Tag: territorial disputes

South China Sea: Marcos inks laws on PH Maritime Zones, Archipelagic Sea Lanes + Responses of China and the United States

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
YouTube

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday signed laws declaring the maritime zones under Philippine jurisdiction and designating sea lanes in the country for foreign vessels and aircraft.

Marcos inks laws on PH Maritime Zones, Archipelagic Sea Lanes

Related:

South China Sea: Philippines’ legal moves reveal its expansionist goals

U.S. State Department On the Philippines Maritime Zones Act

Arnaud Bertrand’s Twitter thread (ThreadReader)

Regarding the South China Sea Arbitration:

The South China Sea Arbitration did not rule on sovereignty, and China does not recognize it because the Arbitral Tribunal lacked jurisdiction. “The Arbitral Tribunal violated the principle of state consent, exercised its jurisdiction ultra vires and rendered an award in disregard of the law. This is a grave violation of UNCLOS and general international law, Wang said.” The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities.  The Permanent Court of Arbitration is not an agency of the United Nations. The PCA rents space in the same building as the UN’s International Court of Justice.  A Congressional Research Service report, dated August 2023, stated that the U.S. has not declared its position regarding sovereignty over any of the geographical elements that comprise the South China Sea.  

Japan’s Ground-Based Air Defense Options to the Philippines

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Japan’s Ground-Based Air Defense Options to the Philippines

Bilateral defense relations between Japan and the Philippines come at an all-time high, signifying the continuous cooperation between both maritime nations that share a common adversary and similar situation regarding territorial domains and integrity in the Indo-Pacific region.

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With the success of the export of the aforementioned radar systems to the Philippines from Japan, the latter is now raising up an idea of the likelihood of selling its surface-to-air missile batteries for the Philippine military to consider, with a wide variety of variants coming from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force that might find its way for the likes of the Philippine Air Force. This is especially in line with the recently passed New Government Procurement Act or NGPA (Republic Act 12009), allowing the purchase of second-hand military hardware, provided it is economically preferable to the government.

The US Dollar Can No Longer Threaten China and Russia

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

In 2022, the US kicked Russia out of the SWIFT system, causing significant losses for Russian businesses and ordinary citizens. Even Switzerland’s traditionally neutral banks joined this looting. The monopoly over the financial system and global currency once gave the U.S. and EU such capability, but at the 2024 BRICS summit, Western countries permanently lost this advantage.

The US Dollar Can No Longer Threaten China and Russia

Previously:

Russia outlines proposal for BRICS DLT cross border payment system

China looks to Indonesia for diplomatic resolution after coastguards’ Natuna encounters + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

China looks to Indonesia for diplomatic resolution after coastguards’ Natuna encounters

Source

Related:

[10-23-2024] Indonesian Coast Guard “Drives Out” Chinese Vessel Shadowing Seismic Ship (archived)

On Monday, Indonesia’s coast guard “drove out” a China Coast Guard cutter that was shadowing a survey vessel in Indonesian waters of the South China Sea. On Tuesday, the Chinese vessel was back again in the same spot, according to maritime security expert Ray Powell.

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Geo Coral is a Norwegian-owned geophysical vessel flagged in Norway. She is operating under charter to PT Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil company, to conduct a 3D seismic survey off the Natuna Islands. “Pertamina East Natuna is focusing on oil and gas exploration activities in the East Natuna Working Area [East Natuna gas field], which has great potential to contribute to national energy security,” said a Pertamina spokesman on Tuesday. 

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Politics at a critical juncture in Philippine history

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

For so many years, we have complained and howled against political dynasties.

Ever since we established ourselves as a republic and began electing leaders in government, it has become a given, even deep-rooted and thus an innate limitation. Ever since, only a few, and therefore the same people from the same families are always elected into office.

Politics at a critical juncture in Philippine history

Powell’s hit piece on “Media Unlocked”

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

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.

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[Anonymous] US official accuses Russia and China of blocking Asia leaders’ statement

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Full video

US official accuses Russia and China of blocking Asia leaders’ statement

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit drafted by Southeast Asian countries, mainly over objections to language on the contested South China Sea, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday.

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Was doomed US submarine caught by a monster whirlpool in the South China Sea?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Newly released data from a giant whirlpool near the Paracel Islands could give fresh clues about a major US Navy incident

Was doomed US submarine caught by a monster whirlpool in the South China Sea?

Previously:

USS Connecticut’s leadership fired following undersea mountain collision

Was the USS Connecticut Spying on Chinese Bases in the South China Sea?

A mysterious accident with one of the US Navy’s most sophisticated subs hints at a long history of submarine spying

US Nuclear Sub Collision Demonstrates South China Sea’s True Menace

Cover-up of U.S. Nuclear Sub Collision in South China Sea