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OPINION China’s recent outcry over the alleged breach of ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ with the Philippines reveals a profound irony, given the history of its coercion and deceit There is a huge amount of insincerity and gall involved in the Chinese complaint that the Philippines had torn up the bilateral ‘Gentleman’s Agreement,’ between Beijing and Manila. While the term ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ has an implicit assumption of ‘trust’ as a fundamental tenet besting a relationship, which may otherwise not be legally binding -- to even imagine that there has been any element of ‘trust’ between these two sparing countries, is to put oneself...

A Philippines Coast Guard vessel was water cannoned by Chinese vessels on Tuesday in waters near Bajo De Masinloc. The Philippines Coast Guard vessel was on a resupply mission. #china #phillipines #news VIDEO AT LINK........................

TUGUEGARAO CITY, CAGAYAN, Philippines — Two Cagayan Valley lawmakers have filed separate resolutions asking the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives to look into the reported surge of Chinese students in colleges and universities in this city amid the country’s tension with China over the West Philippine Sea. Representatives Joseph Lara of Cagayan’s third district and Faustino “Inno” Dy V of Isabela’s sixth district said the presence of large numbers of Chinese nationals in this region and other parts of the country pose a risk to the country’s national security and economy, particularly since these foreigners had been involved...

Friction has grown between Manila and Beijing in recent months over competing claims in the South China Sea. "These waterways are critical to the Philippines, to its security, to its economy," Mr Blinken said. "They're also critical to the interests of the region, the United States and the world," "That's why we stand with the Philippines and stand by our ironclad defence commitments, including under the mutual defence treaty." The visit is also likely to be seen as bolstering American support for Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has tilted towards Washington unlike his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who pushed ties...

Gun laws in the Philippines aren't as atrocious as many other countries in southeast Asia, but they're still wildly draconian compared to most states in the U.S. There are an estimated 4 million gun owners in the country, but in order to lawfully possess a gun owners have to jump through numerous government-imposed hoops like psychological testing and training mandates, and some guns that are commonly owned here are off-limits to the average Filipino. This week, however, the Philippine National Police announced that soon civilians will be able to purchase and possess semi-automatic rifles; a major change to the country's...

CNN Philippines will stop operations from January 31 due to “significant financial losses”, its owner announced Monday, in the latest blow for the media industry in the Southeast Asian nation.

The United States Embassy in Manila confirmed on Thursday that a fuel shipment is being transported from a US military facility in Hawaii to be stored in a “commercial storage facility” at Subic Bay. US Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay told reporters that the delivery was made through proper channels, using established logistics contracts with Philippine commercial entities. “We can confirm that the Yosemite Trader, a commercial tanker, is currently in the vicinity of Subic Bay, Philippines in order to transfer clean fuel from the US military facility at Red Hill, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to a commercial storage facility at Subic...

The Chinese coast guard targeted Philippine vessels with water cannon blasts Sunday and rammed one of them, causing damage and endangering Filipino crew members off a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, just a day after similar hostilities at another contested shoal, Philippine officials said. The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, immediately condemned the latest confrontation near the Second Thomas Shoal, where two Philippine navy-operated supply boats and two Philippine coast guard escort ships had sailed to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces in a long-marooned navy ship that serves as a territorial outpost....

An explosion at a university gymnasium in the southern Philippines has killed three people and wounded nine others, according to local authorities. The blast ripped through a Catholic mass service on Sunday at Mindanao State University in Marawi City... Police said they were investigating the explosion, including the possibility that it was carried out by pro-Islamic State militants...

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Tsunami warnings have ended for parts of the coastal Philippines after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the southeastern coast Saturday night, according to the USGS. The quake struck at 10:37 p.m. local time Saturday night, or 9:37 a.m. ET, near the province of Surigao del Sur in Mindanao, the second-largest island of the Philippines. The USGS noted the quake occurred at a depth of 32.8 km, or just over 20 miles deep out at sea.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck Mindanao, Philippines on Saturday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 63 km (39.15 miles), EMSC added.

The death toll from a strong earthquake off the southern Philippines rose to five on Saturday as authorities reported more casualties across two provinces. The 6.7-magnitude quake that struck the Mindanao region mid-afternoon on Friday caused part of a shopping mall ceiling to collapse, triggered power cuts and sent people fleeing into the streets. Falling debris from the mall in General Santos City crushed a woman to death, while 19 other people were treated for shock, city police captain Ari Noel Cardos said. Police earlier reported the death of a couple pinned under a collapsing concrete wall in General Santos,...

There have been several recent incidents where China has done its best to bully the Philippines in the South China Sea. Those incidents haven’t gone unnoticed by some of China’s neighbors. Now Japan and the Philippines are teaming up to create a new defense pact. Japan’s PM headed to the Philippines today for two days of talks.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan said on Friday that his country would start formal talks with the Philippines to allow the deployment of Japanese troops to the Southeast Asian country, further strengthening ties between two countries that have embraced each other as bulwarks...

President Biden said Wednesday that the US military is willing to fight nuclear-armed China on behalf of the Philippines after ships from the two Asian countries collided near a disputed, unpopulated island in the South China Sea. “The United States defense agreement with the Philippines is ironclad. Any attack on the Filipino aircraft, vessels or armed forces will invoke our mutual defense treaty with the Philippines,” Biden said during a joint press conference at the White House alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. On Sunday, two of Manila’s military ships collided with a Chinese vessel that sought to block them...

South China Sea Collision This image released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, shows a Chinese militia vessel, top, and Philippine coast guard vessel BRP Cabra as they approach Second Thomas Shoal, locally called Ayungin Shoal, at the disputed South China Sea on Sunday Oct. 22, 2023. (Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States renewed a warning Monday that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South...