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Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Australia, Philippines launch largest military exercise near South China Sea
Australia on Friday launched its largest military exercises with Philippine forces, involving more than 3,600 military personnel in live-fire drills, battle maneuvers and a beach assault at a Philippine town on the disputed South China Sea, where the allies have raised alarm over Beijing's assertive actions. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of a China Coast Guard ship navigating near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, as Philippine Coast Guard aircraft carrying journalists patrols the area, days after two Chinese vessels collided in the area while allegedly trying to block a Philippine supply mission, in the South China Sea, August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Adrian Portugal/File Photo(REUTERS) The exercises are called Alon, meaning wave in the Philippine language Tagalog, and will showcase Australia's firepower. The drills will involve a guided-missile navy destroyer, F/A-18 supersonic fighter jets, a C-130 troop and cargo aircraft, Javelin anti-tank weapons and special forces sniper weapons. Military officials said defense forces from the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Indonesia will join as observers. 'This exercise reflects Australia's commitment to working with partners to ensure we maintain a region where state sovereignty is protected, international law is followed and nations can make decisions free from coercion,' Vice Admiral Justin Jones of the Royal Australian Navy said in a statement. The combat exercises are 'an opportunity for us to practice how we collaborate and respond to shared security challenges and project force over great distances in the Indo-Pacific,' Jones said. The exercises will run until Aug. 29. Australia is the second country after the U.S. with a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines, allowing the deployment of large numbers of troops for combat exercises in each other's territory. The Philippines has signed a similar pact with Japan, which will take effect next month. It is in talks with several other Asian and Western countries including France and Canada for similar defense accords. China has deplored multinational war drills and alliances in or near the disputed South China Sea, saying the U.S. and its allies are 'ganging up' against it and militarizing the region. China claims most of the South China Sea, a busy global trade route, where it has had a spike of territorial faceoffs with the Philippines in recent years. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to the resource-rich waters. On Monday, a Chinese navy ship collided with a Chinese coast guard ship while trying to drive away a smaller Philippine coast guard vessel in the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The Australian Embassy in Manila expressed concern over 'the dangerous and unprofessional conduct of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal involving the Philippine Coast Guard' and said the incident 'highlights the need for de-escalation, restraint and respect for international law.' In response, the U.S. deployed two warships off the Scarborough on Wednesday in what it called a freedom of navigation operation to protest China's expansive claims, restrictions and its demand for entry notifications in the disputed waters. In February, a Chinese J-16 fighter jet released flares that passed within 30 meters (100 feet) of an Australian P-8 Poseidon military surveillance plane in daylight and in international air space, Australian defense officials said at the time.
GMA Network
05-06-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
China urges European Union: Stop 'provoking trouble' in South China Sea
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard stand alert as a China Coast Guard vessel blocks their way to a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea on March 5, 2024. REUTERS/Adrian Portugal/File Photo The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines urged the European Union to stop "provoking trouble" in the South China Sea on Thursday, and advised Manila not to "fantasise" about relying on outside forces to resolve disputes in the waterway. An embassy spokesperson made the comments after EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas visited the Philippine capital and voiced concern over China's activities in the busy waterway, where its claims overlap those of some Southeast Asian nations. "We urge the EU to genuinely respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and to stop provoking trouble," the spokesperson said in a statement on the embassy website, noting the bloc has no right to interfere. The spokesperson also said Manila should return to dialogue and consultation to manage differences with China instead of "fantasising about relying on external forces" to resolve the South China Sea dispute. The Philippine Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. GMA News Online has reached out to the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs and the European Union in Philippines for comment, but they have yet to respond as of posting time. The EU and the Philippines have expressed concerns about China's "illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive measures" against Philippine vessels and aircraft conducting lawful maritime operations in the South China Sea, according to a joint statement after Kallas met with Philippine foreign minister earlier this week. China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. — Reuters/ with GMA News Online/ VDV, GMA Integrated News
Straits Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Philippines says China has no right to object or interfere with its 'lawful' activities in the South China Sea
A Philippine Coast Guard ship is seen surrounded by Chinese maritime militia vessels and a Chinese Coast Guard ship during a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea, October 4, 2023. REUTERS/Adrian Portugal Philippines says China has no right to object or interfere with its 'lawful' activities in the South China Sea MANILA - The Philippine foreign ministry said on Thursday that China has no right to object to or interfere with its lawful and routine activities in the South China Sea. The ministry said it also "rejects and refutes" recent statements of the Chinese embassy in Manila that Beijing has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands. The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and China between them have claims and a presence on dozens of features in the Spratly archipelago, ranging from reefs and rocks to islands, natural and artificial. China's manmade islands there include runways, radar towers, ports and missile systems. "We urge China to respect the Philippines' sovereignty and jurisdiction, even as we continue to pursue peaceful and legal means to manage differences and the situation at sea," foreign ministry spokesperson Teresita Daza said in a statement. China and the Philippines traded accusations last week following a confrontation between two of their vessels in contested waters of the South China Sea, the latest incident in a long-running row in the strategic waterway. The Philippines' fisheries bureau said the lives of a civilian crew were put at risk when the Chinese coast guard fired water cannons and sideswiped a vessel as it conducted marine research around a disputed reef. The Chinese coast guard said two Philippine vessels had illegally entered waters near Subi Reef, a Chinese-built artificial island, and organised personnel to land on the unoccupied sandbars of Sandy Cay. "The Philippines is clearly within its rights to conduct routine maritime operations and scientific research in and around these features, and will continue to do so," Daza said. "China has no right to object much less interfere with these lawful and routine activities." China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. An international arbitral tribunal in 2016 said Beijing's expansive claim has no basis under international law. The Chinese embassy in its statement sent to media on Monday said the Philippines had since January made 27 "unauthorised landings" on features, despite a 2002 agreement among Southeast Asian countries and China to refrain from doing so. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Philippines devotees nailed to crosses to re-enact Christ's crucifixion
By Adrian Portugal CUTID, Philippines (Reuters) - Christian devotees from the Philippines were nailed to a cross on Friday in a reenactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion in the predominantly Catholic nation. Hundreds of Filipinos and foreign tourists flocked to the northern village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga province to witness Ruben Enaje nailed to the cross and portray Christ for the 36th time in an annual devotional display. Two other devotees joined him in re-enacting the crucifixion. Actors dressed as Roman soldiers hammered Enaje's palms with two-inch nails. Ropes and fabric supported their bodies as they were raised on wooden crosses. "The first five seconds were very painful. As time goes and the blood goes down, the pain numbs and I can stay on the cross longer," Enaje, 64, said in an interview. Around 80% of the Philippines' 110 million people identify as Roman Catholics. The rituals form part of Holy Week, which spans from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and is one of the most sacred and solemn periods in the Philippines' religious calendar. During Holy Week, some devotees flog their backs repeatedly with bamboo whips in an act of self-flagellation to seek penance and atonement. The Catholic Church has discouraged the practice, saying prayers and sincere repentance are enough to commemorate Lent.
