Thursday, May 31, 2012

22 Filipino peacekeepers gave their lives to world peace

MANILA -- Since the Philippines started sending peacekeepers to United Nations missions in 1963, twenty-two Filipinos have given their lives to the cause of world peace. And on International UN Peacekeepers Day, the country paid tribute to those who have died and those who continue to risk life and limb in war-torn places around the world.

At the celebration in the Department of Foreign Affairs Wednesday, Secretary Albert del Rosario particularly remembered two Filipino peacekeepers who were among 112 men and women who “died in the line of duty last year as a result of acts of violence, accidents, and disease.”

They are Joseph Ubaldo of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and Charles Uy of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

At a wreath-laying ceremony at UN headquarters in New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: “Today we honor the 112 fallen heroes who died while serving under the United Nations flag in 2011.”

“They may be soldiers, police or national staff. But there are no differences among them in terms of the risks they faced, the contributions they made, and the pride they took in their service to the United Nations,” the UN chief said.
 
“The difference between an ordinary person and a hero is that the hero voluntarily braves danger to save others,” he added.

Filipina peacekeepers in Arab Spring

Among the most notable Philippine contingents was that led by Army Col. Cornelio Valencia Jr. Together with the UN Disengagement Observers’ Force (UNDOF), his team of 49 officers and 278 enlisted personnel, mostly drawn from the 76th Infantry Battalion in Southern Quezon, faced the Arab Spring protesters. Significantly, this contingent to the male-dominant region had the most number of women. Of the 28 Filipino women peacekeepers, six were officers.

At present, the Philippines has 922 military and police personnel serving as military observers, staff officers, police officers and members of formed contingents in Cote d’Ivoire, Darfur, the Golan Heights, Haiti, Kashmir, Liberia, South Sudan and Timor-Leste, the DFA said.

Other than the contingents to Liberia, Golan Heights, and Haiti, the AFP is also sending observers to the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), and UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast.

“The UN Peacekeepers Day marks a very significant event as the AFP pays homage to the efforts exerted by our peacekeepers who continue to propagate peace in foreign lands. Let this remind us of our commitment to the United Nations leadership as our peace initiatives are not only limited here in the Philippines, but also to the rest of the world,” AFP chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa said.

The Philippines first took part in UN peacekeeping operations in 1963 after President Diosdado Macapagal approved the deployment of 9th Tactical Air Force Squadron to support UN operations in the Congo. Filipino peacekeepers have since then served with the UN in Cambodia, Iraq, Haiti, Afghanistan, Burundi, Kosovo, Georgia, and Nepal.

UN awards

At Wednesday’s ceremonies, del Rosario presented the Gawad Diosdado Macapagal to former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo in recognition of his role in enlarging Philippine participation in UN operations during his stint as chair of the Interagency Council on UN Peace Operations.

Aside from Secretary Romulo, the other recipients of the award were Ambassador Hilario G. Davide, Jr., who was recognized for helping expand the Philippines’ participation in UN peace operations during his term as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York; Army Gen. Jaime de los Santos, former force commander of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, for being the first Filipino to head a UN peacekeeping force; and Police Director Rodolfo Tor, former UN Police Commissioner in Timor-Leste, for being the first Filipino police officer to serve in such a high-ranking position.

Del Rosario also handed the Gawad Diosdado Macapagal to Brig. Gen. Tesero Isleta, AFP (Ret.), who represented the officers and men of the Philippine Air Force’s 9th Tactical Squadron.

Awards were also presented to the family of Staff Sgt. Antonio Batomalaque in recognition of his heroism after becoming the first Filipino to be killed in action while serving in Haiti in 2005 and to the officers and men of the 9thTactical Fighter Squadron of the Philippine Air Force who were the first peacekeepers to be deployed overseas in 1963. The unit was represented by Brig. Gen. Tereso Isleta.  

Global peacekeepers

According to the UN chief, there are 120,000 peacekeepers serving in 17 missions around the world. “So far this year, another 31 peacekeepers have died,” he said.

The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, HervĂ© Ladsous, said peacekeepers help to protect millions of vulnerable civilian from violence. “This is not easy work. We go in order to give hope to people who have been through the horror of war, and who yearn for a chance to rebuild their lives in peace,” the peacekeeping chief said. 


Currently, UN peacekeeping operations receive contributions of military and police personnel from 116 Member States. In addition to the partnerships with individual nations, UN peacekeeping works closely with UN agencies, funds and programmes working on the ground, as well as with regional organizations, such as the African Union. 


The International Day is being marked with events at various peacekeeping missions, including parades and cultural programmes in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Liberia, as well as ceremonies in South Sudan and Lebanon. 

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Military monitors Chinese activities at Panatag Shoal

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine authorities are not discounting the possibility that the continued Chinese presence at the Panatag Shoal could be a prelude to putting up markers or structures to boost China’s claim over the area, sources in the military said Thursday.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because a gag order has been in effect on defense and military officials, who are barred from providing media with updates on the standoff that began April 10 in the shoal standoff.

“We will wake up one day and see markers or small structures already planted inside or outside the lagoon to boost their claim of the maritime area. That’s why we’re closely monitoring their activities. We’ve two ships there but they might not detect all the time the activities of the Chinese especially during night,” a ranking military official said.

As of Wednesday morning, there were seven Chinese maritime surveillance vessels and eight fishing vessels in the shoal. “The seven vessels are merchant ships, the FLEC and CMS that we’re earlier reporting. This plus the fishing vessels, China has a total of 15 vessels at the shoal at present,” another official said. China has sent up to 90 vessels to the shoal in the past weeks.

For its part, the Philippines has deployed only two vessels, one from the Coast Guard and one from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

The standoff started on April 10 when the BRP Gregorio del Pilar was blocked by two Chinese maritime surveillance vessels to prevent it from arresting Chinese fishermen on board 8 fishing vessels who illegally harvested giant clams, corals and different kinds of endangered marine resources in the area.

