By CHARMAINE DEOGRACIAS WHETHER Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk about Scarborough Shoal in their first meeting in Beijing, the specter of the triangular-shaped coral reef 124 nautical miles west of Zambales looms large in this landmark visit that signals the rekindling of relations between the two Asian countries severely
By CHARMAINE DEOGRACIAS Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will visit Beijing on Oct. 20 and 21, in what reliable diplomatic sources say is a move to reboot the country’s relations with China amid territorial issues in the South China Sea. Duterte had earlier announced he is visiting China and Russia but did not give the
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS FORMER President Fidel V. Ramos said there are some things he has to discuss with President Duterte before he agrees to be the latter’s special envoy to China. Duterte made the announcement during a tribute to him by his fellow Bedans at Club Filipino in Greenhills last Thursday and Ramos said,
By CHARMAINE DEOGRACIAS WASHINGTON DC – Incoming Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is not expected to swing to China’s side opposite of the United States but will instead place the country in between the two big powers, foreign policy and defense experts said in an Asia Pacific Foreign Policy and Defense Seminar at the East
By BRYAN EZRA GONZALES WEEKS before a ruling is expected on the arbitration case of the Philippines at The Hague, a senator is urging the youth to pressure the government to boost the country’s defense capabilities. “This century will not be a peaceful century,” Senate Minority Floor Leader Juan Ponce Enrile said, referring to escalating tensions
By Ellen T. Tordesillas The Navy Times, the official publication of the United States Navy, reported last week that “The Navy is preparing to send a surface ship inside the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit China claims for its man-made island chain.” It said that
By VERA Files CHINA has invited President Benigno Aquino III to a celebration commemorating the 70th year since the end of the Second World War, which the Chinese government said will be the grandest anniversary marking Japan’s surrender to Allied Forces in 1945. Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua confirmed that the invitation for
By ELLEN TORDESILLAS CHINA’S President Xi Jinping may boycott the 2015 Leaders Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to be held in Manila on Nov. 18 and 19, a diplomatic source said. The source said the reason for Xi’s change of mind about attending this year’s APEC summit was the remarks of
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS THE Republic of China (ROC) or Taiwan has its issue with mainland China (PROC-People’s Republic of China) but in matters of ownership of almost the whole of South China Sea, they have the same line. In the statement released by Taiwan Tuesday, it asserted that Nansha islands also known as
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS and TESSA JAMANDRE Despite the presence of a high-level Philippine team at the hearing of the Philippines’ case against China before the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) this week, the issue of who owns the contested islands in the South China
