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China ‘ rmly’ opposes ‘meddling’ in South China after release of US-PH defense guidelines

by GAEA KATREENA CABICO Philstar.com

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MANILA — China said on Thursday, May 4 it opposes what it called “meddling” in the South China Sea following the release of the bilateral defense guidelines of the Philippines and the United States, which aim to modernize the two countries’ alliance cooperation.

“China firmly opposes any country’s move to meddle in the South China Sea issue to harm China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests by citing the guidelines,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Mao added the South China Sea is a “shared home” for countries in the region, and “not a hunting ground for forces outside the region.”

The guidelines reaffirm

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DOH welcomes WHO decision to lift COVID-19 emergency status

THE Philippine Department of Health (DOH) has welcomed the pronouncement of the World Health Organization that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

WHO made the declaration after the International Health Regulations for Covid-19 met this weekend.

In a statement, the DoH said that the lifting of the PHEIC is an acknowledgment of the effective and collaborative response and the efforts to fully recover and reopen the economy.

The DoH said that it will convene the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATFEID) to "discuss and reassess policies and other guidelines affected by the declaration."

It also said that all factors in determining the country's next action in line with the WHO's proclamation will be considered and discussed for the approval of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (Red Mendoza/ ManilaTimes.net) ident Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday, May 4 said that relations between the Philippines and the U.S. are “back on the normal role of partnership” with the recent “steady exchange of official engagements” at all levels of the government.

In a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Marcos pointed out that these official engagements include his first meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in September last year in New York, which is the first visit of a sitting Philippine president to Washington in over 10 years. “I do not quite know how that developed that way as that has been in the case, but we are back on our normal role of partnership, working together hand in hand,” he said in his speech. During his visit to the U.S., Marcos said Manila and Washington have committed to deepening their ties with each other on various areas of

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