West Philippine Sea

  • China issues warning to US after warships pass disputed islands

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    BEIJING — This is your recent look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple territorial disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. The waters are a major shipping route for global commerce and are rich in fish and possible oil and gas reserves. CHINA ISSUES […]

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  • South China Sea tensions hot and getting hotter

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      The United States and China have doubled down on their struggle for dominance of the South China Sea and broader Indo-Pacific, as recent sea confrontations and fiery rhetoric threaten to escalate into conflict. Bolstered by its ever-expanding and rapidly modernizing Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), China has shown diminishing restraint in deterring, intercepting and […]

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  • NGCP on security risk: Chinese just technical advisers

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      MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) on Wednesday played down concerns that China had control over the country’s power grid and disputed claims that the Chinese could remotely access the company’s computer network. In a statement on Wednesday, NGCP president and CEO Anthony Almeda said the company welcomed “senators […]

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  • Beijing turns South China Sea code into barrier for US and Japan

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      TOKYO — China has changed tack on a proposed South China Sea code of conduct with Southeast Asian countries, potentially paving the way to exclude rivals, including the U.S. and Japan, from the hotly contested waters. Initially aimed to curb Beijing’s maritime expansion, the draft code includes language that could bar Washington and Tokyo […]

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  • South China Sea crisis: China warns US not to provoke ‘mishap’ after intercepting US ship

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    CHINA has sent a chilling warning to the US President Donald Trump not to provoke a “mishap” after US warships patrolled the contested waters of the South China Sea last week, infuriating Beijing. President Xi Jinping urged the US to stop “provocative actions” in the region, as the two superpower leaders battle for political and […]

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  • Hontiveros urges probe into Chinese ‘threat’ to power grid

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      MANILA – Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged lawmakers on Tuesday to investigate China’s access to Philippines’ power grid, warning of a security threat and possible sabotage due to its stake in the nation’s only transmission firm. Hontiveros filed a resolution warning of Chinese-engineered power and internet outages and interference in elections if safeguards remained absent, […]

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  • Satellite image shows China’s aerostat at Mischief Reef

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      MANILA, Philippines — A Chinese aerostat was seen floating above Mischief Reef, one of Beijing’s artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. ImageSat International posted a photo of the aerostat, which is probably used for military intelligence-gathering purposes. “The use of #aerostat allows China a continuous situational awareness in this resource-rich region,” ImageSat […]

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  • China is top beneficiary of 2016 arbitral ruling – Carpio

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    MANILA, Philippines — In terms of fishing rights and mineral resources, China is actually the “number one beneficiary” of the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated its sweeping claims in the South China Sea, retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio pointed out Tuesday. “Whatever China lost in the South China Sea […]

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  • South China Sea issue not discussed during Duterte-Moon meet — Lorenzana

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      President Rodrigo Duterte and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in did not discuss the South China Sea dispute in their bilateral meeting on Monday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday. “Wala. Hindi nabanggit ‘yun,” Lorenzana told reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea (ASEAN-ROK) Commemorative Summit in Busan, […]

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  • China can shut off the Philippines’ power grid at any time, leaked report warns

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      (CNN) — The Philippines’ power grid is under the full control of the Chinese government and could be shut off in time of conflict, according to an internal report prepared for lawmakers seen by CNN. China’s State Grid Corporation has a 40% stake in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), a private […]

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