Philippines - Page 2

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made his first appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague on Friday after being arrested this week on charges of crimes against humanity.

An aircraft contracted by the Department of Defense (DOD) crashed in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao del Sur on Thursday, killing an American service member and three defense contractors.

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on Wednesday on charges including corruption, dereliction of duty, misuse of public funds, and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Chinese officials are reportedly refusing to discuss Beijing’s travel ban against Marco Rubio, the former Republican senator from Florida who was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of State on Monday.

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte referred to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., as a “drug addict” and suggested the military should oust him.

The vice president of the Philippines suggested she had hired a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the first lady killed if she herself dies.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China launched another series of live-fire drills near Taiwan on Tuesday, warning ships to stay away from the Pingtan Islands region off the southern coast of China.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China conducted an unusual ICBM test launch into the Pacific Ocean for the first time since 1980.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday rebuffed efforts by China to bully Malaysia away from oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea. Anwar’s government is investigating a leaked Chinese diplomatic note that accused Malaysia of violating Chinese sovereignty by working near the oil-rich Luconia Shoals.

The governments of the Philippines and Vietnam announced on Friday that they would sign a defense agreement that would expand their cooperation out of trade and into military and security projects, including “maritime” defense operations.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, had nothing to say about China during the first press interview of their 2024 campaign.

The Chinese government has implemented tighter health screening for travelers from Africa, where a new outbreak of monkeypox or “mpox” was recently declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.).

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the Chinese air force for conducting “unjustified, illegal, and reckless” maneuvers.

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida indicted the founder and president of voting machine company Smartmatic, Roger Piñate, on Thursday for his alleged role in a bribery and money laundering scheme related to the 2016 Philippine elections.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who ambushed a stunned U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during an early encounter in 2021 with allegations that America has a worse human rights record than China, gave Blinken one more political lecture on Saturday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken departs for a six-nation tour of Asia, derisively described by Chinese state media as his “farewell tour.”

China and the Philippines announced on Sunday they have reached a “provisional arrangement” to allow resupply missions to reach the BRP Sierra Madre, the beached ship that functions as a Filipino outpost on the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

China sent troops to Belarus for training for the first time, conducting an exercise called “Eagle Assault” near the Polish border.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry detected 66 Chinese warplanes and seven Chinese naval vessels circling the island in a single day.

The State Department announced on Tuesday that a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement has gone into effect, allowing the U.S. to export peaceful nuclear technology to the Philippines.

A group of 17 Philippine business organizations issued a rare statement denouncing China’s attack on Filipino naval personnel.

The Chinese Communist regime admits it used force to board Filipino ships and force them out of the Philippines’ territorial waters.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Tuesday that the Greek-owned coal carrier MV Tutor, struck by Houthi missiles and an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) on July 12, has sunk in the Red Sea.

The Philippine military said on Monday that one of its sailors suffered a “serious injury” when a Chinese Coast Guard vessel conducted an “intentional high-speed ramming” attack against a Philippine supply ship in the South China Sea.

A team from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group rescued the crew of a Greek-owned ship that Houthis attacked.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday that a Palau-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated bulk carrier called MV Verbena was sailing through the Gulf of Aden when it was hit by two anti-ship missiles launched by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is scheduled to meet with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Singapore this weekend, holding the first face-to-face bilateral defense meeting in 18 months.

China took an increasingly aggressive stance towards the Philippines this week, threatening to use force to repel civilian activists who are bringing supplies to Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal.

The Chinese Communist regime drafted a law that would require military training for children all the way down to the elementary school level.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was hit by exceptionally heavy rainfall this week, bringing flash floods that caused at least four fatalities and virtually shut down the city of Dubai.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gave an interview to China’s state-run Global Times on Friday in which the erratic leader trashed the United States as “antagonistic and hostile” and advised his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., to adopt a more conciliatory posture toward China.

President Joe Biden held a summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

Protesters in Manila marched against Chinese “aggression” in the South China Sea on Tuesday, gathering outside the Chinese consulate to wave banners and march across a giant replica of Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s face.

The Philippines joined the U.S., Japan, and Australia on Sunday for a large-scale joint air and naval exercise in the South China Sea.

Taiwan was hit by its strongest earthquake in 25 years during rush hour on Wednesday, with nine dead, 50 missing, and over 800 injuries reported.