News
-
Philippines files protest vs China over ‘aggressive’ acts in Ayungin resupply
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines filed a protest over China’s disruption of a June 17 resupply mission to a military outpost in the West Philippine Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters Wednesday, June 26. Manalo said that a note verbale had been sent by the Philippines. “We have already sent a note verbale,” Manalo told reporters on…
-
China blocked evacuation of injured soldier from Ayungin Shoal
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Even until the very end – as Filipino soldiers were trying to evacuate a severely injured comrade from Ayungin Shoal to mainland Palawan – personnel of the China Coast Guard (CCG) blocked and harassed Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea. The disclosure was made by the injured soldier himself, Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jeffrey…
-
[Just Saying] Invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty
SUMMARY Apparently alluding to the Ayungin shoal incident where China Coast Guard personnel attacked Filipino soldiers with knives and clubs to prevent them from delivering supplies, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently said: “We are not in the business to instigate wars.” Unfortunately, such statement – sounding so cliché – does not rise to the level of a declaration exuding national consternation. If at all, it…
-
[Just Saying] Invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty
SUMMARY Apparently alluding to the Ayungin shoal incident where China Coast Guard personnel attacked Filipino soldiers with knives and clubs to prevent them from delivering supplies, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently said: “We are not in the business to instigate wars.” Unfortunately, such statement – sounding so cliché – does not rise to the level of a declaration exuding national consternation. If at all, it…
-
[Rappler’s Best] Divided we fall
SUMMARY In case you missed it, Vladimir Putin was in the neighborhood – driving a limousine with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, signing a military pact with the rogue state, and then flying to Hanoi, where he earned lavish praise from its communist leaders. That’s enough to rattle an already-rattled region that, early in June, played host to Putin’s nemesis, whose…
-
View from Manila: ‘Twas a weekend of ‘misunderstanding’ over Ayungin Shoal
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – With a chuckle, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, chairperson of the newly-formed National Maritime Council, sought to shoot down talk of invoking the Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) over the Chinese coast guard’s harassment of a June 17 military resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). “This was probably a misunderstanding, or an…
-
‘Not a misunderstanding’: PH changes tune on China’s Ayungin harassment
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Days after the newly-established National Maritime Council (NCM) called the Chinese harassment of a June 17 resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal a “misunderstanding” and recommended to “announce” future resupply missions, the Philippines has changed its tune, now describing Chinese actions in the West Philippine Sea as “deliberate.” “After our visit to our troops in Palawan yesterday,…
-
[OPINION] Ayungin and why PH should respond as one team, one nation
SUMMARY The BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal is the symbol of our commitment to defend our sovereignty and protect our sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). On the downside, our approach to it also reflects the lack of coherence in the government’s strategy in the face of Beijing’s coercive tactics at sea. On the upside, it reflects…
-
Philippines says China’s Ayungin harassment not ‘armed attack’
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is asserting that there was “no reason” to interpret the actions of the Chinese coast guard on June 17 – which included ramming a Philippine government ship, brandishing machetes and knives, and taking disassembled rifles – as an “armed attack” on Philippine military personnel. “There is no reason na i-interpret natin ito na this is…
-
Business groups condemn ‘harassment’ of PH troops after clash with China
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – Some of the Philippines’ biggest business groups have broken their silence and condemned the “continued harassment” of military personnel, hinting that businesses are beginning to worry about the potential economic spillovers of rising tensions with China in the West Philippine Sea. “We deplore the continued harassment of the AFP (Armed forces of the Philippines), PCG (Philippine…
-
After ‘brutal attack’ in Ayungin, PH maritime council wants resupply mission announced
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ newly-established National Maritime Council (NMC) announced Friday, June 21, that it has recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the “announcement” of resupply missions to Ayungin or Second Thomas Shoal, a flashpoint for tensions between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea. “As a result of the meeting today, the Council agreed on policy recommendations for the…
-
AFP says 4 Chinese Navy ships passed through Palawan
SUMMARY MANILA, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed on Friday, June 21, that four vessels of the Chinese Navy or the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) were monitored passing through within 12 nautical miles off the coast of mainland Palawan on Wednesday, June 19. In a statement on Friday, AFP Public Affairs Office chief Colonel Xerxes…