Tag - islands

 
 

ISLANDS

This frame grab from handout video released by the Philippine Coast guard on Feb. 11 shows a Chinese coast guard vessel (front R) blocking and sailing past Philippine coast guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua (back L) near Scarborough Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 12, 2024
Philippines accuses Chinese vessels of 'dangerous' maneuvers
The reef of the incident has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a government-sponsored rally in Tokyo campaigning for the return of the Russian-held islands to Japan, an event held to coincide with Northern Territories Day in Japan, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2024
Kishida vows to conclude peace pact with Russia
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday vowed to conclude a peace treaty with Russia after resolving a territorial row over four northwestern Pacific islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan.
Philippine's Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left) and Vietnam's President Vo Van Thuong at a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Tuesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 30, 2024
Amid China concerns, Manila and Hanoi agree to better manage maritime disputes
The Philippines is turning to neighboring South China Sea claimant states to boost security ties and potentially forge a united front against Beijing.
A Philippine flag flutters from BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that has been aground since 1999 and become a Philippine military detachment on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea in March 2014.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 29, 2024
Philippines denies 'special arrangements' with China over reef
The Chinese coast guard had said it had temporarily allowed the Philippines to provide food and water to soldiers stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal.
Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner walks past an honor guard during the arrival ceremony at Western Command, in Puerto Princesa, on the Philippine island of Palawan last August.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 21, 2024
Manila gets tough in the South China Sea as a showdown looms
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken a tough stance on territorial disputes with China — and he is backing this up with bold moves.
Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024
U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle
The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
The Philippines and China have had numerous confrontations recently in certain disputed waters in the South China Sea, with both trading accusations of provoking conflict in the economic strategic waterway.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 18, 2024
China and Philippines seek better dialogue regarding South China Sea
In the talks, the two sides reaffirmed that the South China Sea dispute is "not the whole story of bilateral relations."
Flags of Solomon Islands and China flutter near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on July 11, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 17, 2024
China helps Pacific Islands with policing, not defense: ambassador
Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, with Nauru joining just after Taiwan's election.
Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro arrives to attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 16, 2024
Philippines hopes to sign troops pact with Japan early this year
Manila hopes to sign in the first quarter of the year a deal with Tokyo allowing the deployment of military forces on each other's soil, the Philippines' defense chief said.
Philippines Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner speaks to the media during a press briefing in Puerto Princesa, Philippines, last August.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 15, 2024
Philippines to develop islands in South China Sea, military chief says
Manila will develop islands in the waterway that it considers part of its territory to make them more habitable for troops, military chief Romeo Brawner said.
A Philippine supply boat sails near a Chinese Coast Guard ship during a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea on Oct. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 26, 2023
Philippines not stirring conflict in South China Sea: spokesperson
Instead Manila accused Beijing of performing dangerous maneuvers that sometimes result in collisions at sea.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim applaud as Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa poses with her Malaysian counterpart, Mohamad Hasan, after a signing ceremony in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023
Japan and Malaysia sign ¥400 million maritime security aid deal
Jakarta became the third country to receive the grant under Japan's new official security assistance program.
A China Coast Guard vessel uses a water cannon against a Philippine supply boat as it carries out a mission to deliver provisions to the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 11, 2023
Manila summons Chinese envoy after tense weekend in South China Sea
The moves came after the Philippines said one of its vessels was rammed and others "directly targeted” by a China Coast Guard ship with a water cannon.
A China Coast Guard vessel fires a water cannon at a Philippine supply boat during a mission to deliver provisions to the Second Thomas Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Sunday.
SOCCER
Dec 10, 2023
Philippines and China trade blame for collision in disputed waters
The maritime incident with China happened during a Philippine resupply mission to a tiny garrison on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during an event in Pyongyang. Smuggling efforts could be directly linked to the North's military ambitions, analysts have said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023
North Korean smugglers disguised under Pacific island flags
With strict sanctions limiting Pyongyang's ability to import fuel, smugglers have adopted increasingly creative methods.
The USS Gabrielle Giffords sails in the Pacific Ocean in September 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2023
China says U.S. Navy ship ‘seriously violated’ its sovereignty
The move in disputed waters of the South China Sea underscored lingering military tensions between the nations.
Chinese vessels gather near Whitsun Reef in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday. The Philippines said Sunday that more than 135 Chinese "maritime militia" vessels were "swarming" the reef.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2023
Philippines says Chinese boats 'swarming' reef in South China Sea
Manila said that more than 135 Chinese “maritime militia” ships were “swarming” a reef that it claims sovereignty over in the disputed waterway.
Philippine Coast Guard personnel patrol the South China Sea
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 29, 2023
Philippines allows civilian vessels and plans more joint sea patrols
Officials say many countries have expressed an interest in joining the Southeast Asian nation in patrolling contested waters.
An Australian F-35A fighter jet takes part in a joint exercise between Australian and Philippine troops at a naval base in Zambales province, Philippines, in August.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 26, 2023
Chinese fighter jets 'orbit' Philippine patrol aircraft, Manila says
The Philippine and Australian militaries carried out a second day of sea and air exercises in the Southeast Asian country's exclusive economic zone.
The Royal Australian Navy vessel the Toowoomba is docked at Changi Naval Base  during IMDEX Asia 2023, a maritime defense exhibition in Singapore, in May.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 25, 2023
Philippines, Australia start sea and air patrols in South China Sea
The move comes after Manila took similar steps with the U.S. as Pacific nations warily eye an increasingly assertive China.

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