Philippines seeks more US navy ships amid China threat

The Philippines wants to acquire two more navy ships from the United States to boost its maritime protection amid threats from China, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Emmanuel Bautista said Wednesday.

The new acquisitions would come under the fresh US military assistance announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry when he visited the Philippines last month, Bautista said.

“Within the last year, we realised that there is a real threat out there in terms of securing, defending our territory,” Bautista told ANC television.

He said that ideally the country needed about six more frigates to guard its long coastline effectively.

“In fact, we are bidding now for two frigates, hopefully we will be able to acquire them in (a) couple of years,” Bautista said.

He said he has made “maritime domain awareness” and protection a key concern of his leadership.

The funds used to boost maritime defense, he said, would come from the $40 million military assistance pledged by Kerry in December.

The Philippines has already acquired two refurbished American frigates in the past two years, and they now lead patrols in the West Philippine Sea.

Article Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Thomas: US remains firm in commitment to defense treaty, re-pivot to Asia

MANILA, Philippines – United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. on Wednesday said that amid countries’ territorial disputes over areas in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the US would remain firm to its commitment under its Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) ties with the Philippines, and its plan to reposition its military forces in the Asia Pacific region.

“Rising tensions is in no one’s interest but, as Secretary Hillary Clinton has stated, we are a Pacific nation, the United States, we stand by our Mutual Defense Treaty,” Thomas said.

Speaking at the at a Makati Business Club’s (MBC) general membership meeting on the topic The Significance of the Philippines – United States Alliance in a Volatile Pacific Region, Thomas said: “We have made a re-balance or re-pivot to ASIA on all sides and that will continue.”

Thomas, in his speech and in interviews with reporters at the sidelines of the meet, reiterated the United States’ position of having peaceful resolutions to the disputes in accordance with international law.

He added that the West Philippine Sea issue was something that the US worked out on a daily business with concerned Philippine government officials, but that they called on all nation states to “sit and decide on things at the negotiating table.”

“We don’t want to further escalate tensions; we want peaceful resolution of tensions but we want all countries to live up to their agreements and that is why we support the Code of Conduct between China and Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). We think this is a better way to resolve this,” Thomas said.

Tensions in the West Philippine Sea, internationally known as South China Sea, have been rising in the recent months, with countries’ contesting their claims over the area, and China deploying its ships around the Scarborough Shoal.

Apart from China, the Philippines, Brunei Malaysia and Vietnam, and Taiwan claim parts of the sea.

Manila has been pushing for diplomatic, legal and political solution to the dispute, which began when maritime authorities caught Chinese fishermen reportedly poaching in the disputed waters.

China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the West Philippine Sea, which is believed to sit atop vast amounts of oil and gas, is one of the region’s most important fishing grounds, and is home to shipping lanes that are vital to global trade.

Asked about the specifics of the US plan to rebuild its forces in Asia in relation to assistance to the Philippines, Thomas said that they were looking for a “balance” in the relationship, not only focusing on military plans but also beefing up efforts for humanitarian assistance, disaster mitigation efforts and economic investment.

He, however, said that in terms of equipment, they we’re bringing the second cutter, the Dallas, to the Philippines, in about six to eight months. He said that Filipino sailors were already training on manning the ship.

Thomas also said that he would be heading to Puerto Princesa, Palawan Thursday to donate the last of the six ships the US had been providing to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to help the agency capture smugglers.

He said that the White House would also be sending a team to the country next week to meet Filipino officials and engage sectors in efforts to combat human trafficking.

He said he was also pleased that members of other Asean were also stepping up to assist the Philippines militarily across a broad range especially in disaster and humanitarian assistance.

“We have poured last year $4 million to help cities train to prevent and mitigate flood. We’ll put more money in next year for disaster relief because clearly climate change has already been the ring of fire.  We have US AID and the defense department working on Philippine organizations on recommendations on these assistance,” he said.

He also noted how the US had more peace corps volunteers in the Philippines than any country in the world, and that there were over 200 peace corps volunteers in the country.

Thomas stressed how the Philippines should particularly work on its economic investments and initiatives and step up to not lag behind other ASEAN nations, saying that of the $150 billion investment in ASEAN, $100 billion was in Singapore.

“How do you attract that $100 billion that Singapore has to the Philippines that is not up to us, that is up to you to design,” Thomas said.

He noted how the Philippines ranked eight or ninth economically among ASEAN countries but that he believed that the Philippines could be number one.

Thomas said that they were working on getting American businessmen to look favorably on Southeast Asian nations, but that Southeast Asian nations-based business should open up and be more transparent economic societies.

