Aquino News

China's Cosco Shipping confirmed that investment in Peru's Chancay port continues and that it expects a quick resolution to a pending question over exclusivity rights to the facility, a local executive told reporters on Tuesday.Carlos Tejada, the company's general manager in Peru, made the announcement at an international trade event in the capital Lima.Last month, the Asian shipping firm said it was evaluating the impact of a move by Peru's government to annul the exclusivity it holds over operations at the under-construction megaport, seen as a key driver of growth for the South American cou

A resolution to end a dispute between Peru and China's Cosco Shipping could come as soon as this week to ensure a megaport will start operations as planned by the end of the year, Peru's Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen said on Thursday.The Peruvian port authority said in Marchit hoped to annul its decision granting exclusivity of the port's operations to Cosco, citing an "administrative error."Cosco, which is investing $1.3 billion in the first stage of the terminal, has said the push affects the "security and legal stability of investments."On Thursday…

Indigenous protesters in the Peruvian Amazon have released two oil tankers and their crew members being held since last week in protest over changes to a development fund, a source at the company operating the vessels, PetroTal, said on Monday.The firm's marine shipments in the area also resumed earlier on Monday, the source added.The two ships were hijacked on Tuesday, one with 40,000 barrels of crude aboard. The release occurred on Saturday after a meeting between the Indigenous group's leaders and local authorities…

A group of indigenous protesters in Peru's remote Amazon region attacked two oil tankers with gasoline bombs apparently because they are angry about changes by the government to social oil funds, the operator of the vessels said on Wednesday.A dozen crew members from both tankers, one of which contained 40,000 barrels of crude, were also kidnapped by the assailants, according to a statement from Canada-based PetroTal.PetroTal accused protesters affiliated with indigenous association Aidecobap of blocking an Amazon tributary preventing the passage of the two oil tankers, one of which was empty,

China’s COSCO Shipping Holdings suspended construction on a tunnel for a major port project in northern Peru after a partial landslide struck, a company official said on Tuesday.The company is working to understand what caused the landslide, said Romulo Zarauz, a manager with the Chinese company’s local unit.The incident took place Tuesday morning in the coastal province of Huaral, about 56 miles (90 km) north of the capital Lima, damaging at least four houses near the tunnel…

Peru's environmental regulatory agency said on Wednesday it was investigating the possibility that Spanish energy company Repsol SA was responsible for a second oil spill in as many weeks off the country's central Pacific coast.The suspected new spill may have occurred on Tuesday as Repsol's La Pampilla refinery was withdrawing oil reception and dispatch equipment as part of an investigation into what caused the initial spill blamed on unusually strong waves triggered by a volcanic eruption in Tonga this month, according to the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA).The age

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo declared an environmental emergency on Thursday as clean-up teams struggled to contain a huge oil spill at the country's biggest refinery, after rogue waves rocked a ship unloading crude there.The spill, blamed on unusual swells caused by a volcanic eruption thousands of miles away in Tonga on Sunday, has dirtied waters and beaches along Peru's Pacific coast, with dead birds and seals washing up on shore."We are at a critical moment in environmental matters," said Castillo, before signing the emergency decree on one of the beaches hit by the spill.

Dutch marine and dredging giant Boskalis has won a contract for the land development design and construction of the Manila International Airport (MIA) in the Philippines, in what the company said Tuesday was its largest contract ever.The contract was awarded by San Miguel Aerocity Inc (SMAI), a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), one of the largest companies in the Philippines. SMAI is the concession holder of MIA, which is a greenfield development aimed at serving the growing air traffic demands in the Greater Capital Region of Manila and will complement the air traffic operations at the existing and congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Peru has exported its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in three weeks after a pipeline rupture in the jungle disrupted production, the state energy agency Perupetro said on Tuesday. The ship Barcelona Knutsen departed Peru for South Korea on Monday with 170,999 cubic meters (6,038,772 cubic feet) of fuel from the Pampa Melchorita plant, which is operated by the consortium Peru LNG, Perupetro said in a report. U.S.-based Hunt Oil has a 40 percent stake in Peru LNG. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Japan's Marubeni Corp and other companies have smaller stakes in the consortium.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Thursday accused China of breaking a U.S.-brokered deal between the two nations on the Scarborough Shoal, an uninhabited rocky outcrop in the South China Sea. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim the waterway, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne goods pass every year. Beijing seized control of Scarborough Shoal, near the main Philippine island of Luzon, in June 2012, following a three-month standoff after a Philippine Navy vessel tried to arrest Chinese fishermen found illegally hauling giant clams there.

The Philippines has been discussing coordinated naval patrols on its southern maritime borders with Indonesia and Malaysia to protect shipping after attacks and kidnappings by Islamist militants, its foreign minister said on Thursday. Indonesia is trying to free about 14 of its citizens seized from tugboats by Abu Sayyaf rebels from the southern Philippines and has called for joint patrols. Four Malaysians seamen are also being held. The Islamist rebels, who are raking in tens of millions of dollars in ransom, decapitated a Canadian on Monday and are still holding 23 hostages. Citizens of the Netherlands, Japan, Norway and the Philippines are among them.

Philippines government is looking into forming a submarine force to strengthen maritime defense amid China's expansive claims over the South China Sea. President Benigno Aquino III said his country will invest in its first-ever submarine fleet to help protect its territory. "Philippines is practically losing its west coast due to China's nine-dash line claim. We might have to undergo various aspects of our own military capabilities that have never been part of our needs," Aquino said. He was  explaining how Philippine policies have been affected by China’s massive reclamation and military build-up in the West Philippine Sea under its 9-dash-line principle. “We’ve had to accelerate the modernization of our armed forces for self-defense needs,” President said.

