No Agreement Between China And The Philippines On South China Sea Issues

Bloomberg: Xi, Duterte Fail to Reach Agreement on South China Sea Issues

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s much-touted meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping yielded no agreement on the South China Sea territorial dispute between the two nations or a plan to explore the area for oil and gas.

Instead, Xi and Duterte agreed to form committees to advance oil exploration talks, with the goal of lifting a Philippine moratorium on existing contracts, Manila’s envoy to Beijing Chito Sta. Romana told Bloomberg TV.

“The goal is to proceed with service contracts that the Philippines has already issued and get the ball rolling,” the ambassador said, adding there’s a “moderately good chance” for a definitive deal by November.

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Update #1: Xi Jinping tells Rodrigo Duterte to ‘put aside’ South China Sea dispute and focus on oil and gas deal (SCMP)
Update #2: Beijing refuses to 'budge' on South China Sea: Philippines (AFP)

WNU Editor: Chinese President Xi basically told Philippine President Duterte that they are not going to budge on their South China Sea claims.

Hundreds Of Chinese Ships Are Lurking Near A Philippine Island In The South China Sea

Thitu (Pag-asa in Tagalog), in the Spratly Islands

Business Insider: The Philippines says hundreds of Chinese ships have been lurking near an island it occupies in the disputed South China Sea

* The Philippines has officially protested the presence of hundreds of Chinese ships around a island in the South China Sea.
* The vessels have been detected around Philippines-occupied Thitu Island, aka Pag-asa, since January.
* The Philippines considers the vessels to be maritime militia, though China says they're fishing boats.

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest over the presence of more than 200 Chinese boats near an island occupied by Manila in the disputed South China Sea, the president's spokesman said on Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte has pursued warmer ties with China since taking office in 2016 in exchange for billions of dollars of pledged loans and investment.

The Department of Foreign Affairs protested against the vessels near the Philippines-occupied Thitu island, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a regular news conference, without describing the boats.

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Update: Philippines Alarmed by Roughly 200 Chinese Ships Near Disputed Island (Bloomberg).

WNU editor: This swarming of Chines ships around this Philippine island follows this incursion into Taiwanese space over the weekend .... For The First Time Since 2011 Chinese Jets And Warships Have Crossed The Median Line In The Taiwan Strait.

Philippine Defence Secretary Raises Concerns On Chinese Survey Ships In Philippine Waters

Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana answer questions during a Reuters interview at the military headquarters of Camp Aquinaldo in Quezon city, metro Manila, Philippines February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Reuters: Philippine defense minister suspicious of Chinese ship activities

The Philippine defense minister on Thursday said he was "disturbed" by what he believes are survey missions by Chinese ships deep into its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and in an area designated as its continental shelf.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Chinese ships had been monitored in recent months at various locations close to the Philippines. A warship was detected 70 miles off its Western coast in the South China Sea and survey ships were seen at the north and south of the eastern seaboard.

While President Rodrigo Duterte has frequently praised China amid a warming relationship, Lorenzana has remained openly suspicious, noting that its fortification of manmade islands inside the Philippine EEZ has continued.

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Update: Chinese survey ships entering Philippine territory: Manila (AFP)

WNU Editor: Someone should tell the Philippine defense minister that in China's eyes .... this territory belongs to them. As for Philippine President Duterte .... his mind is elsewhere .... Duterte thanks China for ‘loving’ the Philippines (Straits Times).

China Warns The Philippines That They Are Very Capable Of Removing Their Base In The Disputed Area Of South China Sea

Photo of Filipino wrecked warship/military base taken by a Chinese helicopter.

South China Morning Post: PLA capable of removing Philippines military base in disputed area of South China Sea, warns Communist Party mouthpiece

China has shown patience, but it is committed to defending its territory, says commentary in the People’s Daily ahead of tribunal ruling on maritime disputes in the region

China is fully capable of removing a Philippine naval vessel set up as a permanent base in a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, but has so far shown restraint, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece said on Monday.

The commentary in the People’s Daily comes ahead of an imminent ruling from a international court in The Hague on China’s claims to territory in the region’s disputed waters. The case was bought by the Philippines.

The Philippines Navy deliberately grounded an old US built landing craft on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea in 1999.

It has since kept a team of about a dozen military personnel on the ship to maintain occupation.

The shoal in the Spratly Islands chain is also claimed by China and is called Renai in Chinese.

China has repeatedly protested and asked for the removal of the craft.

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WNU editor: This dispute has been festering for a long time .... Philippines and China in Dispute Over Reef (New York Times).

Update: Is this the reason why China is now getting aggressive over this Philippine "military base" .... Did a US ‘Line in the Sand’ at Scarborough Shoal Just Wash Away? (Steven Stashwick in The Diplomat)

Will Philippine Presidential-Elect Rodrigo Duterte Make A Deal With China On South China Sea Boundaries?

Rodrigo Duterte, a seven-term Philippine mayor, gestures while making a point during a ceremony proclaiming him as a presidential candidate at a hotel in Manila November 30, 2015. REUTERS/ROMEO RANOCO

Emily Rauhala, Washington Post: Rise of Philippines’ Duterte stirs uncertainty in the South China Sea

BEIJING — Rodrigo “the Punisher” Duterte looks poised to be the Philippines’ next president, news that could have a major impact on the standoff in the South China Sea.

