News Roundup 03 April 2024
Apr 03, 2024 • 6 min Read
PH ready to respond to China’s attempts to interfere with resupply missions | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA — The Philippines is prepared to respond to China’s attempts to foil its supply missions in the South China Sea, a top security official said on Wednesday, adding that the operations will be adjusted to counter Beijing’s conduct in the waterway.
Jonathan Malaya, the spokesperson of the National Security Council, said the Philippines is committed to maintaining its position at the Second Thomas Shoal and there will be no let up in re-supply missions to Filipino soldiers stationed on a grounded warship there.
“Our commitment to maintain BRP Sierra Madre will always be there, so any attempt by China to interfere with re-supply missions will be met by the Philippines in a fashion that protects our troops,” Malaya told a maritime forum.
Malaya reiterated that the counter-measures announced by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr last week against “aggressive” actions by China’s coastguard will be “multi-dimensional” and not solely military in nature.
Part of these measures includes making “changes and adjustments” to Philippine re-supply missions and operations in the South China Sea, Malaya said without elaborating, citing security concerns.
Echoing an earlier call by the Philippine defence minister for the public not to fall victim to Chinese propaganda, Malaya warned of “foreign malign influence” meant to weaken the Philippines.
“We have seen that they are working here through their surrogates or if we may call them amplifiers, because there are definitely Chinese narratives which run counter to the truth,” Malaya said.
Full Story at: PH ready to respond to China’s interference in resupply missions (inquirer.net)
Davao PNP serves arrest warrant vs Quiboloy, 5 others | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Davao City authorities served on Wednesday the warrant of arrest issued by its regional trial court (RTC) against Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) leader and alleged rapist Apollo Quiboloy and five others for sexual abuse and child abuse cases.
In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, Police Regional Office 11 – Public Information Office chief Major Catherine Dela Rey said three of the accused surrendered before the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) office in Davao.
“The warrant of arrest was served in Barangay Tamayong in an operation led by the NBI, along with police and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, which led to the surrender of Cresente Canada. Then later this afternoon, around 3:30 p.m., Paulene Canada and Sylvia Camanes,” Dela Rey disclosed.
She added that the three others — Quiboloy, Jackiely W. Roy, and Ingrid C. Canada remain at large, adding that authorities are still searching for their location.
Earlier Wednesday, reports revealed that the Davao RTC issued an arrest warrant against all six of them. They were charged with violating Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law, specifically the provision on sexual abuse of minors and maltreatment.
Full Story at: Davao PNP serves arrest warrant vs Quiboloy, 5 others (inquirer.net)
Anti-submarine drills set in South China Sea | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and regional allies the United States, Japan and Australia are planning anti-submarine drills in the South China Sea on April 7.
Reports by Kyodo News, as carried by Reuters, said the planned drill would mark the first such full-fledged exercise in the South China Sea for the navies of the four countries, and is likely aimed at demonstrating solidarity with the Philippines against China’s growing assertiveness, according to the news report, citing multiple sources.
No other details were given.
The report on the planned naval exercise came as the Philippines’ top security adviser and his US counterpart discussed over the phone on Monday the “recent spate of illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions” of the China Coast Guard and maritime militia in Philippine waters.
In their phone conversation, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan also vowed to keep communication lines open as President Marcos, US President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida prepare for their inaugural trilateral security summit in Washington on April 11, National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya said yesterday.
The phone call came on the heels of a series of maritime run-ins and heated verbal exchanges between China and the Philippines.
During the call, Malaya said Año expressed his appreciation for the continued assurances and reaffirmation of the US of its ironclad commitment to its alliance with the Philippines.
Full Story at: Anti-submarine drills set in South China Sea | Philstar.com
Gibo warns of China trap over Sierra Madre deal | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos are getting “sidetracked” by the debates over the so-called gentleman’s agreement with China on the West Philippine Sea, and are falling into a trap set by China to divert attention from its depredation in Philippine waters, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said yesterday.
“Let us not fall into the trap set by Chinese propaganda of refocusing the debate on a so-called promise while deflecting attention away from China’s government, thereby freeing and allowing them to continue with their illegal activities in our EEZ (exclusive economic zone),” Teodoro said in an open letter to “our fellow Filipinos.”
China had accused the Philippine government of reneging on its supposed promise to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in accordance with the “gentleman’s agreement” between the two governments.
Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque earlier admitted it was former president Rodrigo Duterte who made an unwritten pact with China to keep the status quo on the maritime dispute and disallow any repair on the deteriorating Sierra Madre. Deliberately beached in the shoal in 1997 during the Estrada administration to serve as a military outpost, the Sierra Madre now badly needs repairs. Roque warned the Philippines might end up losing Ayungin Shoal if it insists on having the rusty ship refurbished. Told of the “gentleman’s agreement,” President Marcos said he had it rescinded.
“While we realize that accountability is important in the issue on whether or not a so-called ‘gentleman’s agreement’ was forged with China regarding the BRP Sierra Madre and Ayungin Shoal, we Filipinos must not lose sight of the fact that the main threat to our rights in the WPS is the Chinese government’s illegal activities,” Teodoro stressed.
The last two rotation and resupply missions sent to Ayungin Shoal drew the most violent response so far from the China Coast Guard, which blasted the Philippine boats with water cannons to prevent them from reaching the Sierra Madre. Reacting to protests Beijing claimed its coast guard had to block the Filipino vessels because they were carrying construction materials.
Although in decrepit state, the Sierra Madre should not be decommissioned – as proposed by Roque – as doing so would trigger its takeover by the Chinese, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said yesterday.
“That’s a trap. That’s what China wants,” Trillanes said in an interview with ANC’s “Headstart,” referring to decommissioning of Sierra Madre. He said the World War II era transport ship should remain a military vessel to keep it covered by the 1951 Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty.
Full Story at: Gibo warns of China trap over Sierra Madre deal | Philstar.com
