Miriam: Chinese not likely to attack PHL over Panatag row

China will not likely use its military might against the Philippines despite its recent warnings over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal issue, Senator Miriam Santiago said.

In an interview over radio dzBB on Sunday, Santiago said the chances of China using its military weapons to attack the Philippines are slim because “that would be completely silly and the Chinese are more intelligent than that.”

Santiago said China may just be trying to make the Philippines "retreat" on the issue as it is aware that an actual attack against Filipinos may trigger an international backlash.

“It will be condemned by the entire world lalo ang European Union dahil masyadong maselan," Santiago said.

"In the United Nations charter alone, violence is already condemned. There is the International Criminal Court, nakalagay na isang malaking krimen ang genocide, ipapatay mo lahat na tao sa ibang bansa o war crimes or crimes against humanity,” Santiago said.

Last Friday, an article posted on the Chinese government portal said China’s armed forces vowed to “fulfill their duty” to safeguard China’s territory in the South China Sea, called by the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea.

“China’s military forces will collaborate closely with related governing bodies, including fishery administration and maritime law enforcement, to jointly ensure the country’s maritime rights and interests,” Chinese defense ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said in Beijing.

The Philippine-China standoff started earlier this April when Philippine military forces spotted Chinese fishing boats off Panatag Shoal.

However, before a Philippine Navy ship could move in to make arrests, two Chinese vessels blocked its path.

China claimed that the Philippine ship harassed the fishing vessels, adding that the area, which they called Huangyan Island, is Chinese territory.

Palace: PHL to continue documenting ‘bullying’

In Malacañang, meanwhile, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Philippine government will continue to document China’s alleged acts of “bullying” in the area.

“We are documenting the various actions taken by the Chinese vessels. This is (in) order to make sure we are able to determine with sufficient evidence the actions taken by Chinese vessels if we need to bring this up to international tribunals or third parties ... so there will be no conflict on evidence,” he said on government-run dzRB radio.

He said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Philippine Coast Guard are going to document all the actions taken by the Chinese vessels.

Increasing presence

Lacierda said the government remains hopeful it can continue dialoguing with its Chinese counterparts.

However, he also said the government is still discussing the possibility of increasing Philippine presence at the area.

“It is important we maintain our presence ... As to whether we will augment our presence there, (it) is still being discussed,” he said.

He said the Palace will defer the matter to the DFA and the Philippine Coast Guard.

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GMA News Online | April 30, 2012 | Article Link

ANALYSIS: Two decades after kicking out US bases, Philippines wants to see more of American military

MANILA - Twenty years after the Philippines voted to remove American bases, it now wants to give US troops more access to its ports and airfields.

Manila's moves to strengthen security ties with its former colonial master coincide with the US foreign policy "pivot" towards Asia to concentrate on, among other things, North Korea's nuclear ambitions and China's military buildup.

China is likely to be high on the agenda at top level US-Philippine security talks on Monday as Washington refocuses its foreign policy on Asia and Manila realises its limits in trying to solve territorial disputes with Beijing alone.

China has maritime spats with several countries in the South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas and crossed by important shipping lanes, and its neighbours fear its growing naval reach in staking claims.

Those disputes are pushing the Philippines to seek closer cooperation with the United States, which in turn has prompted China to warn Washington against getting involved, denouncing last week's US-Philippine military drills as bringing the risk of armed conflict closer.

"I'm sure we need to be diplomatic, but I don't think we should tip-toe around the Chinese on this," said Walter Lohman, director of the Asian Studies Center with the conservative Washington-based Heritage Foundation think tank.

"...There is nothing new about the U.S. exercising with the Philippines. We shouldn't refrain because the Chinese don't like it. In fact, I expect the (Washington meeting) will come up with some agreement on increasing the frequency and variety of exercises, ship visits. Also expect agreement on hardware, joint use of Philippines' training facilities and bases."

The talks also coincide with a potential new source of tension between Washington and Bejing after blind activist Chen Guangcheng was reported late last week to have sought U.S. protection in the Chinese capital after an audacious escape from 19 months under house arrest.

"We enjoy a really close military-to-military relationship with the Philippines and I think certainly coming out of this two plus two, we'll be looking for ways to improve and enhance that relationship," said Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain John Kirby, referring to talks between the defence and foreign secretaries, the highest-level security talks yet between the two sides.

"But it is safe to say that ... our relationship with the Philippines is part and parcel of the larger shift to focus on the Asia-Pacific."

A Philippine general familiar with the discussions to be held in Washington said the United States had a list of airfields in the Philippines that it could use for routine deployment of tankers, fighters and transport planes.

"These are not new bases for the Americans, these are still our facilities," said the general who declined to be identified. "They are only asking us if we can share some of our idle space with them."

Kirby said the United States wanted to continue "a rotational and training" relationship. "We're certainly not looking ... for permanent basing there."

This is nevertheless a sensitive area for Philippine President Benigno Aquino, some of whose political advisers are uncomfortable with an expanding U.S. role.

The U.S. plan to use Philippine airports is not new. At the height of U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the mid-2000s, Manila allowed U.S. military planes to refuel at an airport in northernmost Batanes province, close to Taiwan.

"We don't want them back, they create noise when most of us are already asleep," Budget Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad said of U.S. transport planes landing at night in Basco airport.

