Chinese warships enter West Philippine Sea

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Chinese naval vessels entered Philippine waters on February 1 amid efforts by the Philippines to peacefully resolve its territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea through arbitration in the United Nations.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday that a naval fleet of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) entered the West Philippine Sea "for patrol and training missions" this week.

Xinhua said the three ships from the PLA Navy's North China Sea fleet-the missile destroyer Qingdao and missile frigates Yantai and Yancheng-traveled through the Bashi Channel, an international sea route between Luzon and Taiwan, before entering the West Philippine Sea at 11:40 a.m. on Friday.

The report said the training exercises would be held within Chinese "territorial waters."
China claims almost all of the West Philippine Sea, including parts close to the shores of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

UN arbitration

The Philippines has protested Chinese incursions into waters within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but China insists those waters are part of its territory.
Last month, the Philippines took its dispute with China to the United Nations for arbitration.

The Philippines asked the United Nations to declare invalid China's claim to parts of the sea that are within the Philippine EEZ.

Manila also asked the United Nations to stop Beijing's incursions into Philippine territory in the sea.

It is not clear whether the Philippine action can proceed without China's participation in the arbitration.

China refuses to bring its territorial disputes with its neighbors to any international forum, insisting on resolution through bilateral negotiations.

US support

A congressional delegation from the United States that recently visited Manila, however, expressed support for the Philippines' decision to go into arbitration in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it decided to take the dispute to the United Nations because the government had already exhausted all other options.
 

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Tarra Quismundo | Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN | February 5, 2013 | Article Link

Has China 'roped off' Scarborough?

MANILA, Philippines -- Chinese fishing boats may have left Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal but Philippine authorities said they appear to have “roped off” the entrance to the disputed territory.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said they “assumed” the barrier had been placed there by China to prevent Filipino vessels from entering the shoal.

“Ang nakita sa report ng Coast Guard, may nilagay pa na tali sa entrance ng shoal (The Coast Guard report said there was a rope tied across the entrance to the shaol),” Gazmin said.

He added that two Chinese vessels, one from the Fisheries Law Enforcement Command and a maritime surveillance ship, remained at the shoal, which the Philippines also calls Bajo de Masinloc.

The Philippines and China have been engaged in a standoff over Scarborough since April, when the Navy flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar intercepted Chinese fishing boats laden with contraband marine products.

Gazmin said the inclement weather has made it difficult for Philippine ships and boats to go to Scarborough.

The Defense chief said there is a need to resolve the latest situation.

"Pine-prevent tayo makapasok because kine-claim nila kanila, kine-claim din natin na atin, kaya kailangan mag-usap para mabigyang kalutasan ito (They are preventing us from entering because they claim the area, we claim it too, so we should talk and find a solution to this)," Gazmin said.

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Abigail Kwok | InterAksyon.com | August 3, 2012 | Article Link

Philippine Navy to drive off 20 Chinese vessels from Spratlys

Naval Forces West chief Commodore Rustom Peña said Thursday that Navy ships are on standby, ready to sail to the Spratly Islands to inform the Chinese fishing vessels in the area that they are within Philippine territory and that they should leave.

 

In a phone interview, Peña said the 20 Chinese fishing vessels were monitored to be around five nautical miles from Pagasa island or about 240 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa City which is the seat of government of Kalayaan town, Palawan.

 

“We will just investigate and then if situation warrants, we will advise them (20 Chinese fishing boats) that that’s our territory and they should leave," said Peña. 

 

The official said the Navy ships cannot presently sail to the location of the Chinese fishing boats because of rough seas. He said the Navy ships will sail out the West Philippine Sea as soon as the weather condition improves.

 

“We are monitoring them. They are not actually fishing, they are just seeking shelter…There were instances in the past where Vietnamese [vessels] also took shelter in the area because there are portions there that can [provide] cover for waves,” said Peña.

 

Peña added that two Chinese ships were also monitored at Mischief Reef, a Chinese-occupied area which is about 130 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa City.

 

Pagasa island is largest among the nine areas that are occupied by Filipino forces in the Spratly Islands. A number of civilians live in the Pagasa Island.

 

Believed to be rich in oil and minerals deposits, the Spratlys is being claimed in part or in whole by the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei.

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GMA News Online | July 26, 2012 | Article Link

Chinese fishing fleet closes in on Pag-asa Island

‘Mischief Reef being used as staging ground’

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—A fleet of 20 Chinese fishing vessels believed to be escorted by at least two naval frigates  of the People’s Liberation Army has been deployed around Pag-asa Island in a move likely to escalate tensions over disputed territories in the Spratly archipelago between the Philippines and China.

