Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
READ: Japan, PH, US to keep peace, stability – envoy
JAPAN, the Philippines and the United States have become "trusting partners" working closely to preserve peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese Ambassador to Manila Koshikawa Kazuhiko said on Monday during the 81st commemoration of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) at the Mount Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan. Also at the event were President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Cabinet secretaries, senators, Bataan Gov. Jose Garcia, US embassy officials, and World War 2 Filipino veterans. Japan and the US were bitter enemies during that war, with Philippine troops fighting alongside American soldiers. Japan has since become one of the US' closest allies in Asia. Koshikawa voiced hope that relations between the three countries achieve "greater heights," as he noted Marcos' earlier remarks that Japan is "a most reliable partner in times of crises and of prosperity."
READ: China rehearses 'sealing off' Taiwan, US deploys destroyer
China simulated "sealing off" Taiwan during a third day of wargames around the self-ruled island on Monday, as the United States deployed a naval destroyer into Beijing-claimed waters in a show of force. China launched the exercises in response to Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen last week meeting US House speaker Kevin McCarthy, an encounter it had warned would provoke a furious response. After two days of exercises that included simulating targeted strikes on Taiwan and encirclement of the island, the Chinese military said the wargames also included "sealing" it off. One of China's two aircraft carriers also "participated in today's exercise," the military said. The United States, which had repeatedly called for China to show restraint, on Monday sent the guided-missile destroyer the USS Milius through contested parts of the South China Sea.
READ: Marcos rules out offensive actions from new EDCA sites
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday made it clear his government will not launch any offensive action against China after he granted the United States access to four more Philippine bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). Marcos was reacting to the recent pronouncement of Beijing that the new EDCA sites would trigger more tension in the region since two of the sites are situated near Taiwan and the other near the South China Sea. China has been holding military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait to protest the meeting of Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the US last week.
READ: Biggest Balikatan kicks off April 11
THE 38th edition of Balikatan, an annual joint military exercise between Philippine and American forces, comes off the wraps today, April 11. Balikatan, which is a Tagalog term meaning "shoulder-to-shoulder" or "sharing the load together," is designed to improve interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US Armed Forces' Indo-Pacific Command in the areas of maritime security, amphibious operations, urban and aviation operations, cyber defense, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness. This year's exercise, which will run from April 11 to 28, is the biggest so far, involving 12,200 US and 5,400 Philippine troops. Last year's Balikatan had 9,000 participants. For the first time, at least 11 Australian servicemen, dozens of foreign military observers, including from seven Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-countries, will be involved in the exercise.
READ: Covid positivity rate up in Metro Manila
THE Covid-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) has gone up in the past seven days, independent research group OCTA reported on Monday. OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said positivity rate — the percentage of tests with positive results against the number of tests done — in Metro Manila rose to 6.5 percent on April 8 from 4.4 percent on April 1. The positivity rates in several areas across the country also registered above 5 percent increases, David said.
BUSINESS: PH officials to deliver 'message of optimism'
Topping business, economic managers will be in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to make the case for investing in the Philippines. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told the reporters late on Sunday that the briefing will cover the latest developments and the Marcos administration's socioeconomic agenda. Diokno, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla will be the main presenters. The briefing will take place on the sidelines of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund annual spring meetings in Washington, D.C.
SPORTS: Filipinas seek spot in Olympic qualifiers 2nd round
In sports, the Philippine women's national football team seeks to enter the second round of the AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament when it faces Hong Kong at the Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan today, April 11. Game time is 7 p.m. (Manila time). For the Filipinas to claim the top seed of Group E and advance to the second round of the qualifiers of the 2024 Paris Games, they only need a draw against Hong Kong. The group leader Philippines and the second seed Hong Kong each have six points on 2-0 win-loss cards, but the former boasts a superior goal difference (GD) of +12 compared to the latter's +5 at press time. Thus, a tie would have the two countries end up with seven points but the Filipinas would clinch the top seed and the berth to the second round of the qualifiers due to superior goal difference. A loss, however, would keep the Filipinas from claiming a second round berth as Hong Kong would clinch it instead. In that event, the Philippines would drop to second place with six points on a 2-1 slate and Hong Kong would rise to the top with nine points on a 3-0 record. Only the top seed teams in each of the seven groups in the qualifiers would advance to the second round.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras asks "forever servitude or forever Philippines", Makabenta thinks about the Philippines being a "plastic-spewing superpower", while Mercado talks about the real job of the Army.
Today's editorial discusses giving children a head start in life. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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For The Manila Times, this is Kim Luden Salinas reporting.