My father, the late Max Soliven once wrote about China. He said: The People’s Republic of China, once a pariah and “doomed” to failure in the world’s eyes after the June 1989 Tienanmen Square “massacre,” is now the Travel Destination of the Year. In ancient times, the saying went that “all roads lead to Rome.” […]

  The Philippines is making it easier for the public to visit a small island in the disputed South China Sea. A boat ramp is being built on Thitu Island, which is controlled by the Philippines. The ramp is designed to help small boats be brought to shore. It is expected to be finished this […]

  MANILA, Philippines – The Russian Navy sees terrorism and piracy as the “main threats” in the Asia-Pacific region, while keeping mum on the expansive claims of China in the South China Sea. “If we take a look at the main threats, we think it’s international piracy, and of course, international terrorist threat,” said mission […]

Russian warships arrive in the Philippines amid rising South China Sea tensions (CNN)Two Russian destroyers and a tanker have docked in the Philippines for a “goodwill visit” amid escalating tensions in the disputed South China Sea. The destroyers Admiral Tributs and Vinogradov — classified as “large, anti-submarine ships” — docked in Manila early Monday, along […]

The Philippines is beginning to pay the price for President Rodrigo Duterte’s South China Sea policy flip-flops in the form of repeated challenges to the country’s sovereignty by Beijing. China considers the South China Sea its own sea, all of it. And it seems to be prepared to do whatever it takes to assert control […]

  Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario commended President Rodrigo Duterte for taking a strong stance against perceived Chinese aggression in the disputed South China Sea amid huge presence of its vessels near islands occupied by the Philippines. “Our President is manifesting his own brand of leadership which in this instance is both appropriate […]

  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to send his troops on a “suicide mission” if Beijing doesn’t “lay off” a Manila-occupied island in the South China Sea, the media reported on Friday. Duterte’s speech at a rally in the city of Puerto Princesa in Palawan came days after the Philippine government claimed as many […]

  BANGKOK — The presence of large numbers of Chinese vessels near islands and islets occupied by the Philippines is “a concern,” a senior US defense official said on Friday. The Philippine government protested the Chinese ship movements on Thursday after its military monitored more than 200 Chinese vessels from January to March in a […]

  B-52 bombers from Guam have trained with Air Self-Defense Force and Okinawa-based U.S. fighter jets in the Western Pacific, just days after China sent a total of six bombers and other aircraft through a key entryway into the Pacific for their own military exercises. “Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force […]