Thomas said that with his experience in the Philippines, he believed that the country needed to work on transparency in court system and bureaucracy, speed of decision making, and predictability.

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Fat Reyes | INQURER.net | August 30, 2012 | Article Link

US Senate approves resolution honoring mutual defense obligations with Philippines

MANILA – On the eve of the three-day official working visit to Washington of President Benigno S. Aquino III, the United States Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution calling for increased defense and security cooperation with the Philippines.

The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. said Senate Resolution 481, sponsored by Senator Richard Lugar (Republican, Indiana) was approved unanimously by the chamber, adding that Washington was fully committed to honoring its mutual obligations with Manila.

The resolution, which was co-sponsored by Senators John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts); James Inhofe (Republican, Oklahoma); Jim Webb (Democrat, Virginia); Kelly Ayotte (Democrat, New Hampshire); Tad Cochran (Republican, Mississippi); and Daniel Inouye (Democrat, Hawaii), also called on Manila and Washington to continue high-level consultations.

In a statement released by his office, Lugar said:  “The United States–Philippines relationship represents shared sacrifice in defense of freedom. While historically we have worked well together on multiple fronts, it is necessary that the two countries discern new ways to expand trade, account for their mutual defense and promote stability throughout the region.”

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia Jr. welcomed the adoption of the resolution, which Senator Lugar introduced in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States.  The Treaty, which was signed on August 30, 1951, requires both nations to support each other if an external party attacked either.

“This is a very positive development that further underscores the importance the United States places on its alliance with the Philippines,” Cuisia said. “The Filipino people greatly appreciate this gesture by our friends in the United States Senate.”

Cuisia said the resolution calls for increased cooperation and enhanced bilateral security ties between the two countries, including support for Philippine defense modernization, the rotational presence of US forces and increased humanitarian and disaster relief preparedness activities.

It also urged Washington to continue its efforts to assist Manila in the areas of maritime security, maritime domain awareness, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and related communications infrastructure to enable enhanced information sharing and overall military professionalism.

The resolution mentioned the support the US government extended to the Philippines, particularly the recent turnover to the Philippine Navy of two decommissioned US Coast Guard cutters; the assistance provided by US forces in recent calamities in the country; and the conduct of more military exercises and other joint training activities with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The resolution also cited the April 30 meetings where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reaffirmed to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin that Washington remains “fully committed to honoring mutual obligations with the Philippines and that the alliance continues to serve as a pillar of the Philippines-US relationship and a source of stability in the region.”

The resolution also underscored the shared interest of the two countries “in maintaining freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce and transit of people across the seas and subscribe to a rules-based approach in resolving competing claims in maritime areas through peaceful, collaborative, multilateral and diplomatic processes within the framework of international law.”

“The Senate confirms the alliance’s centrality and enduring value as one of the key pillars of peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and as a key tool in addressing the emerging security environment in the region,” the resolution read.

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Eric B. Apolonio | InterAksyon.com | June 8, 2012 | Article Link

Aquino secures US pledge for Philippine defense upgrade

WASHINGTON - The United States pledged Thursday to help the Philippines step up its defenses in the face of a rising China as it welcomes President Benigno Aquino III, seen by US officials as a promising partner.

President Barack Obama will meet Friday at the White House with Aquino, who has raised the profile of the Philippines in Washington through his pledges to tackle corruption and to boost the military relationship with the United States.

Top US military officer General Martin Dempsey, who met Aquino on Monday in Manila, said that he spoke about expanding cooperation with the former US colony beyond recent efforts focused on fighting Islamic insurgents.

The Philippines "has been inward-focused on its internal terrorism and insurgent issues for some time - for decades really - and so have a very limited capability to project power or to influence activities around it," said Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"We think that they need some of that, particularly in maritime security," Dempsey told reporters in Washington.

The United States has already been helping to upgrade the notoriously antiquated Philippine military and Aquino has agreed to let a greater number of US troops rotate - but not set up bases - in the archipelago.

The cooperation comes as the Philippines sees particularly tense relations with China, which has butted heads with a number of its neighbors in recent years over territorial disputes in strategic waters.

Friction escalated in April when Chinese and Philippine vessels approached the Scarborough Shoal, which lies near the main Philippine island of Luzon. Manila says the rock formation falls within its exclusive economic zone, but China claims the shoal along with nearly all of the South China Sea.

Dempsey said he spoke with Aquino about the need to "ensure freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea.

Dempsey said that he and Aquino did not discuss the disputes in themselves but "we certainly called on all claimants to resolve these issues through existing international fora and without coercion."

