South China Sea Forum
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Soryu
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CMS（CCG）7008 launched at WCS on 25.06.2013：
This is the 1st vessel of a new class with standard displacement of 1750 tonnes。
More to come，a lot more。
You meaning all the ships that in your post come to SCS !?
cirr
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Not all，but there will be some 500 CCG and other law enforcement vessels with standard displacements ranging from 600 tonnes to 12000 tonnes patrolling the SCS by 2020.
Soryu
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12000 tones!? What's type of those ships!?
A logistics ship for resupply to fishing-ship or ...!?
Confrontation over the South China Sea 'doomed', China tells claimants
BEIJING (Reuters) - Countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea that look for help from third parties will find their efforts "futile", China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Thursday, adding that the path of confrontation would be "doomed".
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, making it Asia's biggest potential military troublespot.
At stake are potentially massive offshore oil reserves. The seas also lie on shipping lanes and fishing grounds.
Wang didn't name any third countries, but the United States is a close ally of Taiwan and the Philippines, and has good or improving relations with the other nations laying claim to all or part of the South China Sea.
"If certain claimant countries choose confrontation, that path will be doomed," Wang said after a speech at the annual Tsinghua World Peace Forum.
"If such countries try to reinforce their poorly grounded claims through the help of external forces, that will be futile and will eventually prove to be a strategic miscalculation not worth the effort."
The Philippine military said this week it had revived plans to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base that American forces could use to counter China's creeping presence in the South China Sea.
Wang's comments came days before the minister is due to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations grouping in Brunei from Saturday to Tuesday.
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.
The path to a Code of Conduct will be slow and deliberate, Wang said, adding that the Declaration of Conduct was a commitment made by China and the 10 ASEAN countries and China would continue to abide by it.
"The right way is to fully implement the Declaration, and in this process, move forward with the Code in a gradual way," Wang said.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea that look for help from third parties will find their efforts "futile", China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Thursday, adding that the path of confrontation would be "doomed".
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, making it Asia's biggest potential military troublespot.
At stake are potentially massive offshore oil reserves. The seas also lie on shipping lanes and fishing grounds.
Wang didn't name any third countries, but the United States is a close ally of Taiwan and the Philippines, and has good or improving relations with the other nations laying claim to all or part of the South China Sea.
"If certain claimant countries choose confrontation, that path will be doomed," Wang said after a speech at the annual Tsinghua World Peace Forum.
"If such countries try to reinforce their poorly grounded claims through the help of external forces, that will be futile and will eventually prove to be a strategic miscalculation not worth the effort."
The Philippine military said this week it had revived plans to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base that American forces could use to counter China's creeping presence in the South China Sea.
Wang's comments came days before the minister is due to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations grouping in Brunei from Saturday to Tuesday.
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.
The path to a Code of Conduct will be slow and deliberate, Wang said, adding that the Declaration of Conduct was a commitment made by China and the 10 ASEAN countries and China would continue to abide by it.
"The right way is to fully implement the Declaration, and in this process, move forward with the Code in a gradual way," Wang said.
Genesis
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not really, they could build up enough to match Japan as to not achieve victory, but enough to deter and cause heavy casualties.
Though I got to say it seems unlikely for Philippines, Vietnam or any of those nations to even come close to Japan.
US and China both got WMDs, I am pretty sure US will support her allies, but I am unsure at what point. Against a country such as China, I think the US will at least think about when to do something. I doubt they would at first shot, but might if things get too serious, like if a Capital has been taken or something of that nature.
If it's just a few skirmishes here and there. The US will most likely sell weapons, but the chances of actual involvement are slim
Though I got to say it seems unlikely for Philippines, Vietnam or any of those nations to even come close to Japan.
US and China both got WMDs, I am pretty sure US will support her allies, but I am unsure at what point. Against a country such as China, I think the US will at least think about when to do something. I doubt they would at first shot, but might if things get too serious, like if a Capital has been taken or something of that nature.
