U.S. warns China: Stop sea aggression!

WASHINGTON HAS warned Beijing against continued harassment in the South China Sea, saying an armed attack on Filipino armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard, would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. 

China tells Philippines to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal

BEIJING HAS told the Philippines to remove its dilapidated war ship manned by soldiers on Ayungin Shoal after the China Coast Guard harassed last week a pair of civilian boats carrying supplies for the Filipino troops.

Chinese ‘militia’ vessels swarm off Palawan

THE U.S. State Department is standing by the Philippines in its latest run-in with China over disputed sea territory.

Extortion?

FILIPINO LEADER Rodrigo Duterte was strongly criticized for asking the United States to pay up if it wants to keep the Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines, a long-time ally of Washington in Southeast Asia. 

Number of Covid cases rising, Duterte resorts to prayer

DAVAO CITY – The Philippines continues to register high number of Covid-19 cases as the government struggles to control the spread of the deadly respiratory disease and putting in question and even doubts the country’s vaccination program.

Duterte offers Pfizer to Senators

 ‘President defends Chinese Covid vaccines, gets 25 million doses’ 

DAVAO CITY – Following the reported deaths of at two dozen elderly people who had received the Pfizer Covid vaccine in Norway, President Duterte now asked Filipino senators, who are questioning his choice of the Chinese vaccine Sinovac, if they want to be inoculated with Pfizer.

Chinese traders urged to explore opportunities in Cebu, Visayas

CEBU CITY – Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino, has encouraged Chinese businessmen, especially from Fujian province, to look at Cebu and the rest of the Visayas as a potential site for investment.

U.S., Philippines hold workshop to combat illegal fishing

THE UNITED STATES Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Philippine government held a workshop recently to combat illegal fishing in the country.

South China Sea is patrimony of Southeast Asian nations: U.S.

THE UNITED STATES stands alongside the Philippines and other Southeast Asian partners to uphold a rules-based order that ensures sovereign, sustainable, and productive access to the South China Sea and its resources, American Ambassador to Manila, Sung Kim, said on Thursday.

China strengthens relations with Duterte

CHINESE PRESIDENT Xi Jinping said he is willing to work with Filipino leader Rodrigo Duterte to continuously lift their countries' relationship of comprehensive strategic cooperation to new levels.

Taiwan appeals travel ban

‘Is China behind Manila’s move?’

THE PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific (CEB), and AirAsia Philippines have cancelled all flights to and from Taiwan after Manila imposed a temporary ban due to outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.

Manila first issued a travel ban February 2 on all tourists from China and its Special Administrative Regions - Hong Kong and Macao –to prevent the spread of the disease, and included Taiwan a week later. 

Philippines pursues high-quality, good-impact projects with cooperation from China

AFTER PRESIDENT DUTERTE'S highly successful visit to China, Manila is ready to pursue more high-quality and good-impact projects with cooperation from Beijing, said Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo.

 

He said Duterte had productive and fruitful bilateral meetings with top Chinese leadership where he affirmed the commitment to friendship and understanding with China. Duterte also expressed to Chinese leaders the country's readiness to pursue more high-quality and good-impact projects with China, Panelo said.

 

Duterte visited China from April 24 to 27, during which he attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation together with many other countries' leaders. Panelo said during the leaders' roundtable meeting, Duterte stressed the value of nations, especially in Asia, working together with a shared goal of inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth and prosperity.

 

As China is the largest trading partner and a major source of foreign investments of the Philippines, economic cooperation also highlights Duterte's visit. Panelo said Duterte witnessed the signing of multiple business agreements in Beijing between the two countries, covering a wide range of areas of investments, such as energy, infrastructure, agriculture and human resources.

 

"President Duterte gave his assurance to prospective foreign investors of all nationalities that the Philippine government will create an enabling environment that allows their business establishments and investments to prosper," Panelo said. Moreover, Panelo said while in Beijing President Duterte reiterated his resolve to endeavor to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, stability and prosperity. (Xinhua)

 

 

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China opens Consulate-General in Davao City

DAVAO CITY – Beijing has recently opened its consulate office here with Manila welcoming Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Wang led the inauguration of the consulate general and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. welcomed its formal opening, saying its inauguration underscores the growing cooperation between Manila and Beijing.

“Being the biggest Philippine city in terms of land area, and the third largest in terms of population, the inauguration of the Chinese consulate general here in Davao is an auspicious sign of the city’s promise and the bright prospects for our engagement with China,” Locsin said.

“May this be a continued testament to an immemorial friendship, to a robust and interconnected relationship, and to sustained interactions between the Philippines and China, as we promote our common goals to the mutual benefit of both our great nations,” he added.