Highly placed sources in the Philippine military reported that at least 20 Chinese fishing vessels had congregated about 9 kilometers (5 nautical miles) from Pag-asa beginning late Tuesday.

The fishing vessels were accompanied by two naval frigates of China’s People’s Liberation Army, according to one source who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak on the matter.

Colonel Neil Estrella, spokesperson of the Western Command, confirmed the Chinese presence near Pag-asa but declined to give details. He said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) would address the latest development in the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

“We will let the DFA address that. But yes, Chinese vessels are there around the island,” Estrella told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone on Wednesday.

A source at the Naval Forces West based here said that at least four Philippine Navy and Coast Guard vessels were patrolling the Philippine-claimed territories in the Spratlys.

But like Estrella, the source declined to say how the Navy would respond to a Chinese intrusion into Philippine waters.

Pag-asa Island, which measures 32.7 hectares, is located 480 km off southwestern Palawan. 

The largest of five islands and islets in the Spratlys being claimed by the Philippines, Pag-asa has a 1.3-km airstrip used by the Philippine military to transport troops and supply.

Declared in the late 1970s as a municipality, Pag-asa has a census population of 150 and a kindergarten school for children of some 50 families residing there.

Staging ground

The Chinese presence was also confirmed by Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon of Kalayaan municipality, which includes Pag-asa.

A military source said the Armed Forces of the Philippines believed that the Chinese-occupied Mischief Reef was being used as the staging ground for the stepped-up presence of China inside Philippine territory.

China occupied Mischief Reef in 1995, amid protests from the Philippines and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Beijing then said that it was constructing a shelter there for fishermen.

Recent photos taken by Philippine naval surveillance planes showed Mischief Reef had been turned into a highly fortified garrison, with gun embankments on elevated towers.

Bito-onon said that Filipino fishermen who had approached Mischief Reef recently by bartering sea turtles for Chinese goods reported that the Chinese had dredged portions of the reef ostensibly to allow larger ships into the lagoon within the reef system.

“That entire area measures around 9 by 6 km with a wide east to west clearance suitable for entry of large vessels,” he said.

Harvesting corals

Bito-onon, interviewed while in Puerto Princesa City, reported  “frequent sightings since last week of  the Chinese fishing party on the eastern side of the island.”

The mayor said it was unclear from the report he received yesterday from administrative personnel on the island  whether the fishing fleet was part of the armed fishing party dispatched by Beijing last week to the Paracels, an area disputed by China and Vietnam.

“We don’t know if they are accompanied by warships but for us, it appears to be a coral-gathering expedition by Chinese commercial fishers,” he said.

Bito-onon explained that Chinese fishers were frequently observed collecting large amounts of corals in the unprotected areas of the Philippines.

The corals, he said, were more valuable than fish “as they are sold in Hainan as some kind of raw material for the manufacture of a type of marine glue.”

Bito-onon said the Chinese were also developing Subi Reef near Pag-asa into another fortress. He said that the Chinese completed in May the construction on a half-submerged reef of a four-story building with a dome-shaped radar on its deck.

Recent aerial photos of Subi taken by the Western Command, copies of which were obtained by the Inquirer, showed a “landing ship” type vessel anchored in the inner portion of the reef.

Bito-onon said the Pag-asa residents did not feel physically threatened by the reported Chinese presence. He said he expected the vessels to depart after fishing and harvesting corals.

“Our staff have been observing their movements since last week. What we know is that the Chinese armed vessels were merely passing through on their way to Subi Reef. I don’t think they are staying put there,” he said.

Opposite side is Vietnam’s

Bito-onon, however, expressed concern about the “coral mining” activities. “They are there not primarily to fish. We think they are mainly engaged in gathering corals which is a more lucrative business in Hainan,” he said.

He explained that the corals were used by the Chinese as base ingredient for some type of marine glue used in shipbuilding. In the last two weeks, he said several Chinese boats had been gathering corals around the area.

Bito-onon also claimed that the Chinese vessels were congregating near Pag-asa “because on the opposite side are the Vietnamese in Southwest Cay and they have gun emplacements there.”

“They prefer to anchor near Pag-asa because they are not safe on the Vietnamese side of the passage where there are large cannons pointed toward the sea,” he added.

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Redempto D. Anda | Inquirer Southern Luzon | July 26, 2012 | Article Link

 

Chinese landing ship spotted

Photo taken by Philippine Navy Western Command’s Islander Surveillance Plane 314 shows Yuting Class Chinese landing ship moored near Zamora Reef off Philippine occupied Pag-Asa Island.

