Sangley Point, Cavite City – The Philippine Fleet (PF) received on 29-June-2022 the visiting representative from the US Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC), U.S. Indo-Pacific Command 3rd /7th Fleet, Dr. John Edward Murray Brown at its headquarters at Naval Base Heracleo Alano. Dr. Brown paid a courtesy call on PF Commander, RAdm Nichols Driz at the headquarter’s wardroom. He…
Manila, Philippines. The new Chinese law requires vessels passing through the South China Sea to provide information, including positions of their vessels, to Chinese authorities. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippines did not recognize the new Chinese maritime law, which mandated foreign vessels in the South China Sea to “report their detailed information” to China. “Our stand on that…
Philippine Secretary of Defense Delfin N. Lorenzana visited the United States of America to meet with US senior officials, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). Following their bilateral meeting in Manila last 30-July-2021, Secretary Lorenzana met with his counterpart, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on 10-September-2021 in Washington DC where…
A Chinese embassy official once told a Philippine diplomat, “Why don’t you get closer to a friendly neighbour rather than a distant cousin?” Of course he was referring to the relationship between the Philippines and China vis a vis the former and the United States. On another occasion a US official, on the same topic similarly quipped, “Yes, you cannot…
In his inaugural speech as FOIC PN, VADM Giovanni Carlo J Bacordo highlighted 3 priority programs, namely: boost the capacity of the Naval Sea Systems Command; implement skills specialization for its personnel; and lastly, to modernize the mindset of every sailor and marine.[1] In this connection, Commander Jay Tristan Tarriela PCG, in an article at the Diplomat, averred that until…
In his last article in the Maritime Review magazine (March-April 2020 issue) Commodore Carlos L Agustin AFP (Ret), Founding President of The Maritime League, related some interesting points that led to the administrative control of two large U.S. bases in the Philippines in the late 1970s. The designation of Filipino base commanders, with U.S. facilities inside, allowed the Philippine flag…
Philippine President Duterte has recently forwarded notice to the United States (U.S.) his decision to terminate the current Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that has been in effect since 1999. This long-standing agreement is scheduled to renew or expire in August 2020. The concerns expressed by many -for or against this action- address many opinions of which I will try to…