VERA FilesMicrosite to provide a deeper understanding of the South China Sea issue.
It was short and clear. And combative.
On October 13, 1995, state parties meeting in Vienna, Austria agreed on what is known as the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. Since it was a treaty and which by United Nations procedure meant that each country would deposit its individual country consent at the UN headquarters in New York, the new protocol entered into force on July 30, 1998. As of 2018, 109 countries have deposited their consent.
The assurance of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Feb. 2 that the Mutual Defense Treaty is applicable on the West Philippine Sea will be tested in Ayungin Shoal as Chinese ships become more determined to block any more attempts by the Philippine Navy to repair the dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre, which is holding out as a block to China’s expansionism in the South China Sea.
Ayungin Shoal, internationally known as Second Thomas Shoal and called Ren’ai Reef by China, is part of the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf of the Philippines, according to the July 12, 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional today a 2005 agreement on joint exploration by the Philippines, China, and Vietnam of an area in the disputed South China Sea.
As leader of the nation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must place the defense of Philippine territory against foreign intrusion at the forefront of his administration to make it a top national concern by the public who are more worried about high prices, low wages, and unemployment.
When former president Rodrigo Duterte buckled under China’s bullying and reimposed a 2014 moratorium on drilling in the Reed Bank, off the coast of Palawan, in April, he and his advisers most likely did not realize that it would cost the government at least $13.78 million (about P800 million with today’s exchange rate) in unnecessary spending.
Retired Justice Antonio Carpio has urged President Ferdinand Marcos to provide security for the drilling operations of Forum Energy Ltd. when the company resumes its stalled oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea.
Sa ika-pitong episode ng What the F?! podcast ng VERA Files, alamin ang mga tamang impormasyon tungkol sa mga kalituhan at disinformation tungkol sa arbitral award na nakamit ng Pilipinas noong 2016.
Six years after the Philippines’ arbitral tribunal victory against China regarding the South China Sea, mis- and disinformation about it continue to spread.