Abad is one of Aquino's closest political advisers. Another political adviser told Reuters Aquino would not allow a de facto basing arrangement.

"That's a violation of our constitution," he said.

Philippine foreign and defence officials, however, will use the Washington talks to try to get U.S. backing on its position in the South China Sea, invoking freedom of navigation.

"I think we would want all nations, including the U.S., to make a judgment as to what is happening there (in the South China Sea) and what the implications are to their own security," Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario has said.

A retired Philippine flag officer said Washington, which is shuffling and redeploying its forces around Asia, including in Japan and Australia, wanted to rebuild the "air bridge" between Northeast and Southeast Asia.

"They are trying to plug these holes when they left Clark in 1992," he said, referring to a former U.S. air base in the northern Philippines. "They need airfields more than ports because most of their tactical aircraft are based too far from potential hotspots in Southeast Asia."

Richard Jacobson, of Pacific Strategies and Assessments, cautioned both sides against playing the China card, saying he did not see naval standoffs in the South China Sea as dramatic enough to improve U.S.-Philippines relations.

"It appears more likely that any new strategic partnership will evolve gradually over time," Jacobson told Reuters.

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Manuel Mogato | Reuters/InterAksyon.Com | April 30, 2012 | Article Link

Officers behind costly, botched mission vs MILF to face court martial

MANILA, Phiippines - The Philippine military said Sunday it would put four senior special forces officers on trial over a botched mission against Muslim insurgents that left 19 commandos dead and almost scuppered peace talks.

Military prosecutors found sufficient evidence to warrant the court martial proceedings against a colonel and three lieutenant colonels, the armed forces said in a statement.

"The next step is the arraignment of the accused military personnel in the said case," the military said in a statement, without giving a date.

The four officers are accused of organising a flawed special forces mission to arrest a top Muslim militant in the southern island of Mindanao in October last year.

Investigations by army prosecutors found that half the 41 commandos involved in the operation were unprepared and had been in the area for an unrelated training programme.

The soldiers entered thick jungle terrain controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), triggering heavy fighting that killed 19 soldiers and several rebels.

The attack triggered bloody clashes that displaced 20,000 families in the south and led to the near-collapse of peace talks between the government and the MILF, which has been waging a rebellion since the 1970s.

The rebels accused the military of violating an earlier agreement to stay away from its known camps.

It was later discovered that the military's top general in the region was not told of the operation.

Both sides have since returned to the negotiating table.

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Agence France-Presse | InterAksyon.Com | April 30, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines plays down Chinese military threat

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines sought to play down simmering tensions with China on Sunday, April 29, saying Beijing was unlikely to resort to military action to resolve their maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

President Benigno Aquino dismissed as pure rhetoric recent warnings by Chinese officials of decisive action against the Philippines to reinforce Beijing's claim over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

"We don't think that at this stage they (China) will engage in any military activities," Aquino told reporters.

"And we... have been geared towards de-escalating the situation."

He said both countries stand to lose if armed confrontation erupted over the disputed shoal, a potential Asian flashpoint where vessels from both sides were locked in a two-week stand-off that began on April 8.

China claims all of the South China Sea as a historic part of its territory, even waters close to the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

Aquino said he had issued "overriding instructions" to his military "not to escalate the issue" and dismissed Chinese warnings as "not indicative" of Beijing's "real intentions".

The Scarborough Shoal is only about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the Philippines' main island of Luzon, while the the nearest Chinese land mass is Hainan province 1,200 kilometers to the northwest, according to naval maps.

Tensions began when Chinese maritime vessels blocked the Philippine navy from arresting the crews of eight fishing vessels which had entered the area.

Both sides accused each other of violating maritime laws, and on Saturday the Philippines alleged that a Chinese vessel veered dangerously close to its vessels in the area.

Amid the stalemate, the Philippines said it would seek more military assistance from its ally, the United States, to help it build a "credible defence posture" in securing its sovereignty.

China had earlier warned the Philippines against "internationalising" the issue, and its state media had quoted defence and military officials as saying they were prepared to fight for their territory.

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Agence France-Presse | Rappler.Com | April 29, 2012 | Article Link

Soon-to-arrive Hamilton cutter more capable -- DND

MANILA — Department of National Defense (DND) Spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez said on Thursday the country's newest Hamilton-class cutter, which is expected to arrive before the end of the second quarter, is more capable than its predecessor, the former "USS Hamilton" which is now commissioned and in service as the Philippine Navy's "BRP Gregorio Del Pilar." 

 

"The newest Hamilton-class cutter to enter is the 'USS Dallas.' It would be more capable than its predecessor," Galvez said during the "Talking Points" program over DZRB Radyo ng Bayan at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Bldg. in Quezon City.

The DND spokesperson declined to comment on how capable the new ship would be, but he stressed that it would be good for the naval service in general.

Sources said that USCG Dallas could be coming in the Philippines with all her equipment and armaments, unlike the "BRP Gregorio Del Pilar" which arrived in the country minus her Phalanx close-in weapon systems, 25mm Bushmaster cannons, and sonar systems.

"USS Dallas," the next frigate for the PN, will be indeed more capable in protecting the country's maritime territory from encroachment, the sources added.

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 ZamboTimes.Com | April 27, 2012 | Article Link

DFA breaks overall plan on Scarborough dispute in 3 tracks

MANILA, Philippines—Citing the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) comprehensive “overall plan” on promoting national security, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario has expressed confidence the Philippines could settle peacefully its Scarborough Shoal dispute with China, as well as other West Philippine Sea-, or South China Sea-related issues.

Del Rosario noted “the Chinese are now in violation of the (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Declaration on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea when they are preventing us from enforcing our laws in our Exclusive Economic Zone.”

Briefing reporters before he left for an official trip to the United States last weekend, the DFA head said they had “broken up (the) overall plan into diplomatic or political, legal and defense tracks.”

For the political track, he said the country would continue to push for the transformation of the West Philippine Sea into a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation (ZOPFFC).

Del Rosario reiterated that under the ZOPFFC, Manila would observe a rules-based approach to all disputes in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

For the legal track, the DFA plans to continue coordinating with other concerned government agencies as it resorts to a dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.

“There are five of them and we’re assessing which one is best for us, one that will serve our purpose well,” he noted.

For the defense track, Del Rosario said the foreign office had committed to improve national defense by building a minimum credible defense posture to protect the country’s territorial sovereignty.

“We need this to complement our diplomatic capacity,” he emphasized.

Given the country’s lack of resources, he earlier said “it behooves us to proactively seek the assistance and cooperation of our various international partners (like the United States) to achieve this minimum credible defense posture, which is a fundamental attribute of any sovereign country.”

This year, the Philippines will be receiving about $144.66 million in defense assistance from the US, he disclosed.

Aside from the delivery of a second Hamilton-class Coast Guard cutter, “negotiations are likewise underway for more defense articles, including newer air assets for the Philippine Air Force. We also successfully secured funding in the amount of $53 million for radar systems to be used by the Coast Watch Council for enhanced maritime domain awareness,” he told a recent media forum.

According to Del Rosario, Manila is also updating its defense partnership with Washington under the two allies’ Mutual Defense Treaty, citing changes in the regional and global security environment.

He emphasized “our focal point for cooperation is to increase our capacity for territorial defense and maritime security.”

Last weekend, Del Rosario also said, “We’re in the process of being part of the drafting of the Code of Conduct (of parties in the South China Sea).”

He said, however, that “we ran on a little problem on that because the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Cambodia) appears to take that China should be invited early so that it could be part of selecting the major elements that could go to the COC in the part of the drafting committee.”

“So we’re saying that is in violation of the position that the centrality of Asean should be maintained. We think that the exercise of the major elements to be included in the COC, as well as the drafting of it should be internal among Asean (member-states). And once that’s done then, we can invite China,” asserted Del Rosario.

The West Philippine Sea remains a core national interest for the country, and “diplomatically, we are working to ensure that what is ours is ours,” he said, adding a rules-based approach would be the “only legitimate and viable way of addressing disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

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Jerry E. Esplanada | Philippine Daily Inquirer | April 29, 2012 | Article Link

Filipino fishers returning to Scarborough Shoal—AFP

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino fishers have returned to the disputed waters of the Panatag Shoal (also known as Scarborough Shoal), with six of their boats now sharing the fishing grounds with six Chinese vessels, under the careful watch of Philippine and Chinese maritime ships there who remain locked in a standoff.

On the 20th day of the impasse between China and the Philippines over the shoal west of Zambales province, the leader of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Northern Luzon command said six Filipino fishing boats were back in the area, anchored in the lagoon.

It was the first time the Philippine military reported the presence of Filipino fishers in the area since the tensions began and following reports that they had been scared off by the Chinese.

But the AFP North Luzon commander, Lieutenant General Anthony Alcantara, played down the return of the Filipino fishers, saying they had the right to fish in the Panatag waters from the beginning.

“We never banned our fisher folks from fishing there. These are our natural fishing grounds. We’ve been fishing there for a long time,” Alcantara said in an interview over dzBB radio.

He also stressed that other Filipino fishers should not hesitate to pursue their livelihood in the contested waters. “Our Coast Guard is ready to help and protect the interests of our fishermen in that area,” he said.

Alcantara described the situation at Panatag, internationally known as Scarborough Shoal, as “very stable” at present.

“No unusual incident has been reported to us,” he said, adding that the Philippine Coast Guard boat, the BRP Pampanga, or the SARV-003, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel, the MCS3001, were still in the waters.

“Two Chinese surveillance ships, one is number 71, the other is undetermined, are also still there. One of them is located three nautical miles, south of the entrance of the shoal, while the other is 12 nautical miles east of (SARV) 003,” he said.

China’s biggest and most advanced maritime surveillance ship deployed in the area, the FLEC 310, also called Yuzheng 310, has not been sighted.

It was the FLEC 310 that reportedly speedily brushed past the Filipino ships on Saturday morning in what Philippine officials described as an act of harassment.

“It is assumed (the FLEC 310) is somewhere else beyond our Coast Guard’s visual contact. 

That’s the situation. We are continually monitoring the situation,” Alcantara said.

Asked to comment on the Saturday incident, Alcantara refused, saying he never received a report from the Coast Guard on the subject.

“What we can say at Nolcom, our Armed Forces is prepared to help our Coast Guard assert our claims on Scarborough Shoal. We believe it is ours and we have to assert our sovereignty in this place,” he said.

