Philippines

[phkrause]

US, Philippines hold largest war drills near disputed waters

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — American and Filipino forces on Tuesday launched their largest combat exercises in decades in the Philippines and its waters across the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, where Washington has repeatedly warned China over its increasingly aggressive actions.

https://apnews.com/article/us-philippines-military-exercises-60af099f1526c6fce180d217e97788ad?

[phkrause]

US destroyer sails through Beijing-claimed waters in South China sea: US Navy

The US Navy said its guided-missile destroyer the USS Milius sailed through waters claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea in a “freedom of navigation” operation on Monday.

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/04/10/US-destroyer-sails-through-Beijing-claimed-waters-in-South-China-sea-US-Navy-?

[Dr. Shane]

Yes, it seems China wants to start trouble.  We live in a broken world.  It seems that people just don't want peace.  At lease the leaders do not.

[phkrause]

US displays firepower in combat drills with Philippines

FORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines (AP) — U.S. and Filipino forces on Thursday blasted vehicles with anti-tank missiles in combat-readiness drills in the Philippines that are part of a show of American firepower that has alarmed China.

https://apnews.com/article/united-states-military-philippines-balikatan-exercises-977fa21f19a4d82c163869bc3c7d0943

[phkrause]

Tense face-off: Philippines confronts China over sea claims

ABOARD BRP MALABRIGO (AP) — A Chinese coast guard ship blocked a Philippine patrol vessel steaming into a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, causing a frightening near-collision in the latest act of Beijing’s aggression in the strategic waterway.

https://apnews.com/article/philippines-dispute-south-china-sea-patrol-27ee9778f7302938c5090644e3d153c2?

[phkrause]

Biden hosts Philippines leader Marcos as China tensions grow

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy’s harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

https://apnews.com/article/philippines-marcos-biden-china-6f064bd1972bc5e377d19eabfe9da25c

[phkrause]

US, Philippines hold largest war drills near disputed waters

ABOARD BRP CABRA (AP) — As a United States Navy plane circled overhead, two Philippine boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in a dangerous confrontation Tuesday in the disputed South China Sea to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces guarding a contested shoal.

https://apnews.com/article/south-china-sea-disputes-philippines-b7a110ca593f502759b690a3cf071912?

[phkrause]

US renews warning it will defend Philippines after incidents with Chinese vessels in South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States renewed a warning Monday that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.

https://apnews.com/article/south-china-sea-philippines-collision-67aa7e2ca5df4f4e3a7c3bceff46c26f?

[phkrause]

AP PHOTOS: Lunar New Year in the Philippines draws crowds to one of the world’s oldest Chinatowns

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Crowds are flocking to Chinatown in the Philippine capital to usher in the Year of the Wood Dragon and experience lively traditional dances on lantern-lit streets with food, lucky charms and prayers for good fortune.

https://apnews.com/article/philippines-lunar-new-year-dragon-183d2476e1baab8efc6ac98e39aa1ebb?

[phkrause]

Blinken underscores ‘ironclad’ support for the Philippines as it clashes with China in disputed sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored Washington’s “ironclad commitment” Tuesday to help defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack against its forces after clashes between Chinese and Filipino coast guards in the disputed South China Sea recently turned more hostile.

https://apnews.com/article/us-philippines-blinken-marcos-south-china-sea-0c39aa94e32469f3d608561c2c0f167c?

[phkrause]

The Philippine president says he won’t give US access to more local military bases

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president said Monday his administration has no plan to give the United States access to more Philippine military bases and stressed that the American military’s presence in several camps and sites so far was sparked by China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.

https://apnews.com/article/philippines-us-military-china-marcos-a89fc14bdef820b83d4a18adb557b487?

[phkrause]

US and Philippine forces sink a ship during largescale drills in the disputed South China Sea

LAOAG, Philippines (AP) — U.S. and Philippine forces, backed by an Australian air force surveillance aircraft, unleashed a barrage of high-precision rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes Wednesday and sank a mock enemy ship as part of largescale war drills in and near the disputed South China Sea that have antagonized Beijing.

https://apnews.com/article/philippines-china-us-military-drills-sea-ship-0157be2b96b90abad85b9c30b29e40a0?

[phkrause]

Sleepy far-flung towns in the Philippines will host US forces returning to counter China threats The coastal town of Santa Ana in the northeastern tip of the Philippine mainland has long been known by tourists mostly for its beaches, waterfalls and a few casinos. But that’s changing after the laid-back town of about 35,000 people, which still has no traffic light, became strategically important to America. Read more.

Why this matters: The United States and the Philippines are longtime treaty allies. Together, they have identified Santa Ana as one of nine mostly rural areas where rotating batches of American forces could encamp indefinitely and store their weapons and equipment on military bases.   In recent years, Washington has been reinforcing an arc of military alliances in Asia to counter an increasingly assertive China, which it now regards as its greatest security challenge. That dovetails with Philippine efforts to bolster its external defenses after an alarming spate of hostilities with Beijing in the South China Sea that started last year.   The remote town is caught in the geo-political rivalry between Washington and Beijing because of its strategic location, across a sea border from Taiwan. Some villagers have expressed apprehension over the prospect of living near U.S. forces, but others have acknowledged that even without the U.S. forces, the town would likely be affected in any major-power military showdown.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Top Philippine security official demands Chinese diplomats’ expulsion as territorial row escalates   China publicizes for the first time what it claims is a 2016 agreement with Philippines   Defense chiefs from US, Australia, Japan and Philippines vow to deepen cooperation

[Asia Joe]

Well, here is a report direct from the Philippines.