MANILA, Philippines - A Navy surveillance plane monitoring the activities of Chinese fishing vessels in the disputed Spratly Islands has spotted a Chinese landing ship in Subi Reef (Zamora Reef), an area only 12 nautical miles from the Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island.

The Chinese troop and logistics ship, a Yuting class with bow No. 934, is armed with three heavy guns, built-in cranes, and a helipad.

The vessel was photographed by a Navy surveillance plane deployed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command (Wescom) in Palawan last Tuesday.

The Chinese ship is anchored at the Chinese-occupied Subi Reef, close to Pag-asa Island, which is occupied by Filipino troops and civilians and is part of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan.

“We are doing our best with what we have,” Wescom spokesman Lt. Col. Niel Estrella said of their surveillance and monitoring operations on the current security development in the Spratlys.

Estrella said that monitoring operations yesterday were hampered by bad weather in the area.

Wescom commander Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban had intensified air and maritime patrols in the disputed region in response to the recent grounding of a Chinese frigate within the waters of Palawan, particularly in the vicinity of Hasa-Hasa Shoal (Half Moon Shoal), followed by China’s launching of one of the biggest fishing expeditions in the disputed region.

Sabban said that Hasa-Hasa Shoal is part of Palawan waters and the area is outside of the disputed Spratlys.

Aside from China’s landing ship near the already heavily fortified Subi Reef, Wescom is currently monitoring the activities of the Chinese fishing fleet in Kagitingan Reef (Fiery Cross Reef).

Latest reports said 29 Chinese fishing vessels, a Chinese maritime surveillance ship, and a merchant vessel were photographed anchored at Kagitingan Reef.

In nearby Union Reef, which is occupied by Vietnamese forces, a Wescom surveillance plane also monitored a lone Vietnamese fishing boat near dozens of Chinese fishing vessels in the area.

Union Reef as well as other islets and reefs in the area are within the hexagon area composed of 95 islands, cays, shoals and reefs under Kalayaan town based in Pag-asa Island, as per Presidential Decree 1596 issued by the late President Ferdinand Marcos, that led to the creation of an island municipality in the region.

AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos has admitted that in the absence of a credible territorial capability, the military’s action is confined only to monitoring the Chinese aggressive behavior in the contested waters in the West Philippine Sea.

He said the civilian leadership is addressing the rest of the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

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Jaime Laude | The Philippine Star | July 20, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines 1st 'mistake' in Scarborough

MANILA, Philippines – For 8 Chinese fishing boats, the Philippines sent its biggest warship.

This, said a Singapore-based public policy expert, was the Philippines' fundamental “mistake” in the Scarborough Shoal dispute that erupted in April. The Philippine Navy then sent its flagship, the former US Hamilton-class cutter BRP Gregorio del Pilar.

“First, you sent out a message that you're ready to fight; you sent a warship. Second, you handled it as an international dispute,” said Huang Jing, professor at the National University of Singapore's Center on Asia and Globalization.

Huang spoke Friday, July 20, in a forum at the University of the Philippines titled "The Rise of China and the US Asia Pivot: Implications for the Philippines, Asean, and the West Philippine Sea Dispute."

NAVY'S FASTEST. The BRP Gregorio Del Pilar. Photo from www.gov.ph

Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama had said BRP Gregorio del Pilar was initially meant to go to Poro Point, La Union to prepare for North Korea's rocket launch before the standoff began. The ship, however, was diverted to Scarborough Shoal after authorities spotted the Chinese vessels.

For its part, China sent two maritime patrol ships, which are civilian in nature.

“China also sent two messages,” Huang said. “The first message, 'I'm trying to do it peacefully.' The second message – that is more fundamental – 'These are internal affairs, so I'm going to send my civilian police force.'”

This is because China wants to prove its “peaceful rise.” “China has always said that it follows a strategy of peaceful rise – and indeed China's rise has been peaceful... This is a test. Will this global power still remain peaceful?” he said.

BOATMEN INVOLVED. Some of the Chinese fishermen accosted by the Philippine Navy pose before their fishing boat. Screen grab from news.xinhuanet.com

The Philippines, eventually, pulled out BRP Gregorio del Pilar and had Coast Guard vessels – civilian ships – to conduct surveillance instead.

'Best' in response

Following this was a series of commitments between the Philippines and China to deescalate the tension in Scarborough Shoal. 

Eventually, the two countries supposedly promised to pull out their ships from the shoal's lagoon. The Philippines claimed China broke this commitment, while China asserted there was no such promise in the first place.

SCARBOROUGH VESSELS. In this graph issued May 23, the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs tracks the increase in Chinese vessels as opposed to the Philippines' ships in Scarborough Shoal. Courtesy of DFA

Other analysts have criticized China over its attitude in the dispute.

In a recent forum organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Southeast Asian security expert Carlyle Thayer hit China's “dismissive” attitude.

“It's the best country in the world to respond to an incident. As soon as an incident occurs anywhere, China's never to blame. The other side's lying, mendacious, they made it up, or within 24 hours, we can tell you, it's just normal Chinese jurisdiction activities. They've never once conceded that there may be hothead, rogues, or miscalculation by someone out there... that they need to investigate and look at,” Thayer said.

For others, China should join the Philippines in bringing the Scarborough Shoal dispute before an international court. China, however, has repeatedly rejected the Philippines' invitations to do so, because “internationalizing this issue will only complicate and magnify the situation.”

US support?

Meanwhile, Huang cautioned Filipinos against depending too much on US aid in South China Sea issues. This, despite the 1951 Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty that states: “Each party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety, and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional process.”

“If China dares to attack the Philippines, the United States will have no choice but to come to your defense,” Huang said. But if it happens in the South China Sea, "it's not really covered by the treaty.”

The MDT limits its coverage to armed attacks “on the metropolitan territory of either of the parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific, or on its armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific.” 

Huang noted the US has made it clear it will not take sides in South China Sea disputes. Much less would US go into war with China given the latter's growing economic and military might, according to Huang.

“If you are (US President Barack) Obama right now, do you want a war in the South China Sea? The answer is, that will be a nightmare for him,” Huang said. “He cannot send troops to fight the Chinese. But if he does not do that, he will be grilled alive by people like (Mitt) Romney.”

When President Benigno Aquino III visited the US in June, however, what US President Barack Obama did was pledge freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Nevertheless, the ongoing dispute has produced “very good” effects for the Philippines, said Southeast Asian analyst Zachary Abuza in an interview on Rappler's Talk Thursday.

He said the Philippines, for one, has recognized the importance of broading alliances with the US and the rest of the Southeast Asian region.

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 Paterno Esmaquel II | Rappler.Com | July 20, 2012 | Article Link

DFA: China boats blocking PHL vessels from Panatag Shoal

China has blocked Philippine ships and fishing vessels from the lagoon of the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in West Philippine Sea by setting up barriers to its entry point, a top Department of Foreign Affairs official said Wednesday.

 

In its boldest display of assertion to date over the area, China had placed barriers at the entrance of the lagoon of Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, DFA Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio said.

 

China has reneged on its commitment to remove the barriers and also to withdraw its vessels inside the shoal, which Philippines officials say is well within Manila’s territory.

 

“The Philippines forged an agreement with a neighboring country for the simultaneous pullout of all vessels inside the shoal, which we undertook in good faith last June 4,” Basilio said, referring to China.

 

China has agreed to remove the blockade, she said.

 

To this day, Basilio said “the neighboring country has not fulfilled its obligations under the agreement and has maintained its ships inside and outside the shoal, as well as its barrier, in its aim to establish effective control and jurisdiction in the shoal and surrounding waters.”

 

The Chinese blockades comprised of a long rope and fishing nets held by buoys from end to end.

 

GMA News Online contacted the Chinese embassy in Manila, but there was no response as of this posting.

 

Several Chinese dinghies were tied together and used to block the lagoon’s entrance, Philippine officials who requested not to be named as they were not allowed to speak to the media told GMA News Online.

 

Manila and Beijing have been locked in a tense standoff in the area since April 10. Last month, President Benigno Aquino III pulled out Philippine vessels in the face off with Chinese ships due to bad weather.

 

The impasse started when Chinese ships blocked the arrest of fishermen, who were caught poaching by Philippine authorities.

 

China and the Philippines and are both claiming ownership over Bajo de Masinloc.

 

Manila says the rich fishing ground falls within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

 

China, which claims almost the whole of the resource-rich West Philippine (South China) Sea, maintains Bajo de Masinloc is “an integral part of Chinese territory,” citing ancient maps to back its claim.

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Michaela Del Callar | GMA News Online | July 18, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines says no protest as Chinese ship leaves

MANILA - The Philippines said Sunday it would not lodge a diplomatic protest after China extricated a naval frigate from a disputed South China Sea shoal where it had been stranded for four days.

Last week's stranding of the ship on Half Moon shoal, which Manila calls Hasa Hasa, was likely an accident, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

"We don't believe that there were ill-intentions that accompanied the presence of that ship in our EEZ (exclusive economic zone)," del Rosario said.

"As far as filing a diplomatic protest is concerned, my stance is that we will probably not do that," he said.

The ship was reportedly on "routine patrol" when it got stranded Wednesday on the shoal, which sits just 60 nautical miles from the western Philippine island of Palawan, within the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

International law defines a country's exclusive economic zone as being up to 200-nautical-miles from its shores.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said the frigate was "refloated successfully" before daybreak Sunday, and del Rosario said he was informed it was already en route back to China.

"We wish its crew a safe voyage back to China," he said.

The shoal is part of the the Spratly Islands -- which the Chinese call Nansha -- a string of atolls and islands straddling vital shipping lanes in the South China Sea believed sitting atop vast mineral deposits.

Apart from the Philippines and China, the Spratlys are claimed in whole or in part by Taiwan and the other Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Overlapping claims to the islands have perennially caused tensions among the claimants, with the Philippines and Vietnam recently accusing China of increasingly becoming aggressive in staking its claims.

The dispute also marred an annual meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers held in Cambodia last week, where Manila's chief diplomat accused China of "duplicity" and intimidation.

The dispute divided the grouping, with host Cambodia siding with China, thus preventing them from issuing a customary joint statement that summarises achievements and concerns.

But in a marked turn-around of rhetoric Sunday, Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the Chinese frigate apparently made a navigational mistake that caused it to run aground.

He said there appeared to be no signs that it was on a mission to intrude in a Philippine claimed area, noting the absence of structures on the shoal.

"It may have been human error. The CO (commanding officer) may have not seen the rocks," he said.

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Agence France-Presse/InterAksyon.Com | July 15, 2012 | Article Link

China frigate heads home, averts South China Sea standoff

(Reuters) - A Chinese frigate grounded in disputed waters close to the Philippines was refloated on Sunday and headed back home, averting a possible standoff with the Philippines navy amid rising tensions in the strategically key South China Sea.

The South China Sea has become Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint as Beijing's sovereignty claim over the huge area has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves.

In all, six parties have rival claims to the waters, which were a central issue at an acrimonious ASEAN regional summit last week that ended with its members failing to agree on a concluding statement for the first time in 45 years.

On Friday, the Chinese navy said one of its vessels had run aground on Half Moon Shoal, about 90 nautical miles off the western Philippine island of Palawan, prompting Manila to send two of its vessels and reconnaissance aircraft to the area.

Beijing said its vessel had been on a routine patrol.

"At about 5 a.m. on July 15, the frigate which had run aground in waters near Half Moon Shoal successfully extricated itself with the help of a rescue team," China's defense ministry said in a statement.

"The bow has sustained light damage and everybody on board is safe. Its return to port is being organized. The incident caused no maritime pollution," the statement added, without providing further details.

The Philippines defense ministry confirmed the grounded vessel and about six other Chinese ships spotted in the area had left.

Manila says Half Moon Shoal falls well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as recognized by international law.

"The incident in Hasa-Hasa shoal makes us nervous," Rommel Banlaoii, executive director of Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, told Reuters, referring to Half Moon shoal in the Spratlys.

"I think what happened there was an accident, but we don't want such accident happening again because it could trigger something that all claimant states do not want to happen there."

"CREEPING" CHINA CONCERNS

Philippine defense and military officials say they are worried by China's "creeping" in disputed areas in the South China Sea, a violation of an informal code of conduct adopted in Cambodia in 2002.

The two countries have faced-off on a number of occasions in the disputed waters, and earlier in the year they were involved in a month-long standoff at Scarborough Shoal, about 500 km north of Half Moon Shoal.

Last year, the Philippines scrambled aircraft and ships to the Reed Bank area after Chinese navy ships threatened to ram a Philippine survey ship.

Beijing said last month it had begun "combat-ready" patrols in waters it said were under its control in the South China Sea, after saying it "vehemently opposed" a Vietnamese law asserting sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands.

The stakes have risen in the area as the U.S. military shifts its attention and resources back to Asia, emboldening its long-time ally the Philippines and former foe Vietnam to take a bolder stance against Beijing.

The United States has stressed it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute, despite offering to help boost the Philippines' decrepit military forces. It says freedom of navigation is its main concern about a waterway that carries $5 trillion in trade -- half the world's shipping tonnage.

At last week's Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting, Cambodia sided with China and prevented the 10-nation bloc from issuing a customary concluding statement that covers achievements and concerns -- this year, that primarily involved the South China Sea.

