When he assumed office as defense chief in 2010, retired Army commander Voltaire Gazmin, one of the most trusted aides of the late President Corazon Aquino, had the country’s internal security problem as a priority mission.
Journalism remains a dangerous profession with 54 media practitioners killed in the line of duty, including one from the Philippines, over the past year, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-Ifra) said Wednesday.
Vowing to defend the country “up to the last soldier standing,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Thursday said China had clearly intruded into Philippine territory when it sent a frigate to escort its fishing vessels in Ayungin Shoal.
The Philippines is weighing what course of action to take in the wake of the latest Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) even as the country asserted its capability to defend its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Philippines Wednesday called on China to back off the country’s established maritime borders in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), saying any foray into its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) would be a violation of international law.
The government on Monday hinted at a rift within the so-called “reaffirmist faction” of the Communist Party of the Philippines that could be influencing the stalled peace negotiations between the government and the communist rebels.
The Philippines and the United States ended their 29th Balikatan joint military exercises on Wednesday, and immediately set about planning next year’s event, raising the possibility of inviting Japan and Australia to make it a multilateral exercise.
The United States government on Wednesday thanked President Benigno Aquino and the Filipino people for denouncing the Boston Marathon bombing, which US President Barack Obama has described as an “act of terrorism.”
The negotiations between the government and Muslim rebels look to have hit a bump. The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is none too pleased that the latest round of exploratory talks ended in Kuala Lumpur last Thursday without the negotiating panels signing at least one of three annexes to the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement.
Defense Chief Voltaire Gazmin on Friday said China had maintained its presence in the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea a year after the standoff between the Philippine Navy and Chinese vessels.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Friday raised the possibility of the United States again being allowed to locate military bases in the Philippines if war should break out in the Korean Peninsula.
Rough seas swept away a motorboat carrying a Liberal Party mayoral candidate, his running mate and 30 supporters from Tawi-Tawi on Tuesday and took it to, of all places, Lahad Datu in Sabah, site of five weeks of fighting between Malaysian security forces and followers of the sultan of Sulu.
