Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. (File photo via PNA)
Locsin made this clarification in an apparent rebuttal to the statements of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario who claimed that China “deceitfully breached” an agreement brokered by the US for the Philippine Navy ship and the Chinese vessels to withdraw from the Scarborough Shoal to defuse the tension.
“But when they confronted themselves, the interference the participation of the United States was to try to stop people from attacking each other. It’s a they think it’s their job. So they said, “stand down”. So they stood down. And then United States told both sides, not taking sides, said ‘withdraw’… These are only good offices of the United States, it is a suggestion,
Distinguishing jokes in Duterte’s statements on West Philippine Sea, a very big problem Lacson By HANA BORDEY, GMA News
Published May 11, 2021 10:25am Distinguishing President Rodrigo Duterte’s jokes from his official statements on the West Philippine Sea is a very big problem in Filipinos’ hands, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday. “We may have a big problem here because we don’t know at what point is he joking and at what point he was serious. And we don’t know anymore when he is joking and when he is not,” Lacson said in an ANC interview. This was his statement after Duterte, in his Monday night public address, said his 2016 remark about riding a jet ski to the WPS and telling the Chinese that it belonged to the Philippines was just a campaign joke.
April 2021
Tensions continued to mount among Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt ahead of Addis Ababa’s planned second unilateral filling of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in coming months. In apparent warning to Addis Ababa and preparation for possible escalation of inter-state tensions, Sudan and Egypt 31 March-5 April held second joint military exercise since Nov 2020. New round of talks among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on filling and operation of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Blue Nile river broke down 6 April. Cairo same day denounced Ethiopia’s “lack of political will to negotiate in good faith”, while Khartoum vowed to “consider all possible options to protect its security”, denouncing Addis Ababa’s rejection of its proposal for quadripartite mediation by AU, EU, UN and U.S. to break deadlock in AU-led negotiations. Ethiopia’s water minister Seleshi Bekele 7 April said Addis Ababa would proceed with second filling of dam during forthcoming rainy season bet
Press Release
The Philippines top leaders must come up with a united stand on the West Philippine Sea issue instead of bickering, lest it exposes a weakness that China can exploit, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said over the weekend.
Lacson also stressed China s donation of COVID-19 vaccines should not be connected to the issue of our sovereignty and territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea, as doing so may cause division. Ang irony nito at nakakalungkot, sa halip na magtulong-tulong tayong mga Pilipino, especially mga leaders, tayo pa nag-aaway-away sa usaping West Philippine Sea. Dapat iisa ang position natin. Yan ang nagpapakita ng weakness natin sa China (The sad irony is that instead of coming up with a united front, we - especially our leaders - are bickering on the issue. What we need is a united position. Otherwise, we are just showing our weakness, one that China could exploit), Lacson, who chairs the Senate committee on national defense, said in an interview on DZXL