Since then, China sent more vessels on rotation basis to boost its claim over the shoal which is well within the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. China, however, calls the area Huangyan Island, which is more than 800 nautical miles from its nearest shore.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is expected to give more details about his bilateral meeting with China Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in Cambodia.

Earlier, Gazmin said China is open to dialogue to defuse the tension at the Panatag Shoal.

Panatag now, Recto Bank next?

Meanwhile, a Navy official said China is using Panatag as a test case for its bigger claims in the whole stretch of South China Sea. “If they will be successful at Panatag, then they have all the reasons to claim Recto (Reed) Bank which is their main target.

The reef’s underground has lots of oil,” he said. The reef is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, which also includes the 7 islets and two reefs found inside the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) municipality of Palawan located in the West Philippine Sea.

Besides the Philippines and China, other claimant nations are Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

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| May 31, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines seeks broader influence with Aquino-Obama meet

WASHINGTON D.C. - The Philippines seeks to broaden its influence here as it looks to the United States to expand military and economic assistance to the country when President Aquino calls on President Obama next week.

Philippine Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. revealed the two leaders will hold an afternoon meeting at the White House that will involve the “full gamut” of US-Philippine relations. But he indicated regional security and trade issues are likely to dominate discussions.
President Aquino is scheduled to arrive at Andrews Air Base in Maryland Wednesday (June 6) evening but his first major events will begin the next day.

Cuisia said one highlight of his visit will be the launching of the US-Philippine Society that is jointly chaired by businessman Manny Pangilinan and former State department official and US ambassador to Manila John Negroponte.

Former US Ambassador John Maisto is president of the society.

Other countries have also formed similar groups in Washington DC, primarily to promote their specific interests in the vast US government bureaucracy.
Cuisia revealed the society has invited key US executives, lawmakers and business leaders to join the group.

According to the brochure, the US-Philippine Society aims to “strengthen educational, cultural, tourism and people-to-people ties, with emphasis on educational exchanges.”
But in this town, “education” is usually a euphemism for “lobbying” or trying to influence decision-makers in and outside the US government. The Philippines, for instance, is trying to push the SAVE Act, potentially the first trade agreement in nearly half a century, and greater access to surplus military equipment.

The Aquino-Obama summit is also expected to build on agreements forged during the series of top-level meetings including last month’s 2x2 conference of State Secretary Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta with their Filipino counterparts, and the US-Philippine Strategic Dialogue last January.

Those meetings reiterated US commitment to the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), setting the groundwork for expanded military assistance for the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Cuisia challenged the view the MDT cannot be invoked if the Philippines is attacked in disputed isles like Scarborough Shoal or the Spratly Islands.

He was reacting to a May 15 editorial in the Manila Mail, the longest-running Fil-Am newspaper in the Metro DC region that argued they were not parts of the Philippines when the MDT was ratified 60 years ago and therefore excluded from the reciprocity guaranteed by the military pact.

Cuisia cited a January 1979 letter from then US State Secretary Cyrus Vance that said an attack didn’t have to occur only in Philippine metropolitan or island territories as long as it falls under the definition of “Pacific Area”. A subsequent letter from US Ambassador to the Philippines Thomas Hubbard 2 decades later expanded the definition of “Pacific Area” to the South China Sea.

These, along with other official declarations, bolster the Philippine’s belief that the US would come to its aid if attacked in Scarborough Shoal, the Spratlys or other parts of the South China Sea where the Philippines have legitimate territorial claims, the envoy indicated.

Cuisia told ABS-CBN News the White House meeting was important as the Philippines stakes its place in America’s strategic pivot to the Asia-Pacific region.
Although merely a working visit, the White House encounter has been over 2 years in the making.

This meeting also almost didn’t push through because of President Obama’s tight schedule as he campaigns for a 2nd term.

There are about 3.4 million Filipino Americans according to the 2010 Census, making them the 2nd biggest Asian American group in the US. Although traditionally conservative with a history of backing Republican candidates, over 58 percent of Fil-Ams went for Democratic Barack Obama in 2008.

Philippine officials here have tied a campaign to push absentee voter registration for the next polls back home to urging Fil-Ams to register and vote in the US November elections.
President Aquino does not have scheduled meetings with the Fil-Am community here but will instead meet with them in Los Angeles, California after the June 8 White House meeting, Cuisia said.

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Rodney Jaleco | ABS-CBN North America | May 31, 2012 | Article Link

When Push Comes to Shove, Indonesia Has to Stand By Asean

While Indonesia remains fixated with the Lady Gaga saga, the Philippines is embroiled in more important things: its conflict with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

But such a dispute should be worrisome for Indonesia, too. Not only because both China and the Philippines have close relations with Indonesia. Most importantly, the dispute could undermine the unity of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Indonesia’s own strategic interests.

The goal of Asean when it was formed, to put it bluntly, was to keep the Communists out by improving cooperation among Southeast Asian states and by stimulating mutual economic growth, as it was believed that Communism could expand in poor countries due to its economic appeal to the masses.

But since the end of the Cold War, with the threat from the Communist bloc gone, the goal has subtly changed. Now the aim is to improve relationships among the member nations in order to increase their bargaining power in a more uncertain international environment. Following in the footsteps of the European Union, the Asean nations also believed that operating as one bloc, they could have more influence in international affairs.

Indonesia has a strong interest in strengthening Asean. With Asean strengthened, Indonesia will reap the benefits through an increase in prestige and clout in international affairs, as it is the natural leader of Asean, being the largest and most populous member state.

Thanks to their geostrategic position and combined wealth, Asean nations as a whole have the potential to be an influential power in international affairs.

Not surprisingly, when Indonesia became the chair of Asean last year, most of the key players in the region were in attendance: China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Australia and the United States.

The China-Philippines dispute, however, could threaten the unity of Asean.

The dispute is already escalating, with China holding 12,000 containers of the Philippines’ bananas at its ports, refusing to release them and the Philippines insinuating that it has the United States’ backing.