If it's just a few skirmishes here and there. The US will most likely sell weapons, but the chances of actual involvement are slim
Wholegrain
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The Philippines claims are illegitimate because they made up their claim after they got independence in 1945 when French Indochina and the Republic of China already claimed and occupied the islands in the 1930s. The Spratlys were used by fishermen, France occupied it with military forces and the Republic of China protested and counterclaimed. Japan invaded and occupied them, and at the end of the war China was assigned to receive the Japanese surrender from the Spratlys (and in northern French indochina as well).
The American administration of the Philippines lodged no claims and did not occupy the Spratly islands. Vietnam inherited its claim from French Indochina.
Taiwan's claims are the same as mainland China's.
Malaysia does not really care about the islands at all. Its not important to them.
Malaysia's Mahathir says China is no threat - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
Malaysia's Mahathir says China is no threat
The American administration of the Philippines lodged no claims and did not occupy the Spratly islands. Vietnam inherited its claim from French Indochina.
Taiwan's claims are the same as mainland China's.
Malaysia does not really care about the islands at all. Its not important to them.
Malaysia's Mahathir says China is no threat - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
Malaysia's Mahathir says China is no threat
Hoang Sa, Truong Sa are Sovereign to Viet Nam
(09/10/2012)
Over hundreds of years, from dynasty to dynasty, Viet Nam has controlled Hoang Sa and ruong Sa Archipelagoes, continuously and peacefully.
The Toan Tap Thien Nam Tu Chi Lo Do Thu (a collection of maps from the capital reaching out in all four directions), compiled in the 17th century by a scribe called Do Ba or sometimes Cong Dao, provided footnotes on the map of Quang Nghia prefecture in Quang Nam saying that, there is an elongated sandbank lying in the middle of the sea known as Bai Cat Vang, and that every year, in the last month of winter, the Nguyen(1) rulers send eighteen boats there to collect ship wrecked cargo, mainly jewellery, gold and silver coins, weapons and ammunition.
In the map of Dang Trong (Southern Viet Nam) called Giap Ngo Binh Nam Do (a map to pacify the South in the year of Giap Ngo) by the Duke of Doan County, Bui The Dat in 1774, Bai Cat Vang was also identified as Vietnamese territory(2).
During his assignment in Southern Viet Nam, academic Le Quy Don (17261784) compiled the 1776 Phu Bien Tap Luc (a Record of Pacification on the Frontier) on the history, geography and administration of Southern Viet Nam under the Nguyen Lords from 15581775. In this work, Le Quy Don stated that the Dai Truong Sa Island Group (including Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Archipelagoes) was under the jurisdiction of Quang Ngai prefecture.
Located at the sea mouth of An Vinh commune(3) in Binh Son district, Quang Nghia prefecture, there is an offshore island(6)called Re, 30 dam(5) in size. It takes four watches by boat to reach the island, on which there is a village called Tu Chinh with where the inhabitants grow beans. Further out, is Dai Truong Sa Island, where abundant sea life and ship wrecked cargo could be found. It takes the Hoang Sa flotilla, which was founded to visit the island, three days and nights to reach there, where it is found to be near an area called Bac Hai.
The Dai Nam Nhat Thong Toan Do (a map of the unified Dai Nam), the map of Viet Nam under the Nguyen Dynasty in 1838, clearly depicted Hoang Sa and Van Ly Truong Sa, as Vietnamese territory.
The Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi (the geography of the unified Dai Nam), the collection of geographical books completed in 1882(6) by the Nguyen Dynasty (18021845), the Office for National History defined Hoang Sa Island as Vietnamese territory under the administration of Quang Nghia province. In paragraphs describing the topography of Quang Nghia province, the book records that To the east (of Quang Nghia province), there is a sandy islands -- Hoang Sa island, where the sand and waters alternate and form trenches. To the west, a mountainous region stands like a bulwark. To the south, the province borders with Binh Dinh province, separated by the Ben Da mountain pass. To the north, it borders with Quang Nam province, marked by the Sa Tho Creek.
Hoang Sa, Truong Sa are Sovereign to Viet Nam
(09/10/2012)
Over hundreds of years, from dynasty to dynasty, Viet Nam has controlled Hoang Sa and ruong Sa Archipelagoes, continuously and peacefully.
