Philippines News

China accused the Philippines on Friday of having "provoked trouble" in the South China Sea with U.S. backing, a week after Beijing and Manila traded accusations over a new confrontation in the disputed waters."The Philippine side, with U.S. support and solicitation, has been stirring up trouble in many spots in the South China Sea," Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China's defence ministry, said on its official WeChat account."The Philippines is well aware that the scope of its territory…

Austal Philippines has delivered a 32-meter catamaran to Rottnest Fast Ferries, less than twelve months after commencing construction in Balamban, Cebu.The vessel, named ‘Ocean Master’, designed by Incat Crowther, was officially accepted by representatives from Rottnest Fast Ferries following the successful completion of sea trials in November 2024.President of Austal Asia, Wayne Murray said the delivery was yet another demonstration of the proven capability of the Austal Philippines shipyard to construct world-class vessels of high-level designs…

Taiwan raised its alert level on Monday saying China has set up seven zones of reserved airspace and deployed naval fleets and coast guard boats in what a security source described as the first military drills across a broad swathe of the region's waters.A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters that China currently has nearly 90 navy and coast guard ships in waters near Taiwan, the southern Japanese islands and the East and South China Seas, of which around two-thirds were navy vessels.Beijing's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.China…

The Philippines held maritime drills with the United States and Japan inside its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, its military said on Friday, two days after a maritime confrontation with Beijing around a disputed shoal.The drills, which brought together a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft, Philippine Navy ship BRP Andres Bonifacio and a C-90 small plane, and Japan's Murasame-class destroyer JS Samidare, are the Philippines' latest round of exercises with allies…

Austal Philippines delivered a 32m catamaran to Rottnest Fast Ferries, less than 12 months after commencing construction in Balamban, Cebu.Dubbed Ocean Master and designed by Incat Crowther, was officially accepted by representatives from Rottnest Fast Ferries following the successful completion of sea trials in November 2024.President of Austal Asia, Wayne Murray said “The Austal Philippines team have delivered this impressive new catamaran in less than 12 months - exceeding expectations for productivity…

Japan and the Philippines signed a 1.6 billion yen ($10.65 million) security assistance deal on Thursday to boost the Southeast Asian nation's maritime security and surveillance abilities amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea.Both the Philippines and Japan, two of the United States' closest Asian allies, have taken a strong line against what they see as aggressive behavior by Chinese vessels amid decades-old disputes over maritime sovereignty.Japan will provide the Philippine…

China and the Philippines gave conflicting versions on Wednesday of a maritime confrontation around a contested shoal in the South China Sea, the latest row in a longstanding dispute between the neighbours.Chinese coast guard vessels fired water cannons and side-swiped a Manila fisheries bureau boat on the way to deliver supplies to Filipino fishermen in the area, according to Philippines officials, a move that drew condemnation from the United States.The incident follows a diplomatic…

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Chinese navy and coast guard vessels had taken "aggressive actions" against a routine patrol by it and the fisheries bureau near the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Wednesday.A Chinese coastguard fired a water cannon at a PCG vessel "aiming directly at the vessel's navigational antennas", Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the South China Sea, said in a statement.Philippine vessels also faced "blocking, shadowing, and dangerous manoeuvres" from Chinese navy and coastguard ships, he added.Tensions between China and the Philippines over

Satellite images obtained by Reuters on Thursday show a build-up of Chinese civilian vessels near contested Thitu Island, Manila's key outpost in the South China Sea, but a senior Philippine navy officer said they are "not a cause for concern".One of the images taken by Maxar Technologies on Monday and reviewed by Reuters shows about 60 vessels, some within 2 nautical miles of Thitu, a strategically important island from which Manila monitors Chinese vessels and aircraft in the busy waterway.Vice Admiral Alfonso Torres…

The U.S. military is supporting Philippine operations in the South China Sea via a special task force, a U.S. embassy official said on Thursday, an initiative Manila said involves intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.Task Force-Ayungin, named after the Philippine designation for the contested Second Thomas Shoal, was first mentioned this week by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a visit to the Philippines."Task Force-Ayungin enhances U.S.-Philippine alliance coordination and interoperability by enabling U.S.

