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Showing posts with label Philippine. Show all posts

US sends 2 aircraft carriers to South China Sea in show of force towards Beijing

US sends 2 aircraft carriers to South China Sea in show of force towards Beijing




The U. S. has concluded plans to send two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea to conduct exercises near a site where China is carrying out naval exercises, Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday,

The aim of this step is “to send a clear message to China that the United States is not satisfied with the military escalation of Beijing in the region,” referring to the group’s commander. The newspaper pointed out that the aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz are ready to hold unprecedented maneuvers in the South China Sea as of Saturday.

China had last week announced a five-day training exercise from July 1 near the Paracel Islands, which both Vietnam and China claim sovereignty over.

On Friday, China rejected the U.S. Defense Department’s criticism of its plan to conduct military exercises in the South China Sea, noting that Washington is responsible for increasing tension in the region.

Countries bordering the South China Sea, specifically China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei, have been fighting for sovereignty over parts of it for several centuries, but tensions in the region have escalated recently.

The Chinese and Americans continue trading accusations that the other side is “militarizing” the South China Sea.



Sources: WSJ



The U. S. has concluded plans to send two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea to conduct exercises near a site where China is carrying out naval exercises, Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday,

The aim of this step is “to send a clear message to China that the United States is not satisfied with the military escalation of Beijing in the region,” referring to the group’s commander. The newspaper pointed out that the aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz are ready to hold unprecedented maneuvers in the South China Sea as of Saturday.

China had last week announced a five-day training exercise from July 1 near the Paracel Islands, which both Vietnam and China claim sovereignty over.

On Friday, China rejected the U.S. Defense Department’s criticism of its plan to conduct military exercises in the South China Sea, noting that Washington is responsible for increasing tension in the region.

Countries bordering the South China Sea, specifically China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei, have been fighting for sovereignty over parts of it for several centuries, but tensions in the region have escalated recently.

The Chinese and Americans continue trading accusations that the other side is “militarizing” the South China Sea.



Sources: WSJ

COVID-19: Man shot dead in Philippines for flouting coronavirus rules

COVID-19: Man shot dead in Philippines for flouting coronavirus rules

A profile picture by DW
A 63-year-old man was shot dead in the Philippines after threatening village officials and police with a scythe at a coronavirus checkpoint, police said on Saturday.

The man is believed to have been drunk when he threatened village officials and police manning the checkpoint in the town of Nasipit in the southern province of Agusan del Norte on Thursday, a police report said.  "The suspect was cautioned by a village health worker ... for not wearing a face mask," the report said. "But the suspect got angry, uttering provoking words and eventually attacked the personnel using a scythe."

The suspect was shot dead by a police officer who was trying to pacify him.  The incident is the first reported case of police shooting a civilian for refusing to follow restrictions to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Duterte's warning

President Rodrigo Duterte had warned on Wednesday he would order the police and the military to shoot anyone who created trouble.  "Follow the government at this time because it is critical that we have order," he said in a late-night televised national address.

"And do not harm the health workers, the doctors ... because that is a serious crime. My orders to the police and the military, if anyone creates trouble, and their lives are in danger: shoot them dead."

The Philippines's main island of Luzon has been under a month-long lockdown since March 16, prohibiting people from leaving their homes except for essential trips to the grocery or the pharmacy, or if they are front-line workers.

Many provinces outside of Luzon have also imposed their own restrictions in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading.

The department of health reported 76 new confirmed cases of infection in the Philippines, bringing to 3,094 the total tally in the country.  Eight additional deaths were also recorded, pushing the death toll to 144, while 57 patients have recovered.

Duterte defended his warning against troublemakers in another late-night televised address on Friday, saying the public needed to realise the gravity of the situation because anyone can get sick of the disease.  "Without these restrictions, this will not end," he said. "So if you don't want to follow, then I will finish you to protect the lives of the innocent who don't want to die."
'Attacking freedoms'

Amnesty International lamented the fact that strongmen leaders around the world like Duterte have been using the COVID-19 pandemic "to further stifle criticism and dissent".

