Fil-Ams urge new US envoy to push for stronger military ties

 News
Aug 052013
 
Fil-Ams urge new US envoy to push for stronger military ties

By Vivian Zalvidea AraulloINQUIRER.net US Bureau 2:30 pm | Monday, August 5th, 2013 Newly named Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg PHOTO FROM STATE.GOV SAN FRANCISCO—Filipino American leaders are calling on newly appointed US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg to push for stronger military relations between the United States and the Philippines. They agreed that the dispute between the Philippines and China over territory and maritime lanes in the East and South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) should be the new ambassador’s top concern. “The United States is already ‘pivoting’ towards Asia because of the prominent and aggressive role China has been playing in the past 10 years,” said Loida Nicolas-Lewis, chair of the US Pinoys for Good Government.  “Because of the strategic position of the Philippines in South East Asia, it is in the interest of the United States to be more present in our area.” The disputed territories are believed to be rich in oil and mineral deposits. Claimant countries Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines have complained about various incidents and “acts of aggression” allegedly initiated by China that threaten and encroach upon its stakes in the disputed areas. Jay Gonzalez, professor of Asian studies and international politics at the University of San Francisco believes the US should strengthen its military cooperation with and increase military aid to the Philippines. “American military exercises are very critical, because of the US’ capacity to invite more participants [other countries],” said Gonzalez. “If the US doesn’t conduct these multicountry exercises Read More …

PHL senators: No need to follow US lead in passing resolution vs. China

 News
Aug 022013
 
PHL senators: No need to follow US lead in passing resolution vs. China

The United States Senate may have done it, but at least two Philippine senators do not see the need to pass a resolution expressing concern about China’s actions in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who held backchannel talks with Chinese officials last year, said passing a resolution similar to the one approved by the US Senate’s foreign relations committee is “unnecessary” because the matter has already been brought to a United Nations (UN) arbitration tribunal. “It [A resolution] will be redundant since our President, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, have already articulated our foreign policy on the matter,” Trillanes, who chairs the Senate national defense committee, said in a text message. The US Senate passed on Monday a resolution listing several worrying Chinese behavior, including Beijing’s move to issue an official map defining the contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) as within its national border. On Friday, China opposed the passing of the US Senate resolution, and announced that it has filed a formal complaint against the US for the action of its legislature. ‘No difference’ Last January, the Philippines brought its territorial dispute with China before the UN tribunal, asking Beijing “to desist from unlawful activities that violate the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the Philippines under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China is asserting its historial claim on the entire West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). The Philippines, however, is claiming its ownership Read More …

BRP Gregorio del Pilar test-fires main gun

 News
Jul 312013
 
BRP Gregorio del Pilar test-fires main gun

Manila, Philippines — Ahead of the arrival of the country’s second Hamilton-class Cutter acquired from the United States, the Philippine Navy (PN) announced that BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF 15) has successfully test fired its 76 mm Oto Melara main gun off the waters of Zambales. The firing exercise was conducted as the Navy prepared to welcome BRP Gregorio Alcaraz (PF 16), Del Pilar’s sister ship, which is expected to enter Philippine waters on Friday, August 2. Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, the PN spokesman, said Del Pilar tested its main weapon by firing at a “killer tomato” balloon target drifting about two nautical miles away from the ship. Fabic said the gunnery test was conducted Monday off the coast of Zambales, “safe for it (Del Pilar) not to inflict damage to any other fishing vessel.” The Philippine Navy spokesman described the accuracy exhibited by Del Pilar’s gunnery team as “excellent.” He said that, normally, before a ship can hit that small a target, between 15 to 30 rounds need to be fired. In the case of Del Pilar, Fabic said it was able to hit the target within five rounds. “Five rounds pa lang na-hit na yung target kaya tumigil na sila. Wala nang assessment na mangyayari kasi na-hit na niya . . . so it’s very effective he said. While the test firing was staged in waters near the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, it was not meant as a show of force against China, he said. Panatag shoal, a rich Read More …

PH warship test fires guns off Zambales; BRP Ramon Alcaraz due Friday

 News
Jul 312013
 
PH warship test fires guns off Zambales; BRP Ramon Alcaraz due Friday

By Frances MangosingINQUIRER.net 3:02 pm | Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 PH’S 2ND WARSHIP The BRP Ramon Alcaraz. PHOTO FROM TWITTER ACCOUNT OF PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN US MANILA, Philippines – The country’s warship, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, successfully test fired its guns off Zambales last Monday, a navy official said Wednesday. The naval drill was held as the Navy prepares to welcome the arrival in the Philippines of BRP Gregorio del Pilar’s sister ship, BRP Ramon Alcaraz. Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic told reporters that the gunnery test of its Oto Melara 76mm main gun hit a floating “killer tomato” located two nautical miles away within five rounds. He added that BRP Gregorio del Pilar is near the Subic area to welcome the country’s second warship, BRP Ramon Alcaraz, which is due to arrive on August 2. Fabic, however, clarified that the test firing was not a show of force against China. The Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), a disputed territory between China and Philippines, is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales. He described the guns, the primary weapon of del Pilar, as “excellent.” The Oto Melara 76mm gun has a range of up to 10 nautical miles, and can fire up to 80 rounds in 60 seconds. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers Read More …

