The Philippines has taken an interesting role over the past few years in regards to Sino-American diplomacy. It’s a hotly-contested state, in terms of influence, due to its resources, size, and strategic position. For the Chinese, it’s the gateway to the south Pacific, with its vast sea resources and wide array of shipping lanes. For the US, it’s the opposite:… Read more »
The US secretary of state has committed Washington to aiding the Philippines in the event of an “armed attack” on its vessels or aircraft in the disputed South China Sea, in what some see as a warning shot to China. Speaking in Manila after meeting the president, Rodrigo Duterte, Mike Pompeo told the Philippines: “We have your back” and invoked the two… Read more »
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine nickel mining output is expected to recover in 2019 following years of decline due to production disruptions, boding well for the global outlook for this year, a Fitch unit said Friday. The Philippines is among the world’s biggest supplier of nickel ore and also among the top producers of copper and gold. However, the mining sector… Read more »
President Duterte said he was willing to help the Rohingya Muslims by accepting refugees and slammed the supposed inaction of other international bodies regarding the plight of the ethnic group. In a speech at the Manila Hotel on Tuesday, the President said that he would never recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC) because it was not a body created by… Read more »
Manila (AsiaNews) – Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte handed over the reins of power in the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim (pictured), leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Yesterday in Manila, Duterte attended the symbolic swearing-in ceremony with which Murad became BARMM’s interim Chief Minister. From now on, it will be… Read more »
The newly-elected president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has been almost universally condemned by the international community for his violent war against drugs and drug crime in his country, in which hundreds have been killed. Both the United Nations General Secretary, Ban Ki-Moon, and the President of the United States, Barack Obama, decried these violations of human and civil rights… Read more »
WSJ: Philippine authorities returned $15 million of $81 million stolen from Bangladesh’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in a February cyberheist, the first time the South Asian country has been able to retrieve any of the stolen money. Abu Hena Mohammad Razee Hassan, deputy governor of Bangladesh’s central bank, said the cash was delivered to the… Read more »
REUTERS: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned he may use his executive power to suspend a legal safeguard against arbitrary arrest and detention, and was willing to use drastic measures and even go to jail to make his war on drugs a success.The former prosecutor, dubbed “the punisher” and elected on promises of a fierce campaign to stop crime and… Read more »
UPI: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he plans to dismiss U.S. troops from the country by the end of his term in 2022, a move seen as a way to shore up ties with China and Russia. Duterte said the country will continue its military pact that gives U.S. troops access to Philippine bases under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, but… Read more »
REUTERS: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Monday that Islamic State militants driven out of Syria and Iraq could set up in his country, and if that happened he would forego human rights obligations to keep his people safe. Duterte said the southern Philippine province of Mindanao was already a hotbed of rebellion and banditry and he was worried about… Read more »