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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, in his first remarks over the latest flare up, said the Philippines was upholding its rights to fish in its exclusive economic zone. China, which says Scarborough Shoal is its territory, has chided the United States for what it calls provocations in the region. Since cutting the floating barrier, the Philippines has observed less Chinese presence in the shoal, Tarriela said. There were three Chinese coastguard vessels and one maritime militia ship seen from an inspection flight on Thursday, versus seven Chinese vessels last week, Tarriela said. There were two Filipino vessels fishing in the shoal, but it remains a struggle to enter the lagoon, he added.

Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Ursula von der Leyen, Aaron Favila, Marcos, we're, Jay Tarriela, Tarriela, Enrico Dela Cruz, Neil Jerome Morales, Martin Petty, Mark Potter Organizations: coastguard, Philippine coastguard, Manila, Washington, Thomson Locations: Philippine, Manila, Philippines, China, shoal's, coastguard MANILA, Scarborough, Beijing, United States

However, confusing the picture core inflation accelerated to 8.0% in March from February's 7.8%, the fastest pace since 1999. Nicholas Mapa, an economist at ING bank, said a sustained downtrend in inflation could make the BSP consider hitting the pause button on its most aggressive interest rate hiking cycle for years. "Today's inflation reading could be one additional data point that could convince Governor Medalla that inflation is finally moderating," Mapa told Reuters. "We expect inflation to moderate further in April which could open up the door for a BSP pause at the May meeting." Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who is one of the seven members of the central bank's policy making monetary board, said on Tuesday, the central bank has probably done enough to address inflation.

Summary Jan CPI at fresh 14-year high of 8.7%Faster-than-expected inflation raises odds of bigger rate hikeEconomic planning chief says inflation to moderate this yearMANILA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Philippine annual inflation blew past expectations in January to reach a fresh 14-year high on surging food prices, raising the chance of the central bank delivering a bigger interest rate hike to tame prices when it meets this month. Given the faster-than-expected inflation in January, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) looks certain to hike interest rates by at least 25 basis points and with a bigger 50 bps likely to be on the table, ING economist Nicholas Mapa said in a Tweet. The Philippines' broader stock index (.PSI) dropped 0.4% in early trade on expectations of a larger rate hike, while the peso had slipped 0.5% at 54.73 per dollar as of 0211 GMT. The main factor behind January's red-hot inflation was the 11.2% annual rise in food inflation, the quickest pace since 2009, and compared to the previous month's 10.6%, and the 1.6% rate in the same month last year. Elevated inflation, plus the need to maintain interest rate differentials between the U.S. and the Philippines, have forced the central bank to embark on aggressive tightening, with the benchmark rate (PHCBIR=ECI) rising by a total of 350 bps last year.

[1/2] Construction of new buildings alongside older establishments is seen within the business district in Makati City, metro Manila, Philippines January 25, 2017. "We are confident that we will remain in our high growth trajectory," Baliscan told a media briefing on Thursday. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP growth came in at 2.4% in October-December, compared with expectations for a 1.5% rise and the previous quarter's upwardly revised 3.3% expansion. Like the rest of the world, the Philippines is battling red-hot inflation, currently running at 14-year highs, which if not tamed could crimp domestic consumption, a major driver of growth. "We expect a difficult year ahead for the Philippines," Capital Economics said in a note, citing the impact of high inflation and tighter monetary policy on domestic spending.

Costlier vegetables drove food inflation up to 10.0% in November from a year earlier, the fastest pace since September 2018, due to supply constraints caused by a typhoon. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the core CPI rose 6.5%, faster than October's 5.9%. Year-to-date inflation stood at 5.6%, well outside the central bank's 2%-4% target for the year. ING economist Nicholas Mapa said the central bank would likely opt for a 50-basis point rate hike this month, which would take the policy rate (PHCBIR=ECI) to 5.50%. "Demand side pressures persist with revenge spending related items like restaurant and personal services seeing higher inflation," Mapa said in a message on Twitter.

The economy would likely grow above the government's 6.5%-7.5% growth target for 2022, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a media briefing. On a quarterly basis, gross domestic product (GDP) rose 2.9% versus a 0.1% contraction in April-June and an expected 1% rise, the data showed. "While these developments are remarkable, I want to underscore that our nation still faces a considerable burden in the form of high inflation," Balisacan said. Balisacan said the government remained committed to fighting inflation to protect people's purchasing power, including by tightening monetary policy. "In the face of surging prices, that's a big upside surprise," said ING economist Nicholas Mapa.

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