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Agence France-Presse/InterAksyon.Com | June 8,2012 | Article Link

Cutter Dallas officially turned over to Philippines

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- The US Coast Guard Cutter Dallas has officially been turned over to the Philippines.

In a ceremony Tuesday, more than 100 military personnel and visitors came to the pier at the old Charleston Navy Base. 

As the U.S. Flag lowered, the Coast Guard crew exited Cutter Dallas for the last time.

"It's a bitter-sweet day. It's with sadness that we decommission a ship that has served us so faithfully," Rear Admiral John Korn, assistant commandant for acquisition said. 

The ceremony included a passing of a spy glass by commanding officers, which is a tradition. 

It was followed by a handshake and the formal signing of the certificate of delivery. 

"I have mixed emotions while we do this," Korn said. "We are getting new assets to replace this classic cutter, so we're very excited about that. I served aboard this cutter first year out of the Coast Guard Academy in 1979, so I got some feelings for this ship."

Filipino Navy Captain Ernesto Baldovino says the high-endurance cutter will support Philippines' security and development purposes. 

"I'm very proud. I was the commanding officer selected by the workers, and it's good to serve my country," he said.

Under its new ownership, the vessel has changed names. The cutter is now called Ramon Alcaraz, after a former naval officer in World War II.

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Lia Sestric | ABC News 4 Charleston | May 23, 2012 | Article Link

2nd US warship sold to Philippines also stripped of guns

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Washington has turned down Manila's request to retain the entire weapons system in the second US Coast Guard cutter the Philippines is acquiring from the United States.

Top Filipino military officials flew to the US last weekend for the ceremonial turnover on May 23 of the 378-ft USCG Dallas in North Charleston, South Carolina.

According to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, the second cutter will also have most of its weapons removed as happened with the first cutter acquired from the US by the Philippine Navy last year.

In the case of what is now the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, all its weapons were removed except for a 76-mm Oto Melara automatic cannon.

In a meeting in Washington on April 30, Gazmin personally asked his counterpart, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, to keep the USCG Dallas in its original state and to restore the weapons that were removed from its sister ship, the Gregorio del Pilar.

The Gregorio del Pilar is currently the biggest and most modern warship in the Philippine Navy fleet which still relies on World War II-vintage vessels.

Symbolic turnover

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa and Philippine Navy Fleet commander Rear Admiral Jose Luis Alano will take possession of the Dallas during a symbolic turnover on Wednesday.

The vessel will be renamed the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, after the World War II hero and former fleet commander, and will be under the command of Navy Captain Ernesto Baldovino.

In April 1942, Alcaraz was commander one of the Philippines' three torpedo boats that shot down three of nine attacking Japanese fighter planes.

After the turnover, the Philippine Navy crew will undergo training before they sail the ship home to the Philippines.

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Dona Z. Pazzibugan | Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network | May 22, 2012 | Article Link

Decommissioned Coast Guard Cutter Dallas being transfered to Philippine navy

 

After 45 years of service the Coast Guard decommissioned the Charleston-based Cutter Dallas on Friday, March 30, and now in another Charleston ceremony the ship will be transferred to the Philippine navy.

The 378-foot "High Endurance Cutter" will be transferred at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Pier Papa in North Charleston.

The ceremony will be presided over by Rear Adm. John Korn, assistant commandant for Acquisition.

"Since 1967, Coast Guard Cutter Dallas has served the American people well, from Vietnam and the Pacific to its final Coast Guard patrol in the Mediterranean, where the crew interdicted 4,000 pounds of cocaine and 940 pounds of marijuana," said Korn. "As Dallas returns to the Southeast Asian waters that it plied at the beginning of its Coast Guard career, I know it will serve the Philippines as faithfully and capably as it served America."

The 378-foot cutter's main role was drug interception.

During the final patrol, the crew of the Dallas interdicted approximately 4,000 pounds of cocaine and 940 pounds of marijuana during two separate cases while patrolling the Caribbean Sea.

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The Digitel Charleston | May 18, 2012 | Article Link

Philippine-US security ties to grow stronger – analyst

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States will not only become more involved in Asia-Pacific security, but will also deepen its security partnership with the Philippines, a US analyst said.

According to Ernest Bower, senior adviser and director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the April 30 “2+2” ministerial meeting between Manila and Washington signals a “new plateau” in bilateral relations consistent with emerging security realities in Asia.

In that meeting, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and their US counterparts, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, engaged in wide-ranging discussions on strategic bilateral relations.