“What’s clear is it’s part of our Exclusive Economic Zone, according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas. That’s very clear,” he said.

Alcantara said all the units of the AFP, the Coast Guard, the Maritime Group of the Philippine National Police, and other concerned agencies each had their roles to protect Philippine interests in the area.

“We are helping each other out, all of us. We are on the same boat,” he said.

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 DJ Yap | Philippine Daily Inquirer | April 29, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines urged to hit China with trade tariffs; overseas Filipinos set May 11 rallies

MANILA, Philippines—Hit them where it hurts.”

Balikbayan (returning Filipino) philanthropist, civil leader and lawyer Loida Nicolas-Lewis has called on the government to “show courage” by hitting back at China for “bullying” small countries like the Philippines and violating the country’s territorial sovereignty.

Lewis also reminded Filipinos worldwide, including an undisclosed number of Chinese-Filipinos, to rally in front of China’s embassies and consulates on May 11 to protest China’s aggressive encroachments on Scarborough Shoal, located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales province and more than 440 nautical miles from the nearest Chinese port of Hainan.

“China is a bully…She must be hit with moves like trade tariff. Let the Philippine Congress show its courage by passing a law that would impose tariff on all Chinese goods,” Lewis told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Saturday.

That is, despite the free trade agreement between Beijing and Association of Southeast Nations member-states, like the Philippines, asserted Lewis, chairperson of the New York-based group US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG).

“If China files a case against us before the World Trade Organization for violation of the free trade agreement, then we could pursue our plan to bring the Scarborough Shoal case to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (based in Hamburg, Germany),” Lewis said.

Citing China’s reported incursions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), she asked: “What kind of world power are they if they are the one violating international laws?”

China should be good global citizen

“As a world power, China should show that it is a good global citizen. It should follow international laws, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” said Lewis.

Asked if the US had a role to play in settling the Philippines-China standoff over the shoal – now on its 20th day – Lewis pointed out Washington’s role would be to “comply with its obligations under the Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty.”

“The Americans are obligated to come to our aid if China attacks the Philippines…. The US will come to our aid because it is to their self-interest to protect freedom of trade in the West Philippine Sea. If they do not fight with us in the event of a shooting war, then the global community will consider them a second-rate nation,” she said.

At the same time, Lewis cited the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for its diplomatic offensive in Asean and currently in the US.

“The DFA is on the right track, doing it diplomatically. That is the correct way of solving the dispute at this point,” said Lewis as he thanked both President Aquino and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario for “standing their ground on the Scarborough Shoal issue.”

Call on Filipinos abroad

Like Rodel Rodis, USP4GG president, Lewis called on the 12 million-plus Filipinos abroad to support the Philippines’ sovereign claim to the Scarborough Shoal, which Manila calls Panatag and Bajo de Masinloc.

On the other hand, China refers to the rock formation as Huangyan Island.

The USP4GG noted that the territorial dispute over the shoal has escalated following these developments:

* Chinese navy ships recently confronted the Philippine navy vessel, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which sought to apprehend Chinese boats illegally fishing in the area and found to contain corals, rare fish and live baby sharks, which are considered illegal under Philippine law.

* Chinese navy ships have fired on and harassed unarmed Philippine fishing boats and marine research vessels, forcing them to withdraw.

* Chinese navy ships have dropped steel posts and navigation buoys with Chinese markings in the waters around the shoal.

On Saturday, a Chinese vessel reportedly harassed two Philippine Coast Guard ships by maneuvering close to them at high speed.

The Coast Guard monitored and documented the Chinese “bullying” incidents, said Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesman.

Gov’t backing

Malacañang over the weekend said it backed the move of Filipino groups worldwide to hold anti-China rallies, but asked them to ensure peaceful activities.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government could “not stop our fellowmen from expressing their sentiments.”

“Our only appeal is for them to make their protests orderly and peaceful since they are in foreign countries. Let us all observe the laws and regulations in whatever country that they are in,” Valte said as she also warned the mass actions could aggravate the current tensions between Manila and Beijing.

She said the government would be “committed to taking the diplomatic track. We expect to pursue that track fully.”

“But, of course, these are private citizens that we have. The citizens of China also do express their thoughts on this matter and we do not take it against them,” she also said.

At the same time, Valte expressed hope China would not retaliate to the Filipinos’ mass actions “because the government remains committed to talking to its counterparts in China, and we hope and we know that this is something that can be settled through the track that the government has chosen.”

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Jerry E. Esplanada | Philippine Daily Inquirer | April 29, 2012 | Article Link

Two rebels, soldier killed in Philippine clashes

Two communist rebels and a soldier have been killed in separate clashes as insurgents stepped up their attacks in the Philippines, military officials said Sunday.

New People's Army (NPA) rebels ambushed a group of soldiers in a remote village in Compostela Valley province in the southern island of Mindanao late Saturday, local infantry battalion chief Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Borja said.

One soldier was blown apart while seven of his colleagues were wounded in a landmine placed by the rebels in the ambush area, he said.

"The use of landmine by the NPA is another violation on the provisions of the international human rights law," Borja said.

Meanwhile, NPA rebels also attacked a column of soldiers on routine patrol in Quezon province just south of the capital Manila early Sunday, triggering a gun battle, army spokesman Major Harold Cabunoc said.

Two guerrillas were killed in the "running gun battle that ensued," he said.

