US, Philippines to boost military cooperation after 'unlawful' China actions at sea --- ABS-CBN News

MANILA — US and Philippine defense chiefs on Friday said they would "increase the pace and scope" of their engagements, following China's alleged "unlawful" actions that led to two collisions in the West Philippine Sea. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III and Filipino counterpart Gilberto Teodoro Jr. earlier Friday discussed in a call the Chinese coast guard and militia vessels' "dangerous and unlawful maneuvers" that caused collisions with Philippine resupply and Coast Guard ships, Manila's defense department said. Austin and Teodoro "reaffirmed that the Mutual Defense Treaty extends to both countries’ public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces—to include the Coast Guard—anywhere in the Pacific to include the South China Sea," the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) said. The pact states the two countries will come to each other's defense in case their metropolitan areas or territories are attacked. "Both Secretaries committed to redouble efforts to strengthen bilateral coordination, interoperability, and support for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Secretary Austin reiterated his commitment to the Philippines and the Indo-Pacific is ironclad," the DND said in a press release. The agency added that Austin and Teodoro "commended recent bilateral military cooperation, including the bilateral sail last month off the coast of Palawan, and committed to increase the pace and scope of US-Philippines engagements." The defense chiefs will meet in Jakarta on the margins of the upcoming ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus. Manila said Monday that Chinese vessels "intentionally hit" Philippine boats which were on a resupply mission for troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal last weekend. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning accused the Philippines of "continuing to spread false information and hype things up". Manila's longtime ally Washington has led a chorus of international criticism of China's alleged interference in the resupply mission. "I want to be very clear. The United States defense commitment to the Philippines is ironclad," US President Joe Biden said Wednesday. "Any attack on Filipino aircraft, vessels or armed forces will invoke our Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines," he added.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

Gaza war rages into fourth month as Blinken tours Middle East Adel Zaanoun with Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, --- Agence France-Presse

The Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza entered its fourth month on Sunday as the army again pounded the besieged Palestinian territory and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was back in the region seeking to avoid a wider escalation. Israeli airstrikes overnight and early Sunday killed at least 64 people in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, said its health ministry. It said two journalists were killed when their car was struck. The ministry, medics, and witnesses identified them as Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for Agence France-Presse, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza who earlier lost his wife and two other children in an Israeli strike. Israeli bombardment also claimed other civilian lives in the southern city of Khan Yunis and in the Rafah area near the Egyptian border, where many of the territory's displaced people have sought refuge, AFP correspondents reported. Relatives were mourning the dead at Khan Yunis' European Hospital, am
Read more