The Philippines’ move is both understandable and troubling.

It is understandable because the United States is the only power in the region capable of acting as a counterweight to China.

It is true that since 1967 intra-Asean trade has risen drastically. It is true that Asean’s diplomatic strategies have worked in some important cases, most spectacularly in helping to rehabilitate Burma, also known as Myanmar, in the eyes of the international community. It did this through persistent diplomacy, in conjunction with internal developments in Burma itself that allowed the reformers to reap immediate benefits through normalization in its relationship with the United States.

At the same time, however, Asean’s military cooperation remains weak and that is troubling. In times of crisis, apparently the Philippines (and Vietnam) think the United States is far more reliable a partner than the Asean community.

This is not a good indication of the future of Asean, as when push comes to shove, security is the most critical test of a region’s solidarity and unity. Would, in a time of crisis, the Asean community split due to its members’ conflicting interests or would it remain together to create a solution beneficial to everyone?

While Indonesia should maintain good relations with China, the North Asian giant’s own economic and strategic importance means the archipelago must think of the long-term strategic geopolitical situation. This means Indonesia has to stand its ground and assist its fellow Asean members. Indonesia has to actively assume leadership, try to mediate the dispute between China and the Philippines and should the need ultimately arise, be ready to assist the latter.

Otherwise, the unity of Asean will remain in doubt. This does not bode well for Indonesia’s own strategic interests in the region. 

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Yohanes Sulaiman | The Jakarta Globe | May 31, 2012 | Article Link

The parallel universe of China and Corona

In the parallel universe of the Philippines last week, the top news story was that China had increased to 92 the number of its vessels encroaching on the shoal of the Senate impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona who, after delivering a brief 3 hour long opening statement, proceeded to excuse himself from his trial and escape to the Nokia Theater in Hollywood to the set of the American Idol finals where he begged his fellow judges—Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler—to save him the same way they saved Jessica Sanchez several weeks before. It was his only hope.

A parallel universe is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with other realities. In quantum physics, this phenomenon is defined as “universes that are separated from each other by a single quantum event.”

In the rational universe, there is no logical connection between China’s “creeping invasion” of the Scarborough Shoal, located just 124 miles from Masinloc, Zambales—and more than 500 miles from China—and the Senate impeachment trial of Corona who is charged with failing to disclose as much as $12 million in assets in his mandatory Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) annual filings.

Individuals can firmly oppose China’s claims to ownership of the pile of rocks known in China as “Huangyan Island” and still believe that Chief Justice Corona is “innocent” because he was not required to disclose his dollar accounts—and pay taxes on them—in his SALNs as he “in good faith” thought they were covered by the confidential dollar secrecy law.

These are not mutually exclusive positions as one involves foreign policy and sovereignty issues while the other relates to domestic corruption and good governance concerns.
But yet somehow in this alternate reality, the denizens supporting China in the Scarborough Shoal dispute are also actively defending Chief Justice Corona.

This reality’s most well known denizen is “Victor N. Arches II” who penned an op-ed piece in the Manila Standard Today on April 28, 2012 arguing that “the Scarborough Shoal does belong to China which discovered it and drew it in a map as early as 1279 during the Yuan Dynasty.”

The Arches’ piece, which was reprinted in thousands of publications throughout China as proof that “Even Filipino admits Huangyan belongs to China” was also published in some other southeast Asian publications under the name “Victor Qi Shi” which, it turns out, is “knight” in Mandarin.

It turns out this “victorious knight” did not express an opinion on any other matter until May 23 when he emailed his thoughts (“the Kangaroo Court”) on the subject of Corona’s impeachment: “Yes, the Filipino people’s vindictiveness is in full view once again as they prejudge Corona even before the court does similar to how they prejudged Former President Ferdinand Marcos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Arroyo even before the court rendered a “guilty” verdict. Past witch-hunts did not change the condition of the poor in the Philippines though. It just changed the names of public officials in power.”

Another well-known citizen-denizen of this alternate reality is Inquirer columnist Rigoberto Tiglao who criticized Pres. P-Noy Aquino for deploying a used coast guard cutter purchased from the U.S. (a “warship” he called it) to confront the eight Chinese vessels that were poaching in the Scarborough Shoal waters on April 10.

“With this move,” Tiglao wrote, “Mr. Aquino made the Philippines the party militarizing the dispute. The Chinese must be thanking the President for giving them the higher moral ground in this crisis. It gave the hawks in the Chinese leadership all the ammunition they need to demand military action in Panatag.”

If he is not writing columns like “Scarborough fail: How Aquino blew it” excoriating Pres. Aquino for his handling of the shoal dispute, Tiglao is otherwise busy defending Corona. In his May 17 column, “Colossal deception on Corona’s accounts”, Tiglao wrote: “Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales’ allegation that Chief Justice Renato Corona has $12 million in dollar accounts will go down in Philippine history as one of the biggest and most deviously constructed deceptions ever foisted on the public.”

Tiglao disputed the Ombudsman’s testimony that Corona has $12 million in his dollar accounts claiming instead that Corona only has $687,433 in those dollar accounts. 

Unfortunately for Tiglao, Corona admitted at his trial that he has at least $2.5 million in his dollar accounts which he claims he earned by dabbling in dollar trading since he was 16.
Since the dollar estimates don’t connect, what dots connect Tiglao to Chief Justice Corona?

The answer is former Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) who appointed Tiglao as her Press Secretary on April 1, 2002, then as her Chief of Staff on December 9, 2002 and then as her Ambassador to Greece in October of 2005. Corona served as her Chief of Staff before Tiglao, before GMA appointed him to the Supreme Court on April 9, 2002 and then promoted him to Chief Justice on May 17, 2010, less than 1 ½ months before the end of her term in office.

What dots connect GMA to China?

