PH troops accused of destroying Chinese fishing nets in Ayungin ---- Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Beijing has accused Filipino troops of destroying and removing fishing nets installed by Chinese fishermen within the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. China’s official news agency Xinhua made the allegation on Tuesday, claiming that military personnel on board the BRP Sierra Madre “repeatedly damaged” the fishing nets last May 15. • Philippines vows to maintain BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal: official Over 2,000 meters of Beijing’s fishing nets were damaged while more than 100 meters were confiscated by Manila, Xinhua alleged. • US to deploy assets in South China Sea as PH asks for ‘greater deployment’: PCG ABS-CBN News has reached out to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Navy for comment, but both have yet to respond as of posting. 'PH CAN DO SO' Professor Renato de Castro, an international studies professor at the De La Salle University, said the AFP had a right to conduct such operations, given that Ayungin Shoal is within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This means the Philippines has sovereign rights over the area. • 'Atin 'To' mission 'doing best' to bring provisions to fishers in West PH Sea “It’s our legitimate right to do so because it is impeding normal military procedures… Those fishing nets are not there to catch fish,” De Castro told ABS-CBN News on Thursday. The international affairs analyst added China placed the fishing nets very close to the BRP Sierra Madre to obstruct “naval and humanitarian operations.” “It’s not installed there by the Chinese fisherfolk. They were installed there by the China Coast Guard to impede a normal routine naval and humanitarian operation. We have to provide basic food to Marines on board the BRP Sierra Madre,” De Castro claimed. This allegation is the latest in China’s series of accusations against personnel of the BRP Sierra Madre. De Castro believes this is part of China’s moves to weaken the Philippines’ narrative and to gain the sympathy of the international community. • Philippines says China disrupted medical evacuation in West PH Sea “They’re reacting to the speech delivered by the president. They accuse us of hyping the tension in the South China Sea, so they’re trying to basically distract the narrative, the discourse, and telling the world that we are the ones triggering the tension,” De Castro noted. • 'Subtle yet strong': Experts praise Marcos speech at Shangri-La Dialogue Beijing has also accused Filipino troops of pointing their guns at China Coast Guard personnel last May 19. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has denied these allegations.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more