Tag: Philippines

Chu-SAM would be a great capability for the Philippines to acquire to develop a layer of missile defense around their country:

Japan’s Defense Ministry has denied a report that it is considering selling surface-to-air missiles to the Philippines, even as it acknowledged that Tokyo may soon loosen long-standing restrictions on arms exports. 

Kyodo News, citing anonymous sources, reported Monday that Japan and the Philippines had held informal talks on exporting Japan’s Type 03 medium-range missile. 

The system — also known as Chu-SAM — is capable of intercepting aircraft and cruise missiles. It is deployed to Ishigaki Island at the far end of the Nansei chain, where it is positioned to counter China’s growing military activity near Taiwan and in the East China Sea.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

As long as China remains threatening to its South China Sea neighbors, the U.S. should base anti-ship and aircraft missiles throughout the Philippines:

The United States is discussing the possible deployment of more missile launchers to the Philippines to strengthen deterrence against aggression in the disputed South China Sea and other Asian security hotspots, but no final decision has been reached by both sides, Manila’s ambassador to Washington said Thursday.

The U.S. military delivered a mid-range missile system called the Typhon, a land-based weapon that can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, to the northern Philippines as part of joint combat exercises in April last year. That was followed by the transport by the U.S. military of an anti-ship missile launcher in April this year to the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, just a sea border away from Taiwan.

Beijing strongly protested the installation of the U.S. missile systems, saying they were aimed at containing China’s rise and warning that these would threaten regional stability. China has asked the Philippines to withdraw the missile launchers from its territory, but officials led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had rejected the demand.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I have to wonder what job these two Filipinas were illegally working at in Busan?:

Two Filipinas, who were apprehended after leaving the Seoul metropolitan government’s pilot program for foreign domestic helpers without permission, have returned home, the South Korean justice ministry said Monday.

The workers were forced to leave Thursday following several weeks of unauthorized absence from their jobs, according to the ministry. 

They reportedly did not contest the immigration authority’s notification of deportation and expressed a desire to return home during the investigation.

After their departure, the workers were banned from reentering South Korea for a specified period.

They arrived in South Korea on Aug. 6 as part of a six-month project led by the Seoul city government to assign foreign nannies to households with kids or newborns to help with child care and housework, and began working on Sept. 3 after about a month of training.

They, however, left their quarters on Sept. 15, the second day of a five-day Chuseok holiday. They were supposed to return to work by Sept. 18 but did not.

The Busan immigration office and police found they illegally got jobs in Busan and arrested them at their residences early this month.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Korean companies will be busy in the coming years supporting infrastructure upgrades in the Philippines:

 South Korea signed an agreement Monday to provide US$2 billion in financial assistance to the Philippines to support major infrastructure projects during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the nation, Yoon’s office said. 

The finance ministry signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Manila to offer the assistance through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), the low-rate loan program to support infrastructure projects in developing countries.

Under the agreement, the Seoul government will allocate $905 million worth of EDCF funds for the construction of the first section of the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network, which spans 37.5 kilometers of roads and embankments along Laguna Lake, near Manila. 

Additionally, $1 billion will be allocated for the construction of a 13-km bridge connecting the three central Philippine islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros.

It marks the largest EDCF project with the Southeast Asian nation. Bidding for these projects will be open to South Korean companies.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Asian countries should probably look more to Korea or Japan for economic assistance rather than China. When China gives out economic assistance they try to bury countries into debt traps to get major concessions out them such hosting military bases or cutting ties with China.