The Toan Tap Thien Nam Tu Chi Lo Do Thu (a collection of maps from the capital reaching out in all four directions), compiled in the 17th century by a scribe called Do Ba or sometimes Cong Dao, provided footnotes on the map of Quang Nghia prefecture in Quang Nam saying that, there is an elongated sandbank lying in the middle of the sea known as Bai Cat Vang, and that every year, in the last month of winter, the Nguyen(1) rulers send eighteen boats there to collect ship wrecked cargo, mainly jewellery, gold and silver coins, weapons and ammunition.
In the map of Dang Trong (Southern Viet Nam) called Giap Ngo Binh Nam Do (a map to pacify the South in the year of Giap Ngo) by the Duke of Doan County, Bui The Dat in 1774, Bai Cat Vang was also identified as Vietnamese territory(2).
During his assignment in Southern Viet Nam, academic Le Quy Don (17261784) compiled the 1776 Phu Bien Tap Luc (a Record of Pacification on the Frontier) on the history, geography and administration of Southern Viet Nam under the Nguyen Lords from 15581775. In this work, Le Quy Don stated that the Dai Truong Sa Island Group (including Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Archipelagoes) was under the jurisdiction of Quang Ngai prefecture.
Located at the sea mouth of An Vinh commune(3) in Binh Son district, Quang Nghia prefecture, there is an offshore island(6)called Re, 30 dam(5) in size. It takes four watches by boat to reach the island, on which there is a village called Tu Chinh with where the inhabitants grow beans. Further out, is Dai Truong Sa Island, where abundant sea life and ship wrecked cargo could be found. It takes the Hoang Sa flotilla, which was founded to visit the island, three days and nights to reach there, where it is found to be near an area called Bac Hai.
The Dai Nam Nhat Thong Toan Do (a map of the unified Dai Nam), the map of Viet Nam under the Nguyen Dynasty in 1838, clearly depicted Hoang Sa and Van Ly Truong Sa, as Vietnamese territory.
The Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi (the geography of the unified Dai Nam), the collection of geographical books completed in 1882(6) by the Nguyen Dynasty (18021845), the Office for National History defined Hoang Sa Island as Vietnamese territory under the administration of Quang Nghia province. In paragraphs describing the topography of Quang Nghia province, the book records that To the east (of Quang Nghia province), there is a sandy islands -- Hoang Sa island, where the sand and waters alternate and form trenches. To the west, a mountainous region stands like a bulwark. To the south, the province borders with Binh Dinh province, separated by the Ben Da mountain pass. To the north, it borders with Quang Nam province, marked by the Sa Tho Creek.
Hoang Sa, Truong Sa are Sovereign to Viet Nam
Malaya
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US destroyer joins CARAT exercise
By Ric Sapnu (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 28, 2013
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT , Philippines – The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) docked at Alava Pier here yesterday to take part in the 19th Philippines-US Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise.
Philippine and US Naval forces kicked off the CARAT at the West Philippine Sea after an opening ceremony at this former US naval base.
Two more supply ships, the USNS Washington Chamber and USNS Salvor, will arrive today in Subic Bay for the offloading of supplies and equipment for the joint exercise.
Two sea assets and one helicopter of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) would also take part in the CARAT.
PCG Fleet commander Commodore Eduardo Gongona said they would be using their 56-meter multi-purpose vessel and the presidential ship BRP-EDSA (SARV-002) with K-9, medical and personnel from the Coast Guard’s Subic station.
The PCG Air Group would also dispatch its Bo-105 rescue helicopter (PCG Helo-1636) to participate in the military games.
The 19th CARAT is a series of bilateral naval exercises between the US Navy and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
The exercises are a boost to the Philippines’ poorly equipped military as it struggles with rising Chinese aggression.
“The goal of these exercises is to further boost cooperation... between the two armed forces and further streamline responses to counterterrorism and maritime security,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
The Chinese embassy in Manila released a statement yesterday cautioning the Philippines and the United states not to exacerbate tensions in the area with its exercises.
“We hope relevant sides should take actions that are beneficial for maintaining peace and stability in the region, not the other way around,” the statement said, citing a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing.
Philippine Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic said some of the CARAT exercises would be held between Luzon and Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
Specifically, Fabic said some of the drills would be 108 kilometers east of Panatag Shoal in sea lanes within Philippine territory. Chinese vessels had virtually taken over the shoal and prevented Filipino fishermen from fishing in the area.
