Philippines
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EDITORIAL – Territorial greed
Ayungin Shoal, BRP Sierra Madre, China, EEZ, Mischief Ref, Oil, Panganiban Shoal, Philippines, South China Sea DisputeIt must be good to wake up one day, look at the vast expanse of ocean around your land, and decide that all the waters as far as the eye can see are yours. That’s what Beijing is doing in the sea to its south that needs an official change of name because the country […]
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Int’l political group to China: Follow rule of law in South China Sea dispute
A transnational organization of political groups from 60 countries has called on China to follow the rule of law in resolving the territorial dispute over parts of the South China Sea. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Centrist Democrat International (CDI) unanimously adopted an emergency resolution on March 19 calling on China […]
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The devil and the deep South China Sea
Last year, the Philippines brought a complaint against China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea to the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal. The Chinese “were really unprepared for that and were really embarrassed by it”, one of Vietnam’s top experts on Chinese diplomacy told me during my recent visit to Hanoi. It was a master […]
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China warns Philippines: We will never tolerate ‘occupation’ of disputed shoal
China warned the Philippines on Monday to abandon a disputed shoal in the South China Sea after Manila said it planned to challenge a Chinese naval blockade of the area by sending supplies to its troops stationed there. Last week, a senior Philippines military official said his country would send civilian supply ships to its […]
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Palace: Let China interpret US-PH talks
MANILA, Philippines – It will be up to China to interpret the ongoing talks on enhancing military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States, Malacanang said yesterday. “Let China interpret that… We don’t need to send a message. The medium is the message,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said when asked if the government was […]
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Eyes on Crimea, China makes its move
While much of the world was busy watching Russia swallow Crimea, few realized that an also dangerous territorial tit-for-tat had begun to unfold earlier this month more than 5,000 miles away in the South China Sea. At Second Thomas Shoal, a handful of Philippine marines have long been stationed and re-provisioned on the rusting deck […]
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China warns Philippines on disputed shoal
BEIJING – China warned the Philippines on Monday to abandon a disputed shoal in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after Manila said it planned to challenge a Chinese naval blockade of the area by sending supplies to its troops stationed there. Last week, a senior Philippines military official said his country would send […]
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Philippines offers US forces access to military bases
MANILA – The Philippines has agreed to allow the United States access to its military bases under a new security deal being negotiated by the two allies, amid mounting concern over China’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. The offer was made during a sixth round of talks held in […]
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DFA belies alleged PH’s pull-out from Ayungin Shoal
The Department of Foreign Affairs today issued a statement to belie China’s allegation that the country has agreed to pull-out of the Ayungin Shoal. In a remote corner of the South China Sea, 105 nautical miles from the Philippines, lies a submerged reef that Filipinos call Ayungin. In most ways it resembles the hundreds of […]
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Manila air-drops supplies to troops on disputed South China Sea reef
Manila: The Philippines air-dropped food and water to soldiers posted on a grounded transport ship on a disputed South China Sea shoal, after China blocked two supply ships from reaching the troops, a senior navy official said on Wednesday. Chinese ships patrolling waters around Second Thomas Shoal, known in China as the Ren’ai reef, on […]