"This is an unprecedented health crisis, but President Duterte is focusing on attacking freedoms of speech and assembly," said Butch Olano, a director for Amnesty International in the Philippines.  "He is downplaying the nation's plea for better services when the priority should be to fulfil the government's obligation to provide healthcare and vital relief to all persons without discrimination," he added.

The government has begun to distribute cash assistance to poor families and workers affected by the lockdown under a 200 billion peso ($4bn) amelioration package.  But there have been persistent complaints of delays in the delivery of assistance, especially food packs.

On Wednesday, a commotion broke out in a Manila suburb when a group of slum residents gathered outside their shanty homes after hearing rumours that donations would be distributed.

Village security officers and police urged the residents to go back to their homes, but they refused.  Twenty-one of the residents were arrested and various criminal charges have been filed against them.


A profile picture by DW
A 63-year-old man was shot dead in the Philippines after threatening village officials and police with a scythe at a coronavirus checkpoint, police said on Saturday.

The man is believed to have been drunk when he threatened village officials and police manning the checkpoint in the town of Nasipit in the southern province of Agusan del Norte on Thursday, a police report said.  "The suspect was cautioned by a village health worker ... for not wearing a face mask," the report said. "But the suspect got angry, uttering provoking words and eventually attacked the personnel using a scythe."

The suspect was shot dead by a police officer who was trying to pacify him.  The incident is the first reported case of police shooting a civilian for refusing to follow restrictions to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Duterte's warning

President Rodrigo Duterte had warned on Wednesday he would order the police and the military to shoot anyone who created trouble.  "Follow the government at this time because it is critical that we have order," he said in a late-night televised national address.

"And do not harm the health workers, the doctors ... because that is a serious crime. My orders to the police and the military, if anyone creates trouble, and their lives are in danger: shoot them dead."

The Philippines's main island of Luzon has been under a month-long lockdown since March 16, prohibiting people from leaving their homes except for essential trips to the grocery or the pharmacy, or if they are front-line workers.

Many provinces outside of Luzon have also imposed their own restrictions in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading.

The department of health reported 76 new confirmed cases of infection in the Philippines, bringing to 3,094 the total tally in the country.  Eight additional deaths were also recorded, pushing the death toll to 144, while 57 patients have recovered.

Duterte defended his warning against troublemakers in another late-night televised address on Friday, saying the public needed to realise the gravity of the situation because anyone can get sick of the disease.  "Without these restrictions, this will not end," he said. "So if you don't want to follow, then I will finish you to protect the lives of the innocent who don't want to die."
'Attacking freedoms'

Amnesty International lamented the fact that strongmen leaders around the world like Duterte have been using the COVID-19 pandemic "to further stifle criticism and dissent".

"This is an unprecedented health crisis, but President Duterte is focusing on attacking freedoms of speech and assembly," said Butch Olano, a director for Amnesty International in the Philippines.  "He is downplaying the nation's plea for better services when the priority should be to fulfil the government's obligation to provide healthcare and vital relief to all persons without discrimination," he added.

The government has begun to distribute cash assistance to poor families and workers affected by the lockdown under a 200 billion peso ($4bn) amelioration package.  But there have been persistent complaints of delays in the delivery of assistance, especially food packs.

On Wednesday, a commotion broke out in a Manila suburb when a group of slum residents gathered outside their shanty homes after hearing rumours that donations would be distributed.

Village security officers and police urged the residents to go back to their homes, but they refused.  Twenty-one of the residents were arrested and various criminal charges have been filed against them.


Philippines impose home quarantine 'to save ourselves from ourselves'

Philippines impose home quarantine 'to save ourselves from ourselves'

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines imposed strict home quarantine measures and a halt on work and transport across its main island of Luzon on Monday, putting half of the population on lockdown in an aggressive bid to quell rising cases of coronavirus.

