in the South China Sea that have been previously claimed by Vietnam as tensions soar between the two Asian nations. A survey vessel from Beijing has been spotted gliding through parts of the disputed waters causing further outrage from Vietnam and inflamed aggression. Vietnam said the ship left the area […]

  Presence last month of Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey ship in waters around Spratly Islands also drew protest from Hanoi. A Chinese survey vessel has re-entered disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to ship tracking analysis, after a tense month-long standoff in the same area that inflamed tensions between Vietnam and China. Vietnam […]

Bach Long Vi Island and its secret transfer from China to Vietnam. In 1957, as the Vietnam War escalated, the most strategic island in the Gulf of Tonkin was secretly transferred from China to Vietnam. This island, called Bach Long Vi (BLV), has long been regarded as essential not only for security and defense, but […]