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President Duterte’s mantra is “China is in possession of the West Philippine Sea (WPS).” The President made this declaration on several occasions: the November 2018 Asean-India Summit in Singapore, his July 2019 and 2020 State of the…
There is a tiny sandbar called Sandy Cay about two nautical miles from Pag-asa Island, which at about 37 hectares is the largest Philippine-occupied island in the Spratlys. Before 2017, Sandy Cay was a disappearing sandbar. Half…
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque praised President Duterte’s policies in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) as “careful, calibrated, and calculated.” In contrast, Roque assailed proposals from former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario and myself as “illegal, impractical, and…
The President’s spokesperson Harry Roque issued a statement last April 23, 2021, that President Duterte never entered into a “verbal fishing agreement” with China’s President Xi. Roque declared: “There is no truth to the speculation of a…
China claims that part of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) enclosed by the nine-dash line is a traditional fishing ground of Chinese fishermen. That would make about 80 percent of the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in…
President Duterte railed in September 2020 against Western vaccine manufacturers for requiring vaccine buyers to make advance payments from 30 to 50 percent of the purchase price. The President stated that Philippine law prohibits making advance payments…
In April 2018, President Duterte declared, “I just simply love Xi Jinping.” President Duterte made this declaration in a press conference in Davao City just before he left for China to attend the Boao Forum for Asia.…
The 1987 Constitution expressly prohibits the storage of nuclear weapons in the Philippines, adopting a “policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in (Philippine) territory.” Last week, President Duterte threatened to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with…
The Philippines’ performance, both in the management of the pandemic and the economy, was the worst among all Southeast Asia countries in 2020. The nation’s recovery now hinges on two factors: the rapid vaccination of 80 percent…
What has prevented a third world war are two provisions in the 1945 United Nations Charter. The first provision outlaws the threat or use of force to settle disputes between or among states, while the second provision…
China has unleashed another deadly virus into the world—this time a legal virus that can only roil even more the seething dispute in the South China Sea. Last week China approved a new law, to take effect…
The Manila Times reported last Jan. 5, 2021, “Magistrates and legal experts denounced the International Criminal Court (ICC) for pushing an investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines during the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs…
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