In the vast, turquoise expanse of the South China Sea, hundreds of fishing boats sit idle off China’s southern coast. But the people on these vessels aren’t there to fish. “They’re there to maintain presence,” said Gregory Poling from the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “Philippine surveillance shows crew members sitting around…
A Singaporean-flagged general cargo vessel with 21 all-Filipino crew encountered a maritime incident while en route to Yangjiang, China from Gutalac, Zamboanga del Sur, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Friday. PCG said it has received report that 10 of the 21 Pinoys were rescued by a passing China Coast Guard (CCG) ship. “Earlier today, January…
While failing to see eye to eye is hardly new to Beijing and Tokyo, Sino-Japanese relations have been especially strained this month and are at risk of worsening even further. The trigger for the downturn was Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments to the Japanese parliament on November 7 that the use of force against…