Palawan News

China said on Friday it had driven away a Philippine aircraft and multiple vessels near disputed atolls in South China Sea, in the latest in a series of confrontations in the strategic waterway in recent years.The Chinese military said it issued strong warnings and "expelled" a Philippine aircraft that "invaded" airspace above the Scarborough Shoal, without giving a date for the incident.China claims almost the entire South China Sea, overlapping the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The navies of the Philippines, Australia and Canada were conducting a joint sail in the South China Sea on Tuesday, an area of flaring tensions following a collision between two Chinese vessels last week.The Philippine frigate BRP Jose Rizal, Australian destroyer HMAS Brisbane and Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec were participating in the operation, which a Philippine military official said was not directed at any country."Our activity is based on the premise that the exercise is anchored on the free and open Indo-Pacific with peace and prosperity in the region…

Coast Guard vessels of the Philippines and the United States have taken part for the first time in joint maritime exercises with naval and air force units in the contested South China Sea, Manila's armed forces said on Wednesday.The exercises, held on Tuesday in waters off Palawan and Occidental Mindoro, involved the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, alongside the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.The "maritime cooperative activity…

The United States is deploying around 9,000 troops to the Philippines for this year's joint military exercises, as the allies strengthen ties amid tensions with China over its activities in the South China Sea and in Taiwan.The annual drills, which the Philippine military on Tuesday described as a rehearsal for national defense, will include 5,000 Filipino troops, 200 from the Australia Defence Force, and observers from the Japan Self-Defence Force.For the first time, observers…

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has responded to a fire on board the Castphill XV in the vicinity waters of Patungan Maragondon, Cavite.At approximately 4:27AM on March 30, BRP Boracay (FPB-2401) successfully rescued seven crew members, including the vessel’s captain, who sustained only minor injuries.At around 7:35AM, the Coast Guard Sub-Station (CGSS) Maragondon, Cavite, rescued an additional five crew members, who were then transported to CGSS Maragondon for medical attention.The Castphill XV departed Delpan in Manila on Saturday, headed to Culion in Palawan.

The Philippines will continuously deploy vessels in the contested Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, its coast guard said on Monday after a Philippine ship returned to port after a five-month deployment there."We will sustain presence over these waters," Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson Jay Tarriela told a press conference.The PCG's vessel, Teresa Magbanua, was deployed to Sabina Shoal in April to monitor what Manila suspects to be China's small-scale land reclamation activities in the area.

The Philippines said it was sending a vessel to Sabina Shoal to replace a coast guard ship that returned to port on Sunday after a five-month deployment at the contested feature in the South China Sea, in a swap that would likely irk China.Beijing had demanded the Philippines withdraw the 97-metre (318-foot) coast guard vessel Teresa Magbanua it claimed was "illegally stranded" at the atoll, which it asserts it owns as part of its broader claim to nearly the entire South China Sea."The Philippine side's actions have seriously infringed on China's territorial sovereignty…

The Philippines and China exchanged accusations of intentionally ramming coast guard vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday, the latest in an escalating series of clashes in the vital waterway.The collision near the Sabina Shoal was their fifth maritime confrontation in a month in a longstanding rivalry.Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Portions of the waterway…

China's coast guard said it was monitoring Philippine patrol and fishing vessels that have gathered around the contested Sabina Shoal, citing China's "indisputable sovereignty" over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.China's coast guard had been monitoring the vessels since Saturday, spokesperson Gan Yu said in a statement late on Sunday.Gan said patrol boats from the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and multiple fishing boats have gathered in…

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has announced that Siloso, Palawan and Tanjong Beach will reopen for swimming and all sea activities in August, with Siloso Beach being the first to reopen, with immediate effect after an extensive oil spill cleanup operation.The milestone comes one and a half months after the oil spill on June 14, 2024, when the Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima struck a stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour, causing a rupture of one…

The removal of bulk oil from the sea and beaches in Singapore is nearly complete after the Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour was hit by Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima on June 14.The Singapore MPA reports that there has been no observed oil slick along the East Coast and Changi since June 18 based on both satellite and drone images. The bulk of oil-soaked sand has been removed from most of the affected public beaches, with the exception of Tanjong and Palawan beach at Sentosa.

