ASEAN is currently in the face of the worsening regional flash points, from the South China Sea to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN has been established since the 1967 to promote regional stability and economic growth. It has never been integrated into powerful community like the European Union and it does not aim to be one as well, however, ASEAN …

ASEAN member’s defense ministers along with their partners have adopted the Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration towards a future-ready, peaceful and prosperous ASEAN. The eighth ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) has been held on Wednesday through a virtual conference with Brunei as its host. ASEAN’s defense ministers together with eight partner countries namely Russia, China, US, Japan, the Republic of …

ASEAN member defense chiefs have expressed their concern over the ongoing activities of the Chinese in the South China Sea. In the 15th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), there were several ASEAN defense ministers who said they were perturbed over the China Coast Guard law which has been passed in January. This recent Chinese naval law has given power to …

ASEAN and China have come to an agreement to exercise self-restraint over the disputed South China Sea (SCS) to expand vaccine cooperation in dealing with the Covid-19 situation. The foreign ministers of China and ASEAN both committed to exercise self-restraint during the Special Asean-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SACFMM) that was held in Chongqing, China, on June 7 to celebrate the …

The Philippines has dismissed a yearly summer fishing boycott forced by China in the contested South China Sea and urged its boats to continue to fish in the country’s regional waters. In view of this, The fishing ban forced by China since 1999 runs from May 1 to Aug. 16 and covers spaces of the South China Sea just as …

The Philippine military will hold joint activities with many US warriors over the course of the following fourteen days, its military boss said Sunday, in the midst of developing pressures with Beijing in the South China Sea. The yearly conflict games between the military partners were dropped in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. The current year’s occasion will be …

MANILA – The Philippines’ foreign ministry said Tuesday that China’s “continuing infringements” in Philippine territory, despite “resolute protests,” are “contrary” to its “commitments under international law” and an agreement it forged with Southeast Asian countries. “The Philippines calls on China to faithfully honor its obligations as a State Party to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the …

MANILA – The US Navy deployed has deployed their Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group to resume maritime security operations in the region. The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group comprises of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) aircraft carrier with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54). SS Halsey (DDG 97) and USS John …

MANILA – Beijing and Manila announced that they have reached an agreement on the joint exploration of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. The announcement came after President Rodrigo Duterte lifted the ban on oil and gas exploration in the contested West Philippine Sea area. According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China …

METRO MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has ended the ban on oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea, the Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed on Thursday. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that the president approved the department’s recommendation to lift the ban that was placed in 2013. He thanked the President’s approval for the recommendation as they need …