The government would with immediate effect compel people to remain in their homes and reliant on deliveries of food and medical supplies, while transport and work would be suspended except for essential services, Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

"The president's ultimate goal is to save ourselves from ourselves," Panelo said in a television interview.

The measures, if implemented fully, would be among the strictest in place in Asia, as the country grapples to contain an outbreak that has seen confirmed cases rise to 140 - from only three cases 10 days ago - with 12 deaths.

"We are the soldiers but we are also the enemy," Panelo said in another interview. "We are enemies with ourselves. We are the carriers of the virus."

The measures would be an expansion of a lockdown of Metropolitan Manila that came into effect at the weekend and prescribed stringent immigration curbs, bans on public gatherings, social distancing, the shutting of malls and a halt to non-essential movements in and out of the city.

The main island of Luzon is home to more than half of the country's 107 million population.

The country saw 47 new confirmed cases on Saturday and 29 on Sunday.

Panelo gave contradictory statements on the extent to which work and travel would be suspended and whether supermarkets would be closed.

Panelo said banks would be closed, while cash machines would remain available. However, asked about the presidential spokesman's remarks on closing banks, the central bank governor, Benjamin Diokno, said in a text message to Reuters that there "was no truth to the rumor" banks would be shut.

Duterte was expected to address the country later on Monday.

"We will not allow a rush to getting food and supplies," Panelo said, even as Filipinos in the capital flocked to shops in a frenzied rush for food stocks. "Food and essential needs will be delivered in homes, he said.

There were no fresh guidelines immediately available but some issued over the weekend mentioned there could be scope for "enhanced community quarantine" which would mean strict home quarantine in all households, transport suspended, food and essential health services regulated and a "heightened presence of uniformed personnel" to enforce procedures.

Panelo earlier told reporters it was "a matter of national survival".


(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales, Karen Lema and Martin Petty; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Peter Graff)
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines imposed strict home quarantine measures and a halt on work and transport across its main island of Luzon on Monday, putting half of the population on lockdown in an aggressive bid to quell rising cases of coronavirus.

The government would with immediate effect compel people to remain in their homes and reliant on deliveries of food and medical supplies, while transport and work would be suspended except for essential services, Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

"The president's ultimate goal is to save ourselves from ourselves," Panelo said in a television interview.

The measures, if implemented fully, would be among the strictest in place in Asia, as the country grapples to contain an outbreak that has seen confirmed cases rise to 140 - from only three cases 10 days ago - with 12 deaths.

"We are the soldiers but we are also the enemy," Panelo said in another interview. "We are enemies with ourselves. We are the carriers of the virus."

The measures would be an expansion of a lockdown of Metropolitan Manila that came into effect at the weekend and prescribed stringent immigration curbs, bans on public gatherings, social distancing, the shutting of malls and a halt to non-essential movements in and out of the city.

The main island of Luzon is home to more than half of the country's 107 million population.

The country saw 47 new confirmed cases on Saturday and 29 on Sunday.

Panelo gave contradictory statements on the extent to which work and travel would be suspended and whether supermarkets would be closed.

Panelo said banks would be closed, while cash machines would remain available. However, asked about the presidential spokesman's remarks on closing banks, the central bank governor, Benjamin Diokno, said in a text message to Reuters that there "was no truth to the rumor" banks would be shut.

Duterte was expected to address the country later on Monday.

"We will not allow a rush to getting food and supplies," Panelo said, even as Filipinos in the capital flocked to shops in a frenzied rush for food stocks. "Food and essential needs will be delivered in homes, he said.

There were no fresh guidelines immediately available but some issued over the weekend mentioned there could be scope for "enhanced community quarantine" which would mean strict home quarantine in all households, transport suspended, food and essential health services regulated and a "heightened presence of uniformed personnel" to enforce procedures.