In her June 15, 2011 Malaya column (“China’s intrusions are connected to Gloria Arroyo’s deals”), Ellen Tordesillas wrote: “The current word war between the Philippines and China is another proof of the continuing curse of Gloria Arroyo on the Filipino people. The latest series of diplomatic protests… have its roots in the controversial Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) entered into by the Arroyo government with China in 2005 which allowed China… to explore not only the Philippine-occupied islands in the disputed mineral-rich Spratlys but areas that are clearly Philippine territory.”

According to Barry Wain, a researcher with Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, “JMSU was largely a sellout on the part of the Philippines. The Philippines has made breathtaking concessions in agreeing to the area of study including parts of its own continental shelf not even claimed by China or Vietnam.”

Tordesillas added: “The JMSU was initialed during Gloria Arroyo’s 2004 visit to China which paved the way for the signing of at least two graft-riddled deals : North Rail and national broadband network with ZTE agreements.” These deals, alleged to involve hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks and overpricing, have been linked to former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.

The constitutionality of the JMSU is pending before the Philippine Supreme Court on the ground that because the Constitution provides that “exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State,” the Arroyo government had no right to enter into this JMSU with China.

When the JMSU was being negotiated in 2003, then Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Merceditas Gutierrez—before she was appointed Ombudsman—recommended a change in the wording from “exploration” to “seismic survey” as she was aware of the constitutional prohibition. With just a change in form but not in substance, the JMSU was signed allowing China to explore Philippine waters.

The JMSU study found that Reed Bank, known in the Philippines as Recto Bank, contains about 3.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 440 million barrels of oil. In his 2011 State of the Nation (SONA) address, Pres. Aquino famously warned China: “If you trample on Recto Bank, you are trampling on Recto Avenue”.

If he is not removed by the Philippine Senate this week, then Chief Justice Corona will preside in the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the JMSU and China’s right to encroach into Philippine territory as provided for in the JMSU.

The 92 Chinese vessels in the Panatag Shoal may soon be approaching the Philippine Senate Building in anticipation of the “single quantum event” of the parallel universe—the decision of the Senate Impeachment Court.

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Appointments of AFP chief, 28 other military officers confirmed

MANILA, Philippines–Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa and 28 other newly-promoted Generals/Flag Officers and two Colonels have been confirmed of their promotions by the Commission on Appointments (CA).

Dellosa, who was confirmed of his four-star rank, was confirmed with three-star generals, Lieutenant General Irineo Espino, AFP’s Inspector General, and LtGen Lauro Catalino Dela Cruz, Philippine Air Force (PAF) Commanding General on Wednesday.

Also confirmed of their two-star rank were Major General Raoul  Reyes, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel; MGen Romeo Calizo, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations; MGen Roy Deveraturda, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs; MGen Rey Ardo, Commander of 6th Infantry Division, Philippine Army; MGen Cipriano Gundao, Commander of PAF Air Logistics Command; MGen Joel Ibañez, Commander of Training and Doctrine Command, PA; MGen Romulo Cabantac Jr., AFP’s Chief Engineer; MGen Edgardo Rene Samonte, Commander of the Air Education and Training Command, PAF; MGen Rolando Tenefrancia, AFP Civil Relations Service Commander; MGen Maximo Caro, Chief of Staff, PA; and MGen Caesar Ronnie Ordoyo, Chief of the Intelligence Service, AFP.

The one-star generals confirmed were Brigadier General Herbert Yambing, BGen Oscar  Lopez, BGen Crisologo Nayve, BGen Danilo Servado, BGen Julius Guillermo, Commodore Abraham  Celzo, BGen Manuel Luis Ochotorena, BGen Leonilo Bongcawil, BGen Romeo Taguinod, BGen Emeraldo Magnaye, BGen Virgilio Hernandez, BGen Hernando Iriberri, BGen Ramon Mateo Dizon, BGen Paulita Cruz, and BGen Normado Sta. Ana Jr.

Two colonels from the Philippine Air Force, Colonel Lauro Tianchon and Col Cresenciano Marquez II were also confirmed of their promotions.

Dellosa was promoted to a rank of General in April this year, or less than four months after he assumed post as AFP chief in December 2011.

“Promotions within the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is a constant, dynamic, and vital process within the organization. This is done to ensure that the right key-players are placed in the forefront to maintain the organization’s growth and development,” Dellosa said in a statement.

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Is China Trying to Split ASEAN?

Defense leaders from around Southeast Asia are meeting in Phnom Penh this week for the 6th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM). The theme of the get together – “Enhancing ASEAN Unity for a Harmonized and Secure Community” – smacks of doublespeak: unity and harmony within ASEAN are sorely lacking at the moment, and no-one really thinks the ministerial meeting is going to rediscover them.

In the anarchy of the international arena, a club like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ought to be a reassuring place to be. The organization gives its ten members – small or medium-sized players in geopolitical terms – the opportunity to close ranks when dealing with the greater powers, and to speak with one voice loud enough to be heard in Beijing, Washington and any other place that needs to listen.

Unfortunately, ASEAN doesn’t work like that: individualism swiftly trumps collectivism whenever contentious issues arise.

In particular, ASEAN has a China problem. Ask the ten members about China, and you’ll get a kaleidoscope of opinions about what that country represents. Some ASEAN countries are very much pro-China: their own economic development is tied closely to Beijing’s, and they are comfortable with the political implications of their China connections. Others are cooler on relations with Beijing: they balance a wariness of Chinese influence with the obvious benefits of a healthy trading relationship. And finally, there are those that feel threatened by China and regard themselves as targets (or at least potential targets) of Chinese assertiveness.

Unity on the question of how to handle China has therefore eluded ASEAN. And given the association’s nature, this is unsurprising: neutrality and non-intervention, not unity and collectivism, are ASEAN’s most cherished principles.

Nonetheless, it’s clear that the member states which feel most insecure about China – the Philippines and Vietnam – had hoped for at least some ASEAN solidarity in managing their territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. They didn’t get it. Philippine proposals in 2011 for the creation of an ASEAN-China “Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation” in the South China Sea were hung out to dry by the other ASEAN countries, with only the Vietnamese expressing real support. Most instead backed a bilateral approach to arguments with China: in other words, they said they’d rather not get involved.