November 19 marks the one-year anniversary of the seizure of the crew of the car carrier Galaxy Leader by Yemen’s Houthis, with the International Chamber of Shipping renewing calls for their release.Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping, said: “It seems incredible that a year has passed, and the crew of the Galaxy Leader are still being held hostage. Innocent seafarers and families who have had their lives irrevocably changed by geopolitical forces wholly out of their control.“The seafarers…

The Philippines' foreign ministry said on Wednesday it summoned China's ambassador to protest Beijing's drawing of baselines around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea."The said baselines infringe upon Philippine sovereignty and contravene international law," the ministry said in a statement.The move follows China's definition on Sunday of the baseline for "territorial waters" around the shoal, which Beijing claims as Huangyan Island. The shoal is a key point of contention over sovereignty and fishing rights.In response…

China is stepping up pressure on the Philippines to concede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.The fifth such meeting since August 2023 reflects growing security ties between the countries, which have both voiced concern about Chinese activity in areas of the busy waterway claimed by the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations."What we see is an increasing demand by Beijing for us to concede our sovereign rights in the area…

The US Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS John Basilone, has been commissioned.DDG 122 became the 74th ship of her class and the second ship to bear the namesake of John Basilone, the only Enlisted Marine to earn the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross during World War II.While John Basilone and his beloved wife Lenah Mae (Riggi) Basilone didn’t have children, GySgt Basilone’s niece, Diane Hawkins, has taken up the mantle of representing her uncle’s memory and his heroism.

China summoned the Philippines' ambassador on Friday to express its objection to two new laws in the Southeast Asian nation asserting maritime rights and sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea, its foreign ministry said.China made "solemn representations" to the ambassador shortly after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act into law to strengthen his country's maritime claims and bolster its territorial…

The Philippines expects U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific and support for its treaty ally amid South China Sea tensions to remain steady under Donald Trump, driven by bipartisan resolve in Washington, its ambassador to the U.S. said on Thursday.Both Democrats and Republicans prioritize countering China’s influence, including in the South China Sea, Jose Manuel Romualdez said, suggesting that military cooperation, economic ties and security commitments with the Philippines will continue."It is in their interest that the Indo-Pacific region remains free…

The Philippines will acquire 40 fast patrol craft for its coast guard to boost its maritime security, the economic planning agency said on Tuesday.The purchase, to be funded by official development assistance from the French government, was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority Board, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.(Reuters - Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty)

Malaysia issued a complaint to Vietnam over its alleged expansion of a South China Sea reef that both countries claim as their own, a rare bilateral escalation not involving China.The move brings to light another of the multiple disputes in the strategic waterway, most of which China claims sovereignty over, with Beijing involved in frequent altercations with the Philippines and sporadic rows with Vietnam.The most contested features are around the Spratly archipelago, where China…

China's Ministry of State Security said on Tuesday that it had retrieved spying devices both on the ocean surface and in the depths of the sea, including underwater "lighthouses" that could guide the transit of foreign submarines.The ministry said it had uncovered devices that had been hidden on the ocean floor and were sending back information that could "pre-set the field for battle," in an article on its official WeChat account, China's most popular social media app.Recent…

The Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries said a "Chinese maritime militia" boat deliberately sideswiped one of its two vessels that were conducting a routine maritime patrol in the vicinity of Thitu island in the South China Sea last Friday.The vessel had sustained dents in its starboard bow, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said in a statement issued late on Monday.China and the Philippines have been at loggerheads over a succession of confrontations near disputed features in the South China…

The Philippines accused China's coast guard on Tuesday of firing water cannon at government ships taking supplies to fishermen at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, but Beijing said its "control measures" followed the boats' intrusions in its waters.The incident was the two countries' latest run-in regarding the Scarborough shoal, a fishing ground within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone that China claims as its territory."We urge the Philippines to immediately cease its violations…

The armed forces of five countries conducted joint maritime exercises in a portion of the South China Sea on Saturday as China carried out its own military drills in the disputed waterway.The exercises involving the Philippines, United States, Australia, Japan and - for the first time - New Zealand took place in Manila's exclusive economic zone and sought to improve the militaries' interoperability, the Philippine armed forces said in a statement.Saturday's exercises included a Philippine warship…

The U.S. Coast Guard is watching an "uptick" in Chinese and Russian navy activity around Alaska and the northern Pacific but encounters to date have been very professional, a senior commander said on Friday.Vice Admiral Andrew J. Tiongson, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander, noted on a call with regional reporters while visiting Japan that his country and Russia share a maritime boundary line between Alaska and the Russian Far East"Russian naval vessels, certainly we've seen an uptick in their presence in that particular region.