The Department of Foreign Affairs on Saturday sought clarification from China of a new law that would allow Chinese police to board “foreign vessels” in disputed areas of the South China, including a part now called West Philippine Sea by Manila.
President Benigno Aquino III on Monday called on China to show benevolence and generosity toward weaker states in the region, including the Philippines, if it hoped to sustain its economic growth in these times of uncertainty.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s disclosure of Ambassador Sonia Brady’s purported notes of her meeting with Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on the disputed Panatag Shoal may have “compromised” national interest, a University of the Philippines law professor said Saturday.
A fleet of 20 Chinese fishing vessels believed to be escorted by at least two naval frigates of the People’s Liberation Army has been deployed around Pag-asa Island in a move likely to escalate tensions over disputed territories in the Spratly archipelago between the Philippines and China.
