News Roundup 28 April 2023
Apr 28, 2023 • 4 min Read
DFA: Chinese ships blocking patrol in West Philippine Sea inconsistent with freedom of navigation | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs called Thursday the Chinese Coast Guard’s maneuverings last week against the Philippine Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea “totally inconsistent” with freedom of navigation.
“I would like to emphasize that the Philippines has the legal right to carry out routine maritime patrols in our territorial waters and (exclusive economic zone,)” DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said in a statement.
Daza added: “The China Coast Guard’s interference with this routine patrol mission was totally inconsistent with freedom of navigation, and a number of documented incidents also involved highly dangerous maneuvers that were contrary to standard navigational practices.”
The most significant of these incidents was the near-collision last April 23 between vessels after CCG vessel No. 5201 came within 50 yards of BRP Malapascua.
The DFA said similar maneuvers were documented on April 19, involving CCG 5201 and 4202, and BRP Malapascua while the latter was heading to Ayungin Shoal.
The DFA reiterated its call for China to respect the Philippines’ rights over the West Philippine Sea — the portion of the South China Sea inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
It also appealed to Beijing to refrain from actions that may cause an untoward incident.
Full Story at: DFA: Chinese ships blocking patrol in West Philippine Sea inconsistent with freedom of navigation | Philstar.com
Senators back broader alliance after new West Philippine Sea incidents | PHILSTAR.COM – TANAY, Rizal (Updated 3:41 p.m.) — Two leaders of the Senate defense panel condemned Thursday what they called bullying by China after one of its coast guard ships almost caused a collission with a Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the West Philippine Sea
“Our fishermen and Coast Guard have been bullied several times there. This is not only the 10th time, maybe this is more than the hundredth time that we are bullied by the Chinese,” Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Senate defense panel chairperson, told reporters in Filipino at a property he owns in Rizal province.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, one of the committee’s vice-chairpersons, also called China’s cutting off of a PCG vessel as it approached Ayungin Shoal last Sunday “too much of bullying.”
Although the executive sets foreign affairs policy, the Senate has an oversight function on the executive and its concurrence is required in the ratification of treaties.
Both Estrada and Dela Rosa bemoaned that hardly anything has happened with the hundreds of diplomatic protests lodged by the Philippines with China over its increasingly aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, portions of which are inside the Philippines’
“We file diplomatic protests. We have filed hundreds of diplomatic protests, but nothing has happened,” Estrada said.
Dela Rosa echoed this, noting that the diplomatic protests have largely been “ignored by China.”
Full Story at: Senators back broader alliance after new West Philippine Sea incidents | Philstar.com
Prosecution wraps up presentation of rebuttal evidence vs de Lima | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Government prosecution has finished the presentation of its rebuttal witness against former senator Leila de Lima.
“Ipinrisenta ng DOJ (Department of Justice) panel of prosecutor si Atty. Demi Huerta bilang testigo at natapos ang kanyang testimonya,” Atty. Filibon Tacardon told reporters.
[The DOJ (Department of Justice) panel of prosecutors presented Atty. Demi Huerta as a witness and concluded his testimony.]
However, Tacardon has refused to give details about Huerta’s testimony.
“The defense team and we have decided not to give any more details about Atty. Huerta’s testimony. We are leaving it to the discretion and evaluation of the court,” Tacardon said.
He said the court reiterated that it would push through with the promulgation of the case on May 12.
Balikatan 2023 officially ends | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The annual war games between the Philippines and its long-time ally the United States officially ended on Friday.
A closing ceremony was held in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, attended by Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Andres Centino and US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson and other key officials.
The highlight of the Balikatan was the sinking of a mock enemy target — a decommissioned Philippine Navy corvette, BRP Pangasinan — in San Antonio, Zambales, 235 kilometers away from Scarborough Shoal last April 26.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. attended the live fire drill and the sinking of the decommissioned ship.
Centino said the 38th iteration of the military exercise was a “success” but not without challenges.
“We’ve had a very successful Balikatan this year, there were a lot of firsts,” Centino said in a chance interview with reporters after the closing ceremony.
“There are some hitches that we need to improve,” he said, noting that there were delays and a slight problem with coordination.
The 38th iteration of Balikatan saw the biggest number of troops in its history with 17,600.“Balikatan” is a Tagalog term that means “shoulder-to-shoulder” or “sharing the load together.”
