Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, is riding a populist wave with his declarations that he doesn’t need American military or commercial aid or agreements for U.S. forces to advise and assist the armed forces of the Philippines. He seems to want to reverse careful efforts on both […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk The process of “making America great again” is filled with perils and pitfalls, nowhere more so than in Asia. The intricacies and subtleties of the Great Game for Asia often are about as incomprehensible to the experts as they are to amateurs and know-nothings. As President-elect Donald Trump and […]
by WorldTribune Staff, November 9, 2016 While world leaders were quick to congratulate Donald Trump for his historic victory on Nov. 8, shell-shocked foreign policy types were not so sure the sun would come up on Nov. 9 as President Barack Obama had assured. Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi was the first leaders to phone […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk Rodrigo Duterte was reputed as a killer long before his election as president of the Philippines five months ago. He countenanced the slaughter of hundreds of drug addicts and dealers while mayor of Davao, the major port city on the rebel-infested southern island of Mindanao, and has applauded the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Can the United States recover its position in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific, or has the tide turned, isolating Washington’s support base in the region? Growing evidence now points to the reality that the last major summit attendance of U.S. President Barack Obama — the G20 Leaders’ Summit […]
by WorldTribune Staff, August 29, 2016 A group of jihadists aligned with Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) stormed a Philippine prison on Aug. 27 and freed eight of their comrades, according to a report. The Philippine star reported that about 20 Maute Group gunmen armed with RPGs, AK-47s and M-14s raided the Lanao […]
by WorldTribune Staff, August 9, 2016 Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is calling on jihadists to attack the 2017 Miss Universe pageant. In a thread posted to a Telegram Messenger group called “IS Philippines supporters,” a jihadi, noting next year’s pageant, encourages “everyone who can” to launch attacks at the event. The Miss […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In a major legal setback for Beijing, an international tribunal has rejected and rebuffed many of Mainland China’s claims regarding exclusive sovereignty and rights in the disputed South China Sea. The landmark ruling in the Hague, by the Permanent Court of Arbitration stated there was […]
by WorldTribune Staff, July 12, 2016 China has no legal basis for its claim to most of the South China Sea, a tribunal ruled unanimously on July 12. Additionally, Beijing has aggravated regional disputes with its construction of artificial islands that “destroyed coral reefs and infringed on the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” a five-member panel […]
by WorldTribune Staff, June 19, 2016 The United States has sent two aircraft carriers to an exercise in the Philippine Sea in a show of force ahead of a key arbitration decision on a South China Sea territorial dispute. The Nimitz-class supercarriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS John C. Stennis conducted air defense and sea […]