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☆ Taiwan reports rise in Chinese military activity as U.S. election nears
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Taiwanese Coast Guard personnel work on a vessel off the coast of Nangan Township, in the Matsu Islands on Oct. 15, 2024, a day after China conducted the "Joint Sword-2024B" military drills around Taiwan. Taiwan's defense ministry said on Sunday it had spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the island's south on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second day in a row it has reported such activities. China's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and its arms sales to Taipei, including a $2 billion missile system announced last month, infuriate Beijing. Taiwan's defense ministry said that from 9 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Sunday it had detected 37 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters, nuclear-capable H-6 bombers and drones.

Organizations: Coast Guard, U.S, infuriate Locations: Nangan Township, Matsu, China, Taiwan, Pacific, Taipei, United States, infuriate Beijing

☆ Newly released photos capture British commandos and American forces hunting down a narco-sub carrying $209 million of cocaine in the Caribbean
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewBritish and American forces recently intercepted a drug-smuggling narco-sub carrying millions of dollars worth of Cocaine in the Caribbean Sea. Military photos show the bust, which was the first time the Royal Navy had ever intercepted a narco-sub. The Trent team has seized over 20,000 pounds of drugs in the past eight months, valued at almost $1 billion. AdvertisementThe Trent team is now the best hunter of smugglers in the Royal Navy this century. Related storiesAfter the Royal Navy and US Coast Guard retrieved the drugs, they brought them aboard for inspection.

Persons: —, HMS, clambered, Tim Langford, HMS Trent's, Simon Doran, Kevin Ray J, Salvador Organizations: Service, American, Royal Navy, Business, US Coast Guard personnel, American Coast Guard, Royal Marine commandos, Trent, Royal, USCG, US Coast Guard, US Marine Corps, Marine Corps, Corps, . Marine Corps Locations: Caribbean, HMS Trent, Dominican Republic

☆ The U.S. Must Stand Up to Beijing in the South China Sea - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Oriana Skylar Mastro | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past 15 years, China has expanded its once-minimal military presence in the South China Sea into a significant one. China has used nonmilitary assets such as its Coast Guard, fishing vessels and maritime militia to bully its neighbors, blockade their ships and build Chinese military bases on disputed islands. Like any unchallenged bully, China has become increasingly aggressive. Last month, Chinese Coast Guard personnel attacked a Philippine supply vessel with axes and other crude weapons — Manila says a Filipino sailor and several others were injured — in one of the worst acts of violence between China and its rivals in the South China Sea in years. The shoal lies about 120 miles off the Philippine island of Palawan and is well within the nation’s exclusive economic zone.

Persons: —, Shoal Organizations: Coast Guard Locations: China, South, Beijing, America, United States, Philippine, Manila, Filipino, Sierra Madre, Philippines, Palawan

☆ China is testing the limits of a critical U.S.-Philippines defense pact — will Washington respond?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Dylan Butts | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

An aerial view shows a Philippines Navy vessel that has been grounded since 1999 to assert the nation's sovereignty over the Second Thomas Shoal, a remote South China Sea reef also claimed by China. Experts say the latest incident represents an escalation and shows the limitations of the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty signed in 1951. Ezra Acayan | Getty Images News | Getty Images"The Philippines will continue to resupply the Sierra Madre, and hopefully invest in more outposts in their Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea ... The Philippines defense chief has reiterated that the military would not announce its resupply missions to the shoal in advance. The country has also been working to bolster its own defense capabilities in the South China Sea with the support of the U.S.What's at stake?

