On June 17, 2024, the China Coast Guard launched its most aggressive – and reckless – action yet in the West Philippine Sea when it rammed a Philippine vessel, and wielding machetes and bladed weapons, boarded the vessel, seized dis-assembled rifles and punctured Navy inflatable boats. The attack caused injuries to eight Filipino sailors, including one who lost his thumb, and damaged the boats’ equipment. The AFP is demanding that China return the rifles and pay for the damage to the boats.
The Philippines filed a note verbale protesting the incident, as Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. dismissed China’s claims that the incident was and “accident” and the result of “a misunderstanding.”
US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson on Wednesday urged China to cease harassment of Philippine vessels. “When the United States sees our partners being bullied in their backyard, we speak up. And we encourage others to speak up as well – and they are doing so. The chorus against threats to peace and stability in the South China Sea is growing louder and stronger each day,” said Carlson.
President Marcos assured the nation on Sunday that the Philippines will not resort to war in addressing issues in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). He said that the country will address issues related to the disputed region through “peaceful means.”
Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro also stressed the primacy of diplomacy in resolving the issue with China, as Philippine officials are set to meet their Chinese counterparts for the next round of the Bilateral Consultative Mechanism on the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, China has filed a protest against the Philippines’ request to extend its continental shelf claim filed last week before a United Nations body.
With China’s policy of detaining “trespassers” tin effect since June 15, Zambales fishermen still manage to make a living near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal by cutting short their fishing trips.
To protect Filipino fishermen conducting business in the West Philippine Sea, the Gringo Honasan-led Reform PH Party plans to establish “paramilitary groups” in what he called “key sensitive locations” near the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Amid all the concerns raised by the escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea, a piece of good news greeted supporters of former Sen. Leila de Lima when a judge dismissed the last of three obviously frivolous drug cases against the human rights defender, finally freeing the feisty senator after more than six years of detention.
Opposition figures and former government officials lauded the dismissal of the third and last drug charge faced by De Lima.
The United States also welcomed De Lima’s acquittal, urging the Philippine government to resolve politically motivated cases in a manner consistent with its international human rights obligations.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte, who De Lima blames for her incarceration, is now facing scrutiny by a House committee investigating the deadly drug war during his term. The House summoned Duterte, former PNP chief and now Senator Ronald de la Rosa, and other former Duterte officials to shed light on the drug war that killed more than 6,000 persons based on government figures.
Meanwhile, from out of the blue, Vice President Sara Duterte revealed that her father and two brothers are running for senator in next year’s elections and that – guess what – the youngest, Mayor Baste Duterte – would run for president in 2028.
Meanwhile, former members of the Duterte Cabinet has released a statement that would restart the campaign for federalism and the amendment of the Constitution through a constitutional convention (con-con).
On the continuing saga of Alice Guo, Sen. Risa Hontiveros revealed that another Alice Leal Guo appeared in the NBI data base with exactly the same birth date and place of birth, raising the possibility that Guo Huaping had stolen the identity of the original Alice Leal Guo and eventually became mayor of Bamban, Tarlac.
Earlier in the week, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the police filed human trafficking charges against Guo.
The Office of the Ombudsman also affirmed its preventive suspension of Alice Guo as Bamban, Tarlac mayor.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, in his capacity as chair of the PAOCC, ordered on Thursday the freezing of funds and preservation of the 46 buildings and the entire 10-hectare compound of Lucky South 99 in Porac town, Pampanga, and the summary deportation of its rescued foreign workers.
Here in the US, the Supreme Court handed down its most significant gun control ruling in two years on Friday, upholding a federal law that bars people who are the subject of domestic violence restraining orders from owning weapons.
Extreme weather brought about by climate change devastated much of the United States. Millions of people across the US are still trudging through a record-setting heat wave that is shifting to the mid-Atlantic, while many Americans – including in New Mexico, Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota – contend with “catastrophic” flash flooding this weekend.
As temperatures soared in the Bay Area Saturday, crews continued to battle several wildfires across California.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump square off for a historic US presidential debate tomorrow, Thursday, with the stage set for what could be a pivotal moment in the 2024 race as millions of potential voters tune in.
Elsewhere, Russia and North Korea have agreed to provide immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression, according to the full text of a landmark defense pact signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader during a visit to Pyongyang.
A day later in a speech in Vietnam, Putin said it would be a “big mistake” for South Korea if it supplied weapons to Ukraine.
Russia summoned the U.S. ambassador and vowed retaliation Monday after blaming Washington for a deadly strike on a strategic port in occupied Crimea, claiming U.S.-supplied missiles were used in the attack. The strike left at least four people dead and more than 150 injured in one of the biggest attacks on the Russian-annexed peninsula in recent months.
In another incident that shows all is not well in Russia, gunmen opened fire at a synagogue, an Orthodox church, and a police post in attacks across two cities in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Dagestan on Sunday, June 23, killing an Orthodox priest and at least 15 police officers, the region’s head said.
On the Gaza war, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that “intense” fighting against Hamas militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah is nearly over, more than eight months into the devastating war.https://philpostblog.wordpress.com/2024/06/25/gaza-war-israel-pm-says-intense-phase-nearing-end/
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