Free Republic

MANILA -- The Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he will prioritize COVID-19 vaccines developed by Russia or China, his geopolitical allies, instead of those made by western pharmaceutical companies which he accused of looking for profit amid the pandemic. "If the vaccine of Russia and China are equally good and effective just as any other vaccine by any country, I will buy (them) first," Rodrigo Duterte said in a televised Monday night speech, in which he offered his collaboration to Russian and Chinese companies that are developing a vaccine. The president explained that he prefers to work with China...

SINGAPORE — After more than four years in power, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is still struggling to show that his country has benefited from a closer alliance with China. In a dramatic shift in the Philippines’ foreign policy, Duterte declared in 2016 the country’s “separation” from the U.S. — a military ally — and announced closer ties with China. Among other things, the president also set aside his country’s territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea, in exchange for billions of dollars that China pledged in infrastructure investments. But much of that promised investment has not materialized, with...

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 5:58 p.m.) — As Philippine prosecutors prepare to block the early release of US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday granted an “absolute pardon” to the US Marine who was convicted for the killing of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude. "Cutting matters short over what constitutes time served, and since where he was detained as not in the prisoner’s control—and to do justice—the President has granted an absolute pardon to Pemberton. Here at the Palace,” Locsin wrote on a tweet. According to a primer by the Department of Justice Parole and Probation Administration, a...

The new armed forces chief Gilbert Gapay tells lawmakers the Philippines is still ‘really dependent on the US’ to maintain the ‘bulk of our equipment’ His words contrast starkly to those of President Duterte, who vowed to Chinese officials in 2016 he would ‘separate’ from the US, which had ‘lost’ The Philippine military will maintain close ties with the United States and train with its forces even as it gets closer to China, the new armed forces chief told lawmakers in his confirmation hearing this week. General Gilbert Gapay said that “while our ties with China are warming up, it...

In a first under the Duterte administration, Manila says it is prepared to invoke its Mutual Defence Treaty with the US in the face of Chinese aggression Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr also vows to continue air patrols over the South China Sea that Beijing has denounced as ‘illegal provocations’ Manila will invoke its defence agreement with the United States if China attacks its naval vessels in the South China Sea, Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr said on Wednesday. His comments mark the first time the Rodrigo Duterte administration has openly declared it would turn to Washington for help,...

Stretching for miles across the horizon, a vast armada of Chinese fishing boats trawl the pristine waters close to the Galapagos Islands. Ostensibly fishing squid, the real target for the 265-strong fleet are sharks to serve the appetite for expensive fin soup, costing up to £350 a bowl, sold in markets across China and Hong Kong. Night and day, the vessels – many the size of a football pitch – ransack the seabed, scooping up not only whale and hammerhead sharks but other species including turtles and birds.

Under its vocally anti-American President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines has emerged as a focal point between China and the US in their continuing contest for dominance in the region. After years of cosier ties between Manila and Beijing, at the expense of the Philippines' traditional alliance with the US, Duterte last month appeared to signal a retreat from his anti-Washington stance by reversing an earlier decision to scrap a key military agreement with the US in June. While analysts say Duterte is unlikely to change his policy on China any time soon, the shift to reinstate the Visiting Forces Agreement...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte responded to criticisms about his unwillingness to act against Beijing over contested areas He said their ability to wage war against the communist superpower is insufficient financially and in numbers of arms and troops However, Duterte’s critics said they are not calling for war with China Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said his country could not afford to go to war against China in the South China Sea as he responded to critics of his unwillingness to act against Beijing over contested areas in the West Philippine and South China Seas. CNN Philippines reported Duterte, speaking at...

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to prioritize the Philippines when it develops a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Duterte—who is fostering better ties with Beijing—disclosed this during his fifth State of the Nation Address. “Four days ago, I made a plea to President Xi Jinping that if they have the vaccine, can they allow us to be the one of the first or if it is needed, if we have to buy it that we will be granted credit so we can normalize as fast as possible,” the chief executive...

Many Indians thought former BBC journalist Humphrey Hawksley was being overly alarmist when he wrote the thriller Dragon Fire two decades ago about a war pitting China and Pakistan against India that ended apocalyptically with nuclear devastation. Hawksley, a veteran Asia hand, said his fiction was meant not just to entertain but also be a warning that China was expansionist and was a one-party state whose government had to prove itself to survive. Since then, though, we’ve seen China offering a different narrative in which global economic diplomacy was its choice weapon. The Chinese have been busy proving they’re responsible...

