PH boosts military to resist ‘bullies’
President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend his country’s maritime territory against “bullies,” amid an ever-worsening dispute with China.
President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend his country’s maritime territory against “bullies,” amid an ever-worsening dispute with China.
Faced with territorial disputes and worries of external and internal threats, President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday claimed that the Philippines can fight back and defend itself within its bounds.
The Philippines has formally protested the “provocative and illegal” presence of Chinese government ships around a shoal within the Philippine continental shelf in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), asserting exclusive rights to use resources within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Local budget carrier Zest Airways has suspended its daily chartered flights between Kalibo, Aklan, and Taipei amid the ongoing bitter tensions between the Philippines and Taiwan.
At least 52 Chinese and Taiwanese tourists were turned over to the Bureau of Immigration here early Tuesday after their presence in a resort in Vigan City in Ilocos Sur raised suspicions.
Vice President Jejomar Binay has called on Taiwan to assure the protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there amid reports of attacks against Philippine nationals, an apparent backlash following the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman earlier this month.
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago warned on Sunday that injuries sustained by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Taiwanese attackers could be considered “an act of aggression” that could serve as basis for the fold-up of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei.
Hotels and resorts on Boracay Island have been reeling from the cancellation of bookings of Taiwanese tourists amid the diplomatic row following the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Filipino coast guards, according to travel operators.
The Philippines Saturday rejected Taiwan’s allegations that its coast guards had intentionally murdered a Taiwanese fisherman whose death has triggered a major diplomatic spat.
Manila is now preparing for “contingencies” after Taiwan imposed a second wave of sanctions against the Philippines over last week’s killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard personnel in waters off northern Luzon.
The mayor of Kalayaan town in Palawan, along with around 200 people, were harassed by two unidentified vessels while they were traveling by sea before midnight Thursday, the local official said.
The Philippine envoy to Taiwan is advising thousands of Filipino workers there to eat at home and avoid the streets as emotions run high on the island over the shooting death of a fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard.
