Not much this quarter, but what is here is interesting.
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The Manila Times
8 April 1924
The staff of the Marina de Filipina faces a dilemma: the "D-1" class destroyers
Solitario and
Avestruz were refit just prior to the "D-9" disaster; while the rest of the "D-1"s are being scrapped, these two ships are like-new, and the staff cannot decide what to do with them.
In addition, our battleships are getting old, and the 'Coast Defense Ships' to be built next year will be nothing more than stop-gaps. The MdF desires to purchase a newer battleship, but as one anyomous naval officer said, "Dreadnoughts do not grow on trees"...
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The Manila Times
15 April 1924
Malaria Season is now upon us. Dr. Watson of the Filipino Health Service reminds us that malaria is not caused by bad air, and is not contagious, but is rather spread by the mosquito. He advises all Filipinos to take steps to avoid exposure to malarial mosquitoes...
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The Manila Envelope
21 April 1924
Has it escaped the notice of our "Government" that we are at the mercy of the Dutch when it comes to our oil supply? That's right, 99.2% of the petroleum products used in these islands originates in the Netherlands East Indies. Handy for shipment; dangerous if we ever make the Dutch angry! Meanwhile, the Russians have a glut of oil - so much they don't know what to do with it all. Am I the only one who sees the oppertunity we are missing?...
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The Manila Times
29 April 1924
Ever since the Filipino delegate to the League of Nations annouced our support of India's mandate at As Salif, the Muslim populations of the Philippines have been unsettled. Yesterday on Mindanao two youths were arrested after throwing petrol-filled bottles at a passing Army truck...
(OOC: what were Molotov cocktails called before Molotov?)
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The Manila Evening Times
3 May 1924
The Filipino Naval Staff believes they may have found an answer to the Battleship Problem, and perhaps the Destroyer Problem as well.
The government of Atlantis has a number of ex-Austrian ships that were interned as war reparations at the end of the Great War, including the battleships
Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand and
Radetzky, and it is rumoured that they are now looking to dispose of them. While not the most modern of ships, the
Radetskys are newer than our
Manilas, and the Foreign Office has sent an inquiry to Cleito as to if any of these ships might be available.
As for the destroyers, the atrocious seakeeping of the
Solitario and
Avestruz would not be a problem in the placid Mediterranian, and a number of navies there might be willing to take them off our hands...
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The Manila Times
18 May 1924
The sailors of the Marina de Filipina are quite enthused with the 13.7mm machine guns fitted to the ex-Italian ships delivered a few months back, and it is expected that this caliber will become the standard of the Filipino armed services.
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The Manila Evening Times
12 June 1924
There was a small riot this afternoon in the Old Town section of Manila. Details are lacking but it appears to be another demonstration against our support of India at As Salif.
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The Manila Evening Times
28 June 1924
This paper has learned that a report circulating in the upper echelons of the Marina de Filipina states that the Spratly Islands, currently officially unoccupied by man or beast, might be one of the sources of the pirate activity that has plagued the South China Sea over the past five years...