Bower said the meeting came at a time when the United States is giving priority to strengthening and deepening ties with its treaty allies and expanding its partnership with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The fact that the meeting took place days after Filipino and American troops conducted Balikatan [shoulder-to-shoulder] joint military exercises, and amid the ongoing standoff between Philippine and Chinese maritime vessels in an area just 120 nautical miles from the Philippine coastline, “underlines some of the new realities for US engagement in Asia,” he added.

“Given the current standoff at the Scarborough [Panatag] Shoal and the steady rise in cooperation between Washington and Manila, the reaffirmation of the Manila Declaration was intended to send a strong signal of US support for the Philippines, and the Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] claimants in general, in their attempts not to be bullied by Beijing in the South China Sea [West Philippine Sea],” said the analyst in “Critical Questions”, a paper he wrote with CSIS Southeast Asia Program research assistant Gregory Poling.

Although Washington made it clear that it does not take sides on territorial disputes, Bower said that it had reassured its oldest Asian ally by committing to expand port visits, increasing troop rotations and joint trainings in the Philippines, and helping Manila achieve its desired “minimum credible defense capability.”

Following the “2+2” meeting, Washington agreed to triple its foreign military financing allocation (FMF) to the Philippines from $11.9 million last year to $30 million this year, he added.

According to the analyst, this increase marks an important, albeit quantitatively insignificant amount,
step toward rebalancing US military assistance to the Philippines, compared to other Asian countries.
In 2004, Manila accounted for 70 percent of FMF for East Asia compared to just 30 percent today.

The two countries have also agreed to pursue further military cooperation, Bower said.

“In addition to a second Hamilton-class cutter due to arrive later this month, talks moved forward on the transfer of a third cutter and a squadron of F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines,” he added.

According to Bower, Manila has become an increasingly important partner for Washington in the last several years, particularly in light of the Obama administration’s renewed interest in Asia and the two countries’ shared interest in the peaceful resolution of territorial disputes and preserving maritime security and freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines, he noted, has had several run-ins with China over disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea. The most high profile of these was the 2011 threat by a Chinese maritime surveillance vessel to ram a Forum Energy survey ship operating off the Philippine coast.

For nearly a month now, Philippine and Chinese vessels are engaged in a tense standoff at the Panatag Shoal, which the Philippines also calls Bajo de Masinloc, based on an old map dating back to the 1700.

Outmatched by China, Manila has looked to Washington and other countries to help pressure Beijing to respect international law in resolving the West Philippine Sea disputes.

Bower said that the Philippines was seeking clarification from the United States on obligations for mutual defense as reaffirmed by both countries at the end of their historic consultation.

“The official statement following the ‘2+2’ reaffirmed the two countries’ ‘shared obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty and our mutual commitment to the peace and security of the region,’” he added.

“What precisely those obligations are and which areas they cover remain purposely ambiguous,” the analyst said.
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Jun Medina, Special Correspondent | The Manila Times | May 8, 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

Philippines seeks US defense boost amid China row

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines said Thursday it would seek more US military help during top-level talks next week, as it ignored a warning from China not to “internationalize” a tense territorial dispute.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines was looking to the United States to help it achieve a “credible” defense system, and wanted to extract maximum benefits from a mutual defense treaty between the allies.

Signed in 1951, the treaty calls on both sides to come to each other’s aid in times of external attacks, and the Philippines has highlighted the pact as it stands up to Beijing over rival claims to the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea).

“We are going to the United States in order to be able to maximize the benefits derived out of this mutual defense treaty,” Del Rosario told reporters.

“The idea of achieving a minimum credible defense posture is something that we should try to do.”

Del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin are expected to meet with their US counterparts Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta in Washington on April 30.

The meeting comes as the Philippines is locked in an increasingly tense dispute with China over Scarborough Shoal, a group of islets in the South China Sea where vessels from both sides have been in a stand-off since April 8.

China on Wednesday warned the Philippines not to “internationalize” the issue and force other countries to take sides.

But Del Rosario said Thursday the dispute also impacted other countries that wanted unhampered access to vital sea lanes.

“I think all nations who have an interest in keeping freedom of navigation… should be watching carefully as to what is happening there,” he said.

“We would want all nations, including the United States, to make a judgment on what is happening there and what the implications are to their own country,” he said.

Del Rosario did not say what specific help the Philippines wanted in the US talks, but defense officials earlier said Manila would ask to acquire a coast guard vessel and F-16 fighter jets.

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

Experts say the overlapping claims are a potential flashpoint that could destabilize regional security.

The Philippines has accused China of increasingly being aggressive in staking its claims.

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Agence France-Presse | The Philippine Star | April 26, 2012 | Article Link