CHINA ON MONDAY WARNED the U.S. not to conduct any further military escalation in the South China Sea as both countries dramatically ramp up the presence of their armed forces in the increasingly contested region. Days after the U.S. redeployed two aircraft carriers to the region in move seen as highly rare – and, to China, provocative – Chinese state media on Monday confirmed it had sent a brigade of aviation forces to two islands it administers in the contested Paracel Archipelago along with a series of warships. They plan to conduct "live-fire maritime target attack drills" in response to...

In 1942, the Japanese were bearing down on the Philippines, where Gen. Douglas MacArthur was based. To help him escape, the Navy relief on a small but heavily armed class of ships: Video: https://youtu.be/0xm0CSY4WJ4

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has recently suspended a decision that was described by analysts as one of the geopolitical shocks of the decade. In February, the President announced he would rip up the long-standing Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, which operationalises the two countries' Mutual Defence Treaty (MDT), signed in 1951. The MDT is similar to Australia's ANZUS security pact with the US — also signed in 1951 — as an attack in the Pacific threatening either party's "territorial integrity, political independence, or security" will automatically trigger a consultation process between Manila and Washington. The cancellation of...

Vietnam and the Philippines on Thursday criticised China’s holding of military drills in a disputed part of the South China Sea, warning it could create tension in the region and impact Beijing’s relationship with its neighbours. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said China’s exercises in the waters near the Paracel Islands were “highly provocative”, while Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry called them a violation of sovereignty that could be “detrimental” to Beijing’s relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). China scheduled five days of drills from Wednesday near the Paracels according to a June 27 announcement by the Hainan’s Maritime...

In the post-World War II, Cold War era, prosperity and stability in Asia was fuelled by the American vision of a rules-based global order and heavy investments in the region. Economies that were the first to take off like Japan, South Korea. were predominantly American allies. But things changed after an isolated China started reforming up and opening its economy in the late 70s. In the course of time, China grew into a 14 trillion dollar economy and became an Asian giant exerting tremendous influence in the region. In the past decade, China has been misusing its position to carve...

The Philippines has suspended its plan to terminate a key defense pact with the United States, Manila's top diplomat announced Tuesday, after President Rodrigo Duterte in early 2020 threatened to pull his country out of the bilateral agreement... In the letter, which was dated Monday, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs indicated that its decision in February to scrap the VFA was "hereby suspended" due to "political and other developments in the region," and that Manila had decided to hold off for six months on its planned withdrawal... "The abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement has been suspended upon the...

In less than nine minutes, President Trump delivered remarks at the White House on Friday signaling his administration has ditched almost five decades of the American policy of engagement with China. It’s about time. China has been challenging the United States across the board, and Trump – with his comprehensive comments Friday – signaled the United States would defend itself across the board. Trump announced a series of actions, including: 1. Terminating America’s relationship with the World Health Organization. Trump said the WHO is biased in favor of China and has failed to approve reforms arising out of its dealing...

MANILA - A woman from Quezon City said Saturday she caught the coronavirus disease 2019 despite observing strict quarantine measures. Jaye de la Cruz-Bekema, 40, said she was rushed to the St. Luke's Medical Center on April 25 after a miscarriage. She was then 4 months on the way. Under hospital protocol, she was asked to do a swab test. It was then she found out she had the disease. "I even told the nurse (in my desire to avoid getting a long stick up my nose lol), 'I’m sure I’m negative because I never left the house since March...

My Kingdom Economics are derived through "Thanksgiving"for it was in this manner the waters parted for Moses and the snakebites were of no consequence(I will lift my eyes to the hills) for as The Son Of God is lifted up doors open and miracles begin ! My endowment to Him( Jesus) is you( My children of Light ) and so it is as your love for Us is poured out ," Truly " it is returned flowing down upon your heads pressed down shaken together and flowing over into My very Will. So enter My Courts with Thanksgiving "YES" but...

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Vietnam after Hanoi protested what it said was the ramming and sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a Chinese coast guard ship in the disputed South China Sea. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila expressed deep concern over the reported April 3 sinking of the boat carrying eight fishermen off the Paracel Islands. The incident happened at a time when a common approach was crucial in confronting the coronavirus pandemic, it said. “COVID-19 is a very real threat that demands unity and mutual trust,” the department said. “In...