Panelo earlier told reporters it was "a matter of national survival".


(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales, Karen Lema and Martin Petty; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Peter Graff)

COVID-19: Vatican, Cameroon, Serbia record first cases

COVID-19: Vatican, Cameroon, Serbia record first cases

India coronavirus cases jump to 31

Philippines reports two new infections, while South Korea reports 518 new cases

Vatican, Cameroon and Serbia are the latest to confirmed first cases of  COVID-19 in their respective domains as the confirmed cases in India jumped to thirty one.

Cameroon confirmed its first case of coronavirus after a 58-year-old French citizen tested positive to the virus, thus becoming the 7th country in African sub-region to confirm the presence of the deadly virus after Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa..

The health ministry said the man, who arrived in the capital Yaounde on February 24, has been quarantined in the city's central hospital.

In Serbia, health minister Zlatibor Loncar reported on Friday that a 43-year-old man became the first person in Serbia to reported as having been infected with the coronavirus.

Meanwhile the Vatican has reported its first coronavirus case, saying it had suspended outpatient services at its health clinic after a patient tested positive.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists on Friday that the clinic, which has some 1,000 residents, will be deep cleaned.

However, the number of coronavirus cases in India has increased sharply from six to 31 this week, the health ministry announced on Friday. Authorities in the capital, New Delhi, have also ordered the closure of primary schools until March 31 to prevent local transmission.

Philippines reports two new infections

Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced two new coronavirus infections, bringing the total confirmed cases to five.

One of the patients had reportedly traveled to Japan, while the other person "has no known history of travel outside the country". The second patient reported on Friday reportedly frequented a mosque in Metro Manila before the infection was confirmed.

While there are only five confirmed cases in the Philippines, more than 80 Filipinos working abroad have contracted the disease, most of whom were working on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

South Korean health authorities reported 518 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing to 6,284 the total number of infections nationwide, according to Yonhap news agency.

Yonhap also quoted the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as saying that 42 people, mostly elderly with underlying illnesses, have died.

Most of the cases of infections were from the southeastern city of Daegu, a city of 2.5 million people.

Globally, more than 95,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease, the vast majority in China, with 3,015 deaths in China and 267 deaths across the globe, many in Italy and Iran.


 

India coronavirus cases jump to 31

Philippines reports two new infections, while South Korea reports 518 new cases

Vatican, Cameroon and Serbia are the latest to confirmed first cases of  COVID-19 in their respective domains as the confirmed cases in India jumped to thirty one.

Cameroon confirmed its first case of coronavirus after a 58-year-old French citizen tested positive to the virus, thus becoming the 7th country in African sub-region to confirm the presence of the deadly virus after Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa..

The health ministry said the man, who arrived in the capital Yaounde on February 24, has been quarantined in the city's central hospital.

In Serbia, health minister Zlatibor Loncar reported on Friday that a 43-year-old man became the first person in Serbia to reported as having been infected with the coronavirus.

Meanwhile the Vatican has reported its first coronavirus case, saying it had suspended outpatient services at its health clinic after a patient tested positive.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists on Friday that the clinic, which has some 1,000 residents, will be deep cleaned.

However, the number of coronavirus cases in India has increased sharply from six to 31 this week, the health ministry announced on Friday. Authorities in the capital, New Delhi, have also ordered the closure of primary schools until March 31 to prevent local transmission.

Philippines reports two new infections

Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced two new coronavirus infections, bringing the total confirmed cases to five.

One of the patients had reportedly traveled to Japan, while the other person "has no known history of travel outside the country". The second patient reported on Friday reportedly frequented a mosque in Metro Manila before the infection was confirmed.

While there are only five confirmed cases in the Philippines, more than 80 Filipinos working abroad have contracted the disease, most of whom were working on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

South Korean health authorities reported 518 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing to 6,284 the total number of infections nationwide, according to Yonhap news agency.

