News
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PH won’t send Navy to Scarborough shoal
MANILA – The water cannon incident at Scarborough Shoal won’t merit any military response since the goal of the Philippines is to resolve the sea dispute in a peaceful manner, an official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said. In a press conference, AFP Spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said: “We have to […]
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Philippines protests China ‘water cannon’ attack on fishermen
Manila: The Philippines lodged a strong protest against China on Tuesday over allegations by Filipino fishermen that the Chinese coastguard had attacked them with water cannon near a disputed shoal. The foreign department summoned the Chinese charge d’affaires to receive the formal protest over the January 27 incident at the Scarborough Shoal, said department spokesman […]
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Is China Preparing for a “Short, Sharp War” Against Japan?
The current dispute focuses on the Senkakus (known by China as the Diaoyus), a group of small uninhabited islands approximately equidistant between mainland China and the Japanese island of Okinawa. Beijing and Tokyo both claim sovereignty over the islands. But Japan has exercised continuous administrative control over the islands since the U.S. returned control to […]
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RI, Philippines set to sign boundary treaty
A bilateral meeting between Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and his Philippine counterpart Albert F. del Rosario in Jakarta on Monday reached a historical agreement on a provisional maritime boundary line, among commitments to enhance cooperations in the areas of economy, defense, politics and sociocultural and consular affairs. The two countries, which have so far […]
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Chinese drive away Pinoy fishers from shoal
Chinese ships used water cannons to drive Filipino fishermen from the Panatag Shoal, a disputed territory, the military reported on Monday, even as the commander of the US Navy Pacific Fleet arrived in Manila to discuss with government officials, among others, the country’s territorial dispute with China as well as the “implications” of the US’ […]
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China’s Academic Battle for the South China Sea
China’s increased military and maritime surveillance activities in the South China Sea have been well-documented, both by foreign and Chinese media outlets. But China’s push to assert its claims over islands within the South China Sea is not simply unfolding in the military realm — the increased naval activities are backed by a renewed focus […]
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US Army To Be Reduced To Pre-World War II Levels
Chuck Hagel’s new proposed budget would cut the U.S. Army to pre-World War II levels. A few defense and security links to start off the week: The biggest news from the Pentagon this week is Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s new budget plan, which is designed to refit U.S. armed forces in a manner suitable for emerging […]
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Narendra Modi Gets Tough On China At a rally in India’s northeast, Narendra Modi came down hard on China’s “expansionist attitude.”
Narendra Modi, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate for prime minister in India’s upcoming general elections, has normally been quite reserved on matters of foreign policy. That changed last week when Modi publicly called for China to abandon its “expansionist attitude,” referring to India’s ongoing territorial disputes with China in Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir. At […]
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Japan’s pro-nuke voices worry world: China
China has urged the Japanese government to make clear its stance on right-wing activists’ latest pro-nuclear weapons statements, as the country continues to hold large amounts of weapons-grade nuclear materials. “In recent years, voices in favor of nuclear weapons have kept emerging in Japan without any clarification from the government,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying […]
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China cannot get very far with fear strategy
Not long ago, China was a soft-power juggernaut. Media accounts highlighted Chinese leaders’ thoughtful forays abroad, depicting policymakers that were respectful of others’ opinions, willing to listen, humble to a fault, and reluctant to dispense unsolicited advice. Here was a country that was content to allow its own example of success to speak for itself. […]
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Chinese aircraft enter Japan’s ADIZ
A Tu-154 electronic warfare aircraft of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and a Y-12 utility aircraft of China’s State Oceanic Administration entered the Japanese air defense identification zone (ADIZ) simultaneously on Feb. 21, according to the state-run China News Service. The Japanese defense ministry first reported on Friday that a Chinese Tu-154 was detected […]
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PH says China fired water cannon at fishermen in Scarborough
MANILA (UPDATED) – The Philippines’ military chief on Monday accused China’s coast guard of firing water cannon at Filipino fishermen for the first time to drive them away from a disputed sea shoal. General Emmanuel Bautista said Chinese vessels fired cannon on January 27 near Scarborough Shoal — the subject of a bitter territorial row […]