With unofficial tallies giving him a commanding lead, the tough-talking mayor asserted a win. “It’s with humility, extreme humility, that I accept this, the mandate of the people,” Duterte told Agence France-Presse, the French news agency, as the results came in.

But Duterte’s rise has been anything but humble and quiet, with the longtime mayor making international headlines for threatening to kill suspected criminals, joking about the rape and murder of a missionary, and promising to ride a Jet Ski to plant a Philippine flag on disputed reefs.

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WNU Editor: It is hard to say what Rodrigo Duterte will do on the South China Sea dispute with China. But for China .... it will not make a difference. They are still reclaiming islands and building and extensive infrastructure in the region, and will continue to do so even if the new Philippine government protests.

Chinese Warship Fires Warning Shot At Philippine Fishing Boat In The Disputed South China Sea

ABC News (Australia): Philippine defence minister 'gravely concerned' over reports Chinese warship fired warning shot in South China Sea

The Philippine defence minister says Manila is "gravely concerned" over reports a Chinese warship has fired a warning shot on a Filipino fishing boat in the disputed South China Sea.

China has been rapidly expanding its occupied reefs in the Spratly archipelago, alarming other claimants and drawing sharp criticism from the United States, Japan and Europe.

The fishing boat was reportedly near a reclaimed reef when the shot was fired.

"If indeed this happened, it is a cause of grave concern," Philippine defence minister Voltaire Gazmin told journalists in a text message from Tokyo, where he has been accompanying president Benigno Aquino on a four-day state visit.

Update: Manila "gravely concerned" over reported Chinese warning shot at sea -- Reuters

WNU Editor:  If true ..... this is a dangerous escalation.

Philippines Accuse China Of Building A Military Base On Their Disputed Border

Philippines Releases Photos of China’s Construction in Disputed South China Sea -- The Diplomat

On Thursday Manila published photos purportedly showing China’s construction on the disputed Johnson Reef.

On Thursday the Philippines released photos to validate its claim that China is building structures and a possible airstrip on the disputed Johnson Reef.

As Shannon reported yesterday, on Wednesday the Philippines accused China of building structures on the disputed Johnson Reef in the South China Sea, which Manila said was in violation of the non-binding 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea agreement signed between China and the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

On Thursday the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) released four overhead shots of the Reef that date from between March 2012 and March of this year. The photos appear to show in stages China’s reclamation of the Johnson Reef, which the Philippines refers to as Mabini Reef. A DFA spokesperson said that the photos had been obtained by Philippine intelligence sources.

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More News On Philippines Accusations That China Is Building A Military Base On Their Disputed Border

Philippines says China appears to be building airstrip on disputed reef -- Reuters
Philippines Releases Photos Showing China Reef 'Reclamation' -- Defense News/AFP
Philippines releases photos of Chinese reclamation -- Washington Post/AP
China is building airstrip on disputed reef, Philippines claims -- UPI
Philippines Accuses China of Developing Land on Disputed Reef -- Voice of America
Philippines Accuses China Of Reclaiming South China Sea Reef [PHOTOS] -- IBTimes

China - Philippine Maritime Border Dispute Escalating

Philippines Stare Down China In South China Sea Dispute -- Peter Ford, Christian Science Monitor

The Philippines filed a legal case with the UN Sunday over contested islets, despite China's threats of retaliation for the campaign.

The Philippine government is refusing to yield in a territorial standoff with China. Braving threats of retaliation, Manila lodged its legal case with a United Nations tribunal on Sunday, challenging Beijing’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea and raising the stakes in a longstanding dispute.

Beijing immediately dismissed the move, saying it would refuse to take part in any arbitration by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

Manila’s decision to lodge nearly 4,000 pages of legal testimony with the tribunal in Hamburg “is about defending what is legitimately ours,” Philippines Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters in Manila on Sunday.

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More News On The China - Philippine Maritime Border Dispute

Beijing and Manila in Dispute Over Reef -- New York Times
China, Philippines tension over South China Sea reef escalates -- Business Standard
South China Sea Flare-up Pits China Against the Philippines Over Oil, Shipping Lanes -- The Street
Philippines files case to UN in South China Sea dispute -- BBC
Manila challenges China sea claims -- Japan Times/AP
Philippines Seeks Arbitration at U.N. Over China's Claims in South China Sea -- Wall Street Journal
Philippines stands by rejection of Beijing's claims to South China Sea -- The Guardian
Philippine Ships Are Now Dodging Chinese Blockades To Reach South China Sea Outpost -- Business Insider
Philippine resupply ship breaks blockade in South China Sea -- Want China Times
China says Manila provoking trouble in seas ahead of legal case -- Reuters
China says Manila provoking trouble in South China Sea -- Straits Times
China summons Manila envoy over South China Sea legal case -- Reuters
Philippines must take consequences of provocation: China -- Global Times/Xinhua
China insists on bilateral talks on disputes on South China Sea -- Xinhuanet
Crumbling, WW II-era US warship makes final stand for Philippines in dispute with China -- FOX News