News
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Mike Pompeo’s war warning to China
As President Trump flew home from his Hanoi summit with Kim Jong Un, Mike Pompeo peeled off and flew to Manila. And there the secretary of state made a startling declaration. Any armed attack by China on a Philippine ship or plane in the South China Sea, he told the Philippine government, will be treated as an attack on an…
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Vietnam investigates S. China Sea sinking
HANOI (Reuters) — Vietnam is seeking clarification of how a fishing boat came to sink this week in the contested South China Sea, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday, days after a local rescue agency said it was rammed by a Chinese vessel. Vietnam and China have long been embroiled in maritime disputes in the potentially energy-rich stretch of water, called…
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Duterte stresses Philippines not equipped to wage war with China
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte stressed that the Philippines could not afford to go to war with China, days after a US official assured him Washington would protect Manila if its forces are attacked in the disputed West Philippine (South China) Sea. Duterte said an armed conflict with China would result in a “massacre” of Filipino troops because Beijing…
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Robredo touts South China Sea arbitral win in Otso Diretso HK rally
HONG KONG — Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday made use of the Philippines’ arbitration win in the West Philippine Sea against China to emphasize the courage and nationalism of 2 Otso Diretso candidates during a public campaign rally in this special administrative region controlled by Beijing. Some Filipino migrant workers who gathered along Chater Road cheered as Robredo described…
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Philippines: Activists Protest against Chinese Blocking Fishing Boats
Philippine soldiers conduct a flag raising ceremony on Pag-asa Island in the South China Sea, May 11, 2015. AP Activists on Monday protested outside the Chinese embassy over reports of its boats chasing away Filipino fishermen from a string of sandbars close to a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea. The activists slammed what they called China’s latest bullying…
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Southeast Asian nations feel squeeze between US and China
Freedom of navigation operations conducted by the US and its allies in the South China Sea have heightened the dilemma faced by Southeast Asian nations caught between China and the United States, diplomatic sources and observers have said. Many say that the more frequent naval operations by the US and its allies in the contested waters may help reinforce international…
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No reports of Pinoy fishermen shooed from Pag-asa Island: military
MANILA – The military said Tuesday it has not received reports of Filipino fishermen being prevented by Chinese vessels from fishing or landing on the sandbars around Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea. On the contrary, the Armed Forces’ Western Command (WesCom) has received information that Filipino fishermen have been able to successfully fish around the area and take…
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China’s defense spending is growing more slowly. But that doesn’t mean military tensions are easing
China announced Tuesday that military spending will grow at a slower pace than last year, but one analyst cautioned that it should not be interpreted to mean that military tensions with the United States will ease. At its annual parliamentary meeting, the National People’s Congress, Beijing set its 2019 defense spending at 7.5 percent higher than a year ago —…
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Asean key to peace in South China Sea
KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) continues to play a crucial role in maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, including the disputed claims over the Spratlys. Maritime Institute of Malaysia (Mima) director-general First-Admiral (Rtd) Datuk Chin Yoon Chin said one of Asean’s important initiatives was the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the…
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Lorenzana says 67-yr old MDT could become cause, not deterent, for chaos
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana Tuesday said he didn’t believe that the ambiguity or vagueness of the Philippines-United States Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) will serve as a deterrent but, in fact, could even cause confusion and chaos during a crisis. “The fact that the security environment now is so vastly different and much more complex than the bipolar security construct of…
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[OPINION] Moving forward with Philippine-U.S. relations
‘It was an imperative for our disruptive northern neighbor to be forewarned of the significance of our mutual defense treaty alliance’ We, at the Stratbase ADR Institute Incorporated, fully welcome the official US statement that, “As the South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft, or public vessels in the South China Sea…
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Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Tuesday the defense department was checking a report that Chinese vessels have been blocking Filipino fishermen from approaching sandbars near Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, which is called Pag-asa by Filipinos, in the disputed waters.
Philippines worried defense treaty with U.S. may draw it into a war in South China Sea MANILA – The United States is more likely to be involved in a “shooting war” in the disputed South China Sea than the Philippines but the latter would be embroiled in such a conflict just the same because of its 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty…