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

15 sea turtles rescued from poachers in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines – Authorities rescued 15 sea turtles or “pawikans” from suspected Chinese poachers in Brgy. Catagupan, Balabac, Palawan Saturday morning.

They said the rescue operation was launched after the Philippine Navy received a tip that large fishing nets were set up by the poachers last week.

One of the sea turtles was already dead when it was recovered while 8 others are in critical condition.

Officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources responded to the site to document the recovered sea turtles, which were subsequently released to open sea.

Two nets, measuring 200 meters each, were also seized and turned over to the Naval Station Narciso del Rosario in Balabac.

No arrests were made.

The sea turtles reportedly weighed 50 to 70 kilos each and are estimated to cost not less than P5,000 each.

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Edinel Magtibay | ABS-CBN News Palawan | July 14, 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

P-Noy to China: Pull out ships from shoal

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino yesterday called on China to pull out all its ships from Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal as he assailed Beijing for asking the Philippines to stop making provocative statements while itself continuing to talk.

“It’s not clear to me what provocative statements the Philippines or Filipino officials have made. But we know that the other side has been saying a lot. So maybe they should read first what have been written on their end and with all due respect, maybe they can balance that with reality,” Aquino said yesterday.

Malacañang also said that the redeployment of ships to Panatag Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, would depend on the weather.

“There are many schools of thought on how to handle (or) how to deal with the Chinese. So we will be getting, in effect, a discussion on the opposite points of view on what is the best approach to settle this issue,” Aquino noted.

As this developed, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned on Wednesday China’s top diplomat in the Philippines and gave her a note verbale protesting Beijng’s establishment of a new “prefectural-level” city of Sansha to administer three disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea and future development of the islands.

“The DFA sent a note verbale dated 28 June 2012 and handed this to Ambassador Ma yesterday, protesting the establishment of Sansha City as the extent of the jurisdiction of the city violates Philippine territorial sovereignty over the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratlys) and Bajo de Masinloc and infringes on Philippine sovereign rights over the waters and continental shelf of the West Philippine Sea,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said.

He pointed out “it was a diplomatic protest” since the declaration of the establishment of Sansha City contradicts the spirit of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the non-aggression accord in 2002.

A senior security official also noted that China’s latest move showed that it has no respect towards its neighbors when it comes to peacefully settling territorial disputes in the region.

“With the way Beijing is behaving, it only showed that they don’t have any respect towards its neighbors,” the security official, who asked not be named, said.

Contrary to Beijing’s claim that the Philippines is plotting to further increase the tension in the region, its present actions to bolster its territorial claim of the entire South China Sea showed otherwise, the security official said.

Earlier, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Chinese officials and the state media were the ones who should be careful about issuing statements.

“Can I say to the Chinese ‘xiao xin yi dian.’ Be a little careful about your statements,” Lacierda said in reaction to a commentary in the People’s Daily of China, which admonished the Philippine government for its plan to ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the West Philippine Sea to help monitor the country’s territorial waters.

Lacierda stressed the Philippines has the right to explore all options in safeguarding its territorial waters, including seeking help from the US.

He added that the request should be viewed in the context of the defense cooperation between the Philippines and the US.

“So there’s no issue to us. We do not view it as a provocative statement,” Lacierda said. 

“And as the President said, by no stretch of the imagination can you consider the Philippines as an aggressor.”

Defending Kalayaan

Meanwhile, Kalayaan, Palawan Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon said his civilian constituents in the Spratly region are not disturbed by China’s current aggression.

“We are not disturbed at all,” Bito-onon said, adding that aside from the Philippines, China has also to deal with other Spratlys claimant countries if Beijing so decides to settle the territorial dispute by force.

Western Command (Wescom) commander Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban also vowed that they would defend at all costs Kalayaan municipality.

“We will keep on doing our duty, prepare for any contingency and let our leaders do the high level solutions. Kalayaan municipality is ours. We will defend it,” Sabban said.

Wescom, a composite military unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has operational jurisdictions over the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and has forward troops deployed in the region.

The Philippines and China are currently locked in a territorial dispute not only in Panatag Shoal but also in the Spratly region, which is also being claimed in whole or in part by Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

The Spratly archipelago is a chain of islets, reefs, atolls and sand bars straddling the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in mineral and fuel deposits.

Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles from Zambales Province and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.