In both cases, officials said the soldiers were responding to complaints by civilians of rebel harassments, including extortion activities.

The NPA is the armed unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging one of Asia's longest running insurgencies that began in 1969.

Last week, the guerrillas killed 11 soldiers and a civilian in a daring ambush of three army convoys led by a senior military official.

One of those killed in what was described as the NPA's most audacious attack in recent years was an army captain, but the apparent target -- a battalion commander -- survived the ambush.

The government last year boasted it had decimated the NPA ranks in many remote areas, putting its strength to about 4,000 fighters nationwide as of 2011 from a peak of 26,000 in the 1980s.

Peace talks between the government and the rebels were suspended in November, when Manila rejected demands to free 18 guerrillas the NPA said were consultants to its negotiators.

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AFP News/Yahoo News Online | April 29, 2012 |  Article Link

Philippines to ‘stand ground’ in Scarborough Shoal

MANILA, Philippines – Five Philippine vessels– the BRP Edsa, a Coast Guard search-and-rescue ship; MCS 3008, a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-owned vessel; and three fishing boats – will remain posted at Scarborough Shoal, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday.

“We will continue to stand up and hold our ground,” the DFA said in a statement, a day after a large China ship allegedly harassed two small Philippine vessels at Scarborough Shoal.

China still has 10 vessels in the area – three maritime surveillance ships and seven fishing boats.

Aside from the FLEC 310 and CMS 71, “there is one unidentified (Chinese ship) that is positioned 10.9 nautical miles away from the BRP Edsa,” according to Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesperson.

As of 8 a.m. Sunday, Hernandez said there were also seven Chinese fishing boats “inside the lagoon” of  Scarborough Shoal, which Manila calls Panatag and Bajo de Masinloc. China refers to the shoal, located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales province, as Huangyan Island.

The FLEC 310, touted as China’s most modern maritime surveillance ship, was the same vessel that reportedly harassed the BRP Edsa and the BRP Pampanga, another Coast Guard search-and-rescue ship, the other day.

Hernandez said the DFA would “bring this incident to the attention of the Chinese authorities.”

In a statement Saturday, the foreign office said the “speeding” FLEC 310 approached the two Philippine vessels at around 20 knots and then veered away, generating a two-meter wave.

Hernandez said a report from the Coast Guard commander, Vice Admiral Edmund Tan, put the time of the “bullying” at around 9 a.m. Saturday, as the BRP Edsa was relieving the BRP Pampanga.

No damage was inflicted on the two ships, which did not react to the bullying by the Chinese vessel, he added.

The INQUIRER tried but failed to reach the Chinese Embassy in Makati City for comment on the incident.

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Jerry Esplanada | Philippine Daily Inquirer | April 29, 2012 | Article Link

US-based group urges UN to initiate multilateral talks for peaceful end to Panatag standoff

MANILA, Philippines – A Washington-based Filipino organization urged on Saturday the United Nations (UN) to initiate a convention of Southeast Asian Nations for multilateral talks to resolve peacefully the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal standoff between the Philippines and China.

The Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), in an e-mail to the Philippines News Agency, said “the UN can offer its good offices for mediation and conciliation among competing claims to avoid aggressive escalation leading to armed confrontation.”

In the wake of the maritime dispute between China and the Philippines at the Scarborough Shoal, the MHC said "it is best to ask the United Nations to initiate a convention of Southeast Asian countries for a multilateral talks to peacefully and diplomatically resolve the political impasse on the shoal" which is part of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

At the same time, Arnedo Valera, one of three co-executive directors of MHC, suggested that to avert any military conflict arising from the Scarborough standoff, the Philippine government, through President Benigno S. Aquino III, spearhead “the creation of the SREDC (Spratly Resources Economic Development Commission) and also ask the United Nations for mediation or arbitration on this matter."

Valera said that “the creation of SREDC can be an effective mechanism to manage whatever potential resources in the area that will be discovered and shared in a communal way by the competing claimants. Any political posturing should not result in a zero-sum game to a particular claimant country."

Valera, a UN Representative on Migration, Global Peace and Security under the auspices of FSUN (Foundation for the Support of the United Nations), said that “a multilateral talks with claimant countries is the most appropriate thing to do.”

"Everyone must work for a peaceful resolution at the Spratly islands that is economically beneficial to all claimants. The ultimate goal must be stability in the region. The Spratly is like a hallway in Southeast Asia and all competing claims be resolved in a multilateral talks initiated by the UN," Valera added.

The MHC, a non-profit organization, provides services to immigrants in the United States.

The Spratly chain of islands is claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

“The Spratlys could not be claimed solely by one Southeast Asian country because historically and naturally it has been used and occupied by various countries,” MHC noted.

"The Asian region does not need any instability at this time. Peaceful resolutions are still the best way to avert any untoward war or brewing armed confrontation among and between claimants," said Grace Valera-Jaramillo, a co-executive director of MHC.

Another MHC co-director, Jesse Gatchalian, said that “the Philippines must articulate an independent foreign policy consistent with its constitution and in line with the treaties it signed as a non-aligned nation.”

MHC, however, said that any intrusion within the boundaries of the Philippines should be denounced in the international community as a hostile act and an act of aggression against a sovereign, independent nation and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

The Spratly group of islands is said to have potentially 213 billion barrels of oil beneath its seabed, making the region oil-rich, second to Saudi Arabia.

