AFP: Balikatan to boost Malampaya security

The Armed Forces of the Philippines seeks to boost its capability to secure the Malampaya natural gas platform and oil exploration projects off Palawan province from terrorist attacks by training with American troops in their bilateral military exercises.

The latest large-scale joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States, dubbed Balikatan, formally opened on Monday.

Rear Adm. Victor Martir, Balikatan exercise director for the Philippines, said the combined 6,000-strong forces would take part in 60 training events in Luzon and Palawan until April 27.

He particularly cited the forthcoming training in search-and-rescue operations, and gas and oil platform-security operations.

Amphibious training exercises under Balikatan have been held before in Palawan, which faces the West Philippine Sea where the Philippines is locked in an increasingly tense territorial dispute with China over the Spratly group of islands.

Asked why training exercises were being held in Palawan again, Martir said the Philippine military wanted to improve on securing Malampaya.

“This is a competency that the Armed Forces would like to improve on. Now that we have gas and oil platforms, it is the competency that we would like to enhance,” he told reporters at the opening ceremony held in Camp Aguinaldo.

9-magnitude quake

Exercise director for the United States, Brigadier General Frederick Padilla highlighted the tabletop exercise component that would simulate disaster response in case a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hits Metro Manila.

Martir reiterated that the kind of exercises for this year’s Balikatan were firmed up several months ago.

“The Scarborough (Panatag Shoal) incident and Balikatan are two separate activities. One is an incident. This is an annual activity that we hold together with the US Armed Forces,” he said.

Last week, the Philippines sent its biggest warship to  Scarborough Shoal about 230 kilometers west of Luzon where eight Chinese fishing boats had been seen.

China deployed three vessels to stop Philippine personnel from arresting the fishermen, and the dispute escalated with both countries launching protests and trading accusations that the other was violating their sovereign territory.

While the fishing boats left the shoal over the weekend, both nations are continuing to assert their sovereignty over the area, which is many hundreds of kilometers from the nearest major Chinese landmass.

Support for weaker ally

“As we have reiterated every year in our speeches, Balikatan is for the improvement, enhancement of our combat readiness and our interoperability as a combined force,” Martir said.

In a speech at the opening ceremony for the exercises in Manila, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Jessie Dellosa said the war games highlighted strong US support for its weaker ally.

“Given the international situation we are in, I say that this exercise, in coordination with all those we had in the past, (is) timely and mutually beneficial,” Dellosa said.

He said the annual event “reflects the aspirations to further relations with our strategic ally, a commitment that has to be nurtured especially in the context of the evolving challenges in the region.”

Competing claims

China and Taiwan claim nearly all of the West Philippine Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.

The competing claims have for decades made the sea—where there are shipping routes vital for global trade and which is believed to hold huge deposits of fossil fuels—a potential flash point for military conflict.

While diplomatic efforts have kept the dispute from flaring into violence over recent decades, the Philippines and Vietnam said last year that China was becoming increasingly aggressive in staking its claim to the sea.

The Philippines accused Chinese vessels of firing warning shots at Filipino fishermen, harassing an oil exploration vessel and laying markers in areas close to the Philippine landmass.

The Balikatan exercises are being held as the United States is rebuilding its military presence across the Asia-Pacific, partly to counter the growing political, economic and military might of China.

President Aquino said last month he was willing to help the United States in this context by allowing more joint exercises such as Balikatan.

‘Cold War mentality’

China has criticized the greater US focus on Asia, with the Chinese defense ministry describing it as proof of a “Cold War mentality.”

Padilla confirmed on Monday the exercises were part of US President Barack Obama’s plan to build a stronger military presence in the Asia-Pacific.

“The President of the United States has stated that it is the desire of our country to be engaged more in the Pacific region—that includes working with the Filipino government and the armed forces,” Padilla told reporters.

But Padilla denied the exercise was meant as a warning to China amid its dispute with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal.

“This exercise is, from our standpoint, not linked to any particular situation,” Padilla said.

Asked if China should be alarmed, US Marine Lieutenant Colonel Curtis Hill said at a news conference that the exercises would not focus on any nation as an adversary.

“There is no reason for anyone to feel threatened by us coming together, working through our interoperabilities so we can better respond and help people across the region,” Hill said.

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Dona Z. Pazzibugan | Philippine Daily Inquirer | April 17, 2012 | Article Link

South China Sea represents 'a new Persian Gulf'?

The stalemate over the Scarborough shoal is the latest in a series of recent incidents in the diplomatic tug-of-war between the Philippines and China over a number of islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

From a Filipino perspective, the root of the problem lies in Beijing's assertion of its historical claim to the islands and waters of the South China Sea, or what Manila now calls the West Philippines Sea.

