Coast Guard to acquire 10 patrol ships from Japan

 News
Jul 042013
 
Coast Guard to acquire 10 patrol ships from Japan

By Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 1:51 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 This image received from Taiwan’s CNA and taken on September 25, 2012 shows a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat with a (neon) sign reading “Japanese territorial waters” as they monitor a flotilla of Taiwanese fishing boats which are headed to the Diaoyu / Senkaku islands disputed in the East China Sea, in territorial waters. AFP PHOTO/CNA MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard expects to wrap up talks with the Japan International Cooperation Agency within the next few months for the acquisition of 10 brand-new patrol boats from Japan in late 2014 or early 2015. This was disclosed to the Inquirer on Thursday by Cmdr. Armand Balilo, PCG spokesperson, who said “the talks are ongoing.” Quoting Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena, the Coast Guard commandant, Balilo said, “Hopefully, the talks will be completed by the last quarter of the year so that actual construction of the vessels could be started.” “The two sides have agreed that all 10 patrol boats will be 40 meters (131 feet) long. But they are still talking about other specifications,” added  Balilo, chief of the Coast Guard’s public affairs office. The JICA, he said,  proposed that five of the vessels be built in the Philippines and the five others in Japan, but the Coast Guard “prefers that all 10 patrol boats be built in Japan.” Established in 1974, the JICA is the primary Japanese government agency engaged in technical cooperation and other forms of aid Read More …

Japan willing to help PHL defend territorial sea, remote islands

 Entertainment
Jul 032013
 

MANILA  (Mabuhay) — With Philippines and Japan being close neighbors, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Thursday expressed his government’s willingness to cooperate in “defense of remote islands as well as the defense of territory or territorial sea.” Onodera made this statement during his courtesy call to Department of National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin at […]

Aquino defends use of bases by US, Japan

 News
Jul 022013
 
Aquino defends use of bases by US, Japan

‘Our strategic partners need knowledge of PH terrain’ By Michael Lim UbacPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:05 am | Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 President Aquino said for the first time on Tuesday that the United States and Japan would have access to the former US bases in the Philippines to be able to forge a “credible alliance” but dismissed Chinese claims that Manila was provoking Beijing. In an ambush interview in Camp Crame, Aquino stressed that giving the two countries access to the installations was “not permanent.” The United States had maintained Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base—America’s largest overseas military facilities—until Mt. Pinatubo erupted in June 1991 and forced the shutdown of the installations. Three months later, the Senate voted 12-11 against renewing the Philippines-US Military Bases Agreement. In 1999, the Philippines ratified the Visiting Forces Agreement allowing the United States to conduct joint exercises with Philippine forces in the country. “Let’s clarify the access. They will not be a permanent fixture in the bases—but they are our allies. There are only two strategic partners that we have—it is America and Japan,” he said, explaining that “interoperability” was key to prepare forces allied with each other for any conflict. This explains why the country has regular Balikatan exercises, which calls for “joint or shoulder-to-shoulder” military exercises, he said. He stressed that failure to “coordinate” or “synchronize” the military deployment systems between forces of allied countries in case of a conflict “in my view is a wrong way to prepare, Read More …

Aquino backs US, Japan access to PHL bases

 News
Jul 012013
 
Aquino backs US, Japan access to PHL bases

PNoy vows to modernize PAF . President Benigno Aquino III, along with PAF chief Lt. Gen. Lauro dela Cruz (left) and Col. Domingo Palisoc (right), presents the command plaque and streamer during the 66th anniversary rites of the Philippine Air Force at Clark Air Base, Pampanga on Monday, July 1. Aquino vowed to purchase new aircraft, including attack helicopters, in the next five years to beef up the country’s air force.This year’s celebration is anchored on the theme ‘Makabagong Lakas, Matatag na Bukas.’ Benhur Arcayan President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday expressed support for the plan to give the United States and Japan access to Philippine bases. Aquino said it is only a “natural circumstance” to allow these countries into Philippine bases “to build a credible alliance” with them. “Kung hindi tayo makikipag-ugnayan sa kanila, maling paghahanda iyon,” the President said. He however said that US and Japanese troops will not be “permanent fixtures” in the country’s bases. The President made these statements amid an ongoing territorial dispute with China over parts of the South China Sea. —KG, GMA News

PH, Japan defense chiefs welcome deepening ties

 News
Jun 272013
 
PH, Japan defense chiefs welcome deepening ties

By Nikko DizonPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:08 am | Friday, June 28th, 2013 Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera reviews a guard of honor during a welcome ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Thursday June 27, 2013. In a joint news conference with Philippine counterpart Voltaire Gazmin, Onodera said Japan supports the peaceful resolution of the current row between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). AP PHOTO/BULLIT MARQUEZ MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines and Japan on Thursday welcomed the deepening of their “strategic partnership” for defense, particularly in maritime affairs, amid their territorial disputes with an increasingly aggressive China. Without mentioning China, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera vowed their governments would work together to protect their territories in accordance with the rule of law. The meeting between Gazmin and Onodera was the first between the defense chiefs of the Philippines and Japan in nearly a decade. The two defense chiefs also discussed the United States’ rebalancing of its forces to the Asia-Pacific region. Rotational deployment   “We did not talk about any individual or specific equipment of United States forces, but we agreed that Japan and the Philippines will work together to make this rebalance a reality,” Onodera said. He added that he learned from Gazmin that the Philippines was “making efforts to further increase the rotational deployment of the United States forces and I have also heard that the Philippine side is now discussing with the United States (its) presence Read More …

