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Speaking ahead of his flight, Marcos said he looked forward to meeting President Xi Jinping and that "the issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as the Philippines and China". Last week, a Philippine foreign ministry official said talks with Xi would include China's actions in the South China Sea. While the Philippines is a defence ally of the United States, under Duterte it set aside a territorial spat over the South China Sea in exchange for Chinese investment. Beijing claims much of the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, with the area becoming a flashpoint for Chinese and U.S. tensions around naval operations. But while De Castro expects the South China Sea issue to be brought up, he does not expect Beijing to alter its position.

☆ Philippines floods, landslides kill 44 after Christmas Day rains
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The death toll from flooding and landslides caused by Christmas Day rains in the southern Philippines rose to 44, with 28 others still unaccounted for, the national disaster agency said on Friday. Damage to infrastructure and crops has been estimated at 1.36 billion pesos ($24.4 million), it said in a bulletin. Heavy rains submerged villages, towns and highways in the Visayas and Mindanao regions on Christmas Day, forcing more than 50,000 people to flee their homes. The floods had subsided but intermittent rains continued, the agency said. So we have to keep watching the other areas also," a presidential palace statement quoted him as saying.

☆ Philippines extends tariff cuts on imported rice, other food items to fight inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has approved the recommendation of the economic ministry to extend up to the end of next year lower tariff rates on rice and other food items to help combat inflation, his office said on Sunday. The modified rates approved in 2021 were due to expire at the end of this year, but an inflation rate running at 14-year highs warranted an extension of the tariff reprieve until Dec. 31, 2023. That means the tariff rate for imported rice will stay at 35%, while the import levies on corn and pork products will remain at 5%-15% and 15%-25% respectively, the press secretary's office said in a statement. At 8.0% in November, consumer price inflation is well beyond the Philippine central bank's target range of 2%-4% for this year and the medium term. "We are determined to steer the Philippine economy to meet the 6.0%-7.0% economic growth target for 2023," Balisacan said.

☆ Asia's year in review: Who had it good — and who had it bad — in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Curtis Chin | Jose Collazo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

As the new year approaches, we turn again to our annual look at Asia's winners and losers. Government and business leaders in every major economy — China now included — may well hope 2023 is the year when draconian pandemic-related lockdowns become a matter of history. Underscoring the Taiwanese tech industry's critical role, a Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)/Boston Consulting Group 2021 study found that 92% of the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity is located in Taiwan. With numbers like those, Taiwan's semiconductor industry ends the year on the move, still building ties and winning growing support from business and government in the United States and elsewhere. Mixed Year: Asia's 'love' for cryptoAs in much of the world, investors in Asia — once bedazzled if not bewitched by the crypto industry — end the year in a mixed mood.

☆ Philippine economic managers back bill creating sovereign fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANILA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Philippine economic officials have thrown their support behind the creation of a sovereign wealth fund backed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr amid opposition from some groups due to concerns over the risk of corruption and transparency. The economic managers "strongly support" the proposed sovereign wealth fund to generate additional income for the government, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told a media briefing, as he called for the speedy passage of the bill creating the fund. "Direct benefits of the (fund) include increased investments in and funding of big ticket infrastructure projects, high return on green and blue projects, and countryside development including agriculture," Diokno said, reading a joint statement. Authors of the bill have agreed to remove that contentious provision, and instead proposed utilising the profits of the Philippine central bank to bankroll the fund. The plans come as neighbours like Malaysia and Singapore and more recently Indonesia have established sovereign wealth funds, with mixed results.

