Western Command (Wescom) chief Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos, the top military commander overseeing #Palawan and the country’s claims in the #WestPhilippineSea, calls the Nido observation post “the other #BRPSierraMadre,” referring to the grounded warship that serves as a military outpost in #Ayungin. #ElNido #Palawan #Philippines #WestPHSea

Troops at Nido outpost see vital role amid isolation
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/218670/troops-at-nido-outpost-see-vital-role-amid-isolation?utm_source=(direct)&utm_medium=gallery

“Masyadong maliit ang P10 million kumpara halimbawa sa #DepEd na may proposed intelligence funds na P150 million. The #PCG is threatened by #China almost on a daily basis, 24/7, while the DepEd is not even facing any security threat,” #Hontiveros said. #Philippines #WestPHSea #SouthChinaSea

Hontiveros wants bigger intelligence funds for Coast Guard in 2024 budget
https://www.rappler.com/nation/hontiveros-wants-bigger-intelligence-funds-philippine-coast-guard-2024-budget/

"The #AirAssault drills, which also involved a small contingent of American troops, were carried out as the #Philippines was making a new attempt to deliver supplies in #AyunginShoal, two weeks after one of its supply boats was prevented from doing so by #ChinaCoastGuard (CCG) ships using water cannons." #WestPHSea #SecondThomasShoal #SouthChinaSea #Australia

PH-Aussie forces regain territory from ‘invaders’ in #Palawan mock drills
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/218141/ph-aussie-forces-regain-territory-from-invaders-in-palawan-mock-drills

"The structures, according to the senator, could serve as permanent lodging for soldiers stationed at the rusty #BRPSierraMadre, a warship intentionally grounded in the shoal in 1999 as a Philippine military outpost and now at the center of fresh tensions between #Manila and #Beijing." #Ayungin #AyunginShoal #Philippines #WestPHSea

P100-M funding sought for PH Ayungin buildup
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/217872/p100-m-funding-sought-for-ph-ayungin-buildup?utm_source=(direct)&utm_medium=gallery

"The #NationalSecurityCouncil says internal threats pinpointed by the #Duterte administration – the #CommunistInsurgency, local #TerrorGroups, and #IllegalDrugs – are no longer priorities" #SouthChinaSea

Marcos security policy focuses on threats in #WestPHSea, #Taiwan Strait
https://www.rappler.com/nation/marcos-jr-security-plan-focuses-external-threats-west-philippine-sea-taiwan/

More EU stuff in the local newspapers lately, and I expect Sweden to pop up again soon.
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"The countries whose embassies issued the statement issued on Tuesday were #Belgium, #Czechia, #Denmark, #Germany, #Ireland, #Greece, #Spain, #France, #Italy, #Netherlands, #Poland, #Austria, #Romania, #Slovakia (non-resident), #Finland, and #Sweden" #SouthChinaSea #UNCLOS #China

#EU, 16 member states reaffirm support for #WestPHSea arbitral ruling on 7th year | Global News
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/216399/eu-16-member-states-reaffirm-support-for-wps-arbitral-ruling-on-7th-year

The ambassadors from #Australia, #Japan , #India, and the #US attended the forum.

"The #survey results were released by #PulseAsia president Ronald Holmes, during a forum on the seventh year of the 2016 arbitration ruling against #China’s intrusive nine-dash line in the #SouthChinaSea." #Philippines

8 out of 10 Filipinos say alliances needed to defend #WestPHSea – Pulse Asia
https://www.rappler.com/nation/filipinos-say-international-alliances-needed-to-defend-west-philippine-sea/

For #China, this is only political drama. But for us, Filipinos especially the fishermen whose livelihoods have been impacted by their incursion in our territorial seas, it is a matter of life-and-death.

#Philippines #WestPHSea #politics

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/02/15/2245173/china-claims-philippine-arbitration-case-political-drama-orchestrated-us

Never mind the decision taken in 2016 by the #UNCLOS arbitration court, telling Beijing to forget about its #NineDashLine and its attempt to expand and militarize islands and reefs in the West Philippines Sea, also known as the East Vietnam Sea and the North Indonesia Sea.

Expansionist and brazen China needs to be held at bay.

#China coast guard patrolled #WestPHSea almost every day in 2022 | #SouthChinaSea #MaritimeBorders #Philippines
https://www.rappler.com/nation/china-coast-guard-patrols-presence-west-philippine-sea-2022/

"The Second Thomas Shoal (#AyunginShoal), Luconia Shoals, Scarborough Shoal (#PanatagShoal), Vanguard Bank, and Thitu Island (#PagAsaIsland) were among the five areas most frequented by Chinese ships in 2022, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (AMTI-CSIS) in Washington, DC."

#China coast guard patrolled #WestPHSea almost every day in 2022 | #SouthChinaSea #MaritimeBorders #Philippines
https://www.rappler.com/nation/china-coast-guard-patrols-presence-west-philippine-sea-2022/