BANGKOK: China sanctioned a former Filipino lawmaker Tuesday over perceived “anti-China” positions, including his authorship of bills that marked out the Philippines’ territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.
Francis Tolentino, who has just finished serving his term as majority leader of the Philippine Senate, is prohibited from entering China as well as the territories of Hong Kong and Macao, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“For some time, some anti-China politicians in the Philippines have adopted a series of malicious words and deeds on issues related to China for their own selfish interests, which have harmed China’s interests and undermined China-Philippines relations,” said the statement. “The Chinese government is determined to defend its national sovereignty, security and development interests.”
In a statement on X Tuesday, Tolentino said he will “continue to fight — for what rightfully belongs to our nation,” adding the sanction was a badge of honor and that no foreign power could silence him.
Tolentino authored two bills which marked out the Philippines’ claims in the South China Sea. The two laws, called the Philippine Maritime Zones act, and a second one called the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes act, were signed into law last November. The laws reaffirmed the extent of the country’s maritime territories in the South China Sea and right to resources from these areas.
The laws drew quick condemnation and dismissal of their legitimacy from China, which claims virtually all of the South China Sea.
“Any objections from China must be met with unwavering defense of our sovereign rights and adherence to lawful arbitration outcomes,” said Tolentino at the time.
Tolentino also accused China of planning to interfere in the mid-term elections in May in the Philippines, and had launched an investigation into alleged Chinese espionage when he was still a senator.
The Philippines and China have been engaged in verbal and physical clashes over their claims in the offshore region.
Confrontations between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces in the disputed sea have become increasingly common in the past two years, with the Philippine side publicizing videos of Chinese boats firing water cannons.
China sanctions former Filipino lawmaker who defended Philippines’ South China Sea claims
https://arab.news/8bajq
China sanctions former Filipino lawmaker who defended Philippines’ South China Sea claims
- In a statement on X, Tolentino said he will “continue to fight for what rightfully belongs to our nation” adding the sanction was a badge of honor and that no foreign power could silence him
European leaders expected to cement support for Ukraine amid Washington pressure to accept deal
- After Sunday’s talks in Berlin between U.S. envoys and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian and European officials are set to continue a series of meetings
BERLIN: European leaders are expected to cement support for Ukraine Monday as it faces Washington’s pressure to swiftly accept a U.S.-brokered peace deal.
After Sunday’s talks in Berlin between U.S. envoys and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian and European officials are set to continue a series of meetings in an effort to secure the continent’s peace and security in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia.
Zelenskyy sat down Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the German federal chancellery in the hopes of bringing the nearly four-year war to a close.
Washington has tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces.
Zelenskyy on Sunday voiced readiness to drop his country’s bid to join NATO if the U.S. and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar to those offered to NATO members. But Ukraine continued to reject the U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia.
Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the part of the Donetsk region still under its control among the key conditions for peace.
The Russian president also has cast Ukraine’s bid to join NATO as a major threat to Moscow’s security and a reason for launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine renounce the bid for alliance membership as part of any prospective peace settlement.
Zelenskyy emphasized that any Western security assurances would need to be legally binding and supported by the U.S. Congress.
‘Pax Americana’ is over
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has spearheaded European efforts to support Ukraine alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said Saturday that “the decades of the ‘Pax Americana’ are largely over for us in Europe and for us in Germany as well.”
He warned that Putin’s aim is “a fundamental change to the borders in Europe, the restoration of the old Soviet Union within its borders.”
“If Ukraine falls, he won’t stop,” Merz warned during a party conference in Munich.
Macron, meanwhile, vowed Sunday on social platform X that “France is, and will remain, at Ukraine’s side to build a robust and lasting peace — one that can guarantee Ukraine’s security and sovereignty, and that of Europe, over the long term.”
Putin has denied plans to attack any European allies.