☆ Philippines needs to find ways to exploit South China Sea resources, says Marcos
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANILA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Philippines must find a way to explore for oil and gas in the South China Sea even without a deal with China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday, emphasising his country's right to exploit energy reserves in the contested waterway. Talks over joint energy exploration between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea had been terminated, the previous government said in June, citing constitutional constraints and issues of sovereignty. I think there might be other ways so it does not have to be G-to-G (government-to-government)," Marcos said. During a three-day visit last week, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris affirmed American defence commitments to the Philippines and reiterated support for a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing's expansive South China Sea claims. The ruling, which China refused to recognise, states that the Philippines has sovereign rights to exploit energy reserves inside its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

☆ Philippine leader hopes court will reconsider Manila power deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The court allowed South Premiere Power Corp., a unit of San Miguel Corp (SMC.PS) to suspend a power supply agreement with Manila Electric Company (Meralco) (MER.PS) after the companies were prevented from raising tariffs by the regulator. "We hope that the CA (Court of Appeals) will reconsider and include in their deliberations the extremely deleterious effect this will have on power prices for ordinary Filipinos," Marcos was quoted as saying, describing the decision as "unfortunate". South Premiere and Meralco had sought to raise prices amid higher costs of coal, which the Energy Regulatory Commission rejected in September citing fixed prices set under power supply agreements. Marcos, who began his six-year term in June, has promised lower electricity rates, which are among the highest in Asia. Higher electricity prices would put further pressure on Philippine inflation, which hit the fastest pace in nearly 14 years last month.

☆ Philippines to cut tariffs on electric vehicles, parts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A Philippine inter-agency panel chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday approved removing tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) to spur demand amid high fuel costs. Marcos will issue an executive order cutting to 0% the most favoured nation tariff on EVs like passengers cars, buses, vans, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles, and their parts for five years. Consumers in the Philippines currently need to shell out $21,000 to $49,000 for an EV, versus the $19,000 to $26,000 price for conventional vehicles. Of the country's more than five million registered automotives, only 9,000 are electric, mostly passenger vehicles, government data show. The Southeast Asian nation's automotive sector relies mostly on imported fuel.

☆ Kamala Harris says U.S. will defend Philippines in South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines — Vice President Kamala Harris called on countries Tuesday to stand up for territorial integrity and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, which has been challenged by China, and said Washington would press an international campaign against “irresponsible behavior” in the disputed waters. Haiyun Jiang / APCiting the profound stakes for America and the international community in the region, particularly in the busy South China Sea, Harris called for a broad effort to fight for unimpeded commerce and freedom of navigation and overflight in the disputed waters. Haiyun Jiang / AFP - Getty ImagesIn Palawan’s main city of Puerto Princesa, Harris visited a small fishing community and discussed with impoverished villagers the impact of illegal fishing on their livelihood. China has warned Washington not to meddle in what it calls an Asian dispute and has said that U.S. Navy and Air Force patrols and combat exercises in the disputed waters are militarizing the South China Sea. In July, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s vast territorial claims on historical grounds in the South China Sea.

☆ Kamala Harris’ visit to the Philippines sends China a message of US intent
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

According to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, the Philippines occupies nine features in the Spratly chain while China occupies seven. In 2016, a tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a maritime dispute, concluding China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea. “Philippine President Marcos appears open to the idea of pursuing pragmatic cooperation in the South China Sea, while not surrendering its long-standing position when it comes to the territorial issues in the South China Sea,” Banlaoi said. During her trip to the Philippines, Harris is expected to make a number of other announcements including tighter US cooperation with Manila on clean energy, cybersecurity, communication and agriculture. The deals show US intent in the Pacific region, but one South China Sea expert said Harris’ trip to the military base risks aggravating Beijing to the potential detriment of the Philippines.

☆ U.S. Vice President Harris to affirm defense commitment to Philippines
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MANILA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will reaffirm American commitments to the defence of the Philippines when she meets with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Monday, a senior U.S. administration official said. "The vice president will underscore our commitment to stand up for the international rules and norms because we recognise the impact that that has on Philippine lives and livelihoods," the U.S. official said. "The vice president will tell President Marcos that we are pleased to see our security ties in such strong position," the U.S. official said. Washington and the Philippines have moved ahead with an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that dates back to the Obama administration and that languished under Duterte. Last week, Philippine military chief Bartolome Bacarro said the United States had proposed including five more bases in the EDCA, including one in Palawan.

Harris also plans a highly symbolic stop on the Philippine islands of Palawan in the South China Sea to show U.S. support for its ally. "So if they want American support in the South China Sea, the Americans will expect Philippine support on Taiwan." "The second Philippine demand is a continued clear commitment to defend Filipinos in the South China Sea," Poling said. If there was a Chinese attack on a Philippine base in the South China Sea tomorrow, could the Americans actually do anything about it? China claims 90% of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory, but is opposed by five Southeast Asian states and Taiwan.