As the stand-off between China and the Philippines at Scarborough Shoal – a disputed territory in the South China Sea – comes close to entering its third month, there’s certainly hope that diplomacy might still provide a solution to the complex problem of China-ASEAN tensions. This week’s ADMM could make some headway. More significantly, ASEAN officials last week completed a draft version of a new Code of Conduct governing behavior in the South China Sea; once finalized internally, this will be presented to China for discussion over the summer, though Beijing is presumed to have already had some unofficial input.
However, in ASEAN’s security discussions China has become the elephant in the room. At the ADMM, China is quite literally in the room: Defense Minister General Liang Guanglie is attending the event in Phnom Penh, even though this isn’t a gathering of the ADMM Plus, of which China is an official member. As for the drafting of the new Code of Conduct, there are concerns that the proposed regime will fail to take the all-important step: the setting out of clear rules in disputed zones. China is the constraining factor, with the draftees wary of presenting Beijing with a code that it cannot accept. But equally, drafting a code that fails to get to the heart of the South China Sea’s problems would be to squander a once-in-a-decade opportunity.

There’s no doubt that ASEAN is split on the issue of China and territorial disputes. What is less clear is whether ASEAN’s disunity is simply playing into China’s hands, allowing it to deal with each country individually, or whether Beijing is actively driving a wedge between ASEAN members that oppose China and those that are more sympathetic to the Chinese position.

“Beijing has consistently pursued a strategy to prevent the South China Sea issue [becoming] one between China and ASEAN,” suggests Zhang Baohui, an associate professor at Lingnan University. “It has argued that the any conflict is bilateral. To this end, Beijing has succeeded by using a few Southeast Asian countries to prevent the emergence of a united ASEAN agenda or strategy.” Zhang points to China’s economic leverage over Cambodia and Thailand in particular, and also to the fact that these two countries (and several others within ASEAN) have no direct stake in the South China Sea disputes. Their membership of ASEAN is their only real link to these affairs.

The spotlight has fallen on Cambodia especially: the country is China’s closest regional ally and a major beneficiary of economic aid from Beijing. It’s also the current ASEAN chair, which has given rise to suggestions that China is currently exerting undue influence on ASEAN through Cambodia at what it obviously a sensitive time for China-ASEAN relations.

Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, was moved to declare publicly last month that his country had “not been bought” by China as a means of influencing ASEAN policy. However, even in public it hasn’t been difficult to see how Beijing links the issue of economic assistance with political support for China’s stance. When Hu met Hun Sen at the end of March, Reuters, for example, reported their discussions as follows: “Chinese President Hu Jintao asked close economic ally Cambodia on March 31 not to push talks on the vexed issue of the South China Sea "too fast" as he pledged to double bilateral trade to $5 billion and announced fresh aid to the impoverished country.”

Irrespective of the extent of Beijing’s control over Cambodia, its ability to split ASEAN – whether intentional or coincidental – is undeniable. However, China is also one of the few issues with the power to unite ASEAN. According to Mark Thompson, director of the Southeast Asia Research Centre at the City University of Hong Kong, non-intervention remains central to the ASEAN philosophy, with the result that ASEAN members are naturally in favor of balancing the competing influences of the US and China.

However, in its territorial disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam, China risks overstepping the mark, and violating ASEAN’s core principles. Chinese military action could therefore trigger the very circling of ASEAN wagons that Beijing’s policy has so far successfully prevented. “At the moment I think China has played its cards smartly enough,” says Thompson. “If ASEAN stands for anything, it stands for neutrality. Generally, the principle of the ASEAN Way, of non-interference, is accepted and even believed in, and so if push comes to shove you could see ASEAN rally [against China]. China understands that, and that’s why it has been acting relatively cautiously.”

China’s involvement in ASEAN constrains the group’s behavior, and militates against unity. 

But equally, China’s involvement in ASEAN is a self-constraint: only by treading relatively softly can Beijing continue to handle territorial issues bilaterally, as it prefers, as opposed to having to tackle ASEAN en bloc. So for all the damage that the long-running stand-off at Scarborough Shoal might be inflicting on ASEAN, it is at least encouraging to conclude that military action in the South China Sea is not in Beijing’s playbook. China can only divide and conquer ASEAN politically, not militarily.

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Trefor Moss | The Diplomat | May 30, 2012 | Article Link

6 hurt in Agusan rebel attack

DAVAO CITY -- More than 60 communist rebels attacked a military outpost near mountainous tribal communities in Agusan del Sur province early Wednesday, wounding at least six villagers.

The rebels, belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA) Front Committee 88, raided the outpost, which is under the supervision of the Army’s 26th Infantry Battalion in Km. 41, Barangay Binicalan, San Luis town, Agusan del Sur, around 3 a.m.

One of those wounded is a soldier, while the others are civilians.

Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, spokesman of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)-Mindanao, said most of the victims were militiamen and their relatives working for the military.

Madlos identified one of the injured civilians as the “girl friend” of the detachment commander. 

Two of the wounded civilians were reportedly brought to Patinay Hospital in Agusan del Sur for treatment.

Madlos said the NPA rebels have seized 18 firearms from the detachment during the attack. Seized were three M-14 rifles, 12 Garand rifles, one M-16 Armalite rifle, a Carbine rifle and a .9-mm pistol.

He said the guns will be distributed to the new NPA members who need firearms, citing they are organizing new platoons. 

Madlos added that the rebels attacked because government troops and the militiamen, who included armed minors, have harassed some villagers who have been suspected of providing food and money to the NPA.

Military spokesman Major Eugenio Osias said the rebels were angry because villagers have stopped providing support to the insurgents.

He said details of the attack were sketchy but that initial reports showed three civilians were shot and wounded by the rebels. He added that five militiamen who were at the detachment fought back.