Yonhap also quoted the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as saying that 42 people, mostly elderly with underlying illnesses, have died.

Most of the cases of infections were from the southeastern city of Daegu, a city of 2.5 million people.

Globally, more than 95,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease, the vast majority in China, with 3,015 deaths in China and 267 deaths across the globe, many in Italy and Iran.


 

Armed Police respond to reported mass hostage taking at Manila mall

Armed Police respond to reported mass hostage taking at Manila mall

Heavily armed police were deployed at a mall in the Philippine capital Manila on Monday after reports that a disgruntled employee was holding a group of people hostage, an AFP journalist saw.

The mayor of a section of Manila had earlier told journalists that a security guard was holding up to 30 people in an administrative office and had shot at least one person.

"The initial information that we have... is he has firearms and grenades with him," San Juan city mayor Francis Zamora said.

"There is already one (person) that was shot already a while ago and has been rushed to... hospital," he added.

The mall was crowded with shoppers and employees who were told to evacuate the building after hearing at least one gunshot.

Manila's malls are centres of life that include everything from restaurants and shops to churches and medical facilities.

Heavily armed police were deployed at a mall in the Philippine capital Manila on Monday after reports that a disgruntled employee was holding a group of people hostage, an AFP journalist saw.

The mayor of a section of Manila had earlier told journalists that a security guard was holding up to 30 people in an administrative office and had shot at least one person.

"The initial information that we have... is he has firearms and grenades with him," San Juan city mayor Francis Zamora said.

"There is already one (person) that was shot already a while ago and has been rushed to... hospital," he added.

The mall was crowded with shoppers and employees who were told to evacuate the building after hearing at least one gunshot.

Manila's malls are centres of life that include everything from restaurants and shops to churches and medical facilities.

Why Trump was 'fine' with end of Philippines military pact

Why Trump was 'fine' with end of Philippines military pact

Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns Wednesday about the Philippines canceling a major military accord, saying the decision would save Americans money.

The 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) created a legal framework for the presence of US troops in the Philippines and for organizing joint military exercises.

Manila announced its decision Tuesday -- a move the US embassy in the Philippines called a "serious step" -- touching off a six-month countdown to the end of the deal.

"If they would like to do that, that's fine, we'll save a lot of money," Trump told reporters at the White House, touting his "very good relationship" with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

Famously outspoken Duterte has threatened since his 2016 election to put an end to the Filipino-American alliance, with an eye toward cultivating relationships with Russia or China instead.

He specifically mentioned a desire to do away with the VFA again in January, after the US cancelled the travel visa of senator and former national police chief Ronald Dela Rosa.

The VFA is divisive in the Philippines, with leftist and nationalist critics arguing it guarantees preferential treatment for US service members accused of crimes.

Its defenders say ending the agreement would compromise the southeast Asian nation's ability to defend itself and undermine the US goal of containing Beijing's ambitions in the South China Sea.
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns Wednesday about the Philippines canceling a major military accord, saying the decision would save Americans money.

The 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) created a legal framework for the presence of US troops in the Philippines and for organizing joint military exercises.

Manila announced its decision Tuesday -- a move the US embassy in the Philippines called a "serious step" -- touching off a six-month countdown to the end of the deal.

"If they would like to do that, that's fine, we'll save a lot of money," Trump told reporters at the White House, touting his "very good relationship" with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

Famously outspoken Duterte has threatened since his 2016 election to put an end to the Filipino-American alliance, with an eye toward cultivating relationships with Russia or China instead.

He specifically mentioned a desire to do away with the VFA again in January, after the US cancelled the travel visa of senator and former national police chief Ronald Dela Rosa.

The VFA is divisive in the Philippines, with leftist and nationalist critics arguing it guarantees preferential treatment for US service members accused of crimes.

Its defenders say ending the agreement would compromise the southeast Asian nation's ability to defend itself and undermine the US goal of containing Beijing's ambitions in the South China Sea.

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