IMOA
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Trump tension with intel community worsens threats of Russia and China
This past week, United States intelligence officials testified to the Senate during the annual hearing on the global threat assessment. While the hearing revealed a number of concerning international developments pertaining to our American national security interests, none was more important than the demonstrated increase in cooperation between Russia and China. According to the National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats, the…
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Philippines to protest China’s maritime rescue center in WPS
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will protest China’s establishment of a maritime rescue center at the Kagitingan or Fiery Cross Reef once it is verified, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said yesterday. Locsin agreed with Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio that the Philippines should contest China’s construction on the Philippine-claimed Kagitingan Reef. “I, however, prefer engaging them openly on…
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‘Agree totally’: Locsin says gov’t should contest China facility on PH-claimed reef
Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he agreed “totally” with a call to contest China’s construction efforts in the Kagitingan Reef in the West Philippine Sea. File/Malacañang Photo MANILA—Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Saturday said he agreed “totally” with a call to contest China’s construction efforts on the Kagitingan Reef in the West Philippine Sea. Locsin responded to an…
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What’s Behind the Fears of China’s Takeover of a Philippines Shipyard?
The issue has raised broader questions about the security risks of Beijing’s involvement in certain industries overseas. In early January, news broke that a local subsidiary of South Korean shipbuilding giant Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) had defaulted on loans from local banks. While the immediate focus on this was on the issues of debt and lost jobs resulting…
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China opposes US withdrawal from nuclear arms treaty with Russia, calls for negotiation
Beijing says pact is of ‘great significance … in enhancing international and regional peace’ and urges Washington and Moscow to ‘properly deal with disputes through constructive dialogue’ “As an important bilateral treaty in the fields of arms control and disarmament, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty is of great significance in easing relations between powers, in enhancing international and regional peace…
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PH to protest China’s rescue hub in West Philippine Sea once verified – DFA
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 2) — The Philippines will protest China’s reported construction of a maritime rescue center in the West Philippine Sea once it is verified, the country’s top diplomat said Saturday. In a series of tweets, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr. agreed with Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s stance that the…
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Why a leaner, meaner PLA must be sensitive to worries about China’s military rise
Much of what needs to be said of the recent report on the People’s Liberation Army downsizing has been said. As part of the “transformational changes” undertaken so far, China’s army now accounts for less than 50 per cent of all PLA troops, with almost half of the non-combatant units made redundant and the officer corps slashed by 30 per…
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What the Berlin Airlift Can Teach Us About the South China Sea
The U.S. failure to counter China’s “gray zone” tactics stems from a lack of will, not a lack of options. Although the Trump administration is taking an increasingly harder line vis-à-vis Beijing, there is little doubt that the United States has failed to counter Chinese expansion via salami-slicing in the South China Sea (SCS). Current debates imply that this failure…
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To renew the US-Philippines relationship, start with ditching the American-centric lens
The Philippines is considering a review of its 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty with the US. Secretary of National Defence Delfin Lorenzana said a review could look at ways to “maintain it, strengthen it, or scrap it”. The possibility that the Philippines might withdraw from the treaty has caused considerable consternation in US-Asia policy circles. Some analysts have made suggestions that…
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Philippines thanks China for reef rescue post | #AsiaNewsNetworks
Manila (The Philippine Daily Inquirer) – President Duterte’s spokesperson on Thursday said the Philippines “maybe should be thankful” for the “maritime rescue center” that China had launched on Philippine-claimed Kagitingan Reef in the South China Sea. The state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua announced the opening of the facility on Tuesday. Not bad? It said China also deployed another rescue ship…