Nevertheless, Fabic stressed the war games were not meant to provoke China.
“While the exercises will be between Panatag Shoal and the main island of Luzon, the focus is inter-operability and not targeted against the Chinese,” Fabic said.
The six-day exercises are an annual event but this year they will be held off the west coast of Luzon, close to Panatag Shoal off Zambales province, which China insists it owns.
The Philippines will deploy its flagship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, as well as other navy and coast guard vessels, Fabic said.
About 500 US forces and another 500 Filipino troops will take part in the exercises, according to Fabic.
He said among the highlights was an exercise designed to intercept suspected enemy ships, board them and seize materials they may be carrying that could pose a danger to allies.
There will also be simulated counterterrorism exercises, as well as training in disaster response and increasing proficiency in naval gunnery, he added.
CARAT began in 1995, and has since occurred in several locations throughout the Philippines, including Cebu (2009), Subic Bay (2010), Puerto Princesa City (2011) and General Santos City (2012).
The training events in each CARAT phase are tailored based on available assets and mutual training goals across a broad range of naval capabilities, according to the US embassy Information Office advisory.
CARAT Philippines 2013 will focus on maritime security operations, maritime domain awareness and information sharing.– With Evelyn Macairan
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/06/28/959159/us-destroyer-joins-carat-exercise
By Ric Sapnu (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 28, 2013
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT , Philippines – The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) docked at Alava Pier here yesterday to take part in the 19th Philippines-US Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise.
Philippine and US Naval forces kicked off the CARAT at the West Philippine Sea after an opening ceremony at this former US naval base.
Two more supply ships, the USNS Washington Chamber and USNS Salvor, will arrive today in Subic Bay for the offloading of supplies and equipment for the joint exercise.
Two sea assets and one helicopter of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) would also take part in the CARAT.
PCG Fleet commander Commodore Eduardo Gongona said they would be using their 56-meter multi-purpose vessel and the presidential ship BRP-EDSA (SARV-002) with K-9, medical and personnel from the Coast Guard’s Subic station.
The PCG Air Group would also dispatch its Bo-105 rescue helicopter (PCG Helo-1636) to participate in the military games.
The 19th CARAT is a series of bilateral naval exercises between the US Navy and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
The exercises are a boost to the Philippines’ poorly equipped military as it struggles with rising Chinese aggression.
“The goal of these exercises is to further boost cooperation... between the two armed forces and further streamline responses to counterterrorism and maritime security,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
The Chinese embassy in Manila released a statement yesterday cautioning the Philippines and the United states not to exacerbate tensions in the area with its exercises.
“We hope relevant sides should take actions that are beneficial for maintaining peace and stability in the region, not the other way around,” the statement said, citing a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing.
Philippine Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic said some of the CARAT exercises would be held between Luzon and Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
Specifically, Fabic said some of the drills would be 108 kilometers east of Panatag Shoal in sea lanes within Philippine territory. Chinese vessels had virtually taken over the shoal and prevented Filipino fishermen from fishing in the area.
Nevertheless, Fabic stressed the war games were not meant to provoke China.
“While the exercises will be between Panatag Shoal and the main island of Luzon, the focus is inter-operability and not targeted against the Chinese,” Fabic said.
The six-day exercises are an annual event but this year they will be held off the west coast of Luzon, close to Panatag Shoal off Zambales province, which China insists it owns.
The Philippines will deploy its flagship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, as well as other navy and coast guard vessels, Fabic said.
About 500 US forces and another 500 Filipino troops will take part in the exercises, according to Fabic.
He said among the highlights was an exercise designed to intercept suspected enemy ships, board them and seize materials they may be carrying that could pose a danger to allies.
There will also be simulated counterterrorism exercises, as well as training in disaster response and increasing proficiency in naval gunnery, he added.
CARAT began in 1995, and has since occurred in several locations throughout the Philippines, including Cebu (2009), Subic Bay (2010), Puerto Princesa City (2011) and General Santos City (2012).
The training events in each CARAT phase are tailored based on available assets and mutual training goals across a broad range of naval capabilities, according to the US embassy Information Office advisory.