Persons: Thomas, Jay Directo, Thomas Shoal, Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, Chester Cabalza, Cabalza, Ezra Acayan, Richard Heydarian, Abdul Rahman Yaacob, Matteo Piasentini, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Paisentini, Lowy Institute's Yaacob, Geopolitica's Organizations: Philippines Navy, Afp, Getty, U.S ., Philippines Mutual Defense, International Development, Security Cooperation, Bilateral, Philippine Coast Guard personnel, Coast Guard, University of the, U.S, Pacific Command, Philippines, Lowy, Asia Program, Philippine Navy, Sierra Madre Locations: Philippines, China, South China, Spratly, Philippine, Manila, Beijing, U.S, South, U.S . China, Washington, University of the Philippines, Philippine Government, United States, Pacific, Italian, Sierra, Asia

☆ 'Only pirates do this,' a general said after China's Coast Guard, armed with bladed weapons, clashed with Philippine boats in the South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Only pirates do this," General Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a social media post regarding the recent actions of the Chinese coast guard. This is how barbaric the Chinese Coast Guard is in the recent RoRe mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Chinese coast guard might have used pirate-like tactics, but it's not legally piracy. This photo taken on February 15, 2024, shows an aerial view of Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. The nine-dash line is a map marking designating China's sweeping and controversial claims to the South China Sea.

Persons: —, Romeo Brawner Jr, …, 7vzFDem1DE — Jay Tarriela, it's, Harrison Prétat, Thomas Shoal, Prétat, Thomas, Brawner, Philippines MaryKay Carlson Organizations: Service, Staff, Armed Forces, Business, China, China's Coast Guard, South China, Coast Guard, Center for Strategic, Studies, Maritime Transparency Initiative, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre, UN, ROSA, Philippine Navy, Mutual Defense, People's Locations: Philippines, China, Philippine, Beijing, South, BRP Sierra, Scarborough Shoal, AFP, South China, Manila, It's, People's Republic of China

☆ Video shows Chinese coast guard brandishing an ax in a low-tech clash with the Philippines navy
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The Philippines released video showing Chinese coast guard during a skirmish in the South China Sea. It called Monday's incident, in which the Chinese brandished weapons, "a brazen act of aggression." It's the latest in a series of Chinese provocations in the South China Sea. AdvertisementThe Philippine army has shared video that it says shows China Coast Guard personnel wielding an ax and other weapons at them during a tense encounter in the South China Sea on Monday. Chinese coast guard also flung rocks, slashed boats with "bladed and pointed weapons," and blared sirens and strobe lights during the encounter, which damaged the boats, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, China Coast Guard, Armed Forces, Business Locations: Philippines, South China, South

☆ ‘Only pirates do this’: Philippines accuses China of using bladed weapons in major South China Sea escalation
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Nectar Gan | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —The Philippines has accused China’s Coast Guard of launching a “brutal assault” with bladed weapons during a South China Sea clash earlier this week, a major escalation in a festering dispute that threatens to drag the United States into another global conflict. A Philippine Navy serviceman on the rubber boat lost his right thumb when the Chinese Coast Guard rammed it, Torres said. China’s Coast Guard also deployed tear gas, “blinding” strobe lights and continuously blared sirens, the AFP said. “The Chinese Coast Guard personnel had bladed weapons and our personnel fought with bare hands. This is the closest China’s Coast Guard has come to the BRP Sierra Madre, Koh noted.

Persons: Thomas Shoal, –, ” Collin Koh, ” Koh, “, ”, Alfonso Torres Jr, Torres, Romeo Brawner Jr, ” Brawner, Ferdinand “ Bongbong ” Marcos Jr, Marcos, Matthew Miller, Enrique A, Antony Blinken, ” Derek Grossman, Koh, they’re, Thomas, Washington “, ” “ Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Coast Guard, Chinese Foreign Ministry, Philippine, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, Philippine Navy, Armed Forces, Getty, Western Command, Chinese Coast Guard, China’s Coast Guard, Staff, Getty Images Mutual, South China, US State Department, Mutual Defense, RAND Corporation, China Coast Guard, Philippine personnel, Navy Special Operations Group, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre Locations: Hong Kong, Philippines, China, United States, Manila, Spratly, Philippine, Singapore, AFP, ’, China’s, South, States, US, Washington, South China, The Hague, Beijing, India, BRP Sierra, BRP Sierra Madre

