Philippines
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PH-Vietnam Intel sharing eyed
IN agreeing to a strategic partnership with Vietnam, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin admitted that the Philippines is interested in enhanced intelligence exchange and inter-operability with Hanoi, but stressed that such an arrangement is not necessarily aimed at any third country. “On the defense front, our objective is closer information sharing and inter-operability in the region,” […]
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U.S. Forming Anti-China Security Alliance in Asia
The United States is in the process of building a new “security architecture” among its allies in the Asia-Pacific in response to China’s increasingly aggressive moves in the disputed South China Sea. The security alliance will consist of the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia and Japan, according to unnamed official sources in the Philippine government. Press reports […]
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China’s Push in the South China Sea Divides the Region
ASEAN, Brunei, China, Code of Conduct, Diplomatic Relations, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South China Sea Dispute, USA, VietnamAs China brings in a $1 billion oil exploration rig, parking it in a disputed region of the South China Sea and unleashing a deadly anti-China protest in Vietnam, nearby Southeast Asian neighbors appear relatively mute and impotent. Burma (also known as Myanmar), which hosted the meeting of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, […]
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Countries Around South China Sea Bolster Claims With Island Outposts
China, Kalayaan Group of Islands, Oil Rig, Paracels, Philippines, South China Sea Dipute, Spratlys, VietnamMANILA–In many ways, the towns on the atolls of the South China Sea are just like communities elsewhere: They have houses, post offices, schools, health clinics, and citizens who use them. But the Chinese, Philippine and Vietnamese settlements are unusual in at least one way: They were all planted on once-empty slivers of land to […]
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CHINESE CONSTRUCTION ON MABINI REEF, A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER – Golez, 25 May 2014
ADIZ, Air Defense Identification Zone, China, Mabini Reef, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, Unsinkable Aircraft CarrierThis is what China is planning to construct on our Mabini Reef. If they succeed in doing this, it would become an unsinkable aircraft carrier, a game changer. From there, Chinese fighter planes can reach in minutes all our vital military and economic installations, a clear and present danger, like the Cuban missile installations, to […]
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Aquino Asks Each Day Why China Seeks to Rule South China Sea
Philippine President Benigno Aquino wakes up each morning with a question for which he has no answer: “There are very few days that I don’t start the day asking what does China gain from all this?” What drives China to press its claims to the South China Sea, taking on countries such as the Philippines […]
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Philippine senate supports Vietnam’s peaceful efforts in sea dispute
Philippine Senate President Franklin Drilon told Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Thursday, that his senate supports Vietnam’s demands that China obey international law and resolve its disputes peacefully, Tuoi Tre reported. Dung made the comments in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, during a visit to the World Economic Forum on East Asia. Drilon said […]
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China’s Frustrated Neighbors Weigh Their Alternatives
MANILA—The Philippines said Vietnam was considering joining its challenge to Beijing at an international tribunal, the clearest sign yet the two countries could join forces over maritime disputes with China. Vietnam has “exhausted all dialogue channels” with Beijing, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the World Economic Forum in Manila on Thursday. “China not only […]
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Xi Jinping’s Excellent Adventure: A Calibrated Takeover of the South China Sea
China, Japan, Militarization, Oil Rig, Paracels, Philippines, Russia, South China Sea Dispute, USA, VietnamChairman Mao’s “little red book” is no longer a fashion accessory in Beijing, but China’s leaders seem to be drawing inspiration from one of its aphorisms: “There is great disorder under the Heavens and the situation is excellent.” Judging by the calculatedly risky steps they have taken — like moving a gigantic drilling rig deep […]
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ALL TALK? | Allies question US’ ‘ironclad commitment’ amid Chinese aggression
WASHINGTON/MANILA — US President Barack Obama sought to reassure allies in Asia last month that the United States would support them in the face of a more assertive China. But after one of Beijing’s boldest moves in years to lay claim to contested waters off Vietnam, some Asian countries are asking a simple question: Where […]