South China Sea Forum

[Malaya]

PH slams China for retaliation threat
By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Saturday, June 29th, 2013

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines scored China’s “provocative” threat of retaliation in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on Saturday, urging Beijing to defer instead to peaceful means of resolving maritime disputes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs reminded China of its obligation under international law to settle disputes without the use of threat or force.

“China has an obligation under international law, especially the UN Charter, to pursue a peaceful resolution of disputes, meaning without the use of force, the threat to use force such as this recent provocative statement of a counterstrike,” said DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez.

“There is no place in the relations of civilized nations to use such provocative language,” he added.

Hernandez made the statement in response to the Chinese People’s Daily’s scathing commentary on the Philippines on Saturday, which warned of a “counterstrike” as it accused Manila of “seven sins” in the disputed West Philippine Sea, which is how the Philippine government calls part of the South China Sea that is within in exclusive economic zone.

Among other things, the paper, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, accused the Philippines of “illegal occupation” of the Spratly Islands, part of which Manila contends to be within its exclusive economic zone.

The commentary also blasted the Philippines for advocating the “internationalization” of the waters, a critical international sea lane that has been under the close watch of Philippine allies, the United States in particular.

China issued its criticism amid war games between the Philippines and the US Navy off the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, a territory in the West Philippine Sea that saw a tense standoff between Philippine and Chinese ships last year. At least three Chinese patrol vessels are known to still be in the area.

The commentary also came out as leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Brunei in hopes of drafting a legally binding Code of Conduct that is aimed at ensuring peace in the disputed waters.

Despite Beijing’s sharp statements, the DFA called for sobriety and invoked peace in hopes of averting further escalation of tensions.

“We call on China to be a responsible member in the community of nations. The way towards a peaceful resolution of disputes is through the dispute resolution mechanism under the UN Charter, which is rules-based, transparent, binding and non-provocative,” said Hernandez.

“A peaceful and rules-based resolution to the disputes in the West Philippine Sea is durable and beneficial to all and will ensure peace and stability in the region,” he added.

The Philippines haled China to arbitral proceedings in the United Nations in January in a bid to peacefully settle the maritime dispute. The move has gained the support of the United States, the European Parliament and Japan, which also has a dispute with China in the East China Sea.

Now pending before a five-member arbitral tribunal, the legal action seeks to prevent further Chinese incursions into established Philippine maritime boundaries in the West Philippine Sea and to invalidate Beijing’s “excessive” nine-dash line claim encompassing almost all of the South China Sea.

China has rejected the proceedings, asserting “indisputable sovereignty” over the West Philippine Sea. It has been calling for a bilateral solution to its territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan. The Philippines has meanwhile been pushing for a multilateral approach.

 

[Malaya]

US trains Philippines on how to use drones amid China fears

US Navy serviceman (left) prepares to launch an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with Philippine Navy servicemen aboard a patrol boat during a joint annual military exercise called Carat at former US military base Sangley Point in Cavite city, west of Manila on June 28, 2013. US troops trained their Philippine counterparts how to use surveillance drones on Friday, as Manila seeks to boost military ties with Washington and counter what it perceives as a rising security threat from China. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

 

[Malaya]

US, Japan to establish military bases in the Philippines
By Joseph Santolan
29 June 2013

On June 27, at a press conference in Quezon City, Philippines, Philippine Defense Minister Voltaire Gazmin and his Japanese counterpart, Itsunori Onodera, announced that the Philippines would establish basing arrangements with both the US and Japanese militaries. China was the explicit target of this move allowing the US and Japan to station military personnel and equipment in the Philippines.

At the press conference, Gazmin called China “the oppressive neighbor” and the “bully at our doorstep.” He stated, “At this point in time, we cannot stand alone. We need allies. If we don’t do this, we will be bullied by bigger powers and that is what is happening now: there is China, sitting on our territory.”Onodera is in the Philippines on a two-day official visit. In discussions of the disputed waters of the South China Sea, he pledged to help the Philippines defend “its remote islands.”

Onodera also announced that Japan would officially back the Philippines’ claim of territorial sovereignty, which is currently being adjudicated by the United National Commission on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). These statements constitute an unprecedented acknowledgement by Japan of the validity of the Philippine claim to the disputed waters.