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Manuel Mogato/Ben Blanchard | Reuters | July 15, 2012 | Article Link

PAF plane spots Chinese frigate stuck on shoal

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines—A Philippine Air Force plane spotted Saturday afternoon the Chinese war frigate that ran aground on a coral reef at Half Moon Shoal in the Spratlys.

A report made by the pilot of the PAF Islander plane, the distressed ship was being rescued by around five Chinese vessels, according to a source at the AFP Western Command.

A Philippine Navy vessel was closing in on the area and ready to provide assistance but was staying at a safe distance while awaiting orders from the AFP, added the source.

Regional military spokesman Colonel Neil Anthony Estrella confirmed the presence of the stranded Chinese naval frigate in the disputed waters.

“During the aerial reconnaissance mission, they were able to confirm, based on photographs, that there is indeed a ship with bow number 560 aground at Half Moon Shoal,” he told Agence France-Presse.

He said five more vessels and a number of smaller boats were assisting the grounded ship.

A navy ship and a coast guard vessel had been dispatched to the area to monitor the Chinese operations, he added.

He stressed that the shoal was just 60 nautical miles from the western Philippine island of Palawan, well within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as recognized by international law.

Estrella said they were awaiting further orders from Malacañang “but already in a position to extend assistance to the Chinese frigate.”

Foreign Department spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a statement, “we need to find out what really happened with the Chinese frigate in our territory”.

He reiterated that the Philippines would provide assistance to move the ship if China requested it.

The Chinese government earlier confirmed that the ship was on “routine patrol” when it became stranded near Half Moon Shoal in the Spratly Islands on Wednesday evening.

The stranding highlights the territorial conflicts between the two countries which marred the ASEAN Regional Forum in Cambodia this week.

At the forum, the Philippines’ foreign minister denounced Chinese “duplicity” and “intimidation” in the South China Sea and conflicting positions on the issue prevented the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from issuing its customary joint statement.

The Philippines and China have been in a standoff since Chinese ships blocked the Philippine navy from arresting Chinese fishermen at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in April.

The Philippines says the shoal is also within its EEZ but China claims the entire South China Sea as its historical territory, even up to the coasts of other Southeast Asian countries. 

The sea is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.

In Manila, a group of Filipino-Americans on Saturday called for a boycott of Chinese products and a day of prayer to rally support against China’s actions.

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Redempto Anda |Agence France-Presse/ Inquirer Southern Luzon |

 July 14, 2012| Article Link

Philippine navy ready to assist grounded Chinese frigate

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine naval forces began readying vessels to assist the Chinese warship that ran aground on a reef in disputed waters of the Philippine Sea (South China Sea) off Palawan, officials said Saturday.

Even though China has not made any requests for help, “our assets are prepared in case there is a distress call. We will try to provide assistance. That will be our task there,” said Commodore Rustom Peña, commander of the military’s Naval Forces West.

The Department of National Defense, on the other hand, declined to comment on whether the presence of the Chinese frigate within what the Philippines considers its territory could be considered an intrusion.

“We cannot comment on that as we are still investigating and gathering details,” defense department spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez said. “As of this time, we are still awaiting reports. I believe bad weather is hampering our monitoring,” he added.

A military official who did not want to be identified by name because of the sensitivity of the matter said “some consider it innocent passage,” possibly belying reports that the Chinese warship had been patrolling Philippine-claimed waters.

But the Chinese Embassy in Manila said Friday the Chinese Navy vessel was doing “routine patrol mission” when it ran aground on Half Moon Shoal, which the Philippines calls “Hasa-Hasa Shoal.”

Peña said the Navy still had no visual confirmation of the grounded frigate, and that it had sent assets to the area for that purpose.

The Australian newspaper Sydney Morning Herald, which broke the story, said the grounded People’s Liberation Army’s naval ship No. 560 was a Jianghu-class frigate “that has in the past been involved in aggressively discouraging Filipino fishing boats from the area.”

The shoal, according to military sources, is located about 111 kilometers (60 nautical miles) from the municipality of Rizal on the main island of Palawan province, within the country’s 370-km (200-nautical-mile) exclusive economic zone.

China, however, considers it part of its territory in the Nansha Islands, its name for the Spratly group of islands, which it claims wholly.

The Spratlys, a reputedly oil-rich chain of tiny islands and reefs, is located near Palawan and claimed wholly or in part by the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The Philippines, supported by its strongest defense ally, the United States, has sought a multilateral solution to end the territorial disputes, but China wants to deal with individual countries separately.