The rebels fled upon sensing the arrival of reinforcement from nearby military detachment, Osias said.

He added the NPA members fired at the military detachment and threw a hand grenade at nearby houses before they fled. 

Osias condemned the communists for including civilians in their resentment against government forces. He said such act is a clear violation of the Comprehensive Agreement of the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

"We understand their sentiments pero sana hindi nila dinamay yung mga taong di naman kasama sa problema nila. Pwede naman sana idaan sa magandang usapan, bakit kailangan pa umabot sa dahas. Sana ma-realize nila na mali ang ginagawa nila (But they should have not included the civilians. I hope they will realize that what they did was wrong)," he said.

According to the NDFP website, the CARHRIHL “is meant to meet the needs arising from the concrete conditions of the Filipino people concerning violations of human rights and the principles of international humanitarian law, and to find principled ways and means of rendering justice to all the victims of such violations.”

The rural-based Marxist rebellion has raged for 43 years, one of Asia's longest.
Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Emmanuel Bautista, meanwhile, said the military plans to gradually eradicate its 60,000-strong militia force once communist and Moro insurgencies in the country ease considerably.

The militias, often poorly paid and ill-trained, have been linked to human rights violations in the past but are crucial to helping the underfunded military secure far-flung villages from insurgents and outlaws.

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Ivy Tejano | SunStar.Com.Ph | May 30, 2012 | Article Link

DND-OPA - Philippine Defense Newsletter - 007 - April 2012 Issue



The Philippine Defense Newsletter's 7th edition - April 2012 issue, released May 25, 2012. This edition features the events of the Philippine Veterans Week, the 70th anniversary of the Fall of Bataan during World War 2 and the centennial of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). Cover is the group photo during the recently concluded 2+2 Senior Ministers Meeting between the Philippines and the United States.

Download here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/95300479/DND-OPA-Philippine-Defense-Newsletter-007-April-2012-Issue

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Army chief: militias dismantled by 2016 as AFP shifts to external security

MANILA, Philippines - Army chief Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista sees the dismantling of all paramilitary forces in the country by 2016 as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) transitions from internal to external security.

Bautista, in a forum at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Wednesday, said they see the dismantling of about 60,000 paramilitary forces within the end of the implementation of the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan, the AFP's program to "win the peace" through combat and non-combat initiatives.

Paramilitary forces consist of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) and the Special Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary (SCAA).

Bautista, replying to queries on the alleged human rights violations committed by paramilitary forces, admitted that these auxiliary forces lacked the same kind of discipline as regular military troops. But paramilitary forces were borne out of "exigencies" and budgetary constraints in the organization, he explained.

"In the future, as we downsize the AFP, first to go are the CAFGUs," Bautista said. Speaking to reporters after the forum, Bautista said he sees the dismantling of these forces "as security condition permits" and improves, adding that one premise if if the "CPP-NPA,NDF abandons the armed struggle."

In the forum, Bautista acknowledged that the AFP should focus on external rather than internal defense. The job of internal defense, he said, should be mainly in the hands of local government units and the Philippine National Police.

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| May 30, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines, China 'to show restraint' over dispute

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - China and the Philippines have agreed to show restraint in their tense standoff over a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, Manila's defense chief said Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said he had held a brief meeting with his Chinese counterpart in the Cambodian capital on Monday during which both sides agreed to tone down the rhetoric and find "a peaceful resolution" to the spat.

"We agreed on three points: to restrain our actions, to restrain our statements so that it does not escalate, and then we continue to open our line of communication until we come up with a peaceful resolution to the case," Gazmin told reporters.

Gazmin made the remarks after attending talks with the defence ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh.

Relations between Beijing and Manila have plunged recently with both sides pressing their conflicting claims to the Scarborough Shoal.

The two countries have had ships posted around the shoal since early April, when Chinese vessels prevented a Philippine Navy ship from arresting Chinese fishermen.
China has also impounded Philippine fruit shipments and warned tourists against visiting the Philippines.

China and several ASEAN nations have rival claims to uninhabited islands in the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in hydrocarbons and straddles strategic shipping lanes vital to global trade.

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, on an official visit to close ally Cambodia, is set to meet with his ASEAN counterparts later on Tuesday for what Phnom Penh called "informal" discussions about the maritime dispute.

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ABS-CBNnews.com | May 30, 2012 | Article Link

Malaysia backs Philippines in dispute vs China

MANILA, Philippines - Malaysia is supporting the Philippines' stand that Manila's dispute with China over ownership of Scarborough shoal should be resolved based on the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Vice President Jejomar Binay said Tuesday.

Binay, in a press statement, said he met with Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak, who aired Kuala Lumpur's support.

Binay said Razak also supports the participation of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members who are claiming parts of the disputed Spratlys to join talks to resolve the Panatag dispute.

"I conveyed to the Prime Minister our government's position on the dispute with China over Panatag Shoal and he supports our position that it should be resolved based on international law," Binay said.

"Both the Philippines and Malaysia agree that there needs to be a legal commitment to enter into a peaceful resolution of the dispute," he added.

Binay was earlier keynote speaker at the Philippines-Malaysia Investment Partnership Forum where he expressed confidence that the two countries "will continue to work together until the issues are satisfactorily resolved in favor of peace and economic cooperation."

Around 35 business leaders belonging to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Employers' Confederation of the Philippines joined him in his visit to Malaysia.
Binay believes that the forum will bring in more investments in key industries of the Philippines and boost interest in Mindanao as an investment destination.

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 ABS-CBNnews.com | May 29,2012 | Article Link

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Researchers find vulnerability in chinese chips used by US Army

A team of researchers from Cambridge University say they have found evidence that a Chinese-manufactured chip used by US armed forces contains a secret access point that could leave it vulnerable to third party tampering.

