Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his nation won’t deploy Navy warships to the South China Sea in response to recent clashes with Beijing in disputed waters.
Marcos Says Philippines Won’t Send Warships After China Clashes
Previously:
Philippines to match China’s gray zone tactics in South China Sea
What’s Really Going On In the South China Sea Between the Philippines and China
What’s Really Going On In the South China Sea Between the Philippines and China
by Tina Antonis
Maritime clashes between the Philippines and China had been mostly over the Philippines’ military outpost, BRP (BRP—Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas, which translates to “Ship of the Republic of the Philippines”—the ship prefix for the Philippines) Sierra Madre, in the Spratly Islands, which is disputed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan (a province of China, as recognized by the United Nations’ Resolution No. 2758), and Vietnam. The BRP Sierra Madre was intentionally run aground on a reef near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands, in 1997, so that the Philippines could stake their territorial claim.
Read More »
Read it at Antiwar.com or here with graphics. FYI, the “Ant” in Antonis is pronounced as 🐜.
Unlocking China’s “Media Unlocked” Propagandists
Recently, Media Unlocked unveiled its latest triumph–an interview with a former U.S. president’s brother, Neil Bush, whose George H.W. Bush Foundation For U.S.-China Relations has allegedly received millions of dollars from a group associated with CCP influence operations. Bush–apparently unconcerned that he was participating in Beijing’s propaganda campaign–helpfully sang the praise of China’s communist system, its electric vehicle industry and, incredibly, even announced that he was observing a “massive freedom movement” in today’s China.
Propagandists? Und das bist du nicht?
Now, let’s get into who’s funding the George H.W. Bush Foundation For U.S.-China Relations. Powell links to a Fox News article about its funding from the China–United States Exchange Foundation, based in Hong Kong. The Fox News article links to an Axios article (which is behind a paywall). Nowhere does Powell mention that the foundation also gets funding from the U.S. Department of State, The Rockefeller Foundation, etc.
Read More »Territorial wrangling over who owns the South China Sea has strangled local marine life, say scientists, urging China and the Philippines to set aside political differences and work to save the fish, coral and plants that live border-free.
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Since 2013, China has built artificial islands that cover more than 3,000 acres of the Spratlys, according to U.S.-based policy organisation Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.
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A study last December by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative also blamed China’s dredging and clam harvesting for destroying almost 20,000 acres of reefs in the South China Sea.
Less politics more marine diplomacy – a fix for South China Sea?
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) is part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Gregory Poling is director of the AMTI. The same Poling that told the U.S. government-funded Voice of America that “Vietnam’s use of cutter suction dredgers is much more environmentally destructive than its previous dredging methods.”
According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Vietnam occupies around 50 outposts, The Philippines occupies nine, Malaysia occupies five, and China occupies seven in the disputed Spratly Islands.
Previously:
Experts warn of Philippines scheming for ‘new arbitration’ on South China Sea + More
Vietnamese Poachers using Cyanide and Dynamite Fishing in the Philippines’ EEZ
Philippine Coast Guard clarifies ‘assertive transparency’ tact
MANILA, Philippines — The spokesperson of the country’s security council said a replacement vessel is now actively patrolling Sabina (Escoda) Shoal, the latest flashpoint of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
Replacement ship for Sabina Shoal now on patrol — Security Council
Related:
Collin Koh is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies which is a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, based in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has research interests on naval affairs in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on Southeast Asia.
Surprisingly, I didn’t see Powell there. /s
PH gov’t encourages youth participation in WPS sovereignty campaign (Translation by Google Translate)
The Philippine government anchors transparency* efforts in its vision to make the West Philippine Sea (WPS) an “intergenerational concern.”
Commodore Jay Tristan Tarriela of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said that the main objective of the government’s efforts is to ensure that the fight for the WPS will be continued by future generations.
Tarriela joined the third episode of the PN Conversations organized by Palawan News on September 13.
“The national government’s responsibility now for the younger generation is for us to hold the line so that the next generation of Filipinos can still be able to fight for our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
The transparency effort implemented under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., is part of the government’s obligation to provide the right information to Filipinos, he added.
Tarriela believes that the right information will also awaken Filipinos’ sense of patriotism, particularly among the youth.
The government’s transparency could also raise awareness among the international community about the situation in the WPS.
The limited information given during the previous administration under former president Rodrigo Duterte made it easy for China to spread disinformation, Tarriela said. In contrast, the current administration supported the concept of having “many voices with one message.”
“We recognize that our fight in the West Philippine Sea cannot be met by us alone,” he said.
National Youth Commission (NYC) Commissioner-at-Large Karl Josef Legazpi, a Palaweño himself, shares the view on the need to emphasize that the future of younger generations is at stake in the fight for sovereignty.
“But the waters that belong to us are gradually being taken from us—we want to convey to you what is happening. Our future is at stake,” he said.
NTF-WPS is actively working with various partner agencies, including the state information arm, Philippine Information Agency** (PIA). Director General Jose Torres, Jr.***, also joined Tarriela in the forum, believing in the role of the youth in the fight over the WPS.
Torres emphasized that the youth’s use of technology plays a significant role in fighting misinformation and disinformation about WPS.
“The young people play a great role and challenge when it comes to the West Philippine Sea. As young people, we need to stand up for our country and truth,” he said.
The PN Conversations is a Palawan News initiative that provides a platform for in-depth discussions on pressing issues faced by the community, such as WPS.
Notes on page 2:
While one side of the split personality of PBBM worked out with China a deesclation scheme for the Ayungin Shoal Rotation and Resupply (RORE) missions to the unrealizable U.S. Forward Operating Base (US-FOB) BRP Sierra Madre frustrating its “assertive transparency” strategy, the other lobotomized side of BBM’s brain taken over by the Americans thought up the Sabina Shoal BRP Sierra Teresa Magbanua US-FOB as a new locus for tension to propagandize.
Sabina shoal new US tension spot
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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