A senior Philippine national security official called Friday for the immediate removal of Chinese diplomats believed to be responsible for a reported leak of a phone call between one of the diplomats and a Filipino admiral about tensions in the South China Sea. This comes just over a week following alleged Chinese harassment and use [...]
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Philippines summons China diplomat over latest confrontation with China Coast Guard
The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned on Thursday China’s Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Manila, Zhou Zhyiong, after China’s Coast Guard attacked Filipino vessels that were on a humanitarian mission in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on April 30. The DFA said in its statement that China [...]
HRW issues warning amid Philippine mayor's renewed 'war on drugs'
The mayor of the Philippine city of Davao, Sebastian Duterte, has declared a new ‘war on drugs’, watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Sunday. In the 24 hours since his announcement, local authorities are reported to have killed at least five people, with an additional seven being killed in the days that followed. Mayor Duterte [...]
China Coast Guard accused of hostile attack on Philippines supply boat in disputed South China Sea
Philippine officials accused a Chinese Coast Guard ship on Saturday of hitting a Philippine supply boat with water cannons in the heavily disputed waters of the South China Sea, causing heavy damage to the vessel and injuring several crew members. The Philippine supply boat was allegedly blocked from passage by Chinese Coast Guard and maritime [...]
UN expert urges Philippines to better protect safety of journalists
Irene Khan, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, expressed concerns Friday about the escalating number of journalist killings in the Philippines and called for immediate action. Khan emphasized that the murder of journalists constitutes the “most egregious form of censorship.” Despite global efforts to promote press freedom, the Philippines remains [...]
China urges US to cease military operations in Taiwan Strait
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) urged the US on Thursday to halt passage of military ships in the Taiwan Strait. A spokesperson for the PRC Ministry of National Defense stated that the US must “stop abusing international law,” and “cease all dangerous provocations.” The statement was in response to the recent passage of a [...]
Jonathan Malaya, a representative of the Philippines National Security Council, condemned the latest action by the China Coast Guard (CCG) against local Philippine fishermen in a televised interview on Monday night. Malaya was referring to the January 12th incident, where the CCG harassed fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal area after collecting seashells along the shoreline, [...]
Philippines president declines cooperation with ICC's drug probe
Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. reaffirmed on Tuesday that the country would not cooperate with the investigation undertaken by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the previous administration’s “war on drugs,” led by its former president Rodrigo Duterte, which allegedly took the lives of over 12,000 Filipinos. The Philippines became a party to the Rome Statute, [...]
Explainer: The Philippines-China Maritime Dispute and International Law
Through 2023, tensions in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines have escalated, marked by such significant escalations as the removal of a floating barrier by the Philippines near the Scarborough Shoal and the deployment of its Coast Guard amid increased activity by the Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) near Julian Felipe Reef (or [...]
Philippines summons China ambassador amid escalating tensions in South China Sea
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs announced Tuesday that it summoned the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, to lodge a diplomatic protest in the wake of the most recent confrontation between Chinese and Filipino vessels in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) near the Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) and the Scarborough [...]