West Philippine Sea
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Cayetano hits back at Aquino’s call for transparency on South China Sea issue
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano on Tuesday, July 31, hit back on former President Benigno S.C. Aquino III on the latter’s call for transparency on the South China Sea issue, saying that the former President and even Vice President Leni G. Robredo were given wrong information on the matter. “Unfortunately, both former President Aquino and Vice President Leni…
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Building confidence in the South China Sea
During this year’s chairmanship of ASEAN, Singapore is expected to continue the association’s work in developing measures to help mitigate tensions in the South China Sea. In recent years, ASEAN and China have agreed to establish communication hotlines between their respective foreign ministries as well as to implement the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES). CUES is intended to…
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Philippines vows to advance ASEAN-China ties as coordinator: FM
MANILA, July 31 (Xinhua) — Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said on Tuesday that his country had vowed to play a constructive role in advancing ASEAN (the association of Southeast Asian Nations)-China relations when it assumes the role of ASEAN-China country coordinator later this year. “We will play bridging or intermediary role (in pushing for the common interest to…
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Panel: China Continues to Coerce South China Sea Neighbors with its Maritime Forces
China persists in employing a variety of tactics to coerce Taiwan, its maritime neighbors and put more pressure on Japan, a panel of experts agreed last week. Nowhere is that more visible than Beijing’s “persistent and flexible presence” from its maritime militia, Coast Guard and People’s Liberation Army Navy. It is a maritime force that also keeps open the Malacca…
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South China Sea Draft Pact Set to Be Welcomed by Southeast Asian Nations
Singapore (AP) — Southeast Asian nations are expected to welcome an initial negotiating draft of a nonaggression pact with China on the South China Sea, but critics warn that the protracted talks provide a diplomatic cover for Beijing’s tenacious aggression in the disputed waters. Top diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will also praise the rapprochement between the…
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US Makes Up Some Lost Diplomatic Ground Over South China Sea
Many policymakers and analysts would agree that there is a surging soft and hard power struggle between China and the United States for dominance in the South China Sea and Southeast Asia. I argue elsewhere that China has made significant inroads in what was long a region of U.S. soft power dominance. But Washington is making some progress in regaining…
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Philippines raises concern over Chinese radio warnings to stay away from South China Sea islands
A Philippine air force plane on patrol near Chinese-held islands was warned to leave and ‘keep off to avoid misunderstanding’, according to a report The Philippines has expressed concern to China over an increasing number of Chinese radio messages warning Philippine aircraft and ships to stay away from newly fortified islands and other territories in the South China Sea claimed…
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Philippines raises concern over Chinese radio warnings
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has expressed concern to China over an increasing number of Chinese radio messages warning Philippine aircraft and ships to stay away from newly fortified islands and other territories in the South China Sea claimed by both countries, officials said Monday. A Philippine government report seen by The Associated Press showed that in the second half…
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Cayetano: What about Del Rosario’s transparency on South China Sea?
MANILA, Philippines — Insisting that the Duterte administration has always been transparent on its foreign policy, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano claimed that former President Benigno Aquino III was misinformed on the West Philippine Sea issue. Aquino has been calling on the Duterte administration to be more transparent on its negotiations with China on the disputed waters. The department…
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Indonesia is protecting its South China Sea territory against ‘foreign’ threats
Southeast Asia’s largest economy is defending its maritime rights within the disputed South China Sea in a perceived act against Chinese encroachment. Indonesia has long maintained an exclusive economic zone in waters claimed by Beijing, but unlike many of its neighbors, it’s never been a player in the long-simmering conflict that’s weighed on intra-Asian relations. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia,…