CARAT Philippines 2013 will focus on maritime security operations, maritime domain awareness and information sharing.– With Evelyn Macairan
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/06/28/959159/us-destroyer-joins-carat-exercise
Malaya
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New Philippine base will send message to China - expert
ABS-CBNnews.com
06/27/2013
MANILA - A new Philippine naval base that US troops can access will send a strong message to China, a security expert said Thursday.
Political science professor and defense expert Clarita Carlos said it will tell Beijing that Manila has the capability to defend itself, with the help of Washington.
"Remember you have the mutual defence treaty, and given all the provocations from China in trying to get for herself all those islands, reefs, ecetera, and other features in the South China Sea, I think this is one way of telegraphing to her, we also have the capability if we want to, of course supported by the United States of America," Carlos said.
"So I would imagine, there would be more visits of U.S. naval personnel here and there would be more joint and combined exercises. Nothing wrong with that," she added.
The Philippine military wants to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay, coinciding with a resurgence of US warships, planes and personnel in the region as Washington turns its attention to a newly assertive China and continues to shift foreign, economic and security policy towards Asia.
A 30-hectare area has been identified for a P10-billion base development.
The US visits have become more frequent as Beijing grows more assertive in the South China Sea, which is claimed entirely by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and in part by Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines -- one of Asia's biggest flashpoints.
The frequency of US Navy ships passing through Subic has increased dramatically, underlining its strategic importance near vital sea lines and just 130 nautical miles (241 km) east of Scarborough Shoal, a rock formation controlled by China since a tense two-month standoff with the Philippines in 2012.
This year alone, 72 US warships and submarines visited Subic, compared with 88 for all of 2012, 54 in 2011 and 51 in 2010, official data showed.
Japan access
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Thursday said Japan can also be given access to Philippines military bases amid a rising security threat from China.
He said the government is still drafting a plan that would allow US forces to spend more time on Filipino bases, something that could also be offered to Japan's military later.
"If and when there is agreement on the access, then there will be equipment coming in from the (United) States," Gazmin told a joint news conference in Manila after meeting with visiting Japan Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera.
"Now as far as Japan is concerned, we do welcome other countries -- particularly Japan since Japan is a strategic partner -- in accordance with our existing protocols."
The US had tens of thousands of troops stationed in the Philippines, at the Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base north of Manila, until the early 1990s.
The United States, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, was forced to abandon the bases amid anti-US sentiment and a row over rent. The constitution now bans any permanent foreign bases in the Philippines.
However the Clark and Subic facilities, now partly converted to business use, still host and service US military aircraft and warships on short-term exercises.
One of those began Thursday in waters between the Philippines' main island of Luzon and a disputed shoal now occupied by China.
Wargames in West Philippine Sea
The annual exercises were launched in Subic Bay, a former US naval base.
Officials said the drills are aimed at improving mutual operations between the two allies in maintaining regional security, addressing trafficking and smuggling, and responding to disasters.
"It also sends a message to our neighbours that our navies share a common interest in keeping our seas and littorals open for safe commerce and the usual interactions of seafaring states," Exercise Director for the Philippines, Ruel Saonoy, said.
Though some exercises will be held in waters facing the disputed Scarborough Shoal, where Chinese and Philippine vessels faced off last year, naval commanders from the US and Philippines were quick to say that the exercises were routine, and were not related to maritime tensions.
"I don't think it (exercises) will amount to anything as far as tension is concerned. We don't speak of tensions here but we speak of maritime cooperation," Vice Commander of the Philippine navy, Edgardo Tamayo, said.
Commander of US Navy Task Force 73, Rear Admiral Thomas Carney, said the drills are part of US strategic rebalance to Asia.
"It's certainly part of the rebalance that the U.S. is looking to reinforce not only militarily but economically and politically with Asia," he said.
The Philippines has accused China of "encroachment" near another disputed, the Second Thomas Shoal, a coral reef where Manila recently beefed up its small military presence, diplomatic sources told Reuters.
China in turn has accused the Philippines of "illegal occupation" of the reef, which is a strategic gateway to an area believed to be rich in oil and natural gas. - with reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse
ABS-CBNnews.com
06/27/2013
MANILA - A new Philippine naval base that US troops can access will send a strong message to China, a security expert said Thursday.
