Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has caused a stir by appointing Margaux Justiniano Uson, a blogger known for posting “sexy” videos on social media, his new assistant secretary of the Presidential Communication Operations Office. “Mocha,” as she is known, will run the federal government’s social media.
The Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), has been dramatically degraded, according to the Filipino military.
A national poll released Monday showed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s popularity holding steady, with 80 percent of respondents saying they have “much trust” in the controversial strongman.
Contents: Ancient tensions flare between China and North Korea; China’s relations deteriorate with both South and North Korea
The United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Agnes Callamard made an unannounced visit to the Philippines where she gave a speech at a policy forum in Quezon City on Friday.
Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, told reporters Monday that he could not yet accept an invitation from his American counterpart Donald Trump to the White House because he is unsure of whether he has the time to make it.
Last month, North Korea’s foreign minister drafted a letter to the Association of ten Southeast Asian Nations – known collectively as ASEAN – warning them of a “nuclear holocaust” if it refuses to join forces with the Hermit Kingdom in opposition to the United States.
Contents: Philippines President Duterte seeks to appease China at ASEAN meeting; The phrase ‘Code of Conduct’ is the new code word for appeasement
The New York Times’ editorial board published a commentary focused on a Philippine lawyer’s request to the International Criminal Court in the Hague to charge the country’s president, Rodrigo Duterte, with mass murder and crimes against humanity for his crackdown on drug traffickers.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered an extended military operation against the Islamic State affiliate Abu Sayyaf and assured civilians that any violent action they take to subdue local terrorists will be forgiven in a court of law, following the arrest of a policewoman with ties to the group and the beheading of a soldier.
On Saturday, two high-ranking Philippine officials visited the island of Pag-asa in the South China Sea, drawing a protest from China, which claims ownership of the entire region.
Speaking at a news conference in Qatar, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte compared himself to U.S. President Donald Trump as a leader criticized for bold speech, but he praised Trump as “a realist and a pragmatic thinker.”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte told leaders in Qatar and Bahrain during a regional visit this weekend that he would deploy Philippine troops to the region if necessary, promising that his soldiers are “very disciplined.”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte shocked international observers last week with a call to occupy the uninhabited islands of the South China Sea before China colonized them, an apparent about-face from his months-long campaign to improve bilateral relations with China.
Contents: President Trump orders missile strikes on Bashar al-Assad’s Syria; Philippines president Duterte orders military to occupy South China Sea islands; Philippines sends warship to Benham Rise to protect from China
The Pew Research Center has released a new poll that shows Americans have a very low opinion of North Korea and would support the use of military force against it should Pyongyang assault an American ally.
A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman denied the existence of Chinese-made artificial islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, a bizarre development given the open construction of such islands and promotion of their newly-installed assets in Chinese media.
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton paid a visit to Breitbart News Daily with SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Thursday to offer his thoughts on some top news items of the day.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte once again criticized the United States for not acting with sufficient boldness to keep China from usurping the Philippine waters of the South China Sea, questioning why Washington did not send an “armada” to the Spratly Islands.”
Satellite images published this week confirm that China has almost completed the construction of a variety of military assets in the Philippine and Vietnamese South China Sea, assets that allow it to deploy fighter jets and missile launchers at a moment’s notice and provide it expanded surveillance capabilities.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said “in jest” during a speech Thursday that he believed China was seeking to turn his country into “a province” of theirs, after condemning the United States for not doing enough to stop China from building artificial islands on Philippine territory in the South China Sea.
The Philippines has threatened to protest the launch of a building project on the Scarborough Shoal, a land formation within the Philippines’ sovereign territory that also falls within China’s “nine-dash line,” a territorial claim struck down by an international tribunal.
In a speech that lasted over an hour to the Filipino community in Myanmar, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to “give all” to support President Donald Trump and berated the European Union for opposing his use of extrajudicial killing, asking, “why do you have to f*ck with us?”
Contents: Taiwan says it must defend against increasingly threatening China; China responds harshly to Taiwan’s defense report; Taiwan’s government responds to China’s threats; China begins construction on Philippines’ Scarborough Shoal
An opponent of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who was reportedly complicit in two separate coup attempts against a previous president, has filed a motion to impeach Duterte, accusing him of violating the constitution through the rampant use of extrajudicial killing and corruption.
Sources within the Japanese government revealed plans on Monday to send the Izumo helicopter carrier, the nation’s largest warship, on a three-month tour of the South China Sea.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte walked back concerns about China’s presence in an undisputed Philippine South China Sea territory on Monday, calling reports of tension “exaggerated” while demanding the navy “tell them straight that this is ours” by constructing new “structures” meant to ward off Chinese territorial challenges.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s office has announced the official commutation of sentences for 27 prisoners deemed too ill or elderly to justify keeping in prison, the first of what the president’s office hopes will be more than 100 such pardons.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced the launch of Operation “Double Barrel Reloaded,” the next phase in a highly-controversial drug war that its critics say has left thousands dead without due process.
The government of Vietnam has condemned China for imposing a fishing ban over its territory in the Paracel Islands, a South China Sea archipelago that China illegally claims as its own.
Contents: Vietnam protests China’s fishing ban in the South China Sea; China’s fishing ban related to food security in times of war; North Korea fires four ballistic missiles into sea near Japan
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated his belief that killing drug criminals was necessary to protect his nation’s youth from the methamphetamine addiction engulfing the Philippines, declaring that killing such criminals is “not a crime against humanity.”
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), currently chaired by the Philippines, is aspiring to debut a new maritime code of conduct by June intended to diminish tensions between member nations and China in the South China Sea.
In confirming the death of Jurgen Kantner, the hostage to the Islamic State affiliate Abu Sayyaf beheaded overnight Sunday, the Philippine government revealed that multiple soldiers had died to prevent his murder, but their rescue attempts failed.
Abu Sayyaf extremists in the Philippines have released a video of the beheading of a German hostage.
China is considering modifications to its maritime law that would require foreign vessels to identify themselves to Beijing and would require submarines to travel above the surface. As China considers most of the South China Sea and some of the East China Sea as its own, the law would thus require Vietnamese, Philippine, and other vessels to report to China in their own domestic waters.
The Chinese government bristled at reports suggesting the Trump administration is considering a new round of Freedom of Navigation operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea, warning the United States not to “challenge China’s sovereignty” in territory international courts have found China has no claims to.
On Friday, the U.S. Pacific Command announced that one of its patrol aircraft had a “close encounter” with a Chinese plane over the South China Sea. The Pentagon initially classified the encounter as “unsafe” but later walked this judgment back.
A report published this week unveils significant Chinese development of military constructions and placement of new naval and aerial military assets in the Paracel Islands, a disputed territory in the South China Sea.
Contents: China-Philippines détente unravels over Scarborough Shoal; Mainstream media frets over Steve Bannon, the Fourth Turning, and Donald Trump