MANILA, Philippines—Chinese coast guard ships hit a Philippine supply boat with water cannons Saturday in the latest confrontation near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, causing injuries to its navy crew members and heavy damage to the wooden vessel, Philippine officials said. The United States and Japan immediately expressed their support to the […]
While U.S. troops are reportedly training the Taiwanese military on Taiwan’s outlying islands, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Philippine leaders this week to strengthen ties with the country. Ray Powell, director of SeaLight, discusses with NTD recent events in the South China Sea and U.S. actions that might deter China from invading […]
MANILA—Government troops killed nine members of a pro-ISIS group in the southern Philippines, the military said on Saturday, including two suspects in a deadly blast at a Catholic Mass last month. Four soldiers were wounded during Thursday and Friday’s counter terrorism operation in the Lanao del Sur province, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) […]
Will Chinese aggression in the South China Sea escalate? Reports suggest the Philippines isn’t taking chances. A senior military official on Dec. 13 said the country is gearing up against potential Chinese hostility. Grant Newsham, a retired Marine Colonel and author of “When China Attacks,” analyzed the issue.
A fresh round of tension in the South China Sea: with Philippine civilian supply vessels caught in another face-off against Chinese ships. What’s behind recent spats between China and the Philippines and why is this waterway so vital? We speak to Grant Newsham, a retired Marine Colonel and author of ‘When China Attacks,’ for insight. […]
ABOARD THE BRP CABRA—As a U.S. Navy surveillance plane flew in circles, keeping a close watch, dozens of Chinese coast guard and accompanying ships chased and encircled Philippine vessels in the latest confrontation in one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the South China Sea. At the height of Friday’s four-hour faceoff in the high […]
President Joe Biden warned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Oct. 25 not to attack Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, stating that any attack on the U.S. ally would trigger Washington’s mutual defense treaty with Manila. The warnings come after officials in the Philippines claimed Chinese ships blocked two Philippine vessels on a […]
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine military on Sunday condemned a Chinese coast guard ship’s “excessive and offensive” use of a water cannon to block a Filipino supply boat from delivering new troops, food, water, and fuel to a Philippine-occupied shoal in the disputed South China Sea. The tense confrontation on Saturday at the Second Thomas Shoal was […]
ABOARD BRP MALABRIGO—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. The high seas face-off April 23 between the larger Chinese ship and the Philippine coast guard’s BRP Malapascua […]
Missiles are soaring at the Philippines’ largest military base. The Philippines and U.S. soldiers are holding live-fire drills this week. The exercise is happening amid mounting tensions with Beijing over the South China Sea. The commanding general of the Philippine army says the drill falls in line with presidential orders. The drill is part of […]
MANILA—Philippine rescuers searched the smouldering ruins of a burnt-out ferry on Thursday for any survivors or more victims of a fire that swept through the inter-island vessel killing 29 people, including a 6-month old baby, authorities said. Investigators have yet to identify the cause of the fire that started at about 11 p.m. (1500 GMT) […]
MANILA, Philippines—A Philippine police search was underway on Wednesday for two motorcycle-riding men who shot and killed a New Zealand man in a brazen street robbery that officials fear could scare foreign tourists away. The 34-year-old tourist, Nicholas Peter Stacey, was fatally shot once in the chest while trying to wrest a pistol from one […]
On Thursday, the Philippines agreed to grant U.S. forces access to four more of the country’s military bases. Thursday’s deal offers Washington a key bit of real estate to monitor Beijing’s aggression — both in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
The U.S. military is looking to boost its footprint in the Philippines and further deter Beijing. During a high-level visit to Manila, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Philippine officials about a stronger military partnership. Specifics include deploying U.S. troops and weapons to more military camps in the Southeast Asian country in light of China’s […]
MANILA, Philippines—A Philippine air force plane crashed Wednesday on a farm northwest of Manila, killing the two people on board, while a search was continuing for a private aircraft carrying six people that went missing the previous day in the mountainous north. The SF-260 plane was on a training flight from Sangley airport in Cavite […]
PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines—Vice President Kamala Harris urged countries on Tuesday to stand up for territorial integrity and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, which has been challenged by the Chinese regime, and said Washington would press an international campaign against “irresponsible behavior” in the disputed waters. Harris did not cite China by name […]
MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Kamala Harris will underscore America’s commitment to defending treaty ally the Philippines with a visit that started Sunday and involves flying to an island province facing the disputed South China Sea, where Washington has accused China of bullying smaller claimant nations. After attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Thailand, Harris flew […]
MANILA—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 […]