Political science professor and defense expert Clarita Carlos said it will tell Beijing that Manila has the capability to defend itself, with the help of Washington.
"Remember you have the mutual defence treaty, and given all the provocations from China in trying to get for herself all those islands, reefs, ecetera, and other features in the South China Sea, I think this is one way of telegraphing to her, we also have the capability if we want to, of course supported by the United States of America," Carlos said.
"So I would imagine, there would be more visits of U.S. naval personnel here and there would be more joint and combined exercises. Nothing wrong with that," she added.
The Philippine military wants to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay, coinciding with a resurgence of US warships, planes and personnel in the region as Washington turns its attention to a newly assertive China and continues to shift foreign, economic and security policy towards Asia.
A 30-hectare area has been identified for a P10-billion base development.
The US visits have become more frequent as Beijing grows more assertive in the South China Sea, which is claimed entirely by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and in part by Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines -- one of Asia's biggest flashpoints.
The frequency of US Navy ships passing through Subic has increased dramatically, underlining its strategic importance near vital sea lines and just 130 nautical miles (241 km) east of Scarborough Shoal, a rock formation controlled by China since a tense two-month standoff with the Philippines in 2012.
This year alone, 72 US warships and submarines visited Subic, compared with 88 for all of 2012, 54 in 2011 and 51 in 2010, official data showed.
Japan access
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Thursday said Japan can also be given access to Philippines military bases amid a rising security threat from China.
He said the government is still drafting a plan that would allow US forces to spend more time on Filipino bases, something that could also be offered to Japan's military later.
"If and when there is agreement on the access, then there will be equipment coming in from the (United) States," Gazmin told a joint news conference in Manila after meeting with visiting Japan Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera.
"Now as far as Japan is concerned, we do welcome other countries -- particularly Japan since Japan is a strategic partner -- in accordance with our existing protocols."
The US had tens of thousands of troops stationed in the Philippines, at the Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base north of Manila, until the early 1990s.
The United States, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, was forced to abandon the bases amid anti-US sentiment and a row over rent. The constitution now bans any permanent foreign bases in the Philippines.
However the Clark and Subic facilities, now partly converted to business use, still host and service US military aircraft and warships on short-term exercises.
One of those began Thursday in waters between the Philippines' main island of Luzon and a disputed shoal now occupied by China.
Wargames in West Philippine Sea
The annual exercises were launched in Subic Bay, a former US naval base.
Officials said the drills are aimed at improving mutual operations between the two allies in maintaining regional security, addressing trafficking and smuggling, and responding to disasters.
"It also sends a message to our neighbours that our navies share a common interest in keeping our seas and littorals open for safe commerce and the usual interactions of seafaring states," Exercise Director for the Philippines, Ruel Saonoy, said.
Though some exercises will be held in waters facing the disputed Scarborough Shoal, where Chinese and Philippine vessels faced off last year, naval commanders from the US and Philippines were quick to say that the exercises were routine, and were not related to maritime tensions.
"I don't think it (exercises) will amount to anything as far as tension is concerned. We don't speak of tensions here but we speak of maritime cooperation," Vice Commander of the Philippine navy, Edgardo Tamayo, said.
Commander of US Navy Task Force 73, Rear Admiral Thomas Carney, said the drills are part of US strategic rebalance to Asia.
"It's certainly part of the rebalance that the U.S. is looking to reinforce not only militarily but economically and politically with Asia," he said.
The Philippines has accused China of "encroachment" near another disputed, the Second Thomas Shoal, a coral reef where Manila recently beefed up its small military presence, diplomatic sources told Reuters.
China in turn has accused the Philippines of "illegal occupation" of the reef, which is a strategic gateway to an area believed to be rich in oil and natural gas. - with reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse
Malaya
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US, PH forces off Panatag Shoal
‘War games not meant to intimidate China’
By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Navy’s flagship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, is back in the waters near Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), this time not for a face-off with Chinese warships over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) but for five days of joint maneuvers with the United States Navy.
The Philippines’ first warship will be participating in war games with a fleet of American naval vessels led by the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald.