There is a continuing, two-month armed stand-off between Philippine marines stationed on one of the islands in question and the Chinese navy.

“We agreed that we will further cooperate in terms of the defense of remote islands... the defense of territorial seas as well as protection of maritime interests,” Onodera continued. He stated that Japan was “very concerned that this kind of situation in the South China Sea could affect the situation in the East China Sea,” referring to ongoing Sino-Japanese disputes over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.

Both Defense Ministers called for an increased US military presence in the region, and specifically for basing US forces in the Philippines. Onodera said that “both sides agreed that the US presence is a very important public asset in East Asia.”

The Chinese embassy in Manila issued a statement Thursday, asking the Philippines and the United States “not to exacerbate tensions in the area.” Beijing’s response to Filipino-Japanese talks was sharper. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi denounced them as the “path of confrontation,” stating that they are “doomed.” He added that countries that “try to reinforce their poorly grounded claims through the help of external forces” would find the strategy a “miscalculation not worth the effort.”

There is an escalating US intervention to include US allies in the region in military alliances directed against China. Recent years have not only seen Washington back Japanese claims on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, but also develop military bases in Australia and basing agreements for US littoral combat ships in Singapore.

Preparations to restore the basing of the US military in the Philippines have been long in the making. They were made public in January 2012, during the 2+2 meeting held in Washington between then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and their Philippine counterparts . The details of the basing arrangements are now becoming clearer. Manila is preparing a 70-acre facility at the former Subic Naval Base to house US warships and fighter planes. Upgrades on the site will cost some US$230 million. An airbase is being prepared on Cagayan de Oro, on the southern island of Mindanao.

Some of these bases are now being prepared for Japanese troops and equipment, as well. While the troops stationed in the Philippines would be rotated in and out of the country, this would constitute the permanent stationing the so-called ‘self-defense forces’ outside Japan. If carried through, this unprecedented move would mark the reemergence of Japan as an global imperialist military power.

This move is a further step in Tokyo’s long-standing drive to remilitarize Japan, with Washington’s backing. The Philippines have played a key role in this process. In December 2012, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told the Financial Times that Manila would support the scrapping of the so-called pacifist clause in the Japanese constitution, which has inhibited Japanese remilitarization, citing tensions with China as the justification.

Gazmin said that Manila would “allow the United States, Japan and other allies access to its military bases under the plan to roll back China’s expansive claims in the West Philippine Sea [South China Sea].” What other “allies” were also discussing basing arrangements with the Philippines was not disclosed.

The twentieth century saw the Philippines subjected to the brutal colonial rule of two imperialist powers, the United States and Japan, both of which the Filipino ruling class collaborated with. Under the leadership of President Benigno Aquino, they are actively functioning as the proxies of the same imperialist powers. As Washington recklessly pursues its drive to encircle China, the Philippines is being prepared as the staging point for a global war.

The Philippine constitution explicitly bans all “foreign military bases, troops, or facilities.” This ban is being cynically circumvented by having the Philippine government maintain the base facilities, at which the foreign troops are stationed as so-called “guests.”
During the meeting between Onodera and Gazmin, Washington launched a six-day joint military training exercise with Philippines in South China Sea. Five hundred US military personnel and an equal number of Filipinos are engaged in a series of war games of a calculatedly provocative nature.

The USS Fitzgerald, a guided missile destroyer, and the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the Philippine navy's flagship, staged naval maneuvers in waters less than 50 miles from the disputed shoal where Filipino marines are occupying a facility surrounded Chinese naval vessels. The exercise’s stated aim was “to intercept suspected enemy ships, board them and seize materials they may be carrying that could pose a danger to allies.”

The use of the terms “enemy ships” and “allies” is a marked escalation of rhetoric previously used to justify the war games. Previous war games allegedly targeted regional piracy, conducted rescue operations, or defended maritime trade. The 2013 Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises are now couched in the language of global war.

At Cavite naval base, six miles south of Manila, US military personnel trained their Filipino counterparts in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They launched and remotely guided Puma surveillance drones from a boat in the South China Sea. The Philippine navy also received training in naval gunnery.

