The Standard - 2015 August 07 - Friday

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VOL. XXIX NO. 178 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 frIday : auguSt 7, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

I’m Pinoy by birth, choice, Poe declares

A3 Japan offers $2 billion for shelved rail system By Vito Barcelo JAPAN has pledged to the Philippines its biggest official development assistance package worth 240 billion yen (or $2 billion) for the construction of the shelved Northrail project that was once awarded to a Chinese state construction firm. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Japanese ODA package is Next page

us vows to keeP chIna sea oPen WASHINGTON will not tolerate any navigation restrictions in the South China Sea, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday at a regional security meeting dominated by tensions over Beijing’s island building. “Let me be clear: The United States will not accept restrictions on freedom of navigation and overflight, or other lawful uses of the sea. These are intrinsic rights that we all share,” he said according to a transcript of his remarks.

Kerry made his comments at a security meeting hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur. China has sparked alarm by expanding tiny reefs and constructing military posts, steps viewed by

some of its neighbors as violating a regional pledge against provocative actions in the area. The long simmering dispute has flared at the Malaysia meet, attended by members of the 10-nation regional grouping as well as more than a dozen others including China, Japan, South Korea and the US. The US and Southeast Asian nations have called for Beijing to halt both reclamation in the South China Sea and construction on reefs, something Beijing has

staunchly resisted. “I have urged all claimants to make a joint commitment to halt further land reclamation and construction of new facilities or militarization on disputed features,” Kerry told delegates, arguing such a step would “lower tensions”. ASEAN members were at loggerheads Thursday over how hard to press China on its contentious efforts to assert control over the South China Sea, with the issue threatening to fray regional unity.

Bilateral meeting. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario stand together before a bilateral meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 6. AFP

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