July 3, 2024 | NEWS DIGEST

 

By API Desk | Date 07-03-2024

 

US condemns China’s dangerous actions in Ayungin Shoal

Top Biden administration officials condemned China’s latest harassment of Philippine Navy vessels in the West Philippine Sea, expressing “ironclad” support to its oldest ally in the region.

In separate telephone calls, US State Secretary Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and National Security Adviser Jaka Sullivan spoke to their Filipino counterparts to reassure of Washington’s support under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.

Air Force Major-General Patrick Ryder said the two defense chiefs also “discussed the importance of preserving the rights of all nations to fly, sail, and operate — safely and responsibly — wherever international law allows.” The two defense leaders and the two countries’ foreign affairs ministers are scheduled to meet later in July for another 2+2 ministerial meeting in Washington.

On June 17, several Philippine Navy personnel were hurt, including one who lost a finger when Chinese Coast Guard personnel, armed with axes, knives, and machetes, swarmed and attacked two navy rigid-hulled inflatable boats in Ayungin Shoal.

 

Army troops kill 10 Communist rebels in a clash in Nueva Ecija

Soldiers killed 10 members of the Communist New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas and seized multiple firearms in a clash in Nueva Ecija, the Army’s 703rd Infantry Brigade said.

Major Jimson Masangkay, a spokesman for the Army brigade said they are anticipating the NPA’s Komiteng Rehiyong Gitnang Luzon or the Central Luzon Committee to surrender due to heavy losses and “because they are fighting for a lost cause.” 

A week before the clash, Masangkay said the military conducted an “aerial operation” at the rebels’ known encampment in Barangay Abuyo in Alfonso Castaneda in Nueva Vizcaya province. 

The rebels fled towards Pantabangan dam in the neighboring Nueva Ecija province where the Army’s 84th Infantry Battalion caught up with them.

 

Philippines tracks China’s ‘monster’ ship

The Philippines has been tracking the movement of China’s largest Coast Guard vessel in the disputed South China Sea, which officials consider as part of its “intrusive patrols.”

Through Canada’s satellite-based dark vessel program, the Coast Guard has been keeping tracks of CCG’s 12,000-ton 5901 vessel, from the time it left its base in Hainan until it returned in about 10 days. It patrolled the South China Sea, entering the maritime zones of Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines where it passed near BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

Colonel Xerxes Trinidad, a military spokesman, said the CCG 5901 deployment in the West Philippine Sea and presence near BRP Sierra Madre “is part of a broader pattern of intrusive patrols aimed at asserting unlawful claims over areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ),” said Trinidad.

The military also reported an increase in the presence of Chinese vessels at several features in the West Philippine Sea with about 129 vessels monitored in the disputed waters from 121 the previous week, 110 of these being maritime militia vessels. 14 of the vessels were Coast Guard and five were Navy vessels. 

 

Japan, the Philippines hold 2+2 meeting in Manila

The Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Defense Minister Kihara Minoru are expected to visit Manila next week to hold talks with their Filipino counterparts.

In a Japanese embassy statement, the four Ministers are expected to discuss bilateral and defense and security issues affecting the region, as well as exchange views on regional and international issues.

There will also be separate bilateral meetings between defense and foreign ministers to discuss common interests and mutual concern, particularly on China’s coercive activities in the East and South China Sea. A status of forces agreement, the Reciprocal Access Agreement, would also be signed during the July 8 meeting, according to defense sources.

The 2+2 Foreign and Defense Ministers Meeting is the highest consultative mechanism between the two allies. The inaugural 2+2 was held in April 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.