China stands on a historical claim while the Philippines has taken the view that Beijing’s claim is not supported by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 

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Aurea Calica | The Philippine Star/Yahoo News Online | July 6, 2012 | Article Link

'Be careful what you say,' Palace tells China

MANILA, Philippines - Malacanang on Wednesday cautioned China about accusing the Philippines of stirring up tensions in the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

“Xiao xin yi dian (Be a little careful about what you say)," Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda said as he denied Chinese claims President Benigno Aquino III's statement that he may ask the United States to deploy spy planes to help monitor its waters was a provocation.

A commentary in the People's Daily, known to be a mouthpiece of China's Communist Party, said on Tuesday that the Philippines was planning to stoke tensions at a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers in Cambodia this week.

"On the cusp of the ASEAN foreign ministers meetings, the Philippines is sparing no effort to stir up the South China Sea issue through all sorts of means, and we should be on guard against its plots," the newspaper wrote.

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News5/InterAksyon.Com | July 4, 2012 | Article Link

Coast Guard ready to sail back to Panatag Shoal

MANILA, Philippines - The Coast Guard is all set to sail back to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

Coast Guard fleet commander Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena said all their vessels are on standby and ready to perform maritime duties in the shoal, 124 miles from Zambales.

“Any time we are prepared to go back,” he said. “We are just waiting for orders.”

Isorena spoke at the sidelines of the official launching of this year’s joint naval and maritime exercise between the Philippines and the United States in General Santos City in which the Coast Guard is participating.

The BRP Pampanga was the first Coast Guard vessel to be dispatched to Panatag Shoal.

Maritime tension between the Philippines and China started when two Chinese maritime surveillance ships blocked moves of the Philippine Navy flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar from effecting the arrest of Chinese fishermen caught poaching in the shoal and illegally harvesting endangered marine species like giant clams, corals and sharks.

Coast Guard vessels have been alternately maintaining their presence in the shoal since May 10 until President Aquino ordered the pullout last month due to bad weather.

While in General Santos City, the Pampanga and crew are all geared up for the sea phase of CARAT 2012.

CARAT 2012 is a bilateral training exercise between the Philippine and US navies. It started in 1995 in line with the Phl-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

This year’s joint naval and maritime training, aimed to further foster strong relationship and mutual cooperation of the units involved, is also introducing, for the first time, minesweeping and nighttime naval insertion operations in the Mindanao Sea.

In this year’s exercise, the US government invited the Philippine Coast Guard to actively participate in the sea phase, anti-terrorist and other related trainings.

No problem with Chinese ships

Armed Forces chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa does not see any problem with China’s sending of patrol ships to the West Philippine Sea.

“As long as they are within the freedom of navigation area, there is no problem with that,” he said. “Ships usually navigate that area. There is no problem.”

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Dellosa said it would be up to the national government to redeploy Philippine vessels to the hotly contested Panatag Shoal.

Dellosa said the Navy must not be involved in the dispute as the Coast Guard is already monitoring the situation.

“We will just wait for the instructions,” he said. “As of now, there is none. We don’t want to escalate the situation. It’s been the Coast Guard (that is monitoring the area). We have no Navy (ships) there so I do not have control.”

The Navy’s latest aerial surveillance showed 28 Chinese vessels and boats are in the area.

However, the latest report was issued on June 26 and no other updates have been released after that.

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Jaime Laude | The Philippine Star | July 4, 2012 | Article Link

DFA to seek clarification on return of Chinese vessels to Panatag

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said it would seek clarification from China regarding the return of its vessels to the lagoon of the Scarborough [Panatag] Shoal off northwestern Philippines two days after it was reported to have left the contested area.

“We would like to ask for clarification as to what happened,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters as he reiterated China’s commitment to pull out its vessels inside the shoal.

Hernandez said China’s renewed presence at the lagoon would be taken up in the government’s next consultations with Chinese embassy officials in Manila.

“Negotiations and decisions always require people to act in good faith," he said. "We would like the parties to this issue to comply with commitments."

“That’s how we try to move forward with the discussion and to resolve this issue diplomatically and peacefully,” Hernandez said.

Manila and Beijing both pledged to pull out all its government and fishing vessels from inside the shoal’s lagoon to ease tensions, Hernandez said.

Weeks earlier, Philippine vessels, as part of this commitment, left the lagoon and moved outside the shoal, but Chinese government ships and fishing boats have remained inside.

Both the Philippines and China claim ownership to the shoal, which had been at the center of weeks-long territorial feud between the two nations.