“Any discovery of the existence of the rich underwater oil fields and hydrocarbon resources in the area should benefit all the claimants and the region. This is the time for China and the Philippines to take the high moral ground and resolve this never-ending historical claims peacefully and diplomatically,” the MHC press statement said. 

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Philippine News Agency | InterAksyon.Com | April 29, 2012 | Article Link

Don't rely on US alone, push ASEAN, use global fora: Miriam's tack on standoff with China

MANILA,  Philippines – The Philippines should not expect too much from the ongoing 2 Plus 2 talks between Filipino and American officials in Washington and should push more aggressively its ASEAN counterparts into taking a common stand in facing China, while continuing to assert its rights in every possible international forum, Sen. Miriam Santiago said Sunday.

Santiago, a known expert on constitutional and international law, said in a radio interview that it seems more realistic to assume that China’s real intention in constantly expanding its presence and showing strength in the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal and other areas in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone is not really to grab outright or claim these as part of its territory, but “to beat other nations,” particularly  those in the ASEAN, in exploiting the huge natural resources believed stored in those seas.

The problem, she said, is that “we small nations” don’t have the capability to exploit the natural wealth as quickly as China plans to.

While China repeatedly claims the whole South China Sea by invoking “history” and rejects Manila’s initiative to bring the Scarborough issue to grievance forums provided under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China is also afraid of being treated like a pariah by the international community if it makes a naked grab for territory. This is why it combines a creeping occupation of islets and other assets of other countries with diplomatic moves and manifestations of goodwill in other areas, such as aid cooperation, she explained. 

China had started out by simply calling as “fishermen shelters” in 1995 the structures being built on Mischief Reef when Manila denounced this. Since then, per DFA and defense records, it had built structures that looked more like fortresses than plain shelters.

Don’t pin hopes on US alone, tap ASEAN, assert rights

The US, with which the Philippines has an over 60-year old Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), has in recent months been seen by some Philippine officials as a military crutch in case China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea escalates. In fact, Malacanang officials had said the current standoff over fishing rights at Panatag Shoal, off Zambales province, will very likely be part of the “2 Plus 2” talks between Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and their US counterparts: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense chief Leon Panetta.

However, “the US also owes China big time. We must never forget that,” Santiago told radio DZBB in an interview, and noted the vague response of US officials to questions in past weeks on what America will do if China’s aggression against the Philippines escalates.

While the US remains a strong ally, Santiago said Manila should keep reaching out---as President Aquino and DFA’s del Rosario have done---to its ASEAN co-members who stand to be most affected by the apparent design of China’s overarching need to have access to resources, especially marine life and energy. “We must keep telling them [ASEAN friends] today, China is doing this to us, tomorrow, it will be you.”

Besides Manila, it is only Vietnam so far that is known to have backed the initiative to have a common, strong stand among the 10 members of the regional bloc, in order to blunt Beijing’s design to  push with bilateral talks that weaken the leverage further of the smaller countries.

Besides the Philippines and Vietnam, two other ASEAN members (Malaysia and Brunei) claim in whole or in part the Spratly island chain. China and Taiwan are the two other claimants.

Meanwhile, Manila would do well to keep asserting its rights in other international forums, said Santiago, who has been chosen for the International Court of Justice, but is expected to assume her seat next year.

For a start, she said, the treaty-ratifying Senate could adopt a resolution affirming the Philippines’ sovereignty over Panatag Shoal, and ask the DFA to convey this to China. It is important to keep asserting one’s rights at every turn, she stressed.

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InterAksyon.com | April 29, 2012 | Article Link

Chinese ship 'bullies' Philippine Coast Guard vessels - DFA

China's FLEC 310 ship, its fastest and biggest ship currently in Scarborough Shoal, made a high-speed pass at two Philippine Coast Guard vessels on Saturday morning, the Department of Foreign Affairs said, in an incident characterized by DFA officials as 'bullying'.

The DFA said the Chinese ship made a dangerously close, high-speed pass at the BRP Pampanga and BRP Edsa as the Philippine vessels were turning over patrol duties in the area. The high-speed pass created a two-meter wave that buffeted the two ships, the DFA's report said.

The Philippine Coast Guard did not react to the incident, it added. Nobody was harmed, and neither of the ships were damaged.

But the incident again underscored growing tensions in the Scarborough Shoal. The DFA said the Chinese ship's actions posed a danger and were violative of international regulations designed to prevent ship collisions at sea.

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News5 | InterAksyon.Com | April 28, 2012 | Article Link

UN approves Philippine territorial claim to Benham Rise

Benham Rise belongs to the Philippines.

The United Nations has approved the Philippines’ territorial claim to Benham Rise, an undersea landmass in the Pacific Ocean potentially rich in mineral and natural gas deposits, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said.

“We own Benham Rise now,” Paje said in a media interview. “This is for future Filipinos,” he added, noting that the 13-million-hectare area off the coast of Aurora province has been shown to have rich mineral deposits.

Paje said the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) sent the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) a letter last week informing the agency that the landmass is part of the country’s continental shelf and territory.

Benham Rise, a seismically active region facing Luzon’s eastern seaboard, is rising slowly to the surface of the Pacific Ocean, Paje said. Perhaps, in a million years—a blink in the planet’s geological time—it will be habitable, he said.

