SCS Standoff Continues
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auspice
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PH says US to protect in South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines said Wednesday the United States had pledged to protect it from attacks in the South China Sea, a day after China issued a warning over a territorial row in the waters.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said he had received the assurances during talks in Washington last week in which the Philippines' increasingly tense dispute with China over rival claims to a shoal in the sea were discussed.
Gazmin said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta stressed they were not taking sides in the dispute, but they assured the Philippines the United States would honour a 1951 mutual defense treaty.
"It includes armed attack... (on) island territories in the Pacific (region)," Gazmin said, citing conditions for the allies coming to each other's aid.
In answer to a question about the dispute with China over Scarborough Shoal, Gazmin said he had interpreted remarks by Clinton to mean the United States would protect the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea.
"Overall, with these statements, they cover our problem in the West Philippine Sea," he said, using the Philippine name for the waters.
China and the Philippines have had vessels stationed at Scarborough Shoal for more than a month in an effort to assert their sovereignty over the area.
China claims virtually all of the South China Sea as its own, even waters close to the coasts of other Asian countries.
The Philippines insists it has sovereignty over the shoal because it falls within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
The shoal sits about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the Philippines' main island of Luzon and 1,200 kilometers northwest from the nearest major Chinese land mass, according to Filipino navy maps.
Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia also claim parts of the South China, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas resources, making the area one of Asia's potential military flashpoints.
China warned on Tuesday it was prepared for "any escalation" in the dispute with the Philippines, which followed an editorial in a newspaper run by the ruling Communist Party calling for a small-scale war to end the stand-off.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario also issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Clinton and Panetta had reaffirmed during the Washington talks US commitment to the mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.
source
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines said Wednesday the United States had pledged to protect it from attacks in the South China Sea, a day after China issued a warning over a territorial row in the waters.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said he had received the assurances during talks in Washington last week in which the Philippines' increasingly tense dispute with China over rival claims to a shoal in the sea were discussed.
Gazmin said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta stressed they were not taking sides in the dispute, but they assured the Philippines the United States would honour a 1951 mutual defense treaty.
"It includes armed attack... (on) island territories in the Pacific (region)," Gazmin said, citing conditions for the allies coming to each other's aid.
In answer to a question about the dispute with China over Scarborough Shoal, Gazmin said he had interpreted remarks by Clinton to mean the United States would protect the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea.
"Overall, with these statements, they cover our problem in the West Philippine Sea," he said, using the Philippine name for the waters.
China and the Philippines have had vessels stationed at Scarborough Shoal for more than a month in an effort to assert their sovereignty over the area.
China claims virtually all of the South China Sea as its own, even waters close to the coasts of other Asian countries.
The Philippines insists it has sovereignty over the shoal because it falls within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
The shoal sits about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the Philippines' main island of Luzon and 1,200 kilometers northwest from the nearest major Chinese land mass, according to Filipino navy maps.
Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia also claim parts of the South China, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas resources, making the area one of Asia's potential military flashpoints.
China warned on Tuesday it was prepared for "any escalation" in the dispute with the Philippines, which followed an editorial in a newspaper run by the ruling Communist Party calling for a small-scale war to end the stand-off.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario also issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Clinton and Panetta had reaffirmed during the Washington talks US commitment to the mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.
source
auspice
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China warns citizens ahead of May 11 Manila protest
China warned its citizens in Manila to stay off the streets and take precautions during planned anti-Chinese protests on Friday, a sign of mounting tensions during a standoff in the resource-rich South China Sea.
The planned protest of about 1,000 people could heighten tensions between China and the Philippines over what is known as the Scarborough Shoal in English and Huangyan island in Chinese in the southeastern region of the disputed waters. The Philippine name for it is Panatag Shoal.
On Tuesday, China's embassy in Manila posted an advisory on its website asking its citizens to stay indoors, avoid demonstrations and refrain from confrontations with locals, anticipating a "large-scale" anti-China protest on Friday.
That coincided with a stern warning from Beijing that China had made "every preparation" to counter what it called potential expansion of the conflict by the Philippines, one of Washington's closest allies in Asia.
Civil society and political groups with links to President Benigno Aquino's political allies plan to take to the streets on Friday to protest the Chinese presence in the Scarborough shoal, which Manila says is within its jurisdiction.
A spokesman of China's foreign ministry accused Manila of using the standoff to incite domestic opinion, adding it has "damaged the atmosphere of Sino-Philippine relations."
The protest organizers plan similar actions in China's embassies and consulates in the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy and other Asian capitals.
"We are seeking a peaceful solution through political and diplomatic means," said Risa Hontiveros, a former lawmaker and member of Akbayan party, one of the protest organizers.
