Latest news with #WestPhilippineSea
South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Filipino film on South China Sea tensions wins in New Zealand despite Chinese pressure
Filipino documentary spotlighting the daily struggles of fishermen, naval cooks and coastguard personnel in the contested South China Sea has earned international recognition, with its director telling This Week in Asia that the award was a validation of honest storytelling in the face of political pressure from Beijing to cancel its screening. Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea took home the Tides of Change prize at the Doc Edge Festival in Auckland, New Zealand, on July 3. Directed by Baby Ruth Villarama, the film chronicles the human dimension of Manila's maritime claims, offering what she described as a 'gentle yet powerful' way of reframing geopolitical tensions. Villarama is best known for her award-winning 2016 documentary Sunday Beauty Queen about Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, which earned Best Picture at the Metro Manila Film Festival. Her latest film's win in New Zealand comes after it was pulled from a Philippine event earlier this year for undisclosed reasons. Just days before its scheduled premiere at Manila's Puregold CinePanalo Festival in March, the festival organiser and film producer released a joint statement confirming the movie had been pulled. 'While the decision was made jointly … it is clear that external factors played a role in this outcome,' they said, without providing further details. Baby Ruth Villarama during the filming of 'Food Delivery'. Photo: Voyage Studios Villarama told This Week in Asia the experience was disheartening, but her team 'quietly submitted' the film to overseas festivals. Doc Edge was the first to respond. 'They saw it not as a threat, but as an urgent human story worth sharing with the world and the people of New Zealand,' she said.
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Why a documentary about Filipino fishermen was banned
With its sparkling expanse of blue water, the sea to the west of the Philippines looks like a paradise. But the difficulties faced by fishermen on that water - and the soldiers that help police it - has been laid bare in a new documentary by top filmmaker Baby Ruth Villarama. In Food Delivery, Fresh from the West Philippine Sea she follows a group of fishers from a small village as they navigate their fishing grounds, while keeping a wary eye for the Chinese coastguard. This particular area of the ocean has long been a flashpoint for relations between the Philippines and China, which both claim territorial ownership for it. That's despite China's loss in a 2016 ruling at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Baby Ruth has been a documentary producer and director for a number of years, and often dives into strong social issues - like undocumented migrants in the US and the situation of Filipino workers in Hong Kong. But having her Food Delivery documentary banned from the Philippine's major film festival two days before its debut, came as a shock. She reveals in her interview with Nine to Noon that the DocEdge film festival in New Zealand, was also approached by the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Auckland seeking to have the film removed. The Consulate General asked the festival to refrain from screening the documentary, on the grounds the film was 'rife with disinformation and false propaganda to serve as (a) political tool for the Philippines.' DocEdge declined the request. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
South China Morning Post
04-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippines-China sea dispute moves to legal battlefield with cyber libel suit
The Philippines ' maritime dispute with China has spilled into the courts after a top coastguard official filed a cyber libel case against a pro-Beijing influencer over explosive – and, he claims, baseless – allegations that he is a paid asset of the United States. Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesman for Philippine Coast Guard operations in the West Philippine Sea, lodged a complaint on Friday at the Manila prosecutor's office against Sass Rogando Sasot, a popular vlogger currently based in Beijing. The case is unprecedented: the first known libel lawsuit arising directly from the online information war surrounding the Philippines' increasingly fraught stand-off with China in the contested South China Sea According to Tarriela's complaint, Sasot falsely accused him on social media of receiving a US$4 million 'talent fee' from Washington, and of collecting bags of cash from the residence of House Speaker Martin Romualdez as payment for criticising Beijing's actions in the West Philippine Sea – Manila's term for the part of the South China Sea it claims as its own. She also alleged he had been expelled from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) for cheating. 02:09 China and Philippines clash over disputed Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands China and Philippines clash over disputed Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands In an interview with This Week in Asia, Tarriela said the accusations had taken a deep personal toll. 'Absolutely,' he said, when asked if the claims had affected his family.
