A territorial dispute between China and the US-aligned Philippines is at increasingly high risk of escalating into a conflict involving the two superpowers, analysts have said, after Chinese coastguards used a water cannon on a Philippine boat. Global concern about China’s naval activities is growing as the country expands and modernises its military, and shows increasing aggression in its claims over the South China Sea and Taiwan. Joint drills with Russia – during which a flotilla sailed near Alaska this weekend – have also heightened concern over military coordination between…
Tag: Philippines
Video Shows China Blasting Water Cannon at Philippines Coast Guard Boat
By The New York Times The Philippine Coast Guard has released a video that shows a Chinese Coast Guard vessel firing a water cannon at one of its ships, going public with a new complaint of aggressive behavior from China. Two vessels of the Philippines Coast Guard were on what was supposed to be a normal resupply mission 120 miles off the coast of Palawan, when they ran into a Chinese blockade. After a Chinese vessel fired its water cannon at one Philippine ship, it then moved to block it…
Philippines accuses China of water cannon attack in Spratly Islands
The Philippines has accused China’s coast guard of firing water cannon at its vessels in the disputed South China Sea, describing it as illegal and dangerous. The Philippine coast guard said its vessels had been carrying food, water, fuel and other supplies for Filipino military personnel stationed at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands on Saturday. The US state department said the actions, carried out by the Chinese coast guard and “maritime militia”, directly threatened regional peace and stability. China’s claim to almost all of the sea is not…
Typhoon Khanun Threatens Japan and China on Heels of Doksuri
A powerful tropical cyclone was approaching islands in southern Japan on Tuesday, days after another one slammed into mainland China and the Philippines and left dozens of people dead or injured across the region. The new storm, Typhoon Khanun, was less than 200 miles southeast of a major United States military base in southern Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture on Tuesday, according to the United States military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii. Khanun was producing maximum sustained winds of 138 miles per hour, making it the equivalent of a Category 4…
Weather tracker: records fall but worst of Europe’s heatwave may yet to come
Extreme heat has lingered over southern Europe throughout the past week, with all-time records broken in a number of locations. Just a few places that recorded their highest ever temperature on 19 July include: Decimomannu in Sardinia at 46.2C, Malaga airport in Spain at 44.2C, and Durrës in Albania at 40.4C. The World Meteorological Organization confirmed that the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48.8C in Sicily in 2021, possibly spurred on by the risk of this week’s heatwave breaking records. Throughout the coming week much of Spain and…
Philippines allows Barbie film but wants ‘childlike’ map lines blurred
Philippine censors have allowed the Barbie film to be shown in the country’s cinemas after asking its Hollywood distributor to blur lines on a brightly coloured drawing of a world map allegedly showing China’s claims to the disputed South China Sea. The fantasy comedy film about the famous doll, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is to open in the south-east Asian nation on 19 July. After reviewing the film twice and consulting foreign affairs officials and legal experts, the government’s movie and television review…
Studio defends Barbie movie after controversial map prompts Vietnam ban
Warners Bros has described a map that appears in its coming Barbie movie as a “child-like crayon drawing” with no intended meaning, after Vietnam said it would ban the film after claiming the map depicted the disputed South China Sea. The Barbie movie provoked controversy in both Vietnam and the Philippines over its inclusion of the map that apparently features China’s “nine-dash line”. The line marks China’s claim to much of the South China Sea – a demarcation opposed by Vietnam and other south-east Asian countries and which was repudiated…
Marcos Makes Mark on Foreign Policy in Push for Closer U.S.-Philippines Ties
Before becoming president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned that “if you let the U.S. come in, you make China your enemy.” But as he sat at the White House on Monday, President Biden feted him as a top ally, saying there was no better partner that Washington could have. Mr. Marcos — in office for not even a year — has emerged as one of the Philippines’ most transformative foreign policy presidents, switching from a diplomatic tightrope to a forceful pivot toward Washington in the intensifying rivalry with…
U.S.-Philippines Alliance Grows With Biden and Marcos Meeting: What to Know
President Biden is meeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines on Monday at the White House, part of a four-day U.S. visit by Mr. Marcos intended to signal a strengthening alliance between the two countries. The pair are set to discuss efforts to “uphold international law and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific,” according to a White House statement, reflecting heightened anxieties over China’s growing assertiveness and fears of conflict over Taiwan, disputed seas, islands and shipping lanes. Former President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines was more conciliatory than…
US and Philippine presidents meet amid China’s ‘aggressive tactics’
The president of the Philippines is meeting his US counterpart in Washington as the two countries draw closer together against what they say is growing aggression and harassment by China. Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Joe Biden will meet in the Oval Office on Monday, during the Philippine president’s four-day US tour. They are expected to discuss the security situation, with the US hoping to strengthen longstanding ties between the two nations as it battles Beijing for influence in Asia. The US has been a vocal supporter of the Philippines against…