The researchers tested an unspecified US military chip — used in weapons, nuclear power plants to public transport – and found that a previously unknown ‘backdoor’ access point had been added, making systems and hardware open to attack, the team says.
Cambridge University researcher, Sergei Skorobogatov, explains:
We scanned the silicon chip in an affordable time and found a previously unknown backdoor inserted by the manufacturer. This backdoor has a key, which we were able to extract. If you use this key you can disable the chip or reprogram it at will, even if locked by the user with their own key.

This particular chip is prevalent in many systems from weapons, nuclear power plants to public transport. In other words, this backdoor access could be turned into an advanced Stuxnet weapon to attack potentially millions of systems. The scale and range of possible attacks has huge implications for National Security and public infrastructure.
While the initial research is a concern, a number of question marks remain over the findings before further conclusions can be drawn.

It is unclear if the access point is isolated to the chip that was tested or whether Skorobogatov and his colleagues have stumbled upon a larger trend. Likewise, it remains possible that the modified back door access could have been created by the US armed forces themselves.

The news comes at a time when Chinese cyber-spying threats are a particular concern. Chinese telecom manufacturers ZTE and Huawei are already under investigation from the US government, which is assessing whether the duo’s telecom businesses pose a national security threat.

The Cambridge researchers did not name the company that developed the chip tested, nor did they provide more specific details of its usage. We’ve contacted Skorobogatov for further details and will provide any more information that we’re given.

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Jon Russell | The Next Web | May 28, 2012 | Article Link

PCG ships may leave Panatag in typhoon season

MANILA, Philippines - In an absence of bigger ships, the Philippines runs the risk of losing altogether its territorial hold of Panatag Shoal to the Chinese with the onset of the typhoon season, a senior security official said yesterday.
“This is now the greatest challenge we are facing. We are not only up against a more superior Chinese maritime ships out there but the wrath of nature in the coming months,” the security official, who asked not to be named.
The Philippines and China are locked in a tense territorial row over the rock formation in the part of the West Philippine Sea located 124 nautical miles from Zambales and more than 500 kilometers from China’s island province of Hainan.
China has deployed dozens of ships in the area as against the two Philippine vessels from the coast guard and bureau of fishery.
The official said with the forthcoming typhoon season, the two Philippine vessels would be forced out of the area and to seek shelter in the mainland.
“We don’t like another Panganiban Reef from happening in Panatag Shoal,” the official said, adding that they are now looking and considering measures to maintain the country’s presence in the area all-year round.

While nobody was watching, the Chinese occupied and initially built what it previously called a fishermen’s shelter at Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) 87 nautical miles from mainland Palawan in 1994.

The Chinese would later convert the shoal into a heavily fortified multi-layered military structure complete with advanced communication equipment.

“This is what we are also seeing to happen in Panatag Shoal if we are going to leave the area,” he said.

He said despite the predominance of Chinese ships and their fishing vessels in the Panatag Shoal, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel continue to conduct maritime patrol in the area, specifically inside the lagoon.

Aboard motorized rubber boats, PCG personnel, he said, are constantly monitoring all the activities inside the lagoon with a primary mission to determine what the Chinese are doing in the area.

“Our PCG personnel patrol the lagoon in the morning and in the afternoon, recording all movements and activities of Chinese in the area,” he said.

But he said these patrols would also be shelved once the typhoon season sets in and the absence of the physical presence of Filipinos in the area would give the Chinese vast opportunities to do whatever their planned activities in the area which they are claiming to be theirs.

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Jaime Laude | The Philippine Star | May 29, 2012 | Article Link

Monday, May 28, 2012

US Seabees Begin Partnership Projects

MANILA, Philippines --- Members of the US Navy Seabees and Armed Forces of the Philippines have started the construction of schools and medical facilities in Samar as part of advance work for the launch of the Philippine leg of the Pacific Partnership 2012 (PP12).

PP12 is the largest annual humanitarian and civic assistance mission conducted by the US Pacific Fleet to strengthen international relationships and partners and host nations in Asia and the Pacific.

It is also aimed at enhancing interoperability of regional forces in their ability to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies.

AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. said work began on three of four Engineering Civic Assistance Projects (ENCAP) of the PP12 last May 24 with the arrival of US Navy Seabees and other partners.

The schools and medical facilities to be constructed as part of the PP2 will benefit 20,000 residents of Samar, Burgos said.

The Philippine leg of the PP2 is scheduled to officially kick off on June 18.  It will run until July 1.

Partner nations of PP12 include Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Korea, Chile, Peru, and Netherlands.

Foreign non-government organizations (NGO) like the Project Hope, Oceanit, World Vets, and Vietnam Medical Assistance Program will also join local NGOs in the implementation of engineering civic action programs (ENCAP), medical civic action programs (MEDCAP), dental civic action programs (DENCAP),  veterinary civic action programs (VETCAP), and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) lectures and seminars to Philippines (Samar), Indonesia (North Sulawesi), Vietnam (Vinh), and Cambodia (Sihanoukville).

Burgos said engineers from the AFP, United States Navy, and other partner nations and non-government organizations in the PP12 are already executing the three ENCAP sites in Palanit, Bugtong, and Tambongan ahead of schedule. These are aimed at contributing to the economic and social development of the selected communities.

The ENCAPs will include the construction of a two-classroom school building in Palanit, San Isidro, Northern Samar; renovation of a health center in Bugtong, Tinambacan District, Western Samar; renovation of San Jorge Elementary School in San Jorge Samar; and reconstruction of Tambongan Elementary School in Gandara District, Western Samar.

The Palanit Elementary School has not received any improvement projects in the last six years despite serving primary education to the 3,029 residents of the barangay and adjacent villages. The project will involve the construction of a seven-meter by 16-meter, two-classroom school building that will also serve as a facility for major village functions.

The ENCAPs will also include the major reconstruction of a school building in San Jorge Elementary School that was badly damaged by typhoon in 2011. The project will help the municipality of San Jorge improve the education environment of the school that currently only has 13 classrooms with more than 1,000 students enrolled yearly.