Akbayan is among political parties allied with Aquino. Its leader, Ronald Llamas, sits in the Cabinet as political adviser and two of its members in the House of Representatives organized a trip to the contested Spratly island last year.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement Washington has reaffirmed its commitment to help Manila if violence erupts in the disputed seas, citing a 1951 mutual defense pact with the United States.
The warning by Beijing comes as tensions in the South China Sea enter a new and more contentious chapter, with claimant nations searching deeper into disputed waters for energy supplies while building up their navies and military alliances, especially with the United States.
Proven and undiscovered oil reserve estimates in the South China Sea range as high as 213 billion barrels of oil, the US Energy Information Administration said in a 2008 report. That would surpass every country's proven oil reserves except Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, according to the BP Statistical Review.
China, which claims the South China Sea as its territory based on historical records, has disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan over the waters.
The standoff in the shoal began in April when a Philippines Navy surveillance plane spotted eight Chinese fishing boats in the area. Manila responded by sending its largest warship, a US Hamilton-class cutter, to check on the Chinese presence.
That standoff now involves four Chinese maritime surveillance ships and eight Chinese fishing boats, and a Filipino coast guard ship and several fishing boats. —Reuters
source
China warned its citizens in Manila to stay off the streets and take precautions during planned anti-Chinese protests on Friday, a sign of mounting tensions during a standoff in the resource-rich South China Sea.
The planned protest of about 1,000 people could heighten tensions between China and the Philippines over what is known as the Scarborough Shoal in English and Huangyan island in Chinese in the southeastern region of the disputed waters. The Philippine name for it is Panatag Shoal.
On Tuesday, China's embassy in Manila posted an advisory on its website asking its citizens to stay indoors, avoid demonstrations and refrain from confrontations with locals, anticipating a "large-scale" anti-China protest on Friday.
That coincided with a stern warning from Beijing that China had made "every preparation" to counter what it called potential expansion of the conflict by the Philippines, one of Washington's closest allies in Asia.
Civil society and political groups with links to President Benigno Aquino's political allies plan to take to the streets on Friday to protest the Chinese presence in the Scarborough shoal, which Manila says is within its jurisdiction.
A spokesman of China's foreign ministry accused Manila of using the standoff to incite domestic opinion, adding it has "damaged the atmosphere of Sino-Philippine relations."
The protest organizers plan similar actions in China's embassies and consulates in the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy and other Asian capitals.
"We are seeking a peaceful solution through political and diplomatic means," said Risa Hontiveros, a former lawmaker and member of Akbayan party, one of the protest organizers.
Akbayan is among political parties allied with Aquino. Its leader, Ronald Llamas, sits in the Cabinet as political adviser and two of its members in the House of Representatives organized a trip to the contested Spratly island last year.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement Washington has reaffirmed its commitment to help Manila if violence erupts in the disputed seas, citing a 1951 mutual defense pact with the United States.
The warning by Beijing comes as tensions in the South China Sea enter a new and more contentious chapter, with claimant nations searching deeper into disputed waters for energy supplies while building up their navies and military alliances, especially with the United States.
Proven and undiscovered oil reserve estimates in the South China Sea range as high as 213 billion barrels of oil, the US Energy Information Administration said in a 2008 report. That would surpass every country's proven oil reserves except Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, according to the BP Statistical Review.
China, which claims the South China Sea as its territory based on historical records, has disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan over the waters.
The standoff in the shoal began in April when a Philippines Navy surveillance plane spotted eight Chinese fishing boats in the area. Manila responded by sending its largest warship, a US Hamilton-class cutter, to check on the Chinese presence.
That standoff now involves four Chinese maritime surveillance ships and eight Chinese fishing boats, and a Filipino coast guard ship and several fishing boats. —Reuters
source
auspice
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Treaty covers conflict area
THE MUTUAL Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States covers territories west of the country where the standoff between Chinese and Filipino maritime vessels over a shoal remains unresolved, a Cabinet official said yesterday.
In a statement issued to clarify "whether or not the US is prepared to respond to its commitment" under the MDT, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario cited past communiques by US officials to the Philippine government, specifically providing that the territorial boundaries covered by the MDT include not only those in the Pacific Ocean but also those in South China Sea.
A reading of the treaty’s text would reveal that it pertains to the "Pacific area" as the focus of defense and security cooperation.
Mr. del Rosario cited the Jan. 6, 1979 letter sent by then US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance to then Philippine Foreign Secretary Carlos P. Romulo. It stated that under the MDT’s Article 5, "an attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific would not have to occur within the metropolitan territory of the Philippines or island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific in order to come within the definition of Pacific area in Article V."
Mr. del Rosario also cited the May 24, 1999 communique sent by US Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard to Foreign Secretary Domingo L. Siazon, which stated that "the US Government stands by its statements in the Vance-Romulo letter of Jan. 6, 1979."
Mr. Hubbard’s letter also quoted then US Defense Secretary William Cohen as saying that "the US considers the South China Sea to be part of the Pacific area."
