MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte wooed a group of business leaders in Singapore by discussing the many developments and reforms in the Philippines especially in the key growth sectors: energy and infrastructure. “The Philippines is open for business and we welcome what you have to offer,” the President told them at the Jurong Ballroom of the Shangri-la Hotel in Singapore on Friday, Dec. 17. This would mean more investments and encouraging competition, putting an end […]
ASEAN IN FOCUS
ASEAN countries meet to discuss violent crackdown on Rohingya Muslims
YANGON, Myanmar (Reuters) — Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers met in Yangon on Monday (December 19) to discuss the violent crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State. On Friday (December 16), the United Nations human rights office said it was getting daily reports of rapes and killings of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and independent monitors are being barred from investigating. Malaysia Foreign Minister Anifah Aman was asked on his […]
DFA Secretary receives ASEAN Secretary General
MANILA – Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. received the Secretary General of ASEAN Le Luong Minh on December 13, on the occasion of the working visit of the ASEAN Secretary General to Manila from December 12 to 15. Secretary Yasay and Secretary General Le Luong Minh discussed preparations for the Philippine chairmanship of ASEAN in 2017, which will officially begin on January 01. The Secretary General’s visit follows ASEAN tradition where the ASEAN […]
China, Philippine coast guards meet despite sea row
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Chinese and Philippine coast guards met for the first time on Friday and agreed to move forward on maritime cooperation, officials said, as relations between Beijing and Manila warm under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The two-day meeting in Manila on establishing a Joint Coast Guard Committee (JCGC) came just days after new images showed China had apparently installed defensive weapons on artificial islands in the hotly contested South China […]
Philippine president meets Singapore counterpart on two-day state visit
SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met with his Singapore counterpart Tony Tan on Thursday (December 15) in the city state. During the state visit, Duterte, who has been criticised abroad for his ‘war on drugs’, reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN countries not interfering in each others’ internal affairs. “We are committed to make the ASEAN region and beyond safe and secure from traditional and emerging transnational threats,” Duterte said. Duterte has retained a […]
Philippines, Cambodia sign bilateral agreements during Duterte state visit
(Eagle News) — Several bilateral agreements were signed between the Philippines and Cambodia as President Rodrigo Duterte met with Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh on Wednesday (December 14) at the Peace Palace The two leaders witnessed the signing of a series of memoranda of agreement on areas such as tourism, agriculture and cooperation on dealing with terrorism and drug trafficking, during President Duterte’s second day of his state visit in Cambodia. […]
President Duterte meets with ASEAN Secretary General in Malacanang
(Eagle News) — In preparation for the hosting next year by the Philippines of the ASEAN Summit, President Rodrigo Duterte received the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Le Luong Minh and other ASEAN delegates in a courtesy call in Malacañan Palace. ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Deputy Secretary-General V P Hirubalan, ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Deputy Secretary-General Lim Hong Hin, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Deputy Secretary-General Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, Director Pratap Parameswaran, Director Julia […]
President Duterte leaves for Cambodia, Singapore to improve bilateral ties
MANILA, Dec. 14 – President Rodrigo Duterte left Tuesday for a back-to-back state visits to Cambodia and Singapore aimed at strengthening relations with the Asian neighbors particularly on trade and security. “These State Visits will reaffirm our relations with our close neighbors in Southeast Asia and seek to further strengthen our engagement with our brothers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEANs,” the President said in his departure speech at the Ninoy Aquino International […]
84,000 people displaced by Indonesia earthquake: official
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) –The number of people left homeless after an earthquake struck western Indonesia has soared to nearly 84,000, leaving authorities struggling to care for the victims, an official said Tuesday. The shallow quake last week killed more than 100 people and injured many more when it struck Aceh province, one of the areas worst affected by the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Thousands of homes, businesses and mosques were levelled by the […]
President Duterte slated for Cambodia, Singapore swing
MANILA, Dec. 12 – President Rodrigo Duterte is set to undertake state visits to Cambodia and Singapore next week. This was confirmed by Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Charles Jose in a predeparture briefing in Malacañang. “President Rodrigo Duterte will undertake a state visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia on December 13 and 14, 2016 upon the invitation of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni, and to Singapore on December 15 and 16, 2016 upon the invitation of His Excellency […]
‘We will rebuild’: Indonesian president tours quake zone
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo pledged Friday to help the people of Aceh rebuild as he toured areas worst-hit by a devastating earthquake that killed more than 100 people and left thousands homeless. The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake Wednesday levelled hundreds of homes, mosques and businesses across Aceh province, one of the areas worst affected by the destructive 2004 tsunami. Rescue crews have been searching the rubble with sniffer dogs while excavators clear […]
Satellite images appear to show Vietnam dredging on disputed reef
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam has started dredging work on a reef in the South China Sea, fresh satellite images appear to show, a move that could provoke Beijing which claims most of the disputed waterway. An image of the small Ladd Reef in the Spratly Islands, where Vietnam has a lighthouse, shows several vessels in a carved out embankment on the reef’s edge. Sediment can be seen leaking out into the ocean, according to […]
