Vietnam – ellen tordesillas

Probe finds PH Navy at fault in death of two Vietnamese fishermen

Published by Ellen on October 1, 2017

By Arianne Christian Tapao and Ellen T. Tordesillas
VERA Files

The Philippine Navy is at fault in the death of two fishermen during a sea chase in the waters of Pangasinan on Sept. 22, a source privy to the investigation of the incident said.

Investigators, the source said, cited a 1999 ruling of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) that states: “In the conduct of arrest, use of excessive and unreasonable force in stopping and arresting a vessel such as firing with live ammunition using shots from large–caliber automatic guns must be avoided, and where force is unavoidable, it must not go beyond what is reasonable and necessary in the circumstances”.

The Philippine Coast Guard, which is investigating the incident, took note that the incident happened 39 nautical miles off Bolinao in Pangasinan, which was within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines, the source further said.

Vietnamese fishing boat involved in the Sept. 22 incident in Pangasinan

Vietnam delivered when the Philippines needed it most

Published by Ellen on December 14, 2014

Alliance forged.Pres. Aquino and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Malacanang May 2014. — Alliance forged. Pres. Aquino and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Malacanang May 2014.

It means a lot to the Philippines that Vietnam submitted a Position Paper to the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations that is handling the complaint filed by the Philippines against China on the conflict in the South China Sea.

Probably so as not to further antagonize China, with whom the Philippines has rekindled relations marked by the meeting of President Aquino with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs in reaction to the statement of Vietnam was sober.

The statement, released three days after Vietnam made public the Dec. 4 submission to the U.N. Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, said: “PH has had close consultations with Vietnam, bilaterally as well as within ASEAN, on claims and issues in the South China Sea. We now understand that Vietnam has made its position on our arbitration case known to the Tribunal. This is not wholly unexpected, since Vietnam naturally seeks to protect its own interests. What we understand, however, consistent with our previous discussions, is that the Vietnam’s basic position largely accords with ours with regards to the South China Sea.

Vietnam supports PH position: UN tribunal has jurisdiction on South China Sea dispute

Published by Ellen on December 13, 2014

Water cannon fight in Paracels between China and Vietnam last May.

By Ellen T. Tordesillas, VERA Files

The Philippine case against China’s nine-dash line before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal gained support from Vietnam in a statement it submitted to the court in The Hague on Thursday.

The Vietnam Foreign Ministry said the tribunal has jurisdiction to settle disputes concerning the interpretation of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Enthralling night of music and food at Vietnam National Day

Published by Ellen on September 1, 2012

Bui Cong Duy with Raul Sunico on the piano

Give it to the dynamic Vietnam Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tu to come up with creative ways to enhance Philippine –Vietnam relations. Last year, it was a fashion show featuring Vietnam and Philippine national dresses.

Last Tuesday’s celebration of Vietnam’s 67th National Day had a concert featuring Filipino and Vietnamese songs as well as classics and Broadway hits.

Violinist Bui Cong Duy opened the concert with spellbinding Libersfreud (Love’s Joy) by Friedrich “Fritz” Kreisler. After a Vietnamese piece, Nho Que (Missing my Home Village), he did Hatinggabi by Antonio Molina.

Deepening PH and Vietnam relations

Published by Ellen on October 26, 2011

The Philippines and Vietnam share a common painful experience with colonial powers but each country dealt with them differently.
Philippine history as famously described by the eminent Carmen Guerrro Nakpil was “300 years in convent and 50 years of Hollywood” referring to 300 years of Spanish domination of Filipinos and 50 years under the Americans. In between, briefly, was the Japanese occupation.

Vietnam, on the other hand, fought fiercely – first the French and later, the Americans – and succeeded to throw out the colonial powers.

It is a tribute to the Vietnamese people that they have risen from the devastation caused by the colonial wars and is now considered the emerging economy in Southeast Asia.

PH protests China’s 9-dash line claim over Spratlys

Published by Ellen on April 13, 2011

China’s reaction to PH protest: In a regular briefing in Beijing today, spokesman of China’s foreign ministry Hong Lei said: “China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and adjacent waters.”

“China owns sovereignty and jurisdiction over the related sea area, seabed and subsoil,” Hong pointed out.

By Tessa Jamandre
VERA FILES

The Philippines has lodged a diplomatic protest against China’s 9-dash line territorial claim over the whole of South China Sea, a month before President Aquino’s planned state visit to Beijing.

The Philippine protest, dated April 5, was posted by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) as document No. 000228 on April 8.

But the Philippine government tarried in filing the protest, doing so two years after Vietnam and Malaysia, and a year after Indonesia. Vietnam and Malaysia filed their protest a day after China submitted its 9-dash line map to the UN on May 7, 2009. Indonesia registered its protest a year ago, even if it did not have a claim on the South China Sea.

The map is called “9-dash line” or “9-dotted line” because it shows a series of nine dashes or dotted lines forming a ring around the South China Sea area, which China claims is part of its territory. The area includes the Spratlys group, a cluster of oil-rich islands disputed by five other countries, including the Philippines.

China has been using the map with nine dashes in asserting its territorial claim over the whole of the South Sea. But the map first made its way to the UN body, when China used it to challenge the claim made by Vietnam and Malaysia over their extended continental shelves in the South China Sea.