Images of a Filippino fisherman brought to shore after their boat was allegedly rammed off the coast of Scarborough Shoal on Oct. 2. Philippine Government Photo
Three fishermen are dead after their boat was rammed by an unidentified vessel near the contested Scarborough Shoal off the coast of the Phillippines, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. Read More
A member of the Philippines Coast Coast Guard cuts the barrier installed by Chinese forces around Scarborough Shoal. AFP Photo
Beijing is protesting the Philippine Armed Forces’ removal of a floating barrier installed by Chinese forces to block access to the contested Scarborough Shoal. Read More
PCG vessels – BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan escorted the indigenous boats utilized by the AFP as supply vessels to transport essential provisions to our troops aboard BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, completing the mission on Aug. 22, 2023. Philippine Coast Guard Photo
With a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane circling overhead, two resupply ships escorted by two Philippine Coast Guard vessels maneuvered their way through a Chinese naval blockade in a five-hour confrontation to bring food, other supplies and a fresh crew to its forces guarding a contested shoal, according to press reports. Read More
Marine Lance Cpl. David Lancheros shares his knowledge about the engagement process of a FIM-92 stinger missile with Philippine Airman 2nd class Sherwin Faoeranga during a subject matter expert exchange as part of exercise KAMANDAG 3 at Colonel Ernesto P. Ravina Air Base, Philippines on Oct. 9, 2019. US Marine Corps Photo
Topping the list in any review of the 70-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty between Manila and Washington is the need for a precise definition of what the United States’ commitment is to the republic in a crisis, the Philippines’ secretary of defense said today. Read More
Scarborough Shoal. NASA Photo
This week the Philippine defense secretary predicted China would start building an artificial island on the bones of Scarborough Shoal. Read More
U.S. Pacific Command commander Adm. Harry Harris on Feb. 25, 2016 addressing reporters in the Pentagon. DoD News Image
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The head of U.S. forces in the Pacific has not received any official word from Manila to change its defense relationship with the Philippines – despite months of statements to the contrary from firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte. Read More
China’s compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) tribunal’s ruling regarding rights, activities and entitlements in the South China Sea is much less certain than one might expect, we concluded in a previous post at Lawfare. By our analysis, there are no reports that China has taken actions in clear violation of nine of fifteen rulings handed down by the tribunal. Therefore, while China is not in “compliance” with the arbitral award, neither is it in complete “non-compliance.” Read More
The Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.
The long-awaited tribunal ruling on China’s territory grab of the Western Philippine Sea finally emerged on July 12. As expected it was a mostly clean sweep for the Philippines government—judging that the claims under the PRC’s Nine-Dash Line vision were invalid, and its current activities of island reclaiming and resource grabbing were both illegal and harmful to the environment. Read More
Scarborough Shoal. NASA Photo
Starting in early 2016, Scarborough Shoal suddenly became an issue of serious concern for U.S. officials. Read More
The following is the a July 12, 2016 ruling from the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitration Tribunal through the Permanent Court of Arbitration (at the Hague) on China and the Philippines overlapping claims in the South China Sea. Read More
