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☆ U.N. Expert Tells Philippines to Act on Media Killings, Abolish Anti-Communist Task Force
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Irene Khan, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, spent almost two weeks in the Philippines to assess the state of free speech and media rights. "The Philippines remains a dangerous country for journalists," Khan said, adding "much more needs to be done to attack impunity". A U.N. special rapporteur who visited Manila last year had a similar recommendation. The task force has been accused of "red-tagging", the practice of accusing government critics of being rebel sympathisers as a pre-text to silence, arrest or even kill them. The task force will "transition to a different body", given the weakening communist insurgency, Malaya said.

Persons: Irene Khan, Khan, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Jonathan Malaya, Mikhail Flores, Timothy Heritage Organizations: United, United Nations Educational, Cultural Organization, UNESCO, World Press Locations: MANILA, United Nations, Philippines, Manila, Malaya

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken steps to to address human rights abuses in the country, including the killings of journalists and rights activists, a U.N. expert said Friday. Khan said she underscored the need for the Marcos administration to seek justice for rights victims under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. She cited U.N. figures saying that at least 81 past killings of journalists in the Philippines have not been investigated and remain unresolved. He insisted that the task force Khan wants disbanded had helped weaken the communist insurgency in recent years, with just 1,500 guerrillas remaining. Once remaining guerrilla fronts have been dismantled, the task force would turn to promoting peace and national unity, Malaya said.

Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Irene Khan, Khan, Marcos, Rodrigo Duterte, ” Khan, ” Jonathan Malaya, Joeal Calupitan, Aaron Favila Organizations: United Nations, —, Communist Party of, New People’s Army, National Security Council, Associated Press Locations: MANILA, Philippines, Philippine, Manila, Malaya

A Philippine flagged boat is blocked by a China Coast Guard vessel during an incident that resulted in a collision between the two vessels, in the disputed waters of the South China Sea in this screen grab obtained from handout video released October 22, 2023. China Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMANILA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Philippines repeated its call for China to stop "provocative actions", warning that its attempts to block Manila's resupply missions to a disputed atoll in the South China Sea could have "disastrous results". NSC's Malaya accused China of "increasing tensions" in the South China Sea and maintained it was China's actions that caused Sunday's collision. But we are concerned by the escalation and provocations by Chinese vessels who have no business being in the West Philippine Sea," Malaya said. Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz and Karen Lema; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jonathan Malaya, Thomas, Jay Tarriela, Enrico dela Cruz, Karen Lema, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: China Coast Guard, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, National Security Council, China's coastguard, coastguard, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre, Philippine Coast Guard, Thomson Locations: Philippine, South, Rights MANILA, Philippines, China, BRP Sierra, Manila, NSC's Malaya, West Philippine, Malaya

☆ Philippines Tells China to Stop Provocative Actions in South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Enrico Dela Cruz and Karen LemaMANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines repeated its call for China to stop "provocative actions", warning that its attempts to block Manila's resupply missions to a disputed atoll in the South China Sea could have "disastrous results". The shoal is in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. It has also summoned the Chinese ambassador and has filed a diplomatic protest, its foreign ministry said. NSC's Malaya accused China of "increasing tensions" in the South China Sea and maintained it was China's actions that caused Sunday's collision. But we are concerned by the escalation and provocations by Chinese vessels who have no business being in the West Philippine Sea," Malaya said.

Persons: Enrico Dela Cruz, Karen Lema MANILA, Jonathan Malaya, Thomas, Jay Tarriela, Enrico dela Cruz, Karen Lema, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: National Security Council, China's coastguard, coastguard, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre, Philippine Coast Guard Locations: Philippines, China, South, Philippine, BRP Sierra, Manila, NSC's Malaya, West Philippine, Malaya

China Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERSMANILA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Wednesday denied making an agreement with China to remove a grounded warship that serves as a military outpost in South China Sea, and said if there ever were such a deal, it should be considered rescinded. China on Monday accused the Philippines of reneging on a promise made "explicitly" to remove the ship, which was grounded in 1999 to bolster its territorial claims in one of the world's most contested areas. Jonathan Malaya, National Security Council assistant director general, earlier challenged China to produce evidence of the promise. China and the Philippines have been embroiled for years in on-off confrontations at the shoal, the latest on Saturday. China has built militarised, manmade islands in the South China Sea and its claim of historic sovereignty overlaps with the EEZs of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Thomas Shoal, I'm, Marcos, Jonathan Malaya, Thomas, Jay Batongbacal, Neil Jerome Morales, Karen Lema, Martin Petty Organizations: Coast Guard, China Coast Guard, REUTERS, National Security Council, Philippines, China, South China, University of the, Thomson Locations: Philippine, REUTERS MANILA, China, South China, Philippines, Sierra, Manila, reneging, China's, Sierra Madre, Malaya, South, Thomas Shoal . China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, University of the Philippines

