A report attributed to Jinan University that claimed the Philippines’ Batanes Islands belonged to China appears to have been quietly removed from the university’s website, after drawing sharp criticism from Philippine officials and public outrage online. The deletion came without a public retraction, correction, or explanation, even as nearly identical text remained accessible on several Chinese state-linked platforms.

MANILA — On the 10th anniversary of the PCA award, the Philippines stood at the center of a renewed chorus calling the ruling “final and binding,” using legal victory as both shield and lever in a neighborhood reshaped by naval build‑up and strategic hedging. The 14‑nation statement backing Manila’s win reflected the country’s success in translating a complex UNCLOS arbitration into enduring diplomatic capital.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and 13 other countries have called on China to abide by the 2016 arbitral award on the West Philippine Sea, reaffirming that the ruling is “final, legally binding, and definitive” between the Philippines and China on the maritime claims covered by the tribunal.

On 12 July 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) issued a landmark award in The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China. The tribunal held that China’s claims to historic rights within the “nine-dash line” had no lawful effect beyond entitlements available under UNCLOS, and it found multiple Chinese actions unlawful vis-à-vis the Philippines’ rights in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines to sustain external defense operations as Manila confronts continuing security challenges in the West Philippine Sea, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said. The instruction comes as the government sharpens its defense posture and keeps its plans quiet while adjusting to fast-changing regional threats.

The Hague ruling remains the Philippines’ strongest international-law asset because it directly undermined key elements of China’s maritime claims . That is why Philippine officials and legal advocates continue to cite UNCLOS and the award when pressing their case on the West Philippine Sea.

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese scholars’ reported claim that the Batanes Islands belong to China through Taiwan has no basis in Philippine law and runs against long-standing Philippine sovereignty over the northern island chain. Philippine officials have repeatedly said Batanes is part of the country and that Manila has every right to strengthen its defenses there.

Article by J. Salazar Published on July 9, 2026 04:30PM A China Coast Guard vessel patrols the vibrant blue waters as smaller boats navigate nearby The Philippines has firmly rejected claims that it undermines efforts toward stability in the West Philippine Sea, insisting that its statements and actions, centered on sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc (Internationally known as Scarborough Shoal or Huangyan Dao in China), are entirely consistent with international law and aimed

China’s latest claim on blue-hole announcement at Bajo de Masinloc looks less like a neutral scientific milestone and more like another layer in a long-running sovereignty dispute over the West Philippine Sea. For the Philippines, the sharper story is not the coral sinkhole itself, but how Beijing keeps pairing research language on Bajo de Masinloc and regards the region as part of its maritime domain.

China-ASEAN ties are not just a contest between danger and opportunity; they are also a contest over who gets to define the region’s rules, and the Philippines sits near the center of that argument. From Manila’s view, the relationship is less an abstract story of growth than a lived mix of maritime pressure, trade dependence, and the constant need to defend agency in the West Philippine Sea.

While improved typhoon monitoring and ocean observation technology could strengthen disaster preparedness and help protect vulnerable coastal communities in provinces such as Palawan, Romblon, and Cagayan, China's unilateral deployment of such infrastructure also raises concerns that scientific initiatives may reinforce its maritime presence and claims in areas affecting the Philippines' sovereign rights and sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

In April and May this year, joint drills involving US, Philippine (and sometimes Australian or Japanese) ships prompted Beijing to publicly label its own movements “routine patrols,” while Manila and regional news outlets recorded instances of Chinese vessels confronting Philippine craft, a dynamic that repeats in the most recent weekend’s incident and feeds mistrust between Manila and Beijing.

MANILA, Philippines — As the Philippines moves toward the 10th anniversary of its landmark South China Sea arbitral victory, the National Maritime Council has thrown its support behind the Department of Foreign Affairs in reaffirming that the 2016 ruling remains final, binding, and anchored in international law . The message lands as a familiar but firm reminder, the West Philippine Sea is not just a flashpoint in a distant maritime dispute, but a matter tied to the country’s

Australia has donated a fresh batch of aerial and underwater drones to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), a tactical upgrade that could transform how Manila monitors the West Philippine Sea, particularly around the fragile region of Palawan, the remote Kalayaan Island Group, and Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal).

MANILA — While Beijing frames its latest activities at Panatag Shoal as routine scientific research within “inherent territory,” Philippine officials and legal experts see a different picture; a calculated move that disregards a landmark international ruling and undermines the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

MANILA — The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said Wednesday that a floating platform previously monitored inside the lagoon of Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag Shoal had been removed, based on maritime patrols and monitoring conducted on June 17. Philippine authorities said the platform was no longer present after fresh maritime domain awareness operations and aerial surveillance.

A floating Chinese platform at Panatag Shoal has revived fears in the Philippines that Beijing could be taking another incremental step toward turning one of the South China Sea's most sensitive disputed features into a permanent outpost. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Tuesday it would not allow any structure to be built at the shoal, nearly three weeks after satellite images first showed a possible floating platform there.

MANILA — The Marcos administration’s National Maritime Council (NMC) has forcefully rejected China’s sanctions against Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and his family, calling the Beijing move an affront to Philippine sovereignty and a violation of international law.

MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not dwell on warships or water cannons when he rose to speak at the country's Independence Day celebrations on Friday. Instead, the president signaled a strategic shift in how the Philippines addresses the South China Sea dispute: recasting the waterway not as an arena of territorial conflict, but as a shared vulnerability that threatens every ASEAN nation.

MANILA — The Philippines is closely monitoring a newly discovered Chinese floating structure at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), fearing it could be a prelude to occupation and eventual militarization of the disputed atoll in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).