China came under renewed criticism over its rising profile in the South China Sea at Asia-Pacific summit when Philippines  President Benigno Aquino III  warned China that “the world is watching” you, reports Reuters. Whether China would behave as a responsible power in the simmering standoff over maritime territory, is the question in this context. "The world is watching and expects no less from a responsible global leader," Aquino said. "We are hopeful that China would honour its word and respect the rule of law," Aquino said. His comment referred specifically to a dispute with China over maritime territory, which Manila is bringing before an international court.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may consider a request from the Philippines for large coastguard ships to patrol the disputed South China Sea, after the two allies reached a deal on defence equipment and technology. China has overlapping claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines is the Southeast Asian nation most at odds with China over the South China Sea. Tokyo has no claims in the waterway, but worries about China's growing military reach into sea lanes through which much of Japan's ship-borne trade passes.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday China must stop land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the defense and security of the Philippines, one of the parties to the dispute.   Obama, speaking after a meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Manila, said he looked forward to working with all claimants to the waterway to resolve their disputes.   On Tuesday, Obama visited an American-donated coast guard cutter now owned by the Philippines, one its closest allies in the region.     (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Peru is reducing royalties on oil and gas production to about 5 percent on average from the current 20 percent in order to encourage exploration amid slumping prices, the government said Wednesday. The smaller take should help Peru boost interest in new oil contracts that will come up for bidding soon, said Rafael Zoeger, the president of state energy agency Perupetro. Peru has repeatedly pushed back auctioning on more than two dozen oil blocks because of a lack of interest in recent years. "I'd rather get 5 percent on some production than 20 or 30 on none," Zoeger said at a news conference. Perupetro will tailor royalties for each concession, setting a lower rate for more costly and less accessible areas, he said.

A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed close to China's man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said it warned and followed the American vessel. The patrol by the USS Lassen was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits China asserts around the islands in the Spratly archipelago and could ratchet up tension in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. One U.S. defense official said the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef.

Philippine authorities cancelled flights and urged residents and tourists to move to safer ground on Saturday as a powerful typhoon approached northeastern parts of the main island of Luzon. With winds of up to 160 kph (99 mph), typhoon Koppu is about 300 km (185 miles) east of Baler in Aurora province, moving west and due to make landfall in the next 12 to 18 hours. Disaster agency officials said about 300 hundred people living in vulnerable coastal or low-lying areas had already sought shelter due to the risk of floods, landslides and storm surges of up to 2 metres (6.5 ft). "We are asking 2,000 foreign and local tourists, most of them surfers, to abandon seaside resorts and go to safer areas," Gabriel Llave, a Baler municipal disaster official, told radio station dzMM.

Philippine President Benigno S. C. Aquino III has signed off on legislation to open up the shipping sector and encourage more competition in the cloistered industry, report AFP. He also signed into law a measure that aims to level the country’s playing field. The twin steps forward is government’s bid to further improve the country’s business climate. “Today, we signed into law two measures that will help ensure our economy’s continued progress. With these two laws... A new statute will provide greater access for international firms to the Philippines' shipping routes, replacing a 79-year-old law put in place to protect local firms.

Japan called on China on Tuesday to halt construction of oil-and-gas exploration platforms in the East China Sea close to waters claimed by both nations, concerned that Chinese drills could tap reservoirs that extend into Japanese territory. Japan's Defense Ministry added the demand to its annual defense review after hawkish members of the ruling party complained that its original draft was too soft on China, a ministry official said. China resumed exploration in the East China Sea two years ago, the report said. In 2012, Japan's government had angered Beijing and purchased a disputed island chain there. Before then, Beijing had curtailed activities under an agreement with Japan to jointly develop undersea resources in disputed areas.

The U.S. and Japan are conducting separate military drills with the Philippines near disputed islands in the South China Sea, says a report in Reuters. The naval exercises is not far from the disputed Spratly archipelago, where China's rapid creation of seven island outposts is stoking regional tensions. Japan will dispatch a P-3C patrol aircraft to the South China Sea, to join a military exercise with the Philippines navy. Japanese media quoted Tomohisa Takei, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, as saying that the exercise will take place in high seas north of the Philippines' Palawan Island from Sunday until June 27th. The AFP media agency says that the Philippines will hold a joint military exercise with the US and Japan.

The overlapping territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam have recently been moving from bad to worse. Vietnam is seeking to upgrade its air defences by acquiring western fighter jets and drones, a move which would further militarize a dispute with Beijing over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Taiwan's coast guard has commissioned its biggest ships for duty in the form of two 3,000-ton patrol vessels, as the island boosts defenses amid concerns about China's growing footprint in the disputed South China Sea, says a report in the Reuters. The new vessels will be able to dock at a new port being constructed on Taiping Island…

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Benigno Aquino agreed on Thursday to start negotiations on an accord for the transfer of defense equipment and technology, as the two nations bolster security ties amid heightened concerns over Beijing’s increasing assertiveness at sea, reports Reuters. The two leaders also shared “serious concern on unilateral actions to change the status quo in the South China Sea,” according to a joint declaration they issued after their summit talks, with China’s recent rapid and massive reclamation work in mind. China has become increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, building artificial islands in areas over which the Philippines and other countries have rival claims.