Latest news with #BenignoAquino
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'West Philippine Sea' now visible on Google Maps without specific search
A Google Maps scan on Monday of the body of water directly west of the Philippines now shows a name once invisible to most users -- the West Philippine Sea. The Philippine government's preferred name for the disputed waterway better known as the South China Sea was previously viewable only if specifically sought by name, according to AFP journalists who kept screenshots of earlier searches. The name South China Sea remains visible to the north and west of the area newly identified as the West Philippine Sea. Beijing claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit. China has deployed navy and coast guard vessels in a bid to bar the Philippines from strategically important reefs and islands in the waterway, leading to a string of confrontations in recent months. Philippine armed forces spokeswoman Francel Margareth Padilla welcomed on Monday "the inclusion of 'West Philippine Sea' on Google Maps". "As defenders of national sovereignty, the (military) sees this as a valuable contribution to truthful representation and public awareness," she said in a statement. Then-Philippine president Benigno Aquino issued a directive in April 2012 calling for the sea's renaming as a standoff over the Scarborough Shoal was heating up between Beijing and Manila. The administrative order said the renamed areas specifically included "the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal". AFP journalists who visited Google Maps last year discovered the name West Philippine Sea was visible only if searched by name but invisible to those who simply scrolled over the area otherwise. Responding to an AFP query, Google did not say why the change was made. "The West Philippine Sea has always been labeled on Google Maps. We recently made this label easier to see at additional zoom levels," a Google spokesperson said in a brief statement. Messages to the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Manila seeking comment were not immediately answered. cwl/pbt/aha/sla/st
Al Jazeera
02-04-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
US approves sale of 20 F-16 fighter jets worth $5.58bn to Philippines
The United States has approved the potential sale of $5.58bn in F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, describing the proposed deal as supporting the security and foreign policy concerns of the US by improving the capability of a 'strategic partner'. Describing the Philippines as 'an important force for political stability' in Southeast Asia, the US State Department announced on Tuesday that the sale had been approved and could see 20 F-16 warplanes and related equipment transferred to Manila. The acquisition of the F-16s would improve 'the Philippine Air Force's ability to conduct maritime domain awareness and close air support missions and enhance its suppression of enemy air defences,' the State Department said. 'The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region,' it added. Manila's potential purchase of the F-16s comes amid months of mounting tension with Beijing and confrontations between the Philippine Navy and Chinese coastguard forces in the disputed South China Sea, where China has claimed almost complete ownership despite an international legal ruling that such an assertion has no merit. The Philippines has publicly expressed interest in acquiring F-16s from Washington since at least the administration of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino, which ended in 2016. Since then, Manila and Washington have significantly deepened their defence cooperation, particularly under the current President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, who took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing's sweeping claims to the South China Sea. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during a visit to the Philippines last week that Washington and Manila must stand 'shoulder to shoulder' against 'threats from the communist Chinese'. News of the potential sale of advanced fighter aircraft to the Philippines also comes as China on Monday and Tuesday conducted military drills around Taiwan to simulate a blockade of the self-ruled island. Beijing has promised to take the island back under its control either by force or peaceful means. Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner said his country would 'inevitably' be involved should Taiwan be invaded by China. 'Start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan,' General Brawner told troops in northern Luzon island, without naming the potential invader. 'If something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved,' he said. Joint US-Philippine military exercises, scheduled for later this month, will be conducted in northern Luzon, the part of the Philippines nearest Taiwan, Brawner said. 'These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare,' he said. In December, the Philippines angered China further when it announced the planned acquisition of the US mid-range Typhoon missile system in a push to secure its maritime interests. Beijing warned such a purchase could lead to a regional 'arms race'.