During the "2+2" meeting between US and Philippine officials in Washington D.C. on April 30, Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton reaffirmed her country’s commitment to honor obligations under the MDT.
Treaty covers conflict area | BusinessWorld Online Edition
THE MUTUAL Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States covers territories west of the country where the standoff between Chinese and Filipino maritime vessels over a shoal remains unresolved, a Cabinet official said yesterday.
In a statement issued to clarify "whether or not the US is prepared to respond to its commitment" under the MDT, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario cited past communiques by US officials to the Philippine government, specifically providing that the territorial boundaries covered by the MDT include not only those in the Pacific Ocean but also those in South China Sea.
A reading of the treaty’s text would reveal that it pertains to the "Pacific area" as the focus of defense and security cooperation.
Mr. del Rosario cited the Jan. 6, 1979 letter sent by then US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance to then Philippine Foreign Secretary Carlos P. Romulo. It stated that under the MDT’s Article 5, "an attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific would not have to occur within the metropolitan territory of the Philippines or island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific in order to come within the definition of Pacific area in Article V."
Mr. del Rosario also cited the May 24, 1999 communique sent by US Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard to Foreign Secretary Domingo L. Siazon, which stated that "the US Government stands by its statements in the Vance-Romulo letter of Jan. 6, 1979."
Mr. Hubbard’s letter also quoted then US Defense Secretary William Cohen as saying that "the US considers the South China Sea to be part of the Pacific area."
During the "2+2" meeting between US and Philippine officials in Washington D.C. on April 30, Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton reaffirmed her country’s commitment to honor obligations under the MDT.
Treaty covers conflict area | BusinessWorld Online Edition
you could not dare to fire first, you only have strong confidence by mouth, and you cannot even fire first then let's see what will happen if you start the war. All you can do is BULLY!
p3avi8tor69
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If China invades the Philippine mainland, the US gets involved. If China sinks Philippine naval warships in the disputed sea, the US will just complain and lament the loss of its former coast guard ship. Filipinos should not think we would send our kids to fight for their territorial ambitions. We will fight if they turn you into a punching bag by taking your mainland (because it is the right thing to do) but don't expect us to fight for your ambitions. You haven't really done anything in the last 50 years to earn the right to be called a major non NATO ally.
Fanling Monk
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Platyer2:
Had Aquino used diplomacy instead of intimidation by sending the newly acquired antiquated Del Pilar when this whole thing started we wouldn't be in this predicament.Now what is Aquino's next brilliant move?
Mario-Garcia:
Aquino is playing the US card like Marcos playing the Soviet card, both cards will bring disaster to the Philippines. Lets play the China card, maybe we'll win.
Sensible comments by these 2 Filipinos. Don't bully the big boys unless you can back it up otherwise you are rounding up the one being hurt. You kicked the US out to suit your political needs and now you bet her to help. LOL you want the best of this world, don't you!
p3avi8tor69
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I find it petty that Filipinos would launch protest on Chinese embassies on May 11. Why can't they just spend their energies to find a way out of the mess they are in.
Fanling Monk
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The May 11 protests was instigated by one of Aquino's minister and it shows how two faced and dumb he is. At one end he's calling for joint developments with China now and at the same time he incites the populace to demonstrate. If the demonstrations are to get out of hands and some Chinese nationals get hurt or kill, he's bring a lot of troubles to the country. I swear I never seen such an immature politician as a head of a state.
Fanling Monk
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Most Chinese travel agencies have suspended travel to the Philippines following the escalation of the Huangyan Island situation. China's Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said Tuesday that China is not optimistic about the Huangyan Island situation, and is fully prepared to respond to anything the Philippine side does to escalate the dispute.
Chinese travel agencies suspend routes to Philippines - Xinhua | English.news.cn
Chinese government is well prepared for any contingency concerning the Huangyan Island developments. I wonder any plans to evacuate her citizens in Philippines.
Chinese travel agencies suspend routes to Philippines - Xinhua | English.news.cn
Chinese government is well prepared for any contingency concerning the Huangyan Island developments. I wonder any plans to evacuate her citizens in Philippines.
faithfulguy
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I still remember that Phillipines expelled US navy and AF from the air bases back in early 1990s. As a result, the bars around the us bases closed. The girls that worked in the bars ended up in Taiwan and HK as nannies and servants.
itaskol
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Trillanes: Philippines can't fight China » Nation » News | Philippine News | philstar.com
??
let us see what will happen after protests May 11.
??
let us see what will happen after protests May 11.
NiceGuy
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below_freezing
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takes alot of balls to kill fellow citizens born and raised in your country that happen to be of another skin color doesn't it?
Vietnam = Nazi.
NiceGuy
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bcz China attacked and bully ASEAN nations so, it forces VN-Indonesian-Laos-Camb to retaliate on Hoa. it's fair. But I don't know if the Jew invaded German or not.
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