News Roundup 06 March 2024
Mar 06, 2024 • 4 min Read
Marcos calls Chinese presence in Philippine Rise ‘clear intrusion’ | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that the reported presence of Chinese vessels in the Philippine Rise constituted a “clear intrusion” into the country’s territory.
Marcos called their presence a “great concern” and “unnecessary.”
“If it is truly a research vessel, then we could have come to a very simple agreement that the research vessel will ply the waters and do the research,” the president said.
“However, there is a suspicion that they are not only research vessels, so again, this is a bit of an escalation of the tension that is present in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
Ray Powell, director of Sealight at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said last week that two Chinese research vessels were “loitering” northeast of Philippine Rise, formerly known as Benham Rise.
The Philippine Coast Guard deployed patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang for a two-week mission to the Philippine Rise on Monday.
The Philippine Rise is located off the east coast of the country, not in the West Philippine Sea. It is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and the country’s extended continental shelf.
The 13-million-hectare undersea landmass is said to be rich in biodiversity, fish stocks, and food security.
Full Story at: Marcos calls Chinese presence in Philippine Rise ‘clear intrusion’ | Philstar.com
Cha-cha resolution clears House committee while Senate stalls | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — After just six days of plenary discussions, the House committee of the whole on Wednesday approved Resolution of Both Houses 7 that seeks to amend economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution, delivering on the promise of House leaders to expedite the process of changing the Charter despite senators’ reluctance to do the same.
With RBH 7 now up for second reading, lawmakers at the lower chamber are still on schedule with the timeframe of House leaders who want the measure approved on final reading before Holy Week.
Senators, however, have begun to float the idea that RBH 6 may not get enough votes to be approved by at least three-fourths of the chamber, weeks after it first started deliberations on the measure on February 5.
Both RBH 6 and 7 seek to lift the foreign ownership restrictions in public utilities, advertising and education. However, the House’s RBH 7 does not explicitly state that Congress will vote on amendments separately or jointly.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri admitted in a press conference on Wednesday that it would be a “challenge” to secure at least 18 out of 24 votes in favor of RBH 6 as others remain unconvinced about amending the economic provisions of the Constitution.
Full Story at: Cha-cha resolution clears House committee while Senate stalls | Philstar.com
‘Removal of PH ship, BDM reclamation a red line China shouldn’t cross’ | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — China cannot remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal and do reclamation in Panatag (Scarborough Shoal) as the Philippine government considers this a “red line” that Beijing should not cross, Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea said Wednesday.
“Ayungin Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc (BDM) have been declared red lines. No building or reclamation on BDM, no removal of LS57 (BRP Sierra Madre) on Ayungin Shoal,” Trinidad said in a regular press briefing in Manila.
“These have been declared by the admin as red lines for the Philippines,” he added.
Trinidad made the statement amid the latest water cannon assault of China Coast Guard in Ayungin Shoal which injured four Navy personnel, a move considered by the Philippines to be a serious escalation.
Story at: | Global News (inquirer.net)
China can’t stop the enactment of PH Maritime Zones Law, says Tolentino | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — China has no right to stop and veto the Philippines’ passage of a Maritime Zones Law, Senator Francis Tolentino said on Wednesday.
Tolentino, who heads the Senate special panel on maritime and admiralty zones, said a Philippine Maritime Zones Law is not just lawful, but imperative.
“So, uulitin ko, ‘yung pinasa nating batas nung nakaraang linggo — ’yung Philippine Maritime Zones Law — kausap ko na po ‘yung House counterparts natin at nagme-meeting sila ngayon sa lower House,” Tolentino told reporters in a press conference.
(So, I will say this again, the bill we passed in the previous week — the Philippine Maritime Zones Law — I’ve talked with our House counterparts and they are meeting right now in the lower House.)
“Kung ito po ay maaprubahan ng batas, wala pong karapatan ang China na i-veto ito,” he said.
(If this gets approved into law, China has no right to veto it.)
Full Story at: China can’t stop the enactment of PH Maritime Zones Law, says Tolentino | Inquirer News