US opposes bullying by China in disputed seas

 News
Jun 202013
 
US opposes bullying by China in disputed seas

Associated Press 9:37 am | Friday, June 21st, 2013 In this May 7, 2013 photo, a Filipino fisherman places ice on containers for fish before they are delivered to the market in the coastal town of Infanta, Pangasinan province, northwestern Philippines. Since China took control of the Scarborough Shoal last year, which Beijing calls Huangyan Island, Filipino fishermen say Chinese maritime surveillance ships have shooed them from the disputed waters in the South China Sea and roped off the entrance to the vast lagoon that had been their fishing paradise for decades. Now, they say, they can’t even count on the Chinese to give them shelter there from a potentially deadly storm. AP WASHINGTON— The nominee to become the top U.S. diplomat in East Asia delivered pointed comments about China in his confirmation hearing Thursday, saying there’s no place for “coercion and bullying” in the region’s seas. Danny Russel told a Senate panel that he will do everything in his power to “lower the temperature” in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas and push claimants including China toward diplomacy. He also said it was “unacceptable” for China to demand only bilateral negotiations with the other claimants, and voiced strong U.S. support for efforts by Southeast Asia to negotiate as a bloc and frame a “code of conduct” to manage the disputes — an issue to be taken up at regional security talks in Brunei later this month. Russel is currently White House senior director for Asian affairs. Read More …

Japan logs $10.4 billion trade deficit for May

 Economy
Jun 182013
 
Japan logs $10.4 billion trade deficit for May

Agence France-Presse 9:35 am | Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 Money traders work under a screen indicating the U.S. dollar is traded at 100.845 yen at a foreign exchange company in Tokyo, Friday, May 10, 2013. INQUIRER file photo TOKYO – Japan’s trade deficit for May expanded 9.5 percent from a year earlier to $10.4 billion, official data showed Wednesday as import costs rose on a weak yen. Data from the finance ministry showed Japan incurred a trade deficit of 993.9 billion yen, the 11th straight monthly shortfall. That was the longest run of monthly deficits since a 14-month string from July 1979 to August 1980. But May’s deficit was smaller than expected as the market had forecast a shortfall of around 1.2 trillion yen. Exports rose 10.1 percent to 5.76 trillion yen, growing for the third straight month on higher shipments to the United States and China. Imports also climbed 10.0 percent, an increase for the seventh consecutive month, as costs of fuel and other items jumped due to a weaker yen. A lower yen helps make Japanese exporters more competitive overseas but pushes up import bills. Japan’s fuel imports have soared as most of its nuclear reactors remain off-line since the huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011 sparked the world’s worst atomic accident in a generation. 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 Read More …

Mechanization is the only way to go

 Economy
Jun 142013
 
Mechanization is the only way to go

Many of our businessmen are keen on manufacturing, or import/export, or IT, or BPO. Only a few would give a second thought to the country’s agriculture sector, to the advances that we have gained over the last few years. Maybe because they are not trumpeted for the most part, but also because we tend to take agri news with a big ho-hum. What we know for a fact is that we have lagged behind our neighbors in this sector.  Where we used to be the lead producer of rice and sugar, we are now a net importer of rice and other countries have now challenged us too in sugar production. Countries like Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and Korea have overtaken us simply because they have embraced technology far earlier than us, and their governments have taken the initiative of empowering their farmers initially through subsidies, but later through production and marketing support while we continue to wallow in bureaucracy,  corruption and blissful ignorance. But take a second look now at what is going on in the country’s agriculture sector. For one, we have taken the first big step in mechanizing. In the late ’90s, mechanization of our farms stood at a low .52 – .56 HP/hectare.  That means, the total horse power used is only about one half horsepower per hectare. In 2012, Philmech, the lead agency under the Department of Agriculture (DA) tasked with farm mechanization, took a survey and came out with brighter results: 1.26 HP/ha. That is a Read More …

PAGASA: TS Dante exits PAR, will continue enhancing southwest monsoon

 News
Jun 102013
 
PAGASA: TS Dante exits PAR, will continue enhancing southwest monsoon

After enhancing the southwest monsoon, Tropical Storm Dante (international codename Yagi) exited the Philippine area of responsibility Monday night, state weather forecasters said. In its 10:30 p.m. advisory, PAGASA said Tropical Storm Dante maintained its strength as it moved north-northeast at 17 kph. “Tropical Storm Dante will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon that will bring rains and thunderstorms particularly over the western section of southern Luzon and Visayas,” it said. As of 10 p.m., PAGASA estimated Tropical Storm Dante to be 1,280 km northeast of Basco, Batanes or 680 km east-southeast of Okinawa, Japan. By Tuesday morning, it is expected to be 1,350 km northeast of Basco, Batanes or at 690 km east of Okinawa, Japan. It said Dante packed maximum sustained winds of 85 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 100 kph. No public storm warning signals were raised, PAGASA said. — DVM, GMA News

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