With its long civilization, China claims that the Scarborough shoal was first discovered in the 13th century when the Yuan dynasty emperor, Kublai Khan, ordered a survey of the South China Sea.

In the case of the Spratlys, the Chinese claim goes further back more than two thousand years ago when a Han dynasty navigator discovered the islands during a journey through the South China Sea.

So does it mean that China claims the whole South China Sea?

A Chinese spokesman officially denied this during a Foreign Ministry press briefing last February 29. According to the spokesman, "Neither China nor any other country lays claim to the entire South China Sea."

But he went on to point out that China has "indisputable sovereignty" over all the islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

What is not yet clear, however, is the exact extent of this claim or whether China will ever agree to validate the legality of its historical claim in an international tribunal.

One can get an idea of China's expansive claim from its official map, a copy of which was attached to a document it submitted in 2009 to a United Nations commission which handles cases related to the limits of the continental shelf, as provided by the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

This map, first drawn up in 1947, contains the "nine-dash line" that is supposed to delineate China's maritime borders. But due to the obvious conflict between the "nine-dash line" and the exclusive economic zones and continental shelves defined by UNCLOS, the Philippines and other countries have questioned the legal validity of this line.

A prominent international law expert described the "nine-dash line" map as “puzzling and disturbing” because it has no basis under UNCLOS.

New 'Persian Gulf'?

Facing growing pressure, China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi gave a brief comment about it at the Asean regional forum last July.  He said, “The dotted line was formally announced by the Chinese government in 1948. China's sovereignty, rights and claims in the South China Sea were established and developed in the long course of history. They have been consistently upheld by the Chinese government.”

Though there is no sign that China will ever give up this burden of history, its recent denial about claiming the entire South China Sea appears to indicate some movement at clarifying the extent of China's historical claim.

As China is finding out, its stated policy of developing good-neighborly relations with Southeast Asian countries is being undercut, if not undermined, by its own efforts to increasingly assert its historical claim.

Whatever reservoir of goodwill it has built up in the region is being drained by the accumulation of maritime incidents and standoffs, leading to increasing suspicion of China’s intentions.

But underlying these disputes over these islands and reefs are real concerns over marine resources. The waters around Scarborough shoal abound in fishery resources, while the Reed bank is believed to have oil and gas deposits.

There is a growing perception that the South China Sea represents “a new Persian Gulf."

Thus, aside from the issue of sovereignty, energy security is also a major factor behind these competing claims.

Imported oil accounted for 55% of China's total oil use in 2010 and this share is expected to increase. The natural gas field in Malampaya, which is located off Palawan, already supplies 40% of Luzon's electricity. The Philippines is hoping an even bigger gas field can be developed in the Reed Bank.

China's anxiety

Finally, the growing rivalry between China and the United States in Asia provides a strategic context that complicates the regional situation.

To China’s dismay, the US pivot to Asia symbolizes a move to balance, if not contain, the growth of Chinese power with US military presence as Asian countries seek to hedge against any potential miscalculation or conflict.

China’s anxiety is reflected in its state media, particularly the Global Times, which is considered a bellwether of extreme nationalist sentiment. In a commentary last January, the Global Times called for punishing the Philippines and Vietnam for “balancing China by siding with the US.”

With the strengthening of the military alliance between the US and the Philippines, the Global Times issued a stern warning to Manila against acting as “a pawn in the US geopolitical game against China.”

Amid such a complex background of overlapping claims over sovereignty, competition over marine resources and intensifying strategic rivalry, it is difficult to expect an end to this diplomatic tug-of-war in the near future.

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Chito Sta. Romana | Rappler.Com | April 16, 2012 | Article Link

AFP to reveal powerful naval unit

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) revealed to the public its latest war material – the Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15).

The naval patrol boat will be opened to the public on February 5 and will be anchored at Puerto Princesa City Anchorage Area.

The open house activity aimed to show the whole country the state of readiness of the vessel as protector of Palawan waters and the West Philippine Sea.

The vessel may also serve as an added naval security to Malampaya Oil Fields and other petroleum service contract areas of the Department of Energy (DOE) in the West Philippine Sea.

BRP Gregorio del Pilar is said to be the fastest and largest warship of the Philippine Navy. It was transferred to the Philippine Navy by the United States’ Coast Guard in May 13 last year.

These latest developments are amidst the complaints from China that criticized the Philippines for allowing more US troops in the country.

Lashing the Philippine’s recent actuations, the Chinese government also warned that any negative intrusions in the disputed Spratly areas will result to economic and political sanctions from the PROC.

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By Juancho Mahusay 

PhilStar.Com 

January 30, 2012 01:22 PM 

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