A standoff erupted between the two countries on April 10 when China’s government ships prevented Philippine authorities from accosting Chinese fishermen poaching in the shoal, which Manila said was part of its territory.

On June 15, the President Benigno Aquino III ordered the pullout of the two remaining Philippine government ships in the area due to bad weather, in a move that temporarily halted the standoff.

Aquino has said that he would send back Philippine sovereignty vessels to the shoal if Chinese ships would not leave the area.

A Philippine plane, he said, would conduct surveillance to check on the Chinese presence as soon as the weather clears.

Scarborough, a ring-shaped coral reef with rocky outcrops teeming with marine life, is called Panatag or Bajo de Masinloc by Manila and Huangyan Island by Beijing.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has sent its recommendations to the President regarding the current situation at the shoal.

“We’ll just wait for the higher authorities to make a decision,” Hernandez said, declining to give further details. “I am not at liberty to divulge these recommendations at this time.”

On Monday, the DFA announced that Chinese government ships and fishing vessels have left the shoal’s lagoon.

Hernandez said the basis of the DFA’s announcement was based on information it received on June 23 that there are no more Chinese vessels inside the shoal.

Two days later, the Philippine Navy conducted an aerial survey of Scarborough and sighted six Chinese fishing vessels, accompanied by 17 smaller boats, inside the lagoon while five of Beijing’s government ships stood guard outside the contested area.

Manila said the shoal, located 124 nautical miles from Masinloc town in Zamabales and 472 nautical miles from China’s nearest land mass in Hainan province, was within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Both countries, along with 162 other nations, are signatories to the treaty.

China rejected Manila’s assertion over the shoal, saying proximity alone could not be a basis for ownership.

It said it was the first to have discovered Scarborough, citing ancient maps to prove its claim.

Apart from Scarborough, China also claims the South China Sea nearly in its entirety, including areas that overlap with the Philippines’ territorial waters.

Competing claims to the South China Sea, believed to be harboring vast oil and gas deposits, by the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan, have ignited violent confrontations in the past, sparking fears it could be Asia’s next potential flashpoint for war. 

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Philippine News Agency/InterAksyon.Com | June 27, 2012 | Article Link

PNoy gags Navy on Panatag Shoal; China sends 4 patrol ships to West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE: 4:58 pm) President Benigno Aquino III has restricted to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) all public announcements of updates in the Panatag Shoal standoff, and wants a full discussion of the conditions in the area before pursuing a declared intent to redeploy Philippine ships that were pulled out last week due to bad weather.

Even as Palace officials indicated Manila will still redeploy its boats to the area off Masinloc, Zambales if Chinese ships stay put, Beijing was reported to have deployed four maritime surveillance ships to the South China Sea (called West Philippine Sea by Manila) on regular patrols.

The apparent gagging of non-DFA agencies was apparently taken after the Philippine Navy monitoring report on Tuesday showed 28 Chinese ships of varying sizes were still in the area, some right within the lagoon, as of late Monday, as seen by an aerial sweep of a Navy islander plane. 

That information contradicted a DFA announcement that all Chinese ships had left the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal area, site of a standoff since April 10.

Protest over  school  dismissed

Meanwhile, Malacanang Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda dismissed Beijing’s protest over the establishment of a school on Pagasa Island in the Spratlys, saying Pagasa has long been Philippine territory. It is in fact listed among the voting precincts. 

On Wednesday, President Aquino sought a full discussion on Panatag Shoal before ordering the return of Philippine ships to the area.

The apparent gag order on non-DFA agencies notwithstanding, Palace officials indicated that the government will, as announced last week, redeploy its vessels to Panatag amid reports that a total of 28 Chinese vessels have returned to the area.

"The President’s position still stands," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said on Wednesday.

This was in reference to President Aquino’s earlier pronouncement that the two vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Philippine Coast Guard would be redeployed to Panatag if foreign vessels remain in the area.

Based on the latest aerial surveillance by the Philippine Navy, 23 out of the 28 Chinese vessels are right inside the lagoon.

The remaining vessels – three Chinese maritime surveillance vessels and two fishery and law enforcement command (FLEC) ships – are outside the lagoon.

"(The redeployment will be) based on considerations. For instance, the weather will be a consideration. There will be parameters that will be considered," Lacierda added. 

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News5/InterAksyon.Com | June 27, 2012 | Article Link