VERA Files
The video erroneously used a two-year-old report about fisherfolk working in the disputed waters, also called Bajo de Masinloc, and incorrectly presented it as recent.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III has told reporters that the Senate will be asking the Supreme Court Monday to rule on whether the president can unilaterally abrogate a treaty without the concurrence of the Senate that ratified the pact.
Tatlong maling pahayag ang ginawa ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte nang sinabi niya na China ang nagmamay-ari ng buong West Philippine Sea, at nakawala sa Pilipinas at napunta sa China ang buong Spratly Islands sa isang standoff noong nakaraang administrasyon.
President Rodrigo Duterte made three wrong claims when he said China is in possession of the entire West Philippine Sea, and that the Philippines lost the entire Spratly islands to China in a standoff during the previous administration.
10 years, 10 stories.
Ambassador to China Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana does not see Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordering the withdrawal of Chinese Coast Guard ships from Scarborough shoal and returning to the pre-April 8, 2012 situation, when the area was under the control of the Philippines, despite Beijing’s improved relations with the Rodrigo Duterte government.
The agreed framework for a Code on South China Sea was the most important achievement of the recently-concluded meeting of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which segued to more meetings with its dialogue partners and the Asean Regional Forum.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have adopted a framework for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, but its character and mechanics are still up for negotiation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. One thing is certain, though: it will not cover bilaterally disputed areas such as the Scarborough shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, which is claimed by both Beijing and Manila.
Sharing the spotlight at the launching of Senior Justice Antonio T. Carpio’s E-Book, “The South China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea” at the Manila Polo Club Thursday was a glass- encased 1734 Murillo-Velarde map.
China has denied that they are building an environmental monitoring station in Scarborough Shoal which they call “Huangyan Dao” as reported by Reuters last week based on a news report in the Chinese language newspaper Hainan Daily.