Latest Philippines government News
Chinese coast guard shadows Filipino activists sailing toward disputed shoal
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese coast guard ships shadowed a group of Filipino activists and fishermen sailing on wooden boats toward a disputed shoal in the South China Sea which Beijing has fiercely guarded from what it regards as intruders. The Philippine coast guard deployed...
Sleepy far-flung towns in the Philippines will host US forces returning to counter China threats
SANTA ANA, Philippines (AP) — The far-flung coastal town of Santa Ana in the northeastern tip of the Philippine mainland has long been known by tourists mostly for its beaches, waterfalls, fireflies and a few casinos. But that’s changing after the laid-back town of about 35,000...
Top Philippine security official demands Chinese diplomats' expulsion as territorial row escalates
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A top Philippine security official demanded Friday the immediate expulsion of Chinese diplomats allegedly behind a reported leak of a phone conversation between one of the diplomats and a Filipino admiral about South China Sea disputes that have strained diplomatic...
US and Philippine forces sink a ship during largescale drills in the disputed South China Sea
LAOAG, Philippines (AP) — U.S. and Philippine forces, backed by an Australian air force surveillance aircraft, unleashed a barrage of high-precision rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes Wednesday and sank a mock enemy ship as part of largescale war drills in and near the disputed South China...
US and Philippine forces stage combat drills near strategic channel off southern Taiwan
ITBAYAT, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Marines and their Filipino counterparts darted out of Black Hawk helicopters during combat drills Monday in the Philippines’ northernmost island town along the strategic Bashi Channel off southern Taiwan — a flashpoint in the military rivalry between...
China publicizes for the first time what it claims is a 2016 agreement with Philippines
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — For the first time, China has publicized what it claims is an unwritten 2016 agreement with the Philippines over access to South China Sea islands. The move threatens to further raise tensions in the disputed waterway, through which much of the world's trade...
Chinese coast guard fires water cannons at Philippine vessels in the latest South China Sea incident
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at two Philippine patrol vessels Tuesday near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, damaging both in the latest flare-up in an increasingly tense territorial conflict. There were no immediate reports of...
Philippine police kill an Abu Sayyaf militant implicated in 15 beheadings and other atrocities
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine forces killed an Abu Sayyaf militant, who had been implicated in past beheadings, including of 10 Filipino marines and two kidnapped Vietnamese, in a clash in the south, police officials said Friday. Philippine police, backed by military...
France and the Philippines to start talks on a `visiting forces agreement,' French envoy says
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — France and the Philippines will begin talks next month on a defense pact that would allow troops from each country to hold exercises in the other’s territory, the French ambassador said Thursday. French and Philippine officials will meet in Paris next...
Philippine troops kill 12 suspected Muslim rebels in clash that wounded 7 soldiers
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine troops killed the leader of a small Muslim rebel group and eleven of his men blamed for past bombings and extortion in a clash in the country’s south, military officials said Tuesday. Seven soldiers were wounded in the hourlong gunbattle...
