The PacMan and His Faith

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Gov’t ship, plane now patrolling PH Rise

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The Philippine Coast Guard has deployed a ship and a plane to patrol the Philippine Rise, a resource-rich part of Philippine territory that some experts feared was also being encroached by China. The Coast Guard, according to spokesperson Capt. Armand Balilo, on Saturday sent an Islander aircraft, a propeller-driven plane, and the BRP Suluan, a multi-role response vessel, to Philippine Rise (formerly Benham Rise) to conduct patrols in the area in tandem.   ‘Eyes’   Balilo said the ship and plane left Legazpi City in Albay province for the vast underwater plateau that is part of Philippine territory off the coast of Aurora province. The Coast Guard vessels, said Balilo, “would serve as our ‘eyes’ in the area as part of our maritime patrols.” The deployment came after Coast Guard chief, Rear Admiral Elson Hermogino, received instructions from President Duterte for the Coast Guard to activate patrols in Philippine Rise, which is believed to be teeming with natural gas, oil an
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Palace, expert spar over planned ‘joint exploration’ with China in undisputed area

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                                    MANILA, Philippines — Is a joint exploration between Filipino and Chinese companies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, including in areas where China never laid claim to, legal? Malacañang earlier said areas under service contracts (SC) 57 and 72 are being considered for possible joint exploration with a company and not the Chinese government. However, a maritime law expert warned that such a venture would elevate the Chinese firm’s status from mere sub-contractor to a “co-owner.” Formerly called Geophysical Survey and Exploration Contract 101, the 880,000-hectare SC 72 is at the Recto Bank, which is located west of Palawan and southwest of the Malampaya gas field. In late 2014, the Department of Energy suspended exploration in the bank, which is in waters also claimed by China, as the government pursued an arbitration case against the Asian power. Meanwhile, SC 57 is a petroleum exploration project awarded to Philippine Nati
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Australia boosts South China Sea presence

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MANILA, Philippines — Australia shares the United States' concern on Beijing's militarization activities in the disputed South China Sea. According to a report from Wall Street Journal, Australia has increased its naval presence in the contested waters in response to concerns about regional stability. Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne, in a parliamentary hearing, had expressed Canberra's unease on Beijing's rising military capabilities in the region. Payne told the Australian Senate that the country has stepped up its naval presence in the South China Sea in the last 18 months despite not joining freedom of navigations operations of the United States, according to WSJ reporter Rob Taylor. Australia's heightened presence in the disputed waters is part of a "strong focus on security and stability in the Indo-Pacific." Lyle Morris, senior policy analyst at Rand Corporation, noted that Australia has been conducting presence o
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