☆ Filipino soldiers had to use their bare hands to fight off Chinese coast guards with swords, a general said
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Rachel Hosie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Filipino soldiers defended themselves against an attack by Chinese coast guard, a general said. One soldier reportedly lost a thumb while others were injured and boats were damaged. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementFilipino soldiers had to defend themselves with bare hands against Chinese coast guard armed with swords and knives, according to the Philippines. The Chinese coast guard personnel reportedly rammed their vessels into boats belonging to the Philippines on Monday, and boarded and attacked them, the BBC reported, leaving some injured and one soldier having lost a thumb.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, BBC, Business Locations: Beijing, Philippines, China

☆ The red flags that will tell us when China's actually ready to invade Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

"I don't think they lack for anything that they need," Lyle Goldstein, director of Asia engagement at Defense Priorities, said of China's forces. Military forces are being deployed nearer to Taiwan than ever, effectively shortening Taiwan's reaction time. Stockpiling of China's rocket force, too, suggests it would have more than enough missiles and rockets to target Taiwan. One common concern is that as China's military exercises around Taiwan have grown in frequency and size, the line between exercise and potential attack is becoming blurred. Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via Getty ImagesExperts, as well as US and Taiwan lawmakers and military officials, have long debated about the readiness of the People's Liberation Army as China's military is known.

Persons: —, Lyle Goldstein, Stringer China, Xi, Thomas Shugart, who's, Shugart, Goldstein, Mike Studeman, Xi Jinping, Dean Cheng, haven't, Cheng, Xie Huanchi, There's, Kyle Amonson, Dane Egli, Annabelle Chih, Getty Images Goldstein, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Business, Defense, REUTERS, Taiwan's, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense, US Department of Defense, China Economic, Security, PLA, Patriot, US, Center, New, New American Security, Marine Corps, China Coast Guard, Scarborough, ROSA, Military, of Naval Intelligence, Pacific Command, US Institute of Peace, of, People, Getty Images, People's Liberation Army, CCP, Soviet, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Japan, US Coast Guard, Chinese Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party, Kyodo, Stills Locations: China, Taiwan, Asia, Liaoning, Beijing, New American, AFP, Hong Kong, Xinhua, DoD's China, Cuba, US, Tainan, Japan, Philippines

☆ Senator says Coast Guard used illegal agreements to silence sexual assault victims
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Melanie Hicken | Blake Ellis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —US Coast Guard leaders illegally used nondisclosure agreements to prevent sexual assault victims from speaking out about their alleged attacks, according to a congressional inquiry sparked by a CNN report into sexual misconduct at the prestigious Coast Guard Academy. CNN reported last year that Coast Guard leaders had guarded the secrecy of the internal investigation to the point that officials with access to case materials had to sign non-disclosure agreements. “Requiring victims to agree not to discuss what happened to them is particularly reprehensible,” Sen. Ted Cruz wrote in a letter to the Coast Guard Sunday. Cruz’s letter is just the latest fall-out for the Coast Guard since the Fouled Anchor controversy broke last June. “This is a disservice to the survivors of rape and other sexual assaults at the Academy, whom the Coast Guard has already failed once,” he wrote.

Persons: Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, Adm, Linda Fagan, ” Cruz, Fagan, Cruz, ” Sen, Nathan Howard, Chris Murphy, ” Organizations: CNN, US Coast Guard, Coast Guard Academy, Academy from Congress, Republican, Coast Guard, Senate, Getty, Department of Homeland, Department of Homeland Security, Operation, GAO, Academy Locations: Connecticut

☆ Satellite images reveal floating barrier at mouth of disputed atoll in South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Satellite images of the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea show a new floating barrier across its entrance, near where Philippine ships and China coast guard vessels have had frequent run-ins. China claims the Scarborough Shoal, although it is inside the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. An international arbitration tribunal in the Hague said in 2016 that China's claims had no legal basis — a decision Beijing has rejected. That makes the atoll one of Asia's most contested maritime features and a flashpoint for diplomatic flare-ups over sovereignty and fishing rights. The satellite image bolsters a report and video distributed by the Philippine Coast Guard, or PCG, on Sunday showing two Chinese coast guard inflatable boats deploying floating barriers at the shoal's entrance on Feb 22.

