"Deliberately grounded on a tiny reef in the #SouthChinaSea, part of an island chain claimed by the two Asian countries, the #BRPSierraMadre is now the unlikely base for a detachment of Filipino marines who stand guard over the atoll, scanning the turquoise waters for Chinese ships." #AyunginShoal#SecondThomasShoal#Philippines
The patrols involve three navy ships and three fighter-jets from the Philippine military, which were to be joined by one littoral combat ship and one aircraft from the #American side.
On Tuesday, the Philippine Air Force’s #FA50 light combat aircraft flew in tandem with the US Air Force’s #F15C fighter jets and C-130 from #Batanes to the #WestPhilippineSea to test joint flight doctrines and further enhance interoperability, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. #Philippines#US#SouthChinaSea
#MANILA, #Philippines — Three of the #PhilippineCoastGuard (PCG) multirole response vessels often used in regular resupply missions to a military outpost in #WestPhilippineSea (WPS) participated in joint water cannon and towing drills between Philippines and #Japan.
#MANILA, #Philippines – Over 40 volunteers composed mostly of youth and student leaders arrived in #ElNido, #Palawan, on Saturday, December 9, in line with the three-day #ChristmasConvoy civilian supply mission to the #WestPhilippineSea that will begin on Saturday, December 10.
The volunteers, who also include fisherfolk representatives, among others, arrived in El Nido from #Manila, aboard the TS Kapitan Felix Oca that had been loaded with donations and supplies.
#MANILA, #Philippines — A group of #Filipino civilians will embark in a historic journey in Philippine waters — they will sail to the #WestPhilippineSea to assert the country’s control over our own waters.
Organized by #AtinIto coalition, the program will begin on Sunday, December 10.
The #Philippines is using a recently installed Japanese-made air-surveillance radar system at #WallaceAirStation in San Fernando City to monitor activity off its coast. It says it will share data from the radar with Tokyo to strengthen their security relationship. #SouthChinaSea#China#WestPhilippineSea
#MANILA, #Philippines – Two Chinese navy vessels shadowed Philippine and US ships conducting joint patrols in the #SouthChinaSea, the Philippine military said on Thursday, January 4 as tensions flare in the region over disputed territorial claims.
The two-day maritime exercises involving Manila and #Washington, were the second in less than two months in the #WestPhilippineSea – within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (#EEZ). #China
Filipino bishops rebuked #China in a rare statement about the #WestPhilippineSea dispute, and said it is “morally permissible” to take refuge in “the friendship of allies” if diplomacy fails.
Vessels from the Philippine Coast Guard (#PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (#BFAR) will be taking turns securing the shoal for Filipino fishermen. #WestPHSea#SouthChinaSea#China
#MANILA, #Philippines – Shadowing and blocking maneuvers by #China in the #WestPhilippineSea are nothing new for personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (#PCG), nor for Philippine journalists who are practically regulars in missions to those waters as part of the government’s “transparency initiative.” #WestPHSea#ScarboroughShoal
The #Philippines, the #UnitedStates, #Japan, and #Australia will hold a “maritime cooperative activity” (#MCA) in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (#EEZ) on Sunday, April 7, “in support of a free and open #IndoPacific,” their defense ministers said in a joint statement. #WestPHSea
The MCA will precede a #TrilateralSummit among the Philippines, US, and Japan, which will discuss recent incidents in the #WestPhilippineSea.
#Duterte’s silence over the issue amid the #Marcos administration’s strong condemnation of a series of Chinese actions in the #WestPhilippineSea has further fueled the observed split of the #Uniteam, the 2022 election coalition that led the Marcos-Duterte tandem to victory.
According to Ian Cruz’s Saturday report on “24 Oras Weekend”, the #OceanTugboat, equipped with #WaterCannons with which to fight fires, was purchased by a government agency that was yet to be named by Filipino shipbuilder #JosefaSlipways, Inc. #WestPHSea
#China has issued a regulation empowering its coast guard to detain foreigners trespassing in the #SouthChinaSea following the Philippine civilian mission to the #WestPhilippineSea (WPS) that ended on Friday. #WestPHSea
The #Philippines will acquire five additional large patrol ships from #Japan through a P23.85-billion deal signed Friday, amid growing tensions in the #WestPhilippineSea.
The #PCG currently has two 97-meter patrol vessels as part of a fleet seen as inadequate for patrolling waters around the vast archipelago nation. #WestPHSea