News
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PH: We are determined to pursue case vs China
Ayungin Shoal, BRP Sierra Madre, China, Chinese Coast Guard, Memorial, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOSMANILA — Amid another incident in the Ayungin Shoal on Saturday, the Philippines said it will not be stopped from pursuing a case against China before an arbitral tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The country will file Sunday its “memorial” – or written arguments – justifying its […]
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Unfazed PH moves to stake claim over disputed seas
MANILA — Notwithstanding the recent actions of China, the Philippines proceeded to file its 4,000-page Memorial before a United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea-backed (UNCLOS) arbitral tribunal insisting its claim over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). “With firm conviction, the ultimate purpose of the memorial is our national interest. It’s […]
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Philippines supply ship evades Chinese vessels
A Philippine government ship slipped past a Chinese coast guard vessel Saturday and brought food and fresh troops to a marooned navy ship used as a base by Filipino troops to bolster the country’s territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea. The incident was witnessed by journalists who were invited by the Philippines military […]
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China-U.S. Relations: The Myth of the Thucydides Trap
In recent years, especially since the beginning of this decade, the term “Thucydides trap” (between China as a rising power and U.S. as an established one) has gained increasing currency among policymakers, advisers, and China experts in Western research institutes and think tanks. The fear is that as its power increases, China will eventually choose […]
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Philippines to proceed with UN arbitration over South China Sea
MANILA — The Philippines will proceed with its legal case against China at the United Nations tribunal over Manila’s claims to parts of the disputed South China Sea, despite pressure from Beijing to delay or drop the case, lawyers for the Philippines’ legal team said yesterday. Manila is seeking a ruling to confirm its rights […]
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Is a Philippine-Vietnam Alliance in the Making?
Walden Bellow, a representative of Akbayan (Citizens’ Action Party) in the Philippine House of Representatives, recently wrote an opinion-editorial in Foreign Policy in Focus (March 18) entitled, “A Budding Alliance: Vietnam and the Philippines Confront China.” Bello argued that, “The Philippines and Vietnam are natural allies in their common struggle against China’s drive for hegemony […]
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Can Asia prevent its own Crimea?
With the world watching Ukraine with wary eyes, the U.S. Navy’s lead admiral in the Pacific suggested Asia could face a similar crisis if the continent’s other major power continues on its current path. Since 2009, China has stepped up what Philippine officials have called a “creeping invasion” in the South China Sea. Although less […]
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South China Sea: Beijing’s ‘Salami Slicing’ Strategy – Analysis
Analysis, ASEAN, Ayungin Shoal, BRP Sierra Madre, China, Philippines, Salami Strategy, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOSThe South China Sea is seeing increasing tension amongst the claimants. The Second Thomas Shoal is the latest addition to Beijing’s ‘Salami Slicing’ strategy of slowly acquiring small reefs and islands to consolidate its contested claim. By Darshana M. Baruah THE MOST recent tension in the South China Sea over the Second Thomas Shoal indicates […]
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A Budding Alliance: Vietnam and the Philippines Confront China
WASHINGTON, Mar 22 2014 (IPS) – Last year, the Philippines brought a complaint against China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea to the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal. It was a master stroke by the Philippine government. The Chinese “were really unprepared for that and were really embarrassed by it,” one of Vietnam’s top experts […]
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Phl-China row antics hint at warlike drift
BY FORCE: Is physical occupation backed by military force the only option left in resolving territorial disputes between the Philippines and China in their common waters? That is another way of saying war looms as a possibility as the options for peaceful settlement dwindle. A military scenario is emerging with the reckless rhetoric coming from […]
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What the Philippines can learn from the South China Sea and Ukraine crises
China, Crimea, Militarization, Philippines, Power Dynamics, South China Sea, South China Sea Dispute, Ukraine, USAHONOLULU, March 21, 2014 — The modern world that emerged from the end of the Cold War and the disastrous terrorist attacks of 9/11 has deceived the United States and her traditional allies into assuming that war between states was a thing of the past. As the world sees Russian advances in Eastern Europe and […]
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Int’l group backs PH in sea dispute with China
Ayungin, BRP Sierra Madre, Centrist Democrat International, China, Philippines, South China Sea DisputeA global association of political parties has condemned China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), in a move the Philippines hailed as an “international expression of support” for its claim on isles in the disputed territory. In a one-page resolution issued in Brussels, the Centrist Democrat International (CDI) said it “condemns the […]