China philippines dispute over south china sea

US Coast Guard monitoring Chinese militia in South China Sea Patricia Lourdes Viray (Philstar.com) - June 11, 2019 - 5:35pm MANILA, Philippines — Washington has been aware of Beijing's activities in the disputed South China Sea as the US Coast Guard has been keeping tabs on them. Vice Admiral Linda Fagan, commander of the US Coast Guard Pacific Area, said ship operations have been ongoing in the area over the past months. "We obviously are aware and have been following the militia and some of the activity," Fagan said in a telephone press briefing, referring to the presence of the Chinese Coast Guard and fishing militia in the contested waterway. Fagan mentioned the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum, a multilateral forum where coast guards from other countrues discuss areas of shared interest. This forum includes the US, Canada, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. "Forums like the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum provide … [Read more...] about US Coast Guard monitoring Chinese militia in South China Sea

Carpio pushes ‘truth movement’ on South China Sea MANILA, Philippines — The most senior magistrate of the Supreme Court (SC) has called for a “truth movement” to correct what he described as propaganda in Philippine media pushing for China’s fake historical claims on the disputed South China Sea. As this developed, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said yesterday its personnel spotted a Chinese naval vessel outside the vicinity of Panatag Shoal in Zambales, aside from Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ships during monitoring from June 6 to 9. Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio asked Filipino communicators to use their freedom of expression and the power of social media “to expose to the world, and to the Chinese people themselves, the falsity of the historical claim of the Chinese government to the South China Sea,” particularly China’s nine-dash- line claim. “We can invite the peoples of Vietnam, … [Read more...] about Carpio pushes ‘truth movement’ on South China Sea

China claims naming South China Sea islands with English names Patricia Lourdes Viray (Philstar.com) - June 4, 2019 - 12:40pm MANILA, Philippines — Distancing itself from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Beijing insisted that artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea have been named a long time ago. Speaking at the 2019 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Chinese Ministry of Defense Security Cooperation Center director Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, talked about the artificial islands in the South China Sea. Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, questioned Zhou's pronouncements at the annual security forum. "(I)f they are artificial islands, where did their names come from?" Koh tweeted June 1. British journalist Bill Hayton, associate fellow at the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House, said that some of the islands in the South … [Read more...] about China claims naming South China Sea islands with English names

Duterte to discuss South China Sea with Japan's Abe (Philstar.com) - May 23, 2019 - 1:07pm MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected to discuss matters of defense and security, such as the South China Sea dispute. Duterte has been invited to the annual Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia next week. This will be his third visit to Japan since assuming office in 2016. The two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the Nikkei forum in Tokyo on May 31. This will be their seventh meeting, the last one was in November 2018 at the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Singapore. "This will be an opportunity for both leaders to take stock of the progress of our strengthened strategic partnership in Japan in broad areas of our cooperation," Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Meynardo Montealegre said in a press briefing. According to Montealegre, Duterte … [Read more...] about Duterte to discuss South China Sea with Japan’s Abe

Palace mum on Beijing's South China Sea fishing ban Patricia Lourdes Viray (Philstar.com) - May 21, 2019 - 4:52pm MANILA, Philippines — While Hanoi already expressed opposition against Beijing's unilateral fishing moratorium in the South China Sea, Manila refuses to comment on the matter. The Chinese government started its annual fishing ban in the South China Sea, which includes waters that are in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, on May 1 Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said questions pertaining to other countries should be referred to the Department of Foreign Affairs. "The policy of the government will always be consistent with its policy that it will assert its sovereignty over the areas claimed to be its own so it will always pursue that line," Panelo said in a press briefing Tuesday. Asked if China's fishing ban violates Philippine sovereignty, the Malacañang spokesman refused to … [Read more...] about Palace mum on Beijing’s South China Sea fishing ban