☆ With Philippines visit VP Harris seeks to reset relations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REBUILDING TIESThe visit by Harris will be the highest-level trip to the Philippines by an administration official and marks a sharp turnaround in relations. With Marcos in office, the Biden administration is attempting a reset. China claims 90% of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory, but is opposed by five Southeast Asian states and Taiwan. Arsenio Andolong, a Philippine defense department spokesman, told Reuters there is no reason for China to fear Harris' visit. A senior Biden administration official offered a different summary.

☆ Factbox: What is APEC and which leaders are attending Bangkok summit?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] A general view outside of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center venue during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, at Asoke Junction, in Bangkok, Thailand November 17, 2022. The United States will be the APEC host in 2023. CHINA PRESIDENT XI JINPINGXi met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Bangkok on Thursday for talks. RUSSIA FIRST DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ANDREI BELOUSOVBelousov will represent President Valadmir Putin at APEC. PAPUA NEW GUINEA PRIME MINISTER JAMES MARAPEMarape will hold meetings with U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken.

☆ Kamala Harris, Philippines' Marcos to discuss Taiwan -envoy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Vice-President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at the Pennsylvania Democratic Party's third annual Independence Dinner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 28, 2022. Reuters/Tasos KatopodisMANILA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Tension over Taiwan is expected to be on the agenda when U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr next week, Manila's ambassador to Washington said on Thursday. "I'm sure they will touch on the Taiwan situation," Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez told Reuters by telephone, adding that the Philippines wants to play a role in peaceful co-existence between the United States and China. It has frequently accused the United States in recent years of encouraging Taiwan independence. If there is a conflict that happens in Taiwan, nobody is going to be spared," Romualdez said.

☆ Xi tells Marcos stability on South China Sea issues key to good bilateral ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the G20 leaders summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Dita Alangkara/Pool via REUTERSBEIJING, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr at a meeting on Thursday that the strength of bilateral ties hinged on stable relations at sea, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. Xi was referring to disputes over areas of the South China Sea that have plagued relations between Beijing and Manila. CCTV said Xi also told Marcos on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok that the two countries need to stick to amicable negotiations to resolve differences over South China Sea issues. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista Editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Days after Biden's face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping, Kamala Harris is making a rare trip to a South China Sea hotspot
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Palawan looks over the South China Sea, where Beijing and its neighbors have competing claims. "This is another historic visit, as the vice president is the highest-ranking US official ever to visit Palawan," a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday. It divides the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea, where the Philippines is one of several countries that dispute Beijing's expansive claims. The Philippine province of Palawan separates the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea. Asked on Tuesday how China should view the trip, the US official said, "China can take the message it wants.

☆ Southeast Asia leaders kick off ASEAN summit in Cambodia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Cambodia, this year's chair for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is hosting the weekend summit in Phnom Penh — the group's first in-person meeting since the Covid pandemic. Leaders from the U.S., China, South Korea and Japan will also be meeting ASEAN leaders in Phnom Penh. "Looking to the future, ASEAN needs to strongly promote the values that have made ASEAN successful over the past five decades. The ASEAN nations want more trading partners, the more, the better," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Thursday. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia is a peace treaty among Southeast Asian countries established in 1976.watch now

☆ ASEAN summit begins with Myanmar likely to dominate agenda; 'little progress expected'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cambodian Prime Minister and ASEAN host Hun Sen addressed Friday's opening ceremony with a call for vigilance and wisdom during times of economic and geopolitical turmoil. The junta has blamed a lack of progress on the pandemic and obstruction from armed resistance movements that it calls terrorists. James Crabtree, Executive Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies-Asia, said ASEAN was struggling to cope with internal divisions over Myanmar and other issues. One Western diplomat who will attend the meeting said that while the bloc may try to make the Myanmar peace plan more action-oriented, "little progress is expected". G20 leaders are meeting in Bali next week and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will take place in Bangkok after that.

