Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr today said the presence of a Russian submarine in the nation’s waters is “very concerning,” as its military vowed to continue safeguarding its maritime sovereignty.
“Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ [exclusive economic zone], of our baselines is very worrisome,” Marcos told reporters.
Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines / AFP
The country’s military said a Russian submarine, identified as UFA 490, was sighted 80 nautical miles (148km) west of Occidental Mindoro Province in the western Philippines on Thursday last week.
The Philippine Navy immediately deployed assets to monitor the situation, and a warship established radio communications with the submarine, the military said in a statement.
“The Russian vessel stated it was awaiting improved weather conditions before proceeding to Vladivostok,” it said.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer first reported on the sighting earlier today, citing unidentified sources.
The military said it would continue to protect the country’s sovereignty, adding that its “operations remain consistent with international maritime laws.”
The sighting of a Russian submarine comes against the backdrop of lingering tensions between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea.
The Russian submarine was spotted on the same day that the Philippine Coast Guard received video footage and images that it said “captured the harassment of Filipino fishing vessels” by a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy helicopter in a disputed reef.
The Marcos administration has been pushing back against China’s sweeping claims over the waterway, and the US last month said its forces are supporting their Philippine military allies in their operations in the South China Sea.
Incumbent Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa on Sunday claimed a runaway victory in the nation’s presidential election, after voters endorsed the young leader’s “iron fist” approach to rampant cartel violence. With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, the National Election Council said Noboa had an unassailable 12-point lead over his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez. Official results showed Noboa with 56 percent of the vote, against Gonzalez’s 44 percent — a far bigger winning margin than expected after a virtual tie in the first round. Speaking to jubilant supporters in his hometown of Olon, the 37-year-old president claimed a “historic victory.” “A huge hug
Two Belgian teenagers on Tuesday were charged with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser-known species. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate that they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal. In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis
A judge in Bangladesh issued an arrest warrant for the British member of parliament and former British economic secretary to the treasury Tulip Siddiq, who is a niece of former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in August last year in a mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule. The Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission has been investigating allegations against Siddiq that she and her family members, including Hasina, illegally received land in a state-owned township project near Dhaka, the capital. Senior Special Judge of Dhaka Metropolitan Zakir Hossain passed the order on Sunday, after considering charges in three separate cases filed
APPORTIONING BLAME: The US president said that there were ‘millions of people dead because of three people’ — Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy US President Donald Trump on Monday resumed his attempts to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for Russia’s invasion, falsely accusing him of responsibility for “millions” of deaths. Trump — who had a blazing public row in the Oval Office with Zelenskiy six weeks ago — said the Ukranian shared the blame with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the February 2022 invasion, and then-US president Joe Biden. Trump told reporters that there were “millions of people dead because of three people.” “Let’s say Putin No. 1, but let’s say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, No. 2, and
RSS