Beijing accuses Tokyo over patrol planes for Philippines

BEIJING: Beijing on Thursday accused Tokyo of interfering in the South China Sea after Manila said it would lease five Japanese military planes to patrol areas it claims in the heavily disputed waters.

Beijing claims almost all of the strategically vital South China Sea, and is embroiled in a separate row with Tokyo over disputed islands in the East China Sea that has seen relations between the Asian powers sour badly in recent years.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Wednesday that Manila would lease five TC-90 training aircraft from Japan to “help our navy patrol our territory”, pointing out the disputed area in particular.

MILF forms task force to fight off recruitment for ISIS

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said it has formed a task force to counter the recruitment activities being conducted in the name of the Islamic State in Central Mindanao and nearby areas.

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, said the formation of the task force came in the wake of confirmed reports that some personalities, claiming to have links with IS, have been convincing people in such areas as Cotabato, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur to support and join their cause for the establishment of the Islamic caliphate.

“The recruitment activities as well the video of their training that came out were authentic,” Iqbal said.

Philippines Congress proposes retail bond to fund military modernisation

Congress on Monday asked the Philippine government to study a proposal to issue a P150 billion ($3.2 billion) retail bond to fund a long-term military modernization plan to secure its strategic reserves in the South China Sea.

Arnel Ty, deputy minority leader at the lower house of Congress, said Congress will ask the Treasury to consider a bond issue to enable Filipinos to save and at the same time help secure the Philippines’ maritime borders against China’s rapid expansion in the South China Sea.

China lands 1st civilian plane on disputed islands, sparks neighbors' military fears

A test flight by a civilian plane landed on an island in the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. It’s the first time the country has done so in the disputed Spratly Islands. Tensions are now high with neighboring Vietnam and the Philippines.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the weekend the test flight of a non-military aircraft was intended to check if the runway meets civilian aviation standards and fell “completely within China's sovereignty,” according to Reuters.