☆ China repeats call for Philippines to remove grounded warship
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The dispute over the Second Thomas Shoal in South China Sea came after Manila accused China's coast guard of "excessive and offensive actions" against Philippines vessels. "China once again urges the Philippine side to immediately remove the warship from Second Thomas Shoal and restore it to its unoccupied state," China's foreign ministry said in a statement. Tensions have soared between the two countries over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports Manila in its maritime disputes with China. Echoing the foreign ministry, the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines said on Tuesday China had no choice but to respond. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which overlaps with the waters of Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Persons: Thomas Shoal, Thomas, Jonathan Malaya, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Huang Xilian, Ella Cao, Liz Lee, Karen Lema, Jacqueline Wong, Gerry Doyle Organizations: China Coast Guard, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine, REUTERS, National Security Council, South China, China, Thomson Locations: South, BEIJING, MANILA, Philippines, Manila, Beijing, South China, China's, China, Philippine, Ayungin, United States, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan

Tensions have soared between the two neighbours over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China. China's embassy in Manila criticised Washington for "gathering" its allies to continue "hyping up" the South China Sea issue and the boat incident. "South China Sea is not a 'safari park' for countries outside the region to make mischief and sow discord," the embassy said in a statement on Tuesday. The Second Thomas Shoal, which lies within the Philippines exclusive economic zone, is home to a handful of troops living aboard the former warship Sierra Madre. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Thomas, Thomas Shoal, Erik De Castro, Rommel Ong, Ong, Collin Koh, There's, Koh, Jonathan Malaya, Lloyd Austin, Gilbert Teodoro, Bernadette Baum, Alex Richardson, Sharon Singleton Organizations: South China, coastguard, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre, Philippine Navy, REUTERS, Singapore's, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, Philippines National Security Council, China, U.S . Defense, Philippines Defense, Pentagon, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, MANILA, China, Philippines, Manila, South, Philippine, United States, China's, Washington, Sierra Madre, BRP Sierra, Spratly, Beijing, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, U.S, Japan, France

Images from the Philippine Coast Guard also showed the Chinese ship moving dangerously close in front of the Philippine Coast Guard vessels as they escorted the resupply boats. Manila’s claims are backed by the international Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, which ruled in 2016 that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea. “Two Filipino supply vessels and two coast guard vessels illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Renai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands,” Gan Yu, spokesman for the China Coast Guard, said according to the statement published on its website Sunday. Gan reasserted Chinese territorial claims on the islands and the South China Sea and vowed to continue law-enforcement activity within the region. And on Monday, China’s coast guard, in a statement, accused Manila of trying to “permanently occupy” Chinese sovereign territory.

Persons: Thomas, Renai, Matthew Miller, Ottawa “ unreservedly, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Thomas Shoal, Collin Koh, ”, Koh, Philippine Sen, Alan Peter Cayetano, Gan Yu, Gan, Jeffrey Ordaniel, Blake Herzinger, Lloyd Austin, Gilberto Teodoro Jr, Jonathan Malaya, ” Koh, Ordaniel Organizations: CNN, Coast Guard, Philippine Coast Guard, South China, Philippines Mutual Defense, US State Department, Canadian Embassy, Ottawa, Chinese Coast Guard, Philippines Coast Guard Philippine, Philippine Foreign Ministry, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre, Court, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, CNN Philippines, China Coast Guard, Facebook, Pacific Forum, Tokyo International University, United States Studies Center, US, Philippine, Monday’s, National Security Council Locations: China, Philippine, South, United States, Philippines, Washington, Manila, Australia, Japan, Germany, South China, Beijing, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, BRP Sierra, Hague, Singapore, China’s Nansha, China’s, “, Malaya

☆ As US and Philippine defense ties grow closer, China drives wedge over Taiwan issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But the election of his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, last year has returned relations to a more even keel, in part because Manila has become wary of a more assertive China. Last year the US granted $100 million to boost the Southeast Asian country’s defense capabilities and military modernization. Heydarian added that China has to rethink its strategy towards the Philippines, as the Marcos Jr administration is openly more aligned with the US. China remains one of the top trade partners of the Philippines, while Marcos Jr also continues to negotiate energy and agriculture investments from Beijing. Some worry Marcos Jr might be giving too much access to the US, especially when it comes to bases and facilities close to Taiwan, Heydarian said.

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