West Philippine Sea
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Jakarta rejects China’s ‘nine-dash line’
ASEAN, China, Code of Conduct, Indonesia, Jakarta, Militarization, Mischief Reef, Natuna Islands, Nine Dash Line, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOSIn a significant policy shift, Indonesian officials on March 12 announced that China’s nine-dash line map outlining its claims in the South China Sea overlaps with Indonesia’s Riau province, which includes the Natuna Island chain. For over two decades, Indonesia has positioned itself as an independent mediator in the South China Sea disputes between its […]
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China to PH: ‘Friends avoid lawsuits’
MANILA, Philippines – China remains convinced that a bilateral negotiation, and not international arbitration, is the best way to settle its territorial dispute with a “good neighbor” and long-standing “friend” like the Philippines. “A resort to arbitration does not meet people’s expectations for friendship in both China and the Philippines,” said Zhang Hua, spokesperson of […]
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A Merkel, a Map, a Message to China?
HONG KONG: Last week German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping at a dinner where they exchanged gifts. Merkel presented to Xi a 1735 map of China made by prolific French cartographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville and printed by a German publishing house. According to an antique-maps website, d’Anville’s map was based on […]
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China to PH: ‘Friends avoid lawsuits’
Ayungin Shoal, BRP Sierra Madre, China, ICJ, itlos, Memorial, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOSMANILA, Philippines – China remains convinced that a bilateral negotiation, and not international arbitration, is the best way to settle its territorial dispute with a “good neighbor” and long-standing “friend” like the Philippines. “A resort to arbitration does not meet people’s expectations for friendship in both China and the Philippines,” said Zhang Hua, spokesperson of […]
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East/South China seas: The strategy is failing
It now seems reasonable to assume that China will continue to ramp up the pressure on the disputed islands across the East and South China Seas until it owns them. The latest moves against the Philippines and Indonesia, and on over-fishing, are just the most recent steps towards eventual possession. If we wish to prevent […]
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Taiwanese fishing boat runs aground off Batanes
A Taiwanese fishing boat ran aground in shallow waters off Batanes province in Northern Luzon on Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard said Wednesday. In a said five crew members – two Taiwanese and three Indonesians – were news item posted on its website, the Coast Guard rescued from the “FV Jui Fa Tsai.” Citing initial […]
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Phl confident of getting int’l support on sea row
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang reiterated yesterday that right is might as the Philippines fights for its territorial integrity and sovereignty through peaceful means. Speaking to reporters, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Philippines is confident of getting the continued support of the international community. “We are doing what we are capable […]
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US calls for end to Chinese provocation in Ayungin
WASHINGTON – The United States has called on China to allow the Philippines to continue to maintain its presence on Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea and said Chinese efforts to prevent Filipinos from resupplying the outpost were “provocative and destabilizing.” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf, in a press briefing on Monday, […]
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Beijing summons Phl envoy, keeps door open to talks
BEIJING – China summoned Philippine Ambassador Erlinda Basilio on Monday to lodge a strong complaint over Manila’s seeking of international arbitration. The filing of the case against China on Sunday at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague subjected Beijing to international legal scrutiny over disputed waters of the South China Sea for the first time. […]
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Lee Kuan Yew: China-Philippines row closure unlikely
MANILA, Philippines — The acknowledged Father of Singapore weighed in on the long-standing maritime disputes in the South China Sea, particularly that of China and the Philippines. Lee Kuan Yew said the claims of the Asian power and its Southeast Asian neighbor will not meet on the same grounds and a resolution seems far-fetched. “The […]