IMOA
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Amid South China Sea rows, PHL prods US on defense treaty review
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, left, and US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis meet at the Pentagon, September 18, 2018. THE Department of National Defense (DND) wants a review of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States, saying that it is high time both sides looked into its provisions given the dispute in the South China Sea. In moving for…
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President Trump has the US in retreat. And China and Russia are racing to replace it
In a disturbing trend, America’s greatest foes are moving to take power. It’s a global game of influence, intimidation and exploitation. Trump’s Terrible Year President Trump is in retreat. And Russia and China are seizing the opportunity. The US Syria pullout is part of a global shift in power — with Putin building a base in the Carribean and Xi…
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Indonesia Debuts South China Sea Military Base, Challenging China
The government of Indonesia inaugurated a military base in the Natuna Islands on Tuesday, in the South China Sea and near disputed territory that China has increasingly colonized using the manufacture of artificial islands and illegal coast guard patrols. The Natuna Islands are part of Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone and not claimed by China. China does claim the waters off…
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WAR OF WORDS US and China both refuse to back down over South China Sea row that experts fear could trigger World War 3
The stage is set for a major conflict igniting in the hotly disputed maritime region which policy makers and observers fear may end up spiralling out of control WAR between the US and Chinese forces in the South China Sea could break out in 2019, leading experts fear. Concerns are mounting the two superpowers could become embroiled in a terrifying…
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Philippine lawmaker wants holiday to honour South China Sea ruling in favour of Manila
A Philippine lawmaker has proposed a bill to honour an international court’s ruling in favour of Manila in its maritime dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea, saying the move would boost national pride. Gary C. Alejano, of the Magdalo Party-List, wants a working holiday to commemorate a verdict in The Hague on July 16, 2016, that concluded that…
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Marie Celeste of the East China Sea? Empty Malaysian-owned ferry found drifting
At first it seemed a mystery to rank alongside that of the Marie Celeste or other ghost ships. Earlier this month a Chinese fishing crew came across a completely deserted ferry floating in the East China Sea. Wang Weiping, the skipper of the fishing boat that found the liner early on Thursday 300 nautical miles (around 555km) from land, said…
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Troubled waters: How Beijing won’t back down over the South China Sea
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – 2018/12/16: A protester seen holding a burning flare during the protest against the new labour law approved by the right wing conservative government lead by Viktor Orban. A US Navy ship had an “unsafe” interaction with a Chinese warship September 30 while the US vessel was conducting a freedom of navigation operation near the disputed Spratly Islands…
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Xi’s Defiant End to 2018 Signals More U.S.-China Tension Ahead
Anyone betting that Chinese President Xi Jinping would back down quickly in a trade war with Donald Trump better think again. Xi told a Beijing crowd including some of China’s most influential political, military and business figures on Tuesday that the country’s growing wealth and power had validated the Communist Party’s — and thus his own — leadership. “No one…
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Commentary: America, China and the art of confrontation
Beijing appeasing Donald Trump or waiting him out will no longer work, says Financial Times’ Gideon Rachman LONDON: Tell me how this ends? was the despairing question attributed to American generals as they contemplated the quagmires in Vietnam and Iraq. The same question needs to be asked by US policymakers now, as they consider the escalating tensions between America and…
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How US envoy put PH-US relations back on track
MANILA – The US envoy to the Philippines has admitted that the early months of the Duterte administration brought challenges to the relationship between Washington and Manila. US Ambassador Sung Kim said he put a lot of effort in building a constructive relationship with President Rodrigo Duterte. Kim and the President met in Malacañang last September, following the chief executive’s…