News
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Countries criticize China after latest water cannon use in Bajo de Masinloc
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Envoys of different foreign countries, including treaty-ally the United States, criticized China for “disrupting” a Philippine mission to Bajo de Masinloc, a feature in the West Philippine Sea just over 120 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales on Tuesday, April 30. The European Union’s top envoy in Manila criticized Beijing’s […]
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PCG reports damage after China uses water cannons in Bajo de Masinloc
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The China Coast Guard on Tuesday, April 30, used water cannons against two Philippine vessels in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), a feature some 100 nautical miles off the coast off the coast Zambales. In a statement to media, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay […]
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View from Manila: Propaganda masters? China drags Teodoro, Año in latest Ayungin narrative
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The latest from China in its continuing narrative on the Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) is that no less than Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año had entered into an “internal understanding” and a “new model” with Beijing to keep the peace in the shoal. But […]
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[Vantage Point] Xi’s flotilla blocks energy development in South China Sea
SUMMARY On May 15, a convoy of about 100 civilian fishing boats will sail to Scarborough Shoal from Zambales to install buoys, a symbolic assertion that the shoal is ours. Two mother boats will be in the frontline, with the civilian mission aiming to invite foreign observers while delivering essential supplies for the fishermen operating […]
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Philippines denies deal with China over disputed South China Sea shoal
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines on Saturday, April 27, denied a Chinese claim that the two countries had reached an agreement over an escalating maritime dispute in the South China Sea, calling the claim propaganda. A spokesperson at China’s embassy in Manila said on April 18 that the two had agreed early this year […]
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Philippines denies deal with China over disputed South China Sea shoal
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines on Saturday, April 27, denied a Chinese claim that the two countries had reached an agreement over an escalating maritime dispute in the South China Sea, calling the claim propaganda. A spokesperson at China’s embassy in Manila said on April 18 that the two had agreed early this year […]
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India-made BrahMos missiles are finally in the Philippines
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Over two months after the Philippines’ National Security Council promised the military’s entry into the supersonic age, all batteries of the BrahMos missile system have arrived in the Philippines, according to Indian media. Delhi-based Hindustan Times, citing sources, said the first batch of the missile system arrived on April 18 and […]
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Malacañang flags deepfake audio of Marcos ordering military attack
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Tuesday, April 23, warned against a “audio deepfake” that made it appear that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the military “to act against a particular foreign country.” “It has come to the attention of the Presidential Communications Office that there is video content posted on […]
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PH expects China to ‘behave properly’ during Balikatan in West Philippine Sea
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Navy said on Tuesday, April 23, that it expected Chinese vessels to “behave properly” during a joint sail in the West Philippine Sea in late April for Exercise Balikatan 2024. The navies of the Philippines, the US, and France, will venture into the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines […]
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PH expects China to ‘behave properly’ during Balikatan in West Philippine Sea
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Navy said on Tuesday, April 23, that it expected Chinese vessels to “behave properly” during a joint sail in the West Philippine Sea in late April for Exercise Balikatan 2024. The navies of the Philippines, the US, and France, will venture into the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines […]
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View from Manila: West Philippine Sea part of ‘most ambitious, complicated’ Balikatan war games
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The navies of the Philippines, United States, and France will sail together in the West Philippine Sea by end-April, as part of the 2024 Exercise Balikatan. It’s just one of many firsts for what US Exercise Director Lieutenant General William Jurney described on Monday, April 22, as the “most effective, most […]
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The trilateral boost and Recto Bank
SUMMARY The Philippines has good friends and will not go it alone especially at a time of escalating tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), triggered by China’s reckless and aggressive behavior. That was the resounding message of the first-ever meeting of the heads of states of the US, Japan, and the Philippines, a milestone in the 10-month […]