The intensifying US military drive in the region finds expression in the fact that in first five months of 2013, 72 US warships and submarines have visited Subic Bay, compared with 88 for the entirety of 2012; 54 in 2011; and 51 in 2010, according to Filipino government figures.

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/06/29/phil-j29.html

 

[Malaya]

U.S. navy soldiers and their Philippine counterparts disembark from a speed boat after a surveillance operation training during a joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States at the South China Sea, June 28, 2013. The Philippines and U.S. Naval forces began joint military exercises codenamed Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) at the South China Sea on June 27 to enhance the capability of both sides through practical exercises and lectures.

U.S. navy soldiers and their Philippine counterparts disembark from a speed boat after a surveillance operation training

A U.S. navy soldier (L) instructs his Philippine counterpart

U.S. navy soldiers and their Philippine counterparts operate a boat

U.S. navy soldiers and their Philippine counterparts launch an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

 

[Viet]

The Philippines should prepare for a showdown. I believe it is more than just rhetoric.



China media warns Philippines of "counterstrike" in Sth China Sea


BEIJING, June 29 | Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:36pm EDT

New recruits of the Chinese Navy march with their guns during the parade marking the end of their first training session in Qingdao, Shandong province, March 4, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Stringer


(Reuters) - China's state media warned on Saturday that a "counterstrike" against the Philippines was inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China Sea, potentially Asia's biggest military troublespot.

The warning comes as ministers from both countries attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Brunei, starting Saturday, which hopes to reach a legally binding code of conduct to manage maritime conduct in disputed areas.

At stake are potentially massive offshore oil reserves. The seas also lie on shipping lanes and fishing grounds.

Both China and the Philippines have been locked in a decades-old territorial squabble over the South China Sea, with tensions flaring after the Philippines moved new soldiers and supplies last week to a disputed coral reef, prompting Beijing to condemn Manila's "illegal occupation".

The overseas edition of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, said in a front-page commentary that the Philippines had committed "seven sins" in the South China Sea.

These include the "illegal occupation" of the Spratly Islands, inviting foreign capital to engage in oil and gas development in the disputed waters and promoting the "internationalisation" of the waters, said the commentary.

The Philippines has called on the United States to act as a "patron", while ASEAN has become an "accomplice," said the commentary, which does not amount to official policy but can reflect the government's thinking.

"The Philippines, knowing that it's weak, believes that 'a crying child will have milk to drink'," the People's Daily said, accusing Manila of resorting to many "unscrupulous" tricks in the disputed waters.

Beijing's assertion of sovereignty over a vast stretch of the South China Sea has set it directly against Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also lay claim to other parts of the sea.

The 10-member ASEAN hopes to reach a legally binding Code of Conduct to manage maritime conduct in disputed areas. For now a watered-down "Declaration of Conduct" is in place.

On Thursday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea that look for help from third parties will find their efforts "futile", adding that the path of confrontation would be "doomed".

Last week, China vowed to protect its sovereignty over the Second Thomas Shoal, known in China as the Ren'ai reef. The Philippines is accusing China of encroachment after three Chinese ships, including a naval frigate, converged just five nautical miles (nine km) from an old transport ship that Manila ran aground on a reef in 1999 to mark its territory.

Last year, China and the Philippines were locked in a tense two-month standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, which is only about 124 nautical miles off the Philippine coast. Chinese ships now control the shoal, often chasing away Filipino fishermen. (Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Michael Perry)


China media warns Philippines of counterstrike in Sth China Sea | Reuters

 

[Viet]

some pics from the Philippines, US in war games in the SC Sea, June 28, 2013.

US destroyer USS Fitzgerald

 

[Hellraiser007]

What these Chinese are thinking themselves .....

 

[Viet]

What these Chinese are thinking themselves .....

They think China is the center of the world, as middle kingdom. Everything belongs to the Emperor, the son of heaven.

 

[Hellraiser007]

They think China is the center of the world, as middle kingdom. Everything belongs to the Emperor, the son of heaven.

If they continue like this they will be doomed for sure, I like the present CCP it is digging it own grave .


They are thinking by inflicting fear in the neighbors they can claim the lands with out war, But that is not going to happen.

