Philippines
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Gazmin hopes China stays away from Phl territories
MANILA, Philippines – Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is hoping that China would not intrude into areas that are within Philippine territory. Asked to comment on reports quoting a Chinese general as saying that China should take more areas from the Philippines, Gazmin said: “Huwag lang pakikialaman yung ating lugar (They should not touch our territory).” A recent article by the…
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China should take more territory from Phl – Chinese general
Ayungin Shoal, Brunei, Cabbage Strategy, China, Malaysia, Militarization, Panatag Shoal, Philippines, Scarborough Shoal, Submarine Warfare, Taiwan, VietnamThat’s the so-called cabbage strategy that China is employing to stake its maritime territorial claims, and a ranking Chinese military officer says his country should take more disputed territory from the Philippines, The New York Times Magazine has reported. Quoting Maj. Gen. Zhang Zhaozhong of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the Sunday magazine cover article said China began taking measures…
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PH Sea, Luzon Strait key to China nuke ambitions
DESPITE notable progress over the past few years, the sea-based leg of the Chinese nuclear triad will remain significantly constrained by geographical and technological factors. In the last weeks of October the Chinese media provided unprecedented coverage of the shadowy Chinese nuclear submarine force. During a slew of media reports and interviews, numerous Chinese military analysts have emphasized that China’s…
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PH counsel for China sea dispute a ‘lawyer’s lawyer’
MANILA – The counsel who will represent the Philippines in its maritime arbitration case against China is a “lawyer’s lawyer.” At a forum in New York, Ambassador Libran Cabactulan said Paul Reichler has a reputation of being the preferred lawyer of sovereign states. Cabactulan is the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations. “Reichler is a top-ranked international lawyer with…
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PNoy cannot ignore UNCLOS remedy
The complaint for arbitration against the People’s Republic of China filed with the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea is mainly to defend the Philippine’s sovereign rights over its continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, and to reserve the right to request for provisional measures should these become necessary. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea…
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Proceedings on PH case vs China going much faster – report
MANILA, Philippines – The decision of the Arbitral Tribunal on the maritime dispute case between the Philippines and China may come “a lot faster” because of China’s refusal to participate in the proceedings, the Philippines lead counsel said in an interview with a newspaper in the United States. “Arbitrations under the Law of the Sea Convention have normally taken between…
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China has territorial rows in South China Sea, too
TOKYO: Cam Ranh Bay, in southern Vietnam on the South China Sea, is a good natural harbor. Its mouth is about one kilometer wide so the harbor is somewhat protected from waves. The bay was one of the key Soviet strongholds during the Cold War. The Vietnamese military has a base on the bay to engage in patrol and surveillance…
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EU has ‘vital interest’ in open, secure West Philippine Sea, says official
BRUSSELS—The European Union has a “vital interest” in a secure and open maritime trade routes even as it expressed alarm at the escalating tension in the South China Sea. “As far as maritime security is concerned, I strongly believe that the EU has a vital interest in a securre, open and clean maritime environment that allows the free passage of…
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Is this a rock or an island? The tiny differences that could define a region
Recent attempts by China to challenge territorial rights in the East China Sea are the latest chapters in an ongoing story of two heavily contested parts of the western Pacific Ocean. The East and South China Seas have become flashpoints for trouble between a host of neighbouring countries, and experts worry that the chances for peaceful solutions may be dwindling.…
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Philippines Takes China’s Sea Claims to Court
Paul Reichler, a Washington-based lawyer, has spent much of his career representing small countries against big ones: Nicaragua versus the U.S.; Georgia versus Russia; Mauritius versus the U.K., Bangladesh versus India. His first big victory made headlines in the 1980s when the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that U.S. support for Contra rebels trying to overthrow the…