Persons: BRP Datu Tamblot, Hague, China's Organizations: Philippine Bureau of Fisheries, Aquatic Resources, BRP Datu, Maxar Technologies, Reuters, Fisheries, Philippine Coast Guard Locations: China, Scarborough, South China, South, Philippine, Philippines, Beijing

☆ Opinion: Why we can’t let go of the mystery of Amelia Earhart
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Opinion Dorothy Cochrane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A marine robotics company recently captured an object on the ocean floor, about 15,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Earhart’s flight plan was well known. According to Earhart biographer Doris Rich, the US government had obtained permits for the countries she would stop in along the way. And it fit her need of a refueling stop in the western Pacific Ocean. In 1997, pilot Elgen Long and his wife Marie Long published the book, “Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved.” The Longs laid out facts and solid suppositions for others to follow.

Persons: Dorothy Cochrane, Read, Dorothy Cochrane Carolyn Russo, Amelia Earhart, Fred Noonan, Howland, Earhart, —, “, Tony Romeo, Romeo, Noonan, Doris Rich, Roosevelt, Earhart’s, George Putnam, Rich, Itasca, Elgen Long, Marie Long, “ Amelia Earhart, reengineered, Lockheed Electra NR16020, Electra Organizations: General Aviation, Aeronautics Department, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, CNN, Lockheed, US Coast Guard, DSV, Coast Guard personnel, Nauticos Inc Locations: Howland Island, Lae , New Guinea, United States, Howland, Itasca, Honolulu , Hawaii

MALE, Maldives (AP) — The Maldives government says it has asked for clarification of why Indian coast guard personnel boarded three Maldivian fishing vessels operating within its economic zone earlier this week without consultation. The Maldives military also found that Indian coast guard personnel had boarded two more boats, the statement said without explaining what they did on the boats . Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu was part of an “India Out” campaign as an opposition politician, demanding the removal of Indian military personnel stationed in some islands. The largest number of tourists visiting the Maldives come from India, making up 11% of the total last year. It is said there are at least 75 Indian military personnel in the Maldives and their known activities include transporting patients from remote islands and rescuing people at sea.

Persons: Mohamed Muizzu, Muizzu, Narendra Modi, Modi Organizations: —, Indian, Maldives ., Maldives Locations: Maldives, India, Maldivian, Dhivehi, China, Lakshadweep, New Delhi

The fishermen, led by Saligan, reported to the Philippine coast guard that Chinese coast guard personnel drove them away from the disputed Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines on Jan. 12 and ordered them to dump their catch of fish and seashells back to the sea. However, five Chinese coast guard personnel, three of them armed with steel batons, followed by boat, alighted on the islet and ordered the fishermen to leave. Go away,” Saligan said he told the Chinese coast guard personnel, who he said insisted that they leave the shoal immediately. They wanted us to return our catch to the sea,” Saligan told a small group of journalists, including from The Associated Press, in Manila. Philippine coast guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said the written statements and video submitted by Saligan and his men have been validated as accurate by the coast guard.

Persons: Joely Saligan, Manila’s, Saligan, ” Saligan, “, Commodore Jay Tarriela, ” Tarriela, Tarriela, Thomas Shoal, Joeal Calupitan, Aaron Favila Organizations: Scarborough, The Associated Press, China, United, Associated Press Locations: MANILA, Philippines, China, Shanghai, Beijing, Manila, Washington, Philippine, Scarborough Shoal, South China, United States, Asia, U.S

☆ Philippines deploys vessels to monitor 'illegal' presence of Chinese boats in South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Philippine Coast Guard personnel looks through a binocular while conducting a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea, October 4, 2023. The West Philippine Sea is Manila's term for waters in the South China Sea that fall within its 200-nautical mile EEZ. An international tribunal invalidated China's claim to 90% of the South China Sea in 2016, but Beijing does not recognise the ruling. The Philippines is ramping up efforts to counter what it describes as China's "aggressive activities" in the South China Sea, which has also become a naval flashpoint for Chinese and U.S. tension. China has accused the Philippines of enlisting "foreign forces" to patrol the South China Sea and stirring up trouble.

