News Roundup 19 August 2023
Aug 19, 2023 • 4 min Read
AFP urges China to avoid from interfering with Ayungin Shoal resupply mission | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is urging the China Coast Guard (CCG) to avoid any disruption during the upcoming resupply mission to the troops stationed at Ayungin Shoal aboard the BRP Sierra Madre.
Only the first half of the resupply mission has been completed while the next phase is scheduled for the following two weeks, according to AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar in a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.
If China Coast Guard ignores the call, Aguilar said, “We will watch how things unfold.”
The first attempt was interrupted when CCG vessels used water cannons against Philippine Coast Guard ships escorting boats on a mission to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre near Ayungin Shoal on August 5.
Aguilar said that despite the events on August 5, the AFP is “duty-bound to ensure the well-being of its personnel on the BRP Sierra Madre.”
“We are, therefore, committed to the conduct of another RoRe (rotation and resupply) mission for our personnel and to maintain our presence in Ayungin Shoal. This exercise of our sovereign rights and jurisdiction is a testament to our firm belief in the rules-based international order that underpins regional peace and stability,” he said.
While promoting peaceful solutions to conflicts, Aguilar stressed the resolve to protect the country’s maritime rights.
“We, therefore, call on all relevant parties to abide by their obligations under international law and respect the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction over its maritime zones,” the AFP spokesperson said.
Full Story at: AFP urges China to avoid from interfering with Ayungin Shoal resupply mission | Philstar.com
‘I never made such a promise to China’: GMA breaks silence on BRP Sierra Madre removal | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has firmly denied claims that she promised China to remove the Philippine Navy vessel BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Arroyo categorically stated three key facts to address the issue.
“I have been asked to comment on claims that the Philippine government had promised China to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal. I will categorically state three facts,” Arroyo said.
“First, I never made such a promise to China or any other country. Second, I never authorized any of my government officials to make such a promise. Third, I only became aware of such claims recently, when the matter surfaced in public discussions,” she added.
Arroyo’s statement comes in response to allegation that the Philippine government made a commitment to China to remove BRP Sierra Madre, a rusty World War II-era ship that has been stationed at Ayungin Shoal since 1999. It serves as the country’s outpost in the West Philippine Sea.
Situated within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, the Ayungin Shoal or the Second Thomas Shoal is a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, standing as a symbol of the country’s sovereignty.
Full Story at: ‘I never made such a promise to China’: GMA breaks silence on BRP Sierra Madre removal | Philstar.com
US, Japan, South Korea condemn ‘dangerous and aggressive actions’ by China | INQUIRER.NET – CAMP DAVID, Maryland — The United States prevailed on Japan and South Korea on Friday to use their strongest language yet in a joint statement to condemn China’s “dangerous and aggressive actions” in the South China Sea.
In the Korean version of a Camp David summit joint statement seen by Reuters, the three countries committed to consult promptly with each other during crises and to coordinate responses to regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting common interests.
The statement also committed to holding trilateral military training exercises annually and to sharing real-time information on North Korean missile launches by the end of 2023. The countries promised to hold trilateral summits annually as well.
Full Story at: US, Japan, South Korea condemn ‘dangerous and aggressive actions’ by China | Inquirer News
Chinese military launches drills around Taiwan following US stop by island leader | INQUIRER.NET – BEIJING — The Chinese military launched drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a “stern warning” over what it called collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” its defense ministry said, days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States.
Taiwanese Vice President William Lai’s recent trip to Paraguay to reinforce relations with his government’s last diplomatic partner in South America included stops in San Francisco and New York City. The mainland’s ruling Communist Party claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and says it has no right to conduct foreign relations.
A spokesperson for China’s Eastern Theater Command said in a brief statement that the military exercises involved the coordination of vessels and planes and their ability to seize control of air and sea spaces.
It was also testing the forces’ “actual combat capabilities,” Shi Yi said. The drills were a warning over provocations from pro-Taiwan independence forces and foreign forces, he added.
Full Story at: Chinese military launches drills around Taiwan following US stop by island leader | Inquirer News
