The Philippines has been calling for international solidarity against an increasingly assertive China in the West Philippine Sea but Israel, one of its top defense partners, has yet to respond categorically to its appeal, according to senior Filipino diplomats and security officials. Israel’s neutral stance is affecting both current and prospective defense cooperation between the...
Tag: Philippine Coast Guard
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The Coast Guard’s Tarriela explains how the Philippines can win over China in the battle of narratives
Of all the disinformation thrown Commodore Jay Tarriela’s way, nothing has annoyed him more than this: that he’s a CIA agent. That insidious jab—thrown by a troll on social media soon after the Philippine Coast Guard officer completed his fellowship in Washington, D.C. in 2023—still stings to this day. “For me personally, I think the...
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Jubilation, relief, and a little disappointment on the West Philippine Sea
Jubilant, relieved, but a bit disappointed at not coming close to Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal. That was how some people felt at the end of last week’s small flotilla of the “Atin Ito” coalition that had for its mission to supply food and fuel to fishermen at Bajo de Masinloc...
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Filipino fishers are called upon to sacrifice during PH-US Balikatan
Fishers in San Antonio, Zambales, may have to sacrifice days’ worth of catch as the Coast Guard enforces a three-day “no-sail zone policy” in the municipal waters during next week’s war games between Philippine and US troops, according to security analyst Chester Cabalza. The policy, which bans fishing within the municipal waters on May 6-9,...
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How to take back what’s ours
Surely many Filipinos were startled by footage shown on ANC last week of a Chinese Navy helicopter hovering perilously low over Sandy Cay last March 23. On the ground were Filipino marine scientists doing research on biodiversity and inspecting the apparently poor state of the corals at the sandbar about two nautical miles from the...