Aquino, Abe vow common stand vs China

 News
Jul 272013
 
Aquino, Abe vow common stand vs China

3:11 am | Sunday, July 28th, 2013 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, delivers his response during a joint press conference with President Benigno Aquino III Saturday at Malacañan Palace in Manila. AP MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday pledged to pursue a common stance against maritime aggression in the Asian region amid their growing territorial disputes with China. “We reviewed the security challenges that confront our nations and pledged to cooperate in advancing our common advocacy for responsible action from international players,” said Mr. Aquino, reading from a prepared statement following his meeting with Abe. The Philippines has an ongoing maritime dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), while Japan is locked in a sovereignty row over the islands called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China. In their statements, however, neither President Aquino nor Abe mentioned China by name. In line with this strategic partnership, the two agreed to strengthen “maritime cooperation, which is a pillar of our strategic partnership,” according to Mr. Aquino. He thanked Japan for building 10 “multi-role response vessels” for the Philippine Coast Guard and providing communication systems for coast patrol through a yen credit facility. Strategic interests Abe, reading from his own prepared statement, described the Philippines as a “strategic partner with whom we share fundamental values and many strategic interests.” He said he intended to attach particular importance to Japan’s relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), adding that Read More …

Hundreds protest China’s ‘bullying’ of PHL

 Entertainment
Jul 252013
 

MANILA, July 24, 2013 (AFP) – Hundreds of Philippine activists on Wednesday accused China of “gunboat diplomacy”, demonstrating at a noisy Manila protest against the Asian giant’s moves to stake its claims in the South China Sea. Riot police cordoned off the entrance to an office building housing the Chinese consulate as an estimated one […]

New Chinese coast guard ship seen in PHL territory

 News
Jul 242013
 
New Chinese coast guard ship seen in PHL territory

A new Chinese coast guard vessel has been spotted in the Panganiban Reef—the same type of ship that a news report in China says is being used for the first time in disputed territorial waters. “An unidentified China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel was sighted in Panganiban Reef,” a government report seen Wednesday by GMA News Online said. The ship, according to the report, possesses “advance communication systems and armaments such as twin automatic cannons mounted on the ships’ deck.” “As such, it is deemed imperative for the Philippines to enhance its present intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities while seeking a minimum credible deterrent against potential external threats,” the report said. Panganiban Reef is a rich fishing ground within Philippine territory but came under Chinese control in 1995. Chinese media has reported in Beijing that China would now use armed Chinese coast guard vessels to complement its fleet of Chinese Maritime Surveillance (CMS) and Fisheries and Law Enforcement Command (FLEC) vessels that, for years, have been conducting sovereignty patrols in most of the Chinese-claimed areas in the South China Sea. The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have competing claims over the resource-rich waters. China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over the entire South China Sea, where undersea gas deposits have been discovered in several areas, even as it overlaps with the territories of its Asian neighbors. Manila has sought international arbitration to try to declare as illegal China’s massive claim. News reports say Chinese coast guard vessels have been seen first Read More …

Hundreds protest China’s ‘bullying’ of Philippines

 News
Jul 242013
 
Hundreds protest China’s ‘bullying’ of Philippines

Agence France-Presse 6:58 pm | Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 Risa Hontiveros. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Hundreds of Philippine activists on Wednesday accused China of “gunboat diplomacy”, demonstrating at a noisy Manila protest against the Asian giant’s moves to stake its claims in the South China Sea. Riot police cordoned off the entrance to an office building housing the Chinese consulate as an estimated one thousand demonstrators took Beijing to task for “bullying” the Philippines. The protest, which ended peacefully two hours later, came amid festering tensions between the two neighbours over Scarborough Shoal, a Philippine-claimed outcrop seized by China after a two-month naval stand-off last year. “Our simple message for China today is to stop your intrusions, and stop your bullying of other claimant countries,” Risa Hontiveros, a former member of parliament and one of the protest leaders, told AFP. The demonstrators, who included politicians, former military officers and church officials, accused China in a statement handed out at the protest of implementing “gunboat diplomacy in the region”. They put up a portable stage on the street, snarling traffic as they sang patriotic songs, blew horns, danced and hoisted anti-Chinese slogans. China claims nearly all of the strategically vital South China Sea, even waters close to the shores of its smaller neighbours. Apart from Scarborough, the Philippines has also protested the presence of Chinese navy vessels near Philippine-held Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. The islands have been a source of regional tension for decades, with China and Vietnam Read More …

Filipino artists band together to send message of peace to China

 News
Jul 232013
 
Filipino artists band together to send message of peace to China

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 11:40 pm | Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013 MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has a new message for China amid its continued maritime dispute with the country: “FU”. This message however does not mean any profanity, but instead is a call for “peace, love, unity and respect.” An independent group of artists from the United States and the Philippines have banded together and called themselves “The Filipinos Unite” (FU) movement with the aim of using music to call for Filipinos all over the world to unite against China’s bullying of the Philippines. Vonz Santos, chairman of FU, said Tuesday that their movement has several goals, among them are “to inspire the Filipinos around the world to wake up and come together, to show the world that there is another way to deal with conflict so peace can be attained, and to remind the Filipinos around the world about the strength and dignity that belongs to every Filipino.” “We have to do something as responsible citizens and Filipinos. I’ve marched and held rallies, I’ve been in front of the UN [and yet] the situation continues to get worse,” he said in a press conference. Santos was referring to the recent incursions of Chinese ships into Philippine territorial waters. China claims the entire West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) as its own including Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal) and Ayungin Shoal. Recently, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) started the arbitration process between the Philippines and China despite Beijing’s pronouncements that it Read More …

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