Philippines’ Duterte refuses to stop S China Sea patrols
AFP, MANILA
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said that he would not withdraw navy and coast guard boats patrolling the South China Sea, insisting that the country’s sovereignty over the waters is not negotiable.
Tensions over the sea have spiked as Beijing refuses to pull out vessels from the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and Manila steps up maritime patrols.
China claims almost all of the waters of the South China Sea, where it has established military outposts on artificial islands. Taiwan has virtually identical claims.
Duterte is under growing domestic pressure to take a harder line, but has been reluctant to confront China over the issue as he fosters closer ties with the economic giant.
Cagayan Valley spearheads first Smarter City Belt Project in PH
Share on email
The regional office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Region II recently unveiled the first “Smarter City Belt Project” in the Philippines to spur economic growth in Cagayan Valley.
DOST Region II director Sancho Mabborang during the project’s virtual launch
The participating LGUs in the Smarter City Belt Project in Region II is composed of Cauayan City in Isabela the first smarter city in the region together with three other chartered cities in the region, namely: Tuguegarao City in Cagayan, Santiago City, and Ilagan City in Isabela, and emerging growth centers in the towns of Bayombong and Solano in Nueva Vizcaya, Maddela, Cabarroguis and Diffun in Quirino, Lallo, and Sta. Ana in Cagayan, and Basco in Batanes Islands.