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DJ Yap |Philippine Daily Inquirer | July 14, 2012 | Article Link

Palace monitoring ‘rescue’ of Chinese ship stuck at Hasahasa Shoal

The Philippines will be monitoring the “rescue” of a Chinese warship stuck at Half Moon Shoal off Palawan, and may even render assistance if needed, Malacañang said Saturday.

But deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte declined to comment further on the matter, saying the element of a territorial “dispute” is still there.

“We will be monitoring that... the progress of the rescue.... If assistance is required we are duty-bound to help them,” she said on government-run dzRB radio.

She added the assistance to the Chinese warship will be made if required, regardless of whether there is a “dispute or no dispute.”

But for now, she noted the Chinese Embassy in Manila already said a rescue on their side is underway.

As for the diplomatic side of the incident, she said the Palace will let the Department of Foreign Affairs take the lead on the matter.

“The rest is something that will fall to the doorstep of the DFA,” she said.

Asked if the Philippines will protest the presence of the Chinese warship in an area the Philippines claimed as its territory, she said the matter is being “dealt with.”

“That is something that will have to be considered by the DFA. It is being dealt with at the moment. (But) there are things we are not at liberty to share,” she said.

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GMA News Online | July 14, 2012 | Article Link

Chinese gunboat stuck in shoal near Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) on Friday confirmed that a Chinese warship has run aground on a shoal located well within Philippine waters, about 60 nautical miles from Rizal, Palawan.

The DND said the ship that ran aground was a Jianghu Class, a Chinese guided missile frigate with bow number 560.

“We have dispatched our own assets from the Western Command to investigate kung bakit siya andyan. Naaksidente ba? Kung kailangan nila ng tulong, tutulong tayo,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said.

Australian paper Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Chinese warship ran aground while patrolling the contested waters adjacent to the Philippines in the hotly-contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

The report quoting Western Diplomatic sources added that the frigate pinned itself to a reef the other night at Half Moon (Hasa Hasa) Shoal, on the southeastern edge of the Spratlys Islands and remains “thoroughly struck”.

“Salvage operations could be diplomatically challenging, given the vessel appears to have run around within 200 kilometers of the Philippines Coast, which is squarely within what Manila claims to be its Exclusive Economic Zone,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Sources in the Armed Forces' Western Command (Wescom) said the ill-fated Chinese warship is one of several Chinese naval gunboats that have been conducting regular patrols in the West Philippine Sea and have been aggressively harassing Filipino fishermen in the hotly-contested waters.

Another source said the sea mishap occurred several days ago without any sign that the Chinese warship being salvaged from the area.

“It’s been there since it (warship) struck the reef several days ago,” said a source, adding that the Chinese vessel is based at the Chinese's highly-fortified Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef).

Mischief Reef, he said, is only 76 nautical miles from Hasa Hasa Shoal.

While the sealane in Hasa-Hasa is an international passage way for commercial vessels, the source said the presence of the Chinese warship in the area only bolstered China’s creeping invasion in the South China Sea, which is also being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunie.

“Hasa Hasa Shoal is only 60 nautical miles from Rizal, Palawan. They have no right to be there in the first place,” the source stressed.

For several months now, China has become very aggressive in laying its territorial claim over the entire South China Sea based only on historical claim.

Aside from Mischief Reef, China has also installed a powerful radar atop a four-story building they have constructed at their occupied Subi Reef, which is only 12 nautical miles from Pag-Asa Island, seat of the municipal government of Kalayaan town in Palawan province.

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Jaime Laude | The Philippine Star | July 13, 2012 | Article Link

Philippines slams Chinese 'duplicity, intimidation'

The Philippines' foreign minister on Thursday denounced Chinese "duplicity" and "intimidation" in the South China Sea, souring the mood at a regional gathering designed to soothe tensions.

"If Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction can be denigrated by a powerful country through pressure, duplicity, intimidation and the threat of the use of force, the international community should be concerned about the behaviour," Albert del Rosario told the meeting, according to an official statement.

He was referring to a recent standoff between Chinese and Philippine boats at a rocky outcrop called the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed by both sides.

Del Rosario said Beijing's increasingly assertive stance over disputed and non-disputed areas of the South China Sea posed a "threat to the peace and stability" in the Asia Pacific region.

"If left unchecked, the increasing tensions that is being generated in the process could further escalate into physical hostilities which no one wants," he said at the ASEAN Regional Forum, which was also attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The dispute over Scarborough Shoal began after Chinese government vessels blocked Philippine ships in an operation to arrest Chinese fishermen near the shoal on April 10.
China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of neighbouring countries. The Philippines says the shoal is well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

A sharp disagreement over whether to mention the standoff over the shoal has held up a joint statement being prepared by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Manila wants the standoff mentioned while Cambodia, a staunch Chinese ally that currently holds the ASEAN chair, has rejected the proposal.

