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(Voice Of America) U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is flying to a western Philippines island province at the edge of the South China Sea on Tuesday to amplify America’s support to its treaty ally and underline U.S. interest in freedom of navigation in the disputed waters, where it has repeatedly chastised China for belligerent actions.

A new confrontation erupted in the contested waterway ahead of her visit when the Philippine navy alleged a Chinese coast guard vessel had forcibly seized Chinese rocket debris as Filipino sailors were towing it to their island.

The long-seething territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have long been regarded as an Asian flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

In talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Monday, Harris reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which obligates the allies to help defend any side which comes under attack.. Read More

(Time) American leaders have made numerous visits to the Philippines, a long-standing military ally in Southeast Asia. But Vice President Kamala Harris’ stop on Tuesday in the country’s archipelagic province of Palawan represents something new. She is the first U.S. official to go there, in what observers say is meant more as a message to China than one to the Philippines.

Harris toured a coast guard vessel and spoke to Philippine officials in Palawan to underscore America’s values and hopes for the region: “respect for sovereignty and international integrity, unimpeded lawful commerce, the peaceful resolution of disputes, and freedom of navigation.”

The Vice President’s visit, along with talks in Manila on Monday about increased joint defense projects, leaves the Philippines in a precarious position—straddling the line between the interests of its colonizer-turned-ally in the U.S. and its largest trade partner in China. Across the region, countries have been put in a similar tight spot, increasingly forced to choose a side where they might prefer to stay above the fray in the competition for global influence between the U.S. and China… Read More

(Epoch Times New York) Philippine Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said the Philippine Navy received a report at 6:45 a.m. on Sunday that a floating object was spotted drifting about 800 yards off the Philippine-controlled Pagasa Island.

He described the floating object as “metallic” and similar to fragments previously discovered on the Philippines’ Palawan Island, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency.

Carlos said the navy went to retrieve the floating object and began towing it with a boat when a Chinese coast guard vessel—identified as CCGV-5203—approached and twice blocked their course.

According to the commander, the Chinese boat then seized the object by cutting the towing line attached to the Philippines’ rubber boat and towing it back to the Chinese ship.

No injuries were reported as a result of the incident, Carlos said, and the information was reported to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea for appropriate action, he added.

Cherryl Tindog, the Philippine Western Command Armed Forces spokesperson, said the navy decided to return to Pagasa Island rather than resist the seizure because it was not a “life and death” situation.

China’s Foreign Ministry denied that its coast guard used force to retrieve the suspected rocket debris, saying that the Philippines handed over the object to the Chinese coast guard after “a friendly negotiation.”

“It was not a situation in which we waylaid and grabbed the object,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning claimed while speaking to reporters… Read More

(The Gazette) PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (Reuters) -Washington will stand by the Philippines in the face of intimidation and coercion in the South China Sea, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Tuesday while visiting the Palawan island in the disputed waters.

Aboard a Philippine coastguard vessel docked in the Puerto Princesa bay, Harris said the United States and the broader international community “have a profound stake in the future of this region”.

Harris’ Palawan stop was part of a three-day visit to one of the United States’ oldest security allies in Asia, which is also central to its bid to counter China’s increasingly assertive policies in the South China Sea and towards Taiwan.

“We must stand up for principles such as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, unimpeded lawful commerce, the peaceful resolution of disputes, and the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, and throughout the Indo-Pacific,” she said in a speech.

Beijing claims almost all the South China Sea, which is believed to contain massive oil and gas deposits and through which trillions of dollars in trade passes each year… Read More

(Bulatlat) “No smugglers were charged with criminal charges. This only proves that there are untouchables who spearhead the extensive agricultural smuggling in the country,” said KMP Chairperson Emeritus Rafael Mariano.

MANILA – Farmers group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) lamented the continuous and worsening agricultural smuggling in the country despite the existence of a law and the anti-smuggling task force created by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC).

In 2016, Republic Act No. 10845, An Act Declaring Large-Scale Agricultural Smuggling as Economic Sabotage, Prescribing Penalties Therefor And For Other Purposes, took effect. This was supposed to protect the local farmers. However, six years after its enactment, smuggled agricultural products are still hurting local food producers… Read More

(PR Newswire Asia) Ovialand Inc. (“Ovialand”), a real estate developer focusing on building premium affordable house and lot units for Filipino families at an accessible price point, was awarded as one of Asia’s Leading SMEs at the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards 2022 (“ACES”).

Organized by MORS Group, the awards bring Asia’s business aspirations and success stories to the world stage through knowledge-sharing and recognition. The awards are open to all leaders and enterprises with a registered business address in Asia and are accepted on a rolling basis. A jury of market-driven, customer-centric business, academic leaders then review the credentials of each nominee, and only the most deserving of them are awarded.

“We’re honored to have our hard work be recognized at the ACES. This award further motivates us to continue providing a Premier Family Living experience to Filipino families,” Pammy Olivares-Vital, President and CEO of Ovialand, said.

Ovialand’s promise of Premier Family Living is anchored in the speedy turnover of quality homes to clients. Through the usage of precast technology, the company can build homes in as fast as 45 days. Homes built using precast concrete are traditionally stronger than homes built using traditional concrete.. Read More

(The Manila Times) ACCORDING to International Data Corp.’s (IDC) Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone shipments in the Philippines declined by 8.0 percent quarter on quarter (QoQ) and 6.8 percent annually, bringing in 3.9 million units in the third quarter of 2022.

“The Philippine smartphone market quickly shrank in the third quarter as inflation accelerated, further aggravated by recent typhoons, hurting both consumers and vendors,” said Angela Medez, senior market analyst at IDC Philippines. “Vendors took a more conservative approach by clearing inventories, maintaining prices of existing models, and sustaining momentum by bringing in more affordable smartphones.”.. Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The government of Saudi Arabia has committed to shoulder the unpaid salaries of around 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) displaced from construction companies that went bankrupt, Malacañang announced on Friday.

It said the promised settlement of salaries followed a bilateral meeting of President Bongbong Marcos and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Bangkok, Thailand.

“Sabi niya [crown prince], ‘yung desisyon na ‘yan ay nangyari lamang noong nakaraang ilang araw. At dahil nga magkikita kami at sabi niya ito ‘yung regalo ko para sa inyo,” Marcos told reporters after their discussion… Read More