Larger than Luzon

The plateau is a massive formation of basalt, a common volcanic rock, and is within coordinates 119°30’E to 132°00’E and 12°10’N to 20°30’N latitude.

Paje said Benham Rise, named after an American surveyor, is larger in area than Luzon. It has been shown to have natural gas deposits and manganese nodules, vital in the production of steel, he added.

Despite Benham’s proximity to the Philippines and its location within the country’s exclusive economic zone, the government did not claim it until 2008. Then, the next year, the government submitted a formal claim to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The Philippine submission noted that the country reserves the right to submit further claims in the area.

The Philippines is the sole claimant of Benham Rise. The country is currently embroiled in territorial disputes over several islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

China and the Philippines are feuding over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, 220 kilometers (124 nautical miles) west of Zambales province.

The Philippines and some of its Southeast Asian neighbors are also disputing with China and Taiwan ownership of parts of Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.

The Spratlys are believed to be sitting on vast deposits of minerals and natural gas, in an area spanned by sea lanes vital to global trade.

IN THE KNOW

BENHAM RISE is a 13-million-hectare undersea region that lies east of Luzon and off the provinces of Isabela and Aurora.

Also known as Benham Plateau, it is a massive formation of basalt, a common volcanic rock, and is described in a study as a thickened portion of the Philippine sea plate’s oceanic crust.

The formation lies within the continental shelf of the Philippines as defined by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), under which a coastal state’s exclusive economic zone extends 370 kilometers (200 nautical miles) from its continental shelf, while its extended continental shelf extends for another 278 km (150 nautical miles).

Benham Rise is not subject to any maritime boundary disputes and claims.

Studies conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have indicated large deposits of methane in solid form in the area.

In August last year, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje announced that the Philippines will gain additional territory should the United Nations approve the country’s claim to Benham, which the country submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in New York on April 8, 2009.

According to Paje, an American geologist, Andrew Benham, discovered the area, which was between 40 meters and 2,000 meters below the waterline, in 1933. Paje said gas deposits in the area would enable the country to achieve energy sufficiency. 

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Kristine L. Alave | Philippine Daily Inquirer | April 28, 2012 | Article Link

U.S.-Philippine Leaders to Discuss Alliance Future

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2012 – American and Philippine officials will discuss the state of the alliance between the two nations during an April 30 meeting at the State Department, DOD officials said here today.   Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta will meet with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario and Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin. It is the first time this “two-plus-two” type of meeting will occur between the two allies. In conjunction with the meeting, Panetta will hold a joint service honor cordon to welcome Gazmin to the Pentagon. The Philippines are a terrific partner in that part of the world,” said Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby. “We do enjoy a rotational presence in and around the Philippines. We’ve just wrapped up … the 18th annual Balikatan exercise. We enjoy a really close military-to-military relationship with the Philippines.” The United States military wants to work with the Philippine military to improve an already good relationship, Kirby said. The U.S. relationship with the Philippines is “part and parcel” of the larger U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, he said. “We also want to continue a rotational and training relationship with the Philippines,” Kirby said. “We are certainly not looking … for permanent basing there.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Garamone | American Forces Press Service | US Department of Defense |  April 27, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines: War Games with U.S Boost Defense

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines said war games with the U.S. that ended April 27 had showcased its resolve to fend off external aggressors amid an escalating territorial dispute with China.

Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin also said the 12 days of exercises, which included more than 6,000 soldiers, had firmed up a 1951 mutual defense treaty between the longtime allies.

“This training activity ... demonstrates our unequivocal resolve to support each other against the threats of external aggression and the enemies of freedom and liberty,” Gazmin said in a statement.

The exercises were held amid the backdrop of a dispute between the Philippines and China over a shoal in the South China Sea, with both nations stationing vessels there for nearly three weeks to assert their sovereignty.

The Philippines and the U.S. had repeatedly emphasized the war games were not connected to the Scarborough Shoal issue, as they were an annual exercise planned well before the latest flare-up in tensions.

Nevertheless, the Philippines also sought to use the war games to highlight its military alliance with the U.S. amid warnings and threats from China over the South China Sea dispute.

One of China’s ruling Communist Party newspapers ran an editorial calling for a small-scale war with the Philippines to end the standoff, and its military on April 26 vowed to defend the country’s territory.

“China’s armed forces bear the responsibility for the task of defending the nation’s territorial sovereignty,” China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted defense ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng as saying.

China claims all of the South China Sea as a historic part of its territory, even waters close to the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, and hundreds of miles from its own landmass.

The Philippines says Scarborough Shoal is its territory because it falls well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as recognized by international law.

The Philippines has called for arbitration through the United Nations to end the dispute, but China has refused.

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Agence France-Presse | April 27, 2012 | Article Link

5 die in clash near mining site

KORONADAL CITY -- A soldier and four communist rebels were killed in a firefight in a remote village near the mining development site of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines Inc. in this city, an official said. 

Lieutenant Colonel Alexis Noel C. Bravo, commander of the 27th Infantry Battalion, said the attack happened last Wednesday, when an estimated 40 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) stormed a military detachment in Barangay Bacungan, Columbio, resulting in the firefight that lasted for about 45 minutes.

Bravo did not identify the dead soldier who is from this city and holds a rank of private first class.

