News
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Is China Using Force or Coercion in the South China Sea?
Tensions in the South China Sea have steadily increased in recent years in light of China’s enhanced island building activities, conducted to make room for what is now a string of fully fledged military bases, equipped with airstrips, electronic warfare equipment, and long-range anti-ship and anti-air missiles. The defense ministers of Australia, Japan, and the United States issued a joint…
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Two Years On, South China Sea Ruling Remains a Battleground for the Rules-Based Order
On 12 July 2016, an independent arbitral tribunal established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) published a clear and binding ruling on China’s claims vis-à-vis the Philippines in the South China Sea. China’s response at the time was to dismiss the ruling as ‘nothing more than a piece of waste paper’. Interestingly, in the two…
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From trade war to third world war? From Korea to the South China Sea, Trump’s tariffs risk escalation
Donald Kirk says US trade deficits make Trump’s aggressive strategy understandable, but China’s reliance on the US market has played a major role in keeping disputes – particularly over territorial waters – under control. As Trump hinders access, that could change How Trump could turn global asset bubble into weapon of mass destruction The global trade war is sweeping the…
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Chinese ad for Paracels use can lead to same for PHL territories in South China Sea — expert
China’s recent announcement encouraging the public to apply for the use of uninhabited islands in the Paracels may extend to the rest of the South China Sea if protest action is not taken, a maritime expert warned. “The Philippines, even if it’s not among the claimants in the Paracels, should file a protest as an action in of itself that…
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Pentagon says China spying on military exercises
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) enters Pearl Harbor in preparation for Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018. Twenty-five nations, more than 45 ships and submarines, about 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson…
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China just showed it has a new ‘Dark Sword’ fighter jet — and it’s a nightmare for the US
China released images of a new, unmanned, stealth-fighter-style jet, and they present a shocking look into how close Beijing has come to unseating the US as the dominant military air power. An expert who examined the pictures said the drone, called the “Dark Sword,” could give China a big advantage in a fight with the US. The Dark Sword looks…
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4 out of 5 Pinoys want gov’t to act on China’s militarization in disputed waters: survey
Four out of 5 Filipinos think it’s wrong that the government is “leaving China alone with its infrastructures and military presence” in its own territories, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed on Saturday. The SWS asked the respondents’ opinion on “what’s right and not right for the government to do to resolve the West Philippine Sea conflict.” Out of…
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PNP targets people behind ‘PH, Province of China’ banners
One of the banners was hung along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. Johnson Manabat, ABS-CBN News MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has ordered intelligence operatives to identify the individual or group behind the controversial red banners spotted in pedestrian overpasses with the message “Welcome to the Philippines, Province of China.” ‘Philippines, Province of China’ banners hung in parts…
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Carpio cites 3 ways PH can enforce The Hague ruling sans China
Acting Supreme Court Chief Justice Carpio, one of the leading figures in the Philippines’ arbitration victory against China, said Thursday that the ruling may be enforced without China’s participation. In a forum marking the second anniversary of the landmark The Hague ruling, Carpio cited ways how it can be done: “First, the Philippines and Vietnam can enter into a sea…
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Video captures China Coast Guard taking PH fishermen’s catch
The video shows China’s effective control and occupation of Scarborough Shoal, says Filipino maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal MANILA, Philippines – The China Coast Guard has been habitually taking the catch of Filipino fishermen in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal off the coast of Zambales province, videos show. GMA News obtained a mobile phone video of men in a China Coast Guard…
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[OPINION] Enforce arbitral award for present, future generations
Since the Duterte administration has chosen to set aside the enforcement of the Award, the task of keeping alive the Award within our country has fallen on people like you and me Remarks delivered during the Kasarinlan Foreign Policy Forum of Senator Risa Hontiveros on July 9, 2018 in Manila. The Award issued by the Arbitral Tribunal at The Hague…
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Carpio: PH can enforce arbitration win without China’s participation
MANILA – Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio on Thursday said the Philippines can enforce its arbitration victory against China without the latter’s participation by entering into sea boundary agreements with other Southeast Asian nations. “The Philippines and Vietnam can enter into a sea boundary agreement of their overlapping extended continental shelves beyond the Spratlys,” Carpio said in a forum on…