 

[Zero_wing]

Let them the Philippines will defend itself but we never give in we solve this problem with accordance with the UN charter and international law let the Imperial chinamen do what they will they will doom anyway

 

[sweetouch]

The Philippines should prepare for a showdown. I believe it is more than just rhetoric.



China media warns Philippines of "counterstrike" in Sth China Sea


BEIJING, June 29 | Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:36pm EDT


New recruits of the Chinese Navy march with their guns during the parade marking the end of their first training session in Qingdao, Shandong province, March 4, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Stringer


(Reuters) - China's state media warned on Saturday that a "counterstrike" against the Philippines was inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China Sea, potentially Asia's biggest military troublespot.

The warning comes as ministers from both countries attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Brunei, starting Saturday, which hopes to reach a legally binding code of conduct to manage maritime conduct in disputed areas.

At stake are potentially massive offshore oil reserves. The seas also lie on shipping lanes and fishing grounds.

Both China and the Philippines have been locked in a decades-old territorial squabble over the South China Sea, with tensions flaring after the Philippines moved new soldiers and supplies last week to a disputed coral reef, prompting Beijing to condemn Manila's "illegal occupation".

The overseas edition of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, said in a front-page commentary that the Philippines had committed "seven sins" in the South China Sea.

These include the "illegal occupation" of the Spratly Islands, inviting foreign capital to engage in oil and gas development in the disputed waters and promoting the "internationalisation" of the waters, said the commentary.

The Philippines has called on the United States to act as a "patron", while ASEAN has become an "accomplice," said the commentary, which does not amount to official policy but can reflect the government's thinking.

"The Philippines, knowing that it's weak, believes that 'a crying child will have milk to drink'," the People's Daily said, accusing Manila of resorting to many "unscrupulous" tricks in the disputed waters.

Beijing's assertion of sovereignty over a vast stretch of the South China Sea has set it directly against Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also lay claim to other parts of the sea.

The 10-member ASEAN hopes to reach a legally binding Code of Conduct to manage maritime conduct in disputed areas. For now a watered-down "Declaration of Conduct" is in place.

On Thursday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea that look for help from third parties will find their efforts "futile", adding that the path of confrontation would be "doomed".

Last week, China vowed to protect its sovereignty over the Second Thomas Shoal, known in China as the Ren'ai reef. The Philippines is accusing China of encroachment after three Chinese ships, including a naval frigate, converged just five nautical miles (nine km) from an old transport ship that Manila ran aground on a reef in 1999 to mark its territory.

Last year, China and the Philippines were locked in a tense two-month standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, which is only about 124 nautical miles off the Philippine coast. Chinese ships now control the shoal, often chasing away Filipino fishermen. (Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Michael Perry)

how did ASEAN become accomplice?

 

[Type 052D]

Let them the Philippines will defend itself but we never give in we solve this problem with accordance with the UN charter and international law let the Imperial chinamen do what they will they will doom anyway

With what? Phinoy's military might !? You don't even an proper functioning 4th generation fighter aircraft!

 

[walle]

Yawn.... How many times has pinoy barked, and china warned in response. This is getting boring, china is in control of the disputed area right now, if the pinoy wants come and take it and we will see what happens. Pinoys are sly faced little ungrateful shits, need a good smacking.

This type of crap will only continue yearly because pinoys and us conduct exercises annually. No country on this planet has an appetite going directly against china. The US rhetoric is filled with endless domestic politics, but they can't do **** all to china.

 

[Fsjal]

Philippines won't stand a chance against China.

Philippine military lacks the size and the firepower and tech to defend their islands from the Chinese.

All the Philippines can do is call their master to protect them.

Let them the Philippines will defend itself but we never give in we solve this problem with accordance with the UN charter and international law let the Imperial chinamen do what they will they will doom anyway

Your military does not even have any proper warship or even a true fighter jet.
Your military does not stand a chance. Even if the Philippine military was modernizing, still no chance, and why did it take so long to start the modernizing program?

 

[Zero_wing]

With what? Phinoy's military might !? You don't even an proper functioning 4th generation fighter aircraft!

Dude did i say anything about military might see what your problem is? you think force can solve your problems and forcing people to your will not help you you figure it out for yourselves if you people have a brain cell left