The US house committee on China has urged Washington to ensure funding for the Philippines to counter Beijing’s “aggressive and destabilizing actions” in the South China Sea, according to a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which warns cuts could threaten US security interests.
In the letter seen by Reuters yesterday, the US House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sought clarity on funding for the Philippine Coast Guard, noting that the US Department of State had sought a dramatically reduced budget for next year for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement that would “devastate” programs to help its ally stand up to China.
The select committee’s letter follows moves by China to further tighten its grip on the strategically located Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), one of Asia most contested maritime features, where Philippine and Chinese vessels have clashed repeatedly. Taiwan also has claims to the shoal.
Photo: AP
“Beijing has significantly escalated its aggressive activities in the South China Sea, including its efforts to unlawfully assert control over much of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. [China’s] coast guard and maritime militia regularly attack or physically coerce Philippine vessels,” the letter said.
“Beijing’s actions have only grown more threatening over the last several months, reflecting the immediacy of this threat,” it added.
The US has stressed its alliance with the Philippines is “ironclad.” It was among the countries whose security funding was exempted in February from US aid freezes.
It was not immediately clear how much of the US$336 million Washington allocated for Philippine defense modernization is for maritime security.
The house select committee letter was signed by US representatives Greg Stanton, Seth Moulton and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi.
It mentioned recent standoffs, including a near collision between a Chinese navy ship and a Philippine coast guard vessel at Scarborough Shoal, which the committee said could have led to Manila invoking a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington.
The Philippines in 2023 successfully lobbied for more specificity in the treaty to include US defense from attacks “anywhere in the South China Sea” including on coast guard vessels.
BEIJING FORUM: ‘So-called freedom of navigation advocated by certain countries outside the region challenges the norms of international relations,’ the minister said Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) yesterday denounced “hegemonic logic and acts of bullying” during remarks at a Beijing forum that were full of thinly veiled references to the US. Organizers said that about 1,800 representatives from 100 countries, including political, military and academic leaders, were in Beijing for the Xiangshan Forum. The three-day event comes as China presents itself as a mediator of fraught global issues including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Addressing attendees at the opening ceremony, Dong warned of “new threats and challenges” now facing world peace. “While the themes of the times — peace and development —
Venezuela on Saturday organized a day of military training for civilians in response to the US deployment in the Caribbean, and amid new threats from US President Donald Trump. About a month ago, Washington deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 jets sent to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-drug and anti-terrorism operation. Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino Lopez has accused Washington of waging “undeclared war” in the Caribbean, after US strikes killed over a dozen alleged drug traffickers off his country’s coast. Caracas also accused the US of seeking regime change, and
BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS: A prosecutor said they considered the risk of Hak-ja Han tampering with evidence to be very high, which led them to seek the warrant South Korean prosecutors yesterday requested an arrest warrant for the leader of the Unification Church, Hak-ja Han, on allegations of bribery linked to the country’s former first lady and incitement to destroy evidence. The move came a day after the 82-year-old was questioned over her alleged role in bribing former first lady Kim Keon-hee and a lawmaker. Founded in 1954 by her late husband, Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church has long been the subject of controversy and criticism, with its teachings centered on Moon’s role as the “second coming” and its mass weddings. Followers are derisively referred to as “Moonies.” However, the church’s
Decked out with fake crystal chandeliers and velvet sofas, cosmetic surgery clinics in Afghanistan’s capital are a world away from the austerity of Taliban rule, where Botox, lip filler and hair transplants reign. Despite the Taliban authorities’ strict theocratic rule, and prevailing conservatism and poverty in Afghanistan, the 20 or so clinics in Kabul have flourished since the end of decades of war in the country. Foreign doctors, especially from Turkey, travel to Kabul to train Afghans, who equally undertake internships in Istanbul, while equipment is imported from Asia or Europe. In the waiting rooms, the clientele is often well-off and includes men
RSS