The Philippines filed a claim with the U.N. on Saturday to an extended continental shelf (ECS) in the South China Sea, a waterway where it has had increasingly confrontational maritime disputes with China."Today we secure our future by making a manifestation of our exclusive right to explore and exploit natural resources in our ECS entitlement," Marshall Louis Alferez, foreign ministry assistant secretary for maritime and ocean affairs, said in a statement.China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Philippines said on Saturday it has deployed ships to a disputed area in the South China Sea, where it accused China of building "an artificial island" in an escalating maritime row.The coast guard sent a ship "to monitor the supposed illegal activities of China, creating 'an artificial island'," the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement, adding two other vessels were in rotational deployment in the area.Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela told a forum there had been "small-scale reclamation" of the Sabina Shoal…

The Philippines and China traded accusations on Sunday over a collision of their vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate.The Philippine coast guard accused China of firing water cannons and ramming resupply vessels and a coast guard ship, causing "serious engine damage" to one, while China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel intentionally rammed its ship.China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce…

Philippine authorities have increased efforts to contain an oil spill from a sunken fuel tanker that has affected coastal towns and was still spreading, the environment ministry said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with cleanup challenges.Improvised spill booms made from cogon grass and coconut materials were helping to restrict oil leaking from MT Princess Empress, the Philippine-flagged tanker that encountered engine trouble in rough seas on Feb.

The Philippines summoned China’s ambassador on Monday to explain what it called the “illegal intrusion and lingering presence” of a Chinese navy vessel in waters between some of the archipelago nation’s largest islands.The foreign ministry in a statement said a Chinese navy reconnaissance ship entered Philippine waters without permission and lingered from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, ignoring repeated demands to leave.It was detected off the Cuyo Group of Islands, close to Palawan, and Apo island off Mindoro…

U.S. oil major Chevron has completed the exit from the Shell-operated Malampaya gas project offshore the Philippines with the sale of its 45% non-operating interest in the field to Udenna Corporation. The sale deal was signed in October 2019.The Malampaya natural gas field lies about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of the Philippine island of Palawan. Net daily production during 2019 averaged 136 million cubic feet of natural gas and 3,000 barrels of condensate.Produced from fields at water depths of about 2…

The Philippine coast guard was searching on Monday for 17 crew of a landing craft that went adrift south of the capital, Manila, one of three weekend accidents at sea, an agency spokesman said. Sea accidents are frequent in the Philippines, comprised of more than 7,000 islands, with lax regulations, ageing marine vessels and strong waves all contributing. "Seventeen crew are missing and we are still looking for them," said the spokesman, Captain Armand Balilo, adding that the craft lost power near Fortune Island, a tourist spot in Batangas province. Elsewhere, authorities on Sunday rescued all 14 boat passengers, mostly tourists, on the holiday island of Palawan and 19 people from a boat in the southeastern province of Camarines Norte…

China has assured the Philippines it will not occupy new features or territory in the South China Sea, under a new "status quo" brokered by Manila as both sides try to strengthen their relations, the Philippine defence minister said. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano also said the Philippines was working on a "commercial deal" with China to explore and exploit oil and gas resources in disputed areas of the South China Sea with an aim to begin drilling within a year. The defence minister, Delfin Lorenzana, told a congressional hearing the Philippines and China had reached a "modus vivendi", or a way to get along, in the South China Sea that prohibits new occupation of islands.

Far out in the South China Sea, where dark blue meets bright turquoise, a miles-long row of fishing boats anchor near Scarborough Shoal, backed by a small armada of coastguard projecting China's power in Asia's most disputed waters. China still calls the shots at the prime fishing spot and has boosted its fleet there, nine months after an international panel ruled its blockade of the lagoon was illegal. Beijing rejected that ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated China's claim of sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. But the presence of Philippine boats dotted between Chinese vessels shows a degree of compliance with the ruling.

US submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) arrived in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan on Saturday, June 11, for a "scheduled port visit," according to the US embassy in Manila. The visit will allow the ship’s sailors and military sealift command mariners to enjoy some rest and relaxation. Frank Cable, a ship that provides repairs and support to submarines, is commanded by Capt. Drew St. John and has more than 500 sailors and civilian mariners on board. The presence of the submarine tender ship coincided with the visit of a US-based defense and security think-tank to Western Command (Wescom) in Palawan to observe and see the actual implementation of the Philippines-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Buoys stretched "as far as eye could see" - Philippine sailor. The Philippine navy recently found a large steel marker bearing Chinese inscriptions and hundreds of yellow buoys in waters near the Reed Bank, an area of the South China Sea where Manila has long explored for oil and gas, Philippine naval sources said. One source, a sailor, told Reuters he was on a fishing boat being used by the navy that discovered the rubber buoys and the floating steel marker at the end of May. The buoys stretched "as far as the eye could see", the sailor said. He said there was no evidence Chinese ships had placed them near the Reed Bank, which is also claimed by Beijing.

The Philippines, eager to resume development of vital oil and gas reserves off its coast, will likely need to reach an accord with a Chinese government infuriated by last week's ruling that granted Manila a big victory in the South China Sea. The Philippines relies overwhelmingly on imports to fuel its fast-growing economy. That reliance will grow further in a few years when the main source of domestic natural gas runs out, so the clock is ticking for it to develop offshore fields that China shows no sign of loosening its grip on. Beijing has refused to recognise the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that granted the Philippines sovereign rights to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, a shallow tablemount some 85 nautical miles off its coast.