The Philippines is also leading a push for ASEAN to unite to propose to China a code of conduct aimed at governing behaviour and preventing conflicts in the South China Sea.
Progress on the code, strongly encouraged by the United States, was seen by analysts as a way of dissipating anger in the region and smoothing tensions after a string of recent confrontations.

Vietnam has accused China of aggressive behaviour and on Wednesday Japan lodged a formal complaint over Chinese boats approaching islands in the East China Sea which are controlled by Tokyo.

ASEAN has already agreed the key elements it will propose in any negotiations with China, including using international law such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the basis for any dispute.

But analysts said Beijing was likely to reject any use of international law to settle disputes because its position is to deal bilaterally with each claimant.

Yang has told his fellow ASEAN ministers in Cambodia that China will consider the proposal but stressed that negotiations for a code of conduct will only be launched when "conditions are ripe".

Clinton said earlier Thursday that nations should settle their territorial disputes "without coercion, without intimidation, without threats, and without use of force".

She also urged progress on the long-stalled code of conduct for the South China Sea to avoid "confusion and even confrontation" over shipping and fishing rights in the resource-rich waterway which is home to key shipping lanes.

The Scarborough Shoal sits about 230 kilometres (140 miles) from the Philippines' main island of Luzon. The nearest major Chinese landmass is 1,200 kilometres northwest of the shoal, according to Philippine navy maps.

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Martin Abbugao | AFP News | July 12, 2012 | Article Link

China installs powerful radar in reef near Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - Aside from Panganiban Reef (Mischief reef), China has installed another powerful radar in its occupied Subi Reef, an islet 12 nautical miles from Kalayaan municipality in Palawan province's Pag-Asa Island in the Spratly region, the mayor of the island town said Thursday.

Kalayaan town Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon said the silver colored dome radar is located atop a four-storey building which the Chinese have started to build six years ago at the reef southwest of Pag-Asa.

“While the radar could be only for weather monitoring and weather forecasting, one can also surmise that it can also monitor wide areas in the region of any moving and floating objects,” Bito-onon said.

At the other side of the building is a lighthouse that on calm waters Bito-onon said, which can be seen from Pag-Asa Island at night time.

Aside from Subi Reef, China has also constructed a military garrison in Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef), an area only 70 nautical miles from Palawan.

Located within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Panganiban Reef, which located halfway towards the hotly-contested Spratlys Group of Islands, was occupied by China in 1994.

Despite a strong protest from the Philippines, China put up stilts and then transformed Panganiban Reef into a highly fortified military garrison equipped with powerful radars and other air and maritime monitoring equipment.

China is laying almost the entire West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), which is also being claimed in whole or in part by Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, as an integral part of its maritime domain.

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Jaime Laude | The Philippine Star | July 12, 2012 | Article Link

Embarrassment as Chinese frigate runs aground

A Chinese warship has run aground while patrolling contested waters adjacent to the Philippines in the South China Sea.

The frigate pinned itself to a reef last night at Half Moon Shoal, on the south-eastern edge of the Spratly Islands, and remains "thoroughly stuck", according to Western diplomatic sources shortly after midday local time, or 2pm AEST.

Salvage operations could be diplomatically challenging, given the vessel appears to have run aground within 200 kilometres of the Philippines coast, which is squarely within what Manila claims to be its Exclusive Economic Zone.

The stricken People's Liberation Army Navy vessel, believed to be No. 560, a Jianghu-class frigate, has in the past been involved in aggressively discouraging Filipino fishing boats from the area.

The accident could not have come at a more embarrassing moment for the Chinese leadership, who have been pressing territorial claims and flexing the country's muscle ahead of a leadership transition later this year.

Today's meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations in Cambodia ended in disarray, without a code of conduct for resolving conflicts in the South China Sea, following robust intervention from China.

Also this week, China yesterday dispatched one of its largest-ever fishing expeditions from Hainan Island to another disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.

Earlier in the week, PLA generals and top foreign policy advisers urged China to do more to press its claims.

Cui Liru, president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a leading think tank that reports to the main intelligence department, said Beijing had previously focused too much on seeking common ground with its neighbours and putting disputes on the shelf.

"In the foreseeable future, say at least in five years, the Asia-Pacific region will still be showing every feature of a transitional period, which is characterised by a certain level of chaos," he said.

China's ministry of foreign affairs was not immediately available for comment.

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John Garnaut | SMH.Com.Au | July 13, 2012 | Article Link

 

 

**Was this intentional?