During a televised debate in 2016, populist presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte made a typically belligerent statement that he himself would jetski to Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and plant a Philippine flag there. Duterte claimed that he was ready to die a hero to keep the Chinese out of the bitterly contested maritime territory. “That made millions of Filipino workers and fishers vote for him because of that one promise,” says film-maker Baby Ruth Villarama. As her new Oscar and Bafta-contending documentary Food Delivery: Fresh from the West…
Tag: Philippines
Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea review – gripping trip along supply lines in China standoff
Director Baby Ruth Villarama and her crew board an assortment of maritime vessels to record the ongoing strife and its consequences between the Philippines and China over control of what has recently been named the West Philippine Sea (WPS), formerly part of the South China Sea. This area, which is seen by just about everyone (apart from the People’s Republic of China) as part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, has been increasingly infiltrated by Chinese boats, some of them fishing vessels but mostly Chinese coast guard vessels that have…
Philippines says Chinese ship ‘deliberately rammed’ government boat in South China Sea
A Chinese ship “deliberately rammed” a Philippine government vessel anchored near an island in a disputed part of the South China Sea, Manila’s coast guard said on Sunday. Confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels occur frequently in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims nearly in its entirety despite an international ruling that the claim has no legal basis. The Philippines said a Chinese coast guard ship “fired its water cannon” at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, a vessel belonging to Manila’s fisheries bureau, at 9.15am on Sunday. “Just three minutes…
Maps: Tracking Tropical Storm Matmo
1-day forecast precipitation Sources and notes NYT
Super Typhoon Ragasa batters Hong Kong – video
Super Typhoon Ragasa has caused widespread flooding and damaged roads in Hong Kong, which resumed international flights on Thursday but kept kindergartens and some schools closed. Ragasa, the strongest storm so far this year, killed 14 people in Taiwan and 11 in the Philippines, according to officials. More than 100 people were injured in Hong Kong The Guardian
Weakened Super Typhoon Ragasa heads towards Vietnam after battering China and Hong Kong
Huge clear-up operations were under way in southern China and Hong Kong on Thursday, after Super Typhoon Ragasa battered the region, causing widespread flooding and damaged roads. Ragasa, the most powerful tropical cyclone so far this year, left a trail of damage across Hong Kong, which resumed international flights on Thursday but kept kindergartens and some schools closed. In the economic hub of Guangdong province in mainland China, where more than 2 million people were evacuated ahead of the super typhoon, crews used excavators to clear thousands of toppled trees…
Typhoon Ragasa live: Two million people evacuated in southern China after deaths in Taiwan and Philippines
From 2h ago Typhoon Ragasa batters Hong Kong and southern China after causing deaths in Taiwan and Philippines Hong Kong and parts of southern China weere on high alert as Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year, approached on Wednesday with powerful winds and rains, forcing Chinese authorities to shut down schools and businesses in at least 10 cities. Nearly 1.9 million people were relocated across Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse. The national weather agency forecast the super typhoon would make landfall between the…
US warships patrol South China Sea after two Chinese ships collide
The US has briefly deployed two warships in a disputed South China Sea shoal where two Chinese ships collided earlier in the week while trying to drive away a smaller Philippine ship in a high-seas accident that raised alarms about maritime safety. Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay overlapping claims in the contested waters. The USS Higgins, a guided missile destroyer, and USS Cincinnati, a littoral combat ship, were shadowed by a Chinese…
Chinese warship crashes into own coast guard vessel while chasing Philippines boat in South China Sea
A Chinese warship collided with a vessel from its own coast guard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat in the South China Sea on Monday, Manila said, releasing dramatic video footage of the confrontation. The incident occurred near the contested Scarborough Shoal as the Philippine Coast Guard escorted vessels distributing aid to fishers in the area, said coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela in a statement. Video released by Manila showed a China Coast Guard ship and a much larger vessel bearing the number 164 on its hull colliding with…
Chinese warship and coast guard vessels collide in South China Sea – video
Two Chinese vessels have collided with each other while chasing a ship from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in disputed waters in the South China Sea. ‘A collision took place between China Coast Guard vessel 3104 and People’s Liberation Army Navy ship 164,’ the PCG said in a statement. The collision occurred near the disputed Scarborough Shoal. The Guardian