 

There seems to be many reports in North America about the tensions between PH and China. This is not a topic that people talk about here.

There is no talk about this in the general population. Possibly this is a manufactured crisis?

The major talk is about a woman mayor of a small town north of Manila that now seems to be a Chinese citizen. Next to city hall is an 8 Hector plot of land, of which she is part owner, filled with buildings. In these buildings are mostly for online gambling. This was legalized by the previous president Duterte. Most of these "Pogo's" are run by Chinese.

The economy is in a nosedive since Covid, except for tourism, that seems to be coming back.

 

The Peso is trading at an all-time high, around 58.5 to the dollar.  This is causing problems because the federal debt is borrowed in dollars. So they have to pay back more and spend less.

 

[Asia Joe]

The Adventist church is growing very strong here in the Philippines. The Division head is here. There have been major changes in leadership in the last 5 years. We had a new div president who only lasted a couple of years before moving up to the GC. He made many changes in personnel. The new div president is focused on growth. He has promoted splitting Conferences in half. Some were over 40,000 members. He promoted splitting some unions. All of these splits have been very beneficial to grow and leadership.

[phkrause]

Politician who pushed Philippines natural gas boom is behind firm that planned to profit

BATANGAS, Philippines (AP) — An influential politician in the Philippines, who has been a cheerleader for natural gas power, is behind a company that planned to make a fortune from it, an Associated Press investigation of thousands of pages of documents has found.

https://apnews.com/article/liquefied-natural-gas-lng-methane-philippines-batangas-e92e4f9cc1bfca342971b30aa5927498?

[phkrause]

Philippine president angers China with new laws to demarcate South China Sea territories

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws on Friday reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, angering China, which claims the hotly disputed waterway almost in its entirety.

https://apnews.com/article/philippine-maritime-zones-act-archipelagic-sea-lanes-act-south-china-sea-4ecec3f00ab9367d948e5af3959aea21?

[phkrause]

The Philippine vice president publicly threatens to have the president assassinated

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday she has contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker if she herself is killed, in a brazen public threat that she warned was not a joke.

https://apnews.com/article/philippines-president-marcos-duterte-assassination-0946ce72c2475b58a2daf54efa32fe45?

[phkrause]

Philippine President Marcos says he’ll fight vice president’s plot to have him killed

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday described a public threat by the vice president to have him killed by an assassin as a criminal plot and vowed to fight it, in a looming showdown between the country’s two top leaders.

https://apnews.com/article/philippine-president-marcos-duterte-death-threat-374ef4c452e99150d751bdb3130b68a0?

[phkrause]

Philippine president offers a deal to China: Stop sea aggression and I’ll return missiles to US

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offered on Friday to remove a U.S. missile system from the Philippines if China halts what he called its “aggressive and coercive behavior” in the disputed South China Sea.

https://apnews.com/article/china-philippines-us-missile-system-d2d7aeeaeef0ea9d93f105ae6614ab02?

[phkrause]

Duterte arrested

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested today by the government he once led after it said it received an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity. Duterte has been investigated by the ICC over his brutal anti-drugs crackdown during his time in office that killed more than 6,000 people based on police data, though independent monitors believe the number of extrajudicial killings could be much higher. Duterte, 79, was taken into custody amid chaotic scenes at Manila's main airport after returning to the Philippines from Hong Kong. Duterte questioned the basis for the warrant. “What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?” he said in a video posted online by his daughter. CNN has reached out to Interpol and the ICC for comment. Previously labeled “Asia’s Trump” by some commentators due to his unorthodox leadership style and bombastic rhetoric, Duterte swept to power in 2016 on a promise to wage war against drugs and drug pushers in the Southeast Asian nation. The ensuing brutal crackdown killed thousands — many of the victims were young men from impoverished shanty towns, shot by police and rogue gunmen as part of a campaign to target dealers.

[phkrause]

Detained Philippines ex-President Duterte wins mayoral race in his home city

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was elected as mayor in his home city by a landslide, official results showed Tuesday, despite his detention by the International Criminal Court. Read More.

[Asia Joe]

He filed the paperwork before he was arrested. He never believed he would be arrested.

He won the election because it was a show of support by the people of that town. It was meaningless. The Vice Mayor will now run the town.

Not a big news story here.

[phkrause]

Filipino forces and villagers struggle to live in China’s shadow in disputed waters Filipino forces and villagers have been struggling to live in Beijing's shadow in the disputed South China Sea while fighting isolation on remote islands. Beijing claims virtually the entire waterway, a vital global trade route with rich undersea deposits of gas and oil. It has increasingly flexed its military might, including its navy — the largest in the world — to strengthen its grip on a strategic waterway it says it has owned since ancient times. Read more.

Why this matters: The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan contest China’s expansive claims with their own, and the territorial stand-offs have increasingly flared into cat-and-mouse confrontations at sea in recent years.   The long-simmering disputes are also a delicate fault line in the regional rivalry between Beijing and Washington. Both former President Joe Biden and his successor, Donald Trump, have condemned China’s growing aggression in the contested waters, including its coast guard’s use of powerful water cannons, blinding military-grade lasers and dangerous sea maneuvers against the coast guard and navy of the Philippines, Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Taiwan indicts four former members of ruling party accused of spying for China   Rights group says global brands are at risk of links to forced labor in China’s minerals industry   Hong Kong police accuse a mobile game app of promoting armed revolution

[Asia Joe]

I assure you, the average Filipino has more to do than to worry about the Chinese. 

The economy is dropping, tourism is in a slump.  Many people are waiting for the newly elected people to take office. 

Other than that, it is the same old thing here.