Times of Oman
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Chinese military patrols South China Sea amidst Philippines-Japan joint drills
Manila: As the Philippines and Japan conducted a joint drill in South China Sea, the Chinese military held joint sea and air patrols in the disputed waters. China's People Liberation Army Southern Theater Command organized joint sea and air patrol in the South China Sea on Saturday, its spokesperson Colonel Tian Junli, stated on Sunday, emphasizing that any military activities that stir up trouble in the South China Sea and create hotspot issues are fully under control, Chinese media outlet Global Times said. In a statement released by the PLA Southern Theatre Command, cited by Global Times, Tian said that "the Philippines' act of rallying countries from outside the region to organise so-called joint patrols escalated security risks in the South China Sea and undermined regional peace and stability." The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Sunday that Filipino military units and their counterparts from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted the second bilateral maritime cooperative exercise in the West Philippine Sea over the weekend. The West Philippine Sea is the portion of the South China Sea that is claimed by the Philippines as part of its maritime claims. In a media statement, Philippines Armed Forces spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the bilateral maritime exercise signifies a major step in defense cooperation under the newly ratified Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Japan. The June 14 maritime cooperative activity was held west of Zambales up to the west-northwest of Occidental Mindoro, within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, Padilla said, according to the Philippine News Agency (PNA). During the bilateral exercises, the Philippine Army deployed the newly commissioned guided missile frigate, BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG-06), and an AW-159 "Wildcat" anti-submarine helicopter. Also sent to participate were a Philippine Air Force C-208 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, along with search-and-rescue units. Meanwhile, the Japanese deployed the guided missile destroyer JS Takanami (DDG-110) and an SH-60K "Seahawk" helicopter, showcasing joint maritime capabilities in various operational scenarios. The spokesperson for the Philippines Armed Forces said that two Chinese military vessels--Luyang III (DDG-161) and Jiangkai II (FFG-579)--were monitored during the Philippine-Japan maritime exercises. "There were no reported incidents or close encounters. Both forces maintained a professional and secure operating environment, reinforcing their abilities to coordinate effectively in dynamic maritime settings," Padilla was cited as saying by the PNA news outlet. She noted that the first bilateral exercise with Japan was conducted on August 2, 2024.
South China Morning Post
16-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Does Philippines have ‘credible' undersea might against China? Drills spotlight capability gaps
The Philippines remains dangerously under-equipped to counter China's growing undersea operations in the South China Sea , analysts warn, as joint anti-submarine drills with Japan spotlight the urgent need for Manila to strengthen its underwater warfare capabilities. The two-day exercises, which began on Saturday, were the first large-scale joint exercises since Japan 's Diet ratified the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with the Philippines earlier this month, following Manila's approval last July, allowing joint deployments between the two countries' forces. Observers say Japan's advanced submarine warfare expertise could play a critical role in helping Manila build a credible ability to detect and deter Beijing's underwater operations in the West Philippine Sea – Manila's term for parts of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone. A member of the Philippine Navy looks out at the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force's destroyer Takanami during a joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea on June 14. Photo: Jiji Press / AFP Maritime security expert Ray Powell said Japan's advanced anti-submarine warfare expertise, now more accessible to Manila through the RAA, could play a critical role in helping the Philippines address its capability gaps. Powell, a retired US Air Force officer, added that as an archipelagic nation facing a persistent and aggressive maritime threat from China, the Philippines must prioritise the development of its undersea domain awareness and response capabilities. 'The documented discovery of Chinese underwater drones collecting bathymetric and acoustic data in Philippine waters demonstrates Beijing's will and capacity to conduct undetected undersea operations, making it imperative for the Philippines to demonstrate a credible deterrent in this domain,' he told This Week in Asia. 'Japan's advanced submarine warfare expertise and maritime surveillance technology, now more accessible as a result of the ratified Reciprocal Access Agreement, can be an important enabler in this regard.'