He said pursuit operations continue Friday against the NPA rebels at the boundary of Columbio, Sultan Kudarat and Magsaysay, Davao del Sur.

The rebels, posing as mining workers, attacked the detachment on board a hijacked forward truck, the military official said.

A militiaman, identified as Dionato Obias, was lightly wounded in the firefight.

The NPA rebels left the bodies of their two dead comrades, Bravo said, adding that residents reported to the military that the communist rebels brought along two more bodies.

The withdrawing rebels allegedly abducted five residents in nearby Barangay San Miguel in Magsaysay town to serve as human shields, Bravo said, adding they also took away a horse to carry a wounded member.

He identified the alleged abducted residents as Vicente Bunal, Jolly Paimalan, Elmer Entes, Rhyan Banua and Pablo Butaya.

Bravo said the troops recovered from the encounter site an M-14 rifle, a USAS 12-gauge shotgun, a fragmentation grenade, assorted ammunitions and 20 backpacks.

Colonel Glorioso Miranda, 1002nd Brigade commander, said the attack Wednesday "was aimed at intimidating the civilians who are supportive of the presence of 27th IB peace and development teams in their barangay." 

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Bong S. Sarmiento | SunStar.Com.Ph | April 27, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines to ask US for excess military hardware

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines will ask the United States for excess military hardware in the “2 plus 2″ meeting in Washington DC next week, an defense official said Friday.

“We will ask from the US some excess defense articles and the systems that were removed from the Hamilton class that arrived earlier,” Defense Undersecretary Honorio Escueta told reporters in an ambush interview after the closing ceremonies of the Balikatan exercises.

Escueta was referring to the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the Navy’s first Hamilton class vessel acquired last year through the Excess Defense Articles program.

Among what the equipment taken off from BRP del Pilar when it was turned over to the Philippine Navy were sensors, communications and electronic equipment and close-in weapon systems.

Manila would also ask for long range patrol aircrafts and radar systems, Escueta said.

A second Hamilton ship from the US Coast Guard will arrive in the country within the year.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario will meet with their US counterparts, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and State Secretary Hilary Clinton, next week to discuss “defense, security, political and economic concerns.”

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Frances Mangosing | INQUIRER.net | April 27, 2012 | Article Link

Usual ‘thank-yous’ marked end of Balikatan 2012

MANILA, Philippines – After 10 days of military drills, civic action, humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HA/DR) work involving US and Philippine troops that drew warnings from China of possible armed confrontation, the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) 2012 close Friday at Tejeros Hall in Camp Aguinaldo.

The 28th Balikatan, and the third HA/DR focused joint  exercise featured Civil-Military Operations activities, including the Engineering Civic Action Program (ENCAP) where engineers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and United States Armed Forces constructed five school buildings in Palawan.

The beneficiaries of ENCAP were Tagbarungis Elementary School and Inagawan National High School in Brgy Tagbarungis, Kandis III Elementary School in Brgy Sta Bacungan, Sta Cruz Elementary School in Brgy Sta Cruz, and Buena Vista Elementary School in Brgy Buena Vista all in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

Other community relations activities were also held including the Futbol Clinic with the Philippine Azkals in Camp Aguinaldo, Basketball rehab and hoops with the Philippine Air Force in Clark Airfield, Futbol Clinic with PAF in Zambales Halfway House, Futbol Clinic in Fort Magsaysay Parade Ground, Carpentry/Masonry Training in Fort Magsaysay, Student Tour in Clark Airfield, and Army/Navy Sports Challenge in Subic Bay Athletic Complex.

A Senior Leaders’ Seminar (SLS) on HA/DR was held that focused on experiential exchanges to further improve operations, procedures, and policies on emergency disaster response. 

The seminar involved participants from Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea.

The Balikatan also featured amphibious exercises in Palawan that simulated an actual port and base recovery exercise. It involved about a hundred  joint US and Philippine troops aboard the BRP Laguna that later released 12 rubber boats about four to five miles off the shore of Ulugan Bay.

A series of free medical, dental and veterinary services were held in Palawan that started on April 9 to 27 as part of the Civic Action Programs. Included also in the activities were medical trainings for rural health workers, a medical symposium, and a combat lifesaver course.

Soldiers from both countries also paid tribute to the fallen heroes of World War II in a wreath laying ceremony attended by 7th Infantry Division Commander Brigadier General Alan Luga and US Army Pacific Command Deputy Commander Major General Roger Matthews at Pangatian Shrine in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija

Among those who attended the closing ceremony were AFP Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa; US Exercise Director Lt. Gen. Duane Thiessen; Philippine Exercise Director Rear Admiral Victor Emmanuel Martir; and US Ambassador to Manila Harry Thomas. 

Representatives from the Senate and House, Department of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Corps, National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, and other government agencies.

“I am truly grateful of the success of the Balikatan 2012. The Table Top and Field Training Exercises have opened up new avenues and widen the horizon for new opportunities for international participation and partnership in ensuring regional security and stability,” Dellosa said.

“As the curtain closes down on this year’s Balikatan, I would like to express my gratitude to the American soldiers and foreign partners who gave their valuable time to share their experiences, best practices, and different approaches in dealing with various types of situations and security challenges that the country might confront in the future,” he added.

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Frances Mangosing | INQUIRER.net | April 27, 2012 | Article Link