Locsin said he was pleased with the positive turnaround and vigorous momentum in Philippines-China relations. “The Philippines has always been a friend of China,” he said, as he recalled how he broke through the Western news embargo on China in 1967 to see for himself and tell the world of the progress that China had made.

“We have since enhanced our dialogue and consensus on many levels,” he said. “Our practical cooperation in many areas is reaping an early harvest of tangible benefits.”

Locsin said he is looking forward to sitting down and discussing with State Councilor Wang ways to further advance Philippines-China relations through cooperation in various areas - trade, investments, infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, and education, science and technology, anti-terrorism, anti-narcotics, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

This is the first time Wang visited Davao. “Davao is a rapidly growing metropolis that also signifies the friendship between our peoples and the great strides that we have accomplished in the bilateral relations between our two countries,” Locsin said.

A consulate is similar to, but not the same as a diplomatic office, but with focus on dealing with individual persons and businesses, as defined by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. A consulate or consulate general is generally a representative of the embassy in locales outside of the capital city.

Davao is renowned for its strategic location and connectivity, a gateway to the rich resources and culture of Mindanao. It also accounts for 40 percent of Chinese fruit imports from the Philippines. (With a report from Mindanao Examiner.)

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China will never give up an inch of territory, defense minister says

CHINA WILL NEVER give up an inch of its territory, whether the self-ruled island of Taiwan it claims as its own, or in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, the country's defense minister said.

 

Beijing has been infuriated by recent U.S. sanctions on its military, one of a growing number of flashpoints in ties with Washington that include a bitter trade war, Taiwan and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea.

 

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe made the remarks at the opening of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, which China styles as its answer to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in the wealthy city-state of Singapore.

 

China's military ties with the United States are important and sensitive, Wei said, adding that Taiwan was a "core" interest of China's and Beijing opposed displays of strength by "outside forces" in the South China Sea.

 

The world's two largest economies needed to deepen high-level ties so as to navigate tension and rein in the risk of inadvertent conflict, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told his Chinese counterpart last week. Mattis saw firsthand last month how mounting Sino-U.S. friction can undermine military contacts, when Beijing upended plans for him to meet Wei in October.

 

China has been angered by the U.S. sanctions on its military for buying weapons from Russia, and by what Beijing sees as stepped-up U.S. support for democratic Taiwan, which it claims as sacred territory. China has also expressed concern after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would withdraw from a landmark Cold War-era treaty that eliminated nuclear missiles from Europe because Russia was violating the pact.

 

China is not a party to that treaty, but Trump has also suggested Beijing's military strength played a role in his decision, which China has described as "completely wrong". Last week, the United States sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait in the second such operation this year. China-Taiwan relations have deteriorated since the island's President Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, swept to power in 2016.

 

Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has also viewed U.S. overtures toward the island with alarm, such as a new de facto embassy there and passage of a law to encourage visits by U.S. officials. (Reuters)

Joint China-Philippines oil, gas exploration pushed

THE PHILIPPINES EXPRESSED optimism that a joint exploration deal for oil and gas reserves in the disputed South China Sea or West Philippine Sea – WPS as the Filipino government calls it - will be finally signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit in Manila next month.

“We’re doing all we can to make sure that when President Xi comes here, we can sign the joint exploration na magsimula na tayo na maghanap ng natural gas at langis at sa ganun po magkaroon na tayo ng energy security,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Xi is expected to visit the Philippines in November as a follow-up to the high-level economic meetings conducted by the two countries’ economic and infrastructure managers in Beijing.

Roque described the joint exploration as the most important agreement that the Philippines and China are hoping to achieve during Xi’s visit, to reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuel products.
“Of course, ito ang pinakaimportanteng agreement dahil nga sa pagtaas ng preso ng langis na nagdadahilan sa pagtaas ng lahat,” he said. “Alam naman po (natin na) lahat tayo naaapektuhan dyan pero hanggang makakuha po tayo ng langis ay talagang wala tayo magawa dahil iniaangkat natin ang langis.”

Roque said initial research and studies show that oil and gas reserves can be found in the disputed WPS particularly in the so-called Service Contract 72 (Recto Bank). “So ito po ang naging malinaw: kinakailangan na po nating isulong ang joint exploration. Isantabi natin ang hidwaan dahil according to the preliminary studies, meron pong laman ang SC 72,” he said, adding, an executive agreement for joint exploration in the WPS is crucial since the supply of Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project is projected to last only until 2029.

“So we’re hoping that by 2027, production there at SC 72 will already start,” he said. China has reportedly expressed willingness to enter into a 60-40 joint exploration deal in favor of the Philippines. Aside from Recto Bank, Service Contract 57 or Calamian is also being considered as areas of possible joint exploration. (Jelly Musico)

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