Persons: Adrian Portugal, Julian Felipe Reef, Karen Lema, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Philippine Coast Guard, REUTERS, Rights, South China, Embassy, Thomson Locations: South China, Rights MANILA, South, Manila, Philippines, West Philippine, Philippine, Beijing, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, United States, Australia, The Philippines

☆ Philippines, Japan, U.S. hold first trilateral coast guard manoeuvres
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Moments later, its crew are marched away with their hands on their heads, concluding a simulation of a counter-terrorism operation in the South China Sea between the coast guards of the Philippines, and allies the United States and Japan. Tuesday's manoeuvre is part of an inaugural trilateral coast guard exercise between the three countries, coming at a time of growing unease over China's maritime conduct in the region. The drill was a mock interception of a vessel carrying weapons of mass destruction, where Philippines coast guard personnel encounter armed resistance while boarding the vessel and are tasked with bringing the situation under control. "All the exercises we do, we help one another to prepare for anything that may possibly happen in the future," said John Ybanez, a spokesperson for the Philippine coast guard. The exercises in waters off Bataan province involve more than 500 coast guard personnel and also include search and rescue and counter-piracy scenarios.

Persons: BRP Melchora Aquino, John Ybanez, China's militarisation, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Rodrigo Duterte, Adrian Portugal, Martin Petty, Mark Potter Organizations: Philippine Coast Guard, BRP, Thomson Locations: Philippines, Japan, U.S, Bataan, BATAAN, Philippine, South China, United States, China

☆ Rain and floods in Philippines leave 32 dead and others missing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Philippines — Heavy rains and floods that devastated parts of the Philippines over the Christmas weekend have left at least 32 dead and 24 missing, the national disaster response agency said Thursday. More than 56,000 people were still in emergency shelters after bad weather disrupted Christmas celebrations in the eastern, central and southern Philippines. Some residents in the province were seen hanging on to floaters as coast guard rescuers pulled them across chest-deep floods using a rope. An elderly woman is carried by coast guard personnel wading through floodwaters in Plaridel, Philippines, on Monday. It forecast light to heavy rains in the next 24 hours for some of the same areas affected by the floods.

☆ Taiwan's remote islands are on the frontline with China — sometimes only a few hundred yards from Chinese troops
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Taiwan is roughly 100 miles from mainland China, but some Taiwanese islands are much closer. Taiwan's outlying islands would stand little chance against China, but they wouldn't be easy to take. While celebrated, this year's anniversary was also a reminder of Taiwan's islands' growing vulnerability to Chinese attack. Taiwan's islands are much easier to reach. Tourists watch a Chinese military helicopter fly over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan, on August 4.

☆ With tension rising in the Pacific, US special operators have a new goal: Creating 'multiple dilemmas' for China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

US special operators are aiming to create "multiple dilemmas" for China, SOCOM's commander says. Multiple dilemmasUS Navy SEALs, Philippine Navy special operators, and Australian special-operations soldiers during an exercise in Palawan in April. 1st Class Jared N. GehmannUS special operators need to continue "developing and strengthening the partner and ally piece that's a comparative and competitive advantage for this nation," Fenton said. Moreover, US special operators have been working closely with all US military branches to better understand how those branches operate and how SOCOM can support them in a conflict with China. The Pentagon's top special-operations official said in May 2021 that special operators could be "a key contributor" to resisting a Chinese attempt to seize Taiwan.

☆ German business owner behind Gold’s Gym among 6 feared dead in small plane crash off Costa Rica
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Six people, apparently including the German businessman behind Gold’s Gym, were feared dead Saturday after a small plane crashed into the Caribbean just off the Costa Rican coast. All five passengers were believed to be German citizens, Security Minister Jorge Torres said. A flight plan filed for the small, charter plane listed Rainer Schaller as a passenger. A man by the same name runs international chains of fitness and gym outlets, including Gold’s Gym and McFit. Costa Rica's Coast Guard personnel unload debris found during the search for a small plane that crashed off the coast in Limon on Oct. 22, 2022.

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