Also, Barangay Tambongan Elementary School has 177 students using only four classrooms and one temporary school building made from bamboo and nipa. The engineering project in the school will construct another seven-meter by 16-meter, two-classroom school building to improve the school’s facility for education.

Meanwhile, the Barangay Bugtong health center serves the 2,069 residents of the village with medical services. The ENCAP will renovate the existing government building by replacing the entire roof structure, repairing walls, constructing a new toilet facility, and installing electrical outlets.

The cities and towns that will benefit include the Catbalogan City and Calbayog City and the towns of Silanga, Gandara, Carayman, Veriato, Malaga, and San Isidro.

AFP Chief of Staff General Jessie D. Dellosa commended the “AFP engineers who committed themselves and joined foreign partners in constructing a brighter future for the youth and improving the quality of life of thousands of residents in Samar.”

“Each time a window of opportunity opens to serve, our soldiers, particularly our engineers, are always a step ahead in making sure that the Filipino people are given the facilities for growth and a better quality of life. For this, we express our gratitude to the partner nations in the Pacific Partnership 2012 for another year of humanitarian, disaster response, community relations, and civic action programs,” said Dellosa.

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Elena Aben | Manila Bulletin | May 28, 2012 | Article Link

Muslim Lawmaker Urges Aquino Gov’t To Hasten AFP Modernization Program

SULU, Philippines --- A Muslim legislator from Sulu province has urged President Benigno S. Aquino III to hasten the implementation of the Philippine military modernization program, and allocate the needed funds to meet the financial requirement of the program – partially or in full in order to address external threat to the country.

In a privilege speech he delivered at the House of Representatives recently, Congressman Habib Tupay Loong (1st District, Sulu) said that “I stand today before this August Body, Mr. Speaker, on matter of personal and collective privilege on the issue of threat to national security, which this country is now facing.”

Loong said that the Aquino administration must now hasten the implementation of the country’s military modernization program to prepare the nation for any foreign encroachment to the Philippine territory.

It is sad to note that this threat to national security does not come alone from internal instability, but also from external forces, which might plunge this country into chaos and destruction, should it happened, he lamented.

“And today, China is threatening us with war as it sent its strong naval force to occupy and claim our territory of Panatag (Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough) shoal in the west Philippine Sea,” he claimed.

Based on reports he received, he said that there were five Chinese government vessels, and 16 Chinese fishing boats, 10 of which were inside the lagoon, while six were outside on May 21.

In addition, he said there were 56 utility boats, 27 of which were inside the lagoon and 29 were outside.

On Tuesday, there were still 16 Chinese fishing vessels and the number of utility boats went up to 76.

Loong added that the nation is now faced with another problem – the problem of imminent danger of external threat to our nation from China in regards to our claim to the Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Loong said he hopes that no untoward incident will result out of this impasse, which may probably bring us into armed confrontation with China, “a confrontation which we surely do not want.”

More so, Loong said “we cannot afford to fight a war in many fronts, a war against the Bangsa Moro rebels and extremists, a war against the Communist New People’s Army, and a war against superpower China.”

As this developed, he urged the national government to sign in the soonest possible time a peace accord with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in order for the military to limit its focus to the country’s external threat.

“With the resolution of our internal problems of rebellion, we should be able to focus on strengthening our military capability through the immediate implementation of the AFP modernization program,” he said.

The move, Loong said, will also show to the world that the Philippines, even if it is a small nation, is willing to face any foreign forces, big or small, to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) had earlier reported that there is an increasing number, and pattern of Chinese government and fishing vessels in the disputed area.

China, on the other hand, has confirmed that it has sent government service ships to the disputed Panatag (Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough) Shoal to provide service and administration of Chinese fishing boats, as well as perform guard, management, and control duties in the area.

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Nonoy Lacson | Manila Bulletin | May 27, 2012 | Article Link

Navy exec says size of Philippine warships shouldn’t matter

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City—The American vessels that the government bought and turned into warships may not have impressed a public awed by modern Chinese ships now guarding the contested Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

But Vice Admiral Alexander Pama, Navy flag officer in command, on Saturday said the vessels’ size and age should not really matter. He said the Navy is upgrading its technology, not in response to the standoff at Scarborough, but as part of a scheduled upgrade that was started several years ago.

Yet improving the Navy’s technology also requires enough time for its personnel to familiarize themselves with modern equipment, he said, after addressing the cadets comprising the Philippine Military Academy’s “Gabay-Laya” Class of 2016.

“Even if I had all the money in the world, I myself will not be getting all the top-of-the-line equipment [immediately] … the reason being there has to be some form of transition. You are used to riding a bicycle or a tricycle and suddenly you buy a Mercedes Benz,” Pama told the Inquirer.

In his speech, Pama said: “The constant challenge we face, as with the rest of the other branches of service, is the urgent need for our capacity-enhancement and capability-building in the face of regional and transnational threats.”

Amid scarcity of resources, he said the government had found ways of securing the cutters BRP Del Pilar PF-15 and BRP Alcaraz PF-16, which would be commissioned in December.

He said the government is also buying frigates and has improved the country’s coast watch systems.

“There has to be a sort of transition for our people to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills and that’s even more important than acquiring anything else,” he said.
When asked, Pama said public impressions were correct about the Navy’s outdated equipment.

He said the shoal standoff had drawn policymakers to the demands of beefing up the country’s fleet.

“Admittedly, the military did not receive proper attention for a while, which is understandable because the government has other priorities,” he said.

The new warships were former US Coast Guard vessels, which were outfitted and sold to the Philippines without their weapon systems.

Pama said these vessels “serve our purpose, the purpose being the size of the ship [enables the Navy] to bring it to patrol areas when before, navigating these seas had been difficult for the older vessels.”

“Just because [these vessels are] X number of years, it does not mean they are useless. They are not,” he said.

“The size of the ships conforms with our operational demands. It’s not that new but then again, it’s an easier step to transition into the necessary skills [for operating modern vessels],” he said. 

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Vincent Cabreza | | May 27, 2012 | Article Link

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