The Philippine coastguard called on its country’s fishing fleets to keep operating around the Scarborough Shoal (known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines and Huangyan Dao in China) despite the large Chinese presence in the disputed South China Sea area.
Coastguard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said while Philippine government vessels can’t maintain a constant presence, they are committed to protecting the country’s fishing rights in what it sees as its Exclusive Economic Zone.
Day: December 13, 2021
Zambia’s Bondholders Want More Info on IMF Deal, Renew Calls For All Creditors to be Treated the Same
Some of Zambia's bondholders are once again expressing impatience with the government's handling of its debt relief talks and they've gone public with their longstanding demands for greater transparency in the process and equal treatment for all creditors. "Inter-creditor equity should ...
Incompetence, Inexperience to Blame For China’s Bad Loans in Global South, More Than Any “Plot to Enslave Poor Countries,” Argues Professor
The prominent expert on Chinese finance, Michael Pettis, is the latest scholar to challenge the popular narrative that China engages in predatory lending abroad. Instead, the Peking University professor attributes the surge of Chinese loans to less developed countries on "inexperience" and "bad lending practices."
Kenya Caught in a Potentially Dangerous Loan Repayment Cycle Due to Its SGR Debts to China
There's growing concern that the depreciating value of the Kenyan currency is tied to the country's mounting debt servicing costs to Chinese creditors. Back in July, the Kenyan Treasury began repaying the loans used to build the Standard Gauge Railway after the China Exim Bank refused the ...
China’s Ambassador to Uganda Tried (Again) to Settle the Entebbe Airport Seizure Controversy
The Chinese and Ugandan governments collaborated in what appears to be an effort to jointly refute last month's Daily Monitor story that falsely claimed the Entebbe Airport would be seized by China as part of a debt default. Ambassador Zhang Lizhong led ...
Two Years Late, Lagosians Want to Know Where’s Their New Chinese-Built Airport Terminal
Work on the new international terminal at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos is almost done. In fact, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) says it's 95% finished. Yet, the new facility is still not open and that has people in Nigeria's largest city asking what is going ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Philippine Fishing Fleets Urged to Maintain Presence at Disputed Shoal as Tensions Build
Chinese Contractors Begin Work on One of the DR Congo’s Most Important Roadways
Chinese contractors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kicked off an upgrade of National Route 1 (RN1), arguably the country's most important highway. It begins in the capital Kinshasa in the far West and snakes 2,000+ kilometers to the southern hub of Lubumbashi. ...
Al Jazeera: UAE Providing Ethiopia Use of Chinese Made Wing-Loong II Drones
Recent gains by Ethiopian government troops in pushing back Tigrayan opposition forces may have been helped by the use of sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey, Iran, and China, according to satellite photos seen by Al Jazeera. The role of the ...
U.S., European News Outlets Fail to Question Pentagon Assertion China Wants to Build Atlantic Base in Africa
The Wall Street Journal's report from December 5th that relayed Pentagon concerns about China's purported ambition to build a navy base on Africa's Atlantic coast in Equatorial Guinea has now spread so far across the media landscape, even to usually discerning publications ...
Ebola Fighters is a Hit With Chinese Viewers
A big-budget drama about Chinese medical teams working in a fictitious West African country during the 2014 Ebola outbreak is a huge hit with viewers in China. The first two episodes of "Ebola Fighters" drew 16 million viewers and was the fourth most-popular drama ...
Don’t Worry Africa… China Isn’t Going to Seize Your Assets, But They’re Also Not Going to Forgive Your Debts
There is a sense of anxiety over Chinese debt in several African countries and beyond. From Zambia to Kenya, Uganda, and now even in the small Balkan country of Montenegro. Repeated assurances from China and borrowing countries that the debt situation is under ...