News Roundup 08 April 2021
Apr 08, 2021 • 4 min Read
Coronavirus cases in the Philippines hit 828,366 with 9,216 new infections | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines on Thursday recorded 9,216 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 828,366.
- Active cases: 167,279 or 20.2% of the total
- Recoveries: 598, pushing total to 646,968
- Deaths: 60, bringing total to 14,119
Chinese vaccines, investments keeping Duterte mum on ships in Julian Felipe Reef — fisherfolk | PHILSTAR.COM – Strong statements by Cabinet officials on the presence of Chinese vessels in the Julian Felipe Reef would be put to waste if President Rodrigo Duterte remains mum about it, a fisherfolk group said Thursday. The ships in the area were first spotted on March 7, and have remained there despite calls for Beijing to withdraw and the Philippines vowing a diplomatic protest “for every day of delay” in leaving. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. have since issued strongly worded statements over the incident, but the public has not directly heard any so far from the president. “China’s vaccine diplomacy and economic investments seem to clamp a gag order on President Duterte about the sea row,” said Bobby Roldan, vice chairperson of the group Pamalakaya in a statement. “Instead of exhausting all diplomatic, political, and legal means to assert our sovereignty, Mr. Duterte has chosen to set it all aside in the name of a one-sided friendly relations with China.” The issue of Chinese ships in the reef, however, has noticeably not made it into the president’s weekly public address. In it, he touches on several issues from time to time such as hitting critics or discussing his anti-illegal drug campaign. In a March 25, statement, Pamalakaya also urged government to ensure the safety of Filipino fishers who frequent the reef, which is part of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. They said members from Palawan, Batangas and Mindoro have raised fear in returning there to fish, especially with a legislation passed by Beijing that would allow its coast guard to fire at foreign vessels in their claimed territories.
US warns China over moves on Philippines, Taiwan | INQUIRER.NET – The United States on Wednesday warned China against what the Philippines and Taiwan see as increasingly aggressive moves, reminding Beijing of Washington’s obligations to its partners. “An armed attack against the Philippines’ armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “We share the concerns of our Philippine allies regarding the continued reported massing of PRC maritime militia near the Whitsun Reef,” Price said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. More than 200 Chinese boats were first spotted on March 7 at Whitsun Reef, around 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Palawan Island in the contested South China Sea, although many have since scattered across the Spratly Islands. China, which claims almost the entirety of the resource-rich sea, has refused weeks of appeals by the Philippines to withdraw the vessels, which Manila says unlawfully entered its exclusive economic zone. Tensions have also risen with Taiwan, which Beijing claims is part of China, with the self-governing democracy on Wednesday reporting that 15 more of the mainland’s planes crossed into the island’s air defense zone. Price voiced “concern” about the Chinese moves, saying: “The United States maintains the capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security or the social or economic system of the people on Taiwan.”
Pangilinan: PH intel execs should focus on China’s activities in WPS, not on Senate employees’ group | Manila Bulletin – Opposition Senator Francis ‘’Kiko’’ Pangilinan on Thursday, April 8, said the Philippine intelligence community should focus its attention on what China is doing at the Julian Felipe reef, a part of Philippine territory, and not nit-pick on small entities such as the Senate employees’ union. The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) should also look into the entry of some four million Chinese nationals into the country since 2017, he added. Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party, said he supports the stand of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on the continued refusal of a big number of Chinese armed militia vessels at Julian Felipe reef and nearby reefs.
