Philippines drops food to troops after China 'blockade'

by Staff Writers Manila (AFP) March 13, 2014

The incident took place at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly island group, which is around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and which Manila insists is part of its continental shelf.

The Philippine military said Thursday it had evaded a Chinese sea blockade by using an airplane to drop food to soldiers on a tiny and remote South China Sea shoal claimed by both countries.
The incident was the latest to escalate tensions between the Asian nations over their conflicting claims to parts of the South China Sea, a major sealane and rich fishing ground that is believed to hold vast mineral resources.
"We confirmed there was an airdrop of food to our troops," Defence Department spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said.
He said the airdrop was "via airplane," but did not say when it occurred nor give further details.
The incident took place at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly island group, which is around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and which Manila insists is part of its continental shelf.
The shoal is more than 1,000 kilometres from Hainan island, the closest Chinese landmass, but China claims nearly all of the South China Sea based on what it says are historical records.
A tiny unit of Filipino marines live on the BRP Sierra Madre, a decrepit, beached former World-War-II US navy transport ship that was transferred to the Philippine navy and run aground on the shoal in the 1990s.

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Hundreds march against Philippine government's cooperation with US bid for heavier military presence

Published on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 by Common Dreams

'US Troops Out Now': Philippine Protesters Push Against Base Expansion

- Sarah Lazare, staff writer

Riot police prepare to prevent protesters from marching closer to the U.S. Embassy Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 in Manila, Philippines, against the forthcoming visit of U.S. President Barack Obama. (Photo: AP/Bullit Marquez)Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the Philippine capital on Tuesday to demand U.S. troops leave their country, just days after Philippine President Noynoy Aquino announced he is "close" to a deal that would open the Philippines to an expanded U.S. military presence.
“Aquino is desperately trying to outdo previous Philippine presidents when it comes to puppetry to the US," said Elmer “Bong” Labog, spokesperson for labor organization Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement), which organized the demonstration.
Riot police clashed with approximately 300 demonstrators, who carried signs and banners that read "Obama Not Welcome" and "US Troops Out Now," near the U.S. embassy in Manila. At one point police attacked the crowd with truncheons, but no one was seriously injured, the Associated Press reports.
The protest comes ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Barack Obama in April, which will be aimed at making progress towards an agreement over sustained U.S. military presence in the Philippines, including in the Subic Bay, which overlooks the South China Sea.
Social movements in the Philippines have long opposed U.S. power over their country, which includes more than five decades of direct colonial rule and the backing of brutal dictator Ferdinand Marcos — who was president from 1965 to 1986 until he was overthrown by a popular movement. Even after Philippine independence, the U.S. maintained a heavy presence of bases and troops, despite widespread opposition to the environmental and social harm they spread, including numerous incidents of sexual assaults and rape of the local population.
While the last U.S. base in the country was shut down in 1992, the U.S. currently sends 500 troops to the southern Philippines annually for so-called counter-terrorism purposes, while 6,500 come each year for training, according to the Philippine military.
With the cooperation of Aquino, Obama is aggressively pushing to expand this military presence as part of the U.S. military's pivot to Asia to hedge against China. The U.S. and Philippine governments have levied U.S. humanitarian response to Typhoon Haiyan to build support for a deal.
According to Labong, Aquino "tries to make it appear that the return of US military bases to the Philippines is part of efforts to help the country when it is part of the U.S. geopolitical strategy."

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Anti-Obama protesters in Manila clash with police

February 25

The Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines — Police clashed briefly in the Philippine capital Tuesday with about 300 protesters opposed to a planned visit by President Barack Obama and the continued U.S. military presence in the country.

 

Bullit Marquez | AP Photo Firemen spray their water cannon at demonstrators as the latter force their way closer to U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 to protest the forthcoming visit of U.S. President Barack Obama. The protesters were also calling for the pullout of U.S. troops in the country under the Visiting Forces Agreement or VFA.

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Riot police across a road from the U.S. Embassy were pushed back by the demonstrators, prompting the police to retaliate with truncheons.
The protesters allied with the May One Movement workers' federation held a brief program of speeches denouncing U.S. imperialism in front of the seaside embassy before dispersing peacefully. No arrests were made and there were no serious injuries.
About 500 American soldiers are based in the south where they have been providing Philippine troops anti-terrorism training since 2002. Protesters say their presence violates Philippine sovereignty. The Philippine Constitution allows foreign military bases only under a treaty.
Obama is scheduled to visit the Philippines in April, part of a tour of Asia which will also take him to Japan, South Korea and Malaysia to boost diplomatic and economic ties with the region.

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Philippines Mayor His Wife And Baby Among 4 Killed By Gunmen At Manila Airport

MOXNEWSd0tC0M


   

Published on Dec 20, 2013

December 20, 2013 Al Jazeera News http://MOXNews.com.....

Philippines mayor among four killed in Manila airport gunman attack

Manila News.Net Friday 20th December, 2013

The mayor of a southern Philippines town, two members of his family and a young child have died after a gunman opened fire outside a terminal at Manila's international airport.

The attack, which was aimed at Ukol Talumpa, the mayor of Labangan, wounded five people and caused panic among travellers.
According to CNN, initial reports suggested more than one attacker carried out the shooting.
The police however said a lone gunman was carried out the brazen attack
The dead include Talumpa, his wife and a 28-year-old niece, said Jose Erwin Villacorte, director of the Manila region's Southern Police District.


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