☆ Philippines' Marcos to address Myanmar situation at ASEAN summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MANILA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Wednesday the situation in Myanmar will be among several issues that will be addressed at the ASEAN summit. "We will also address regional issues such as the pandemic and the situation in Myanmar, developments in the South China Sea and the ongoing conflict between Russia and the Ukraine among other important matters," Marcos said in a speech ahead of his departure for Cambodia where the summit is being hosted. Reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Philippine President Marcos inspects landslide-hit province, death toll at 110
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday conducted an aerial inspection over a southern province hit by landslides triggered by tropical storm Nalgae that killed 110 people. More than 100 people were injured and 33 were still missing as a result of widespread flooding and multiple landslides, the disaster agency said. Nalgae is headed for southern China after damaging $22 million worth of farm goods and $13 million worth of infrastructure, government data showed. It is the second-most destructive storm to hit the Philippines so far this year, after tropical storm Megi killed 214 people in April. "When we were doing aerial inspection, I noticed that landslides occurred in denuded mountains and that was the problem," said Marcos, who also visited an evacuation centre in Maguindanao province.

☆ Storm Nalgae in the Philippines kills 48, while 22 others are still missing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Residents wade through a flooded street in Kawit town, Cavite province on Oct. 30, 2022, a day after Tropical Storm Nalgae hit. The death toll from flooding and rain-induced landslides in the Philippines has climbed to 48, the country's disaster agency said on Sunday, with 22 others recorded missing after tropical storm Nalgae inundated many parts of the archipelago. Most of the casualties were recorded in the southern autonomous region of Bangsamoro, where 40 died due to landslides, with 10 still missing, the disaster agency said. Nalgae, which made landfall five times, is this year's second-most deadly cyclone to hit the Philippines, which sees an average of 20 tropical storms annually. The Philippine weather bureau said Nalgae was tracking westward and it could re-intensify into a typhoon over the South China Sea while heading toward southern China.

☆ Storm Nalgae death toll climbs to 48 in Philippines, 22 missing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A mother and a child wade through a flooded road following heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Nalgae, in Las Pinas City, Metro Manila, Philippines, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Lisa Marie DavidMANILA, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The death toll from flooding and rain-induced landslides in the Philippines has climbed to 48, the country's disaster agency said on Sunday, with 22 others recorded missing after tropical storm Nalgae inundated many parts of the archipelago. Most of the casualties were recorded in the southern autonomous region of Bangsamoro, where 40 died due to landslides, with 10 still missing, the disaster agency said. Nalgae, which made landfall five times, is this year's second-most deadly cyclone to hit the Philippines, which sees an average of 20 tropical storms annually. The Philippine weather bureau said Nalgae was tracking westward and it could re-intensify into a typhoon over the South China Sea while heading toward southern China.

☆ Manila braces for Tropical Storm Nalgae that has hit the Philippines, killing dozens and causing devastation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Hannah Williams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

45 people are reported dead after storm Nalgae hit the Philippines. The tropical storm is expected to hit the capital of Manila on Saturday, a BBC report says. A man walks along a flooded street in Manila on October 29, 2022, following heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Nalgae. A resident walks past a destroyed house in the landslide-hit village of Kusiong in Datu Odin Sinsuat in the southern Philippines' Maguindanao province on October 29, 2022. Residents with their belongings arrive at a school that serves as an evacuation centre in Marikina on October 29, 2022, following widespread flooding from heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Nalgae.

☆ Explainer: Why is ASEAN holding a special meeting on Myanmar?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Martin Petty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In August it cited "notable progress" on the peace plan, without providing specifics, but said its commitment would be determined by developments on the ground. It has accused its opponents of trying to sabotage the ASEAN plan and has justified military offensives as necessary to secure the country and enable political talks. Instead of advocating for the five-point ASEAN plan, the generals have instead been pushing a five-step roadmap of their own towards a new election, with few similarities. Suspending Myanmar as an ASEAN member would be extremely unlikely, as would any trade sanctions, and the junta has demonstrated it will not respond to threats. ASEAN has so far opted to bar the generals from key summits and invited non-political representatives instead, which the junta has declined.

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