Panatag Shoal is a reef in the Philippine Sea claimed by both the Philippines and China and was the site of a maritime standoff between the two countries that lasted more than two months last year.
Far from Panatag
But the war games will take place 108 kilometers away from the disputed shoal, Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, spokesman for the Philippine Navy, said last week.
With the joint maneuvers playing out that far from the shoal, reportedly still guarded by three Chinese coastal patrol vessels, the Philippines and the United States do not expect China to view the exercises as “intimidation,” Fabic said.
The war games, called Exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) 2013, begin Thursday and will run up to July 2.
Fabic said holding Carat near Panatag Shoal and other areas off northern Luzon had been planned long before the standoff with China at the reef last year.
The Naval Forces Northern Luzon is the primary Philippine Navy unit responsible for the exercise.
“The Carat 2013 major objectives are to enhance the current Philippine Navy and US capabilities in naval operations … such as communication, naval gunnery, at-sea operations, maritime interdiction and humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations and increase the level of interoperability between the Philippine Navy and the US Navy in the conduct of combined naval operations,” a statement from the Naval Forces Northern Luzon said Wednesday.
It said the exercises would include in-port and at-sea events, individual and unit training, and engagement with the local community, among other activities.
Aside from BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15), a PN Aircraft (Islander), Special Boat Team, Diving Team of Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG), Construction Team from the Naval Engineers and Philippine Marine Corps company will participate in the military exercises “to test their readiness and capability,” the Navy said.
It added that the Philippine Coast Guard would have one of its flagships, the BRP Edsa, joining the war games, as well as a helicopter, its diving team, and a visit, board, search and seizure team.
Aside from the USS Fitzgerald, the US Navy will have its salvage ships, the USNS Safeguard and USNS Salvor in the waters off Zambales.
Members of the US Marine Corps and other specialized personnel will also participate in the war games.
The USS Fitzgerald was sent to the Korean Peninsula last April amid tensions between South and North Korea. It also participated in the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, rankling the North.
In arbitration
Technically, the Philippines and China remain in a standoff at Panatag Shoal.
Philippine ships withdrew from the shoal in mid-June last year at the height of a storm to ease tensions in the area.
But despite an agreement to withdraw, the Chinese ships never left and even cordoned off the mouth of the shoal’s lagoon to prevent the entry of fishing boats from other countries.
With nothing to match China’s military might, the Philippines took the dispute to the United Nations in January for arbitration.
The Philippines and China also have rival claims in the Spratly archipelago, a scattering of islets, reefs and atolls in the middle of the West Philippine Sea believed to be sitting atop vast deposits of oil and gas.
Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the Spratlys in rivalry with China, which claims nearly all of the sea as its territory.
Japan’s defense chief
China is also locked in a territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islands in the East China Sea known to the Japanese as the Senkakus but which the Chinese call Diaoyus.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is meeting Thursday with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who is visiting the Philippines for two days.
Whether the meeting between Gazmin and Onodera has to do with their countries’ territorial dispute with China is unclear, as there was no word about it in the advisory issued by the Department of National Defense on Wednesday.
A recent news report from Japan Times (News on Japan, Asia Pacific and the world | The Japan Times) said that Onodera “plans to discuss with Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin the current tensions in the region and to work out a coordinated response toward China.”
But even this was unofficial, as the Japanese report quoted an unnamed government source.
From Manila, Onodera will fly to Hawaii supposedly to discuss with US officials its territorial row with China.
Wednesday’s advisory said that Onodera will arrive at the defense department at 10 a.m. and will be given arrival honors.
Limited press con
Onodera will meet with journalists after his call and lunch with Gazmin.
The advisory said Onodera would entertain “a maximum of two questions each from the Japanese media (including members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines) and Filipino defense reporters.
‘War games not meant to intimidate China’
By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Navy’s flagship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, is back in the waters near Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), this time not for a face-off with Chinese warships over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) but for five days of joint maneuvers with the United States Navy.
The Philippines’ first warship will be participating in war games with a fleet of American naval vessels led by the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald.
Panatag Shoal is a reef in the Philippine Sea claimed by both the Philippines and China and was the site of a maritime standoff between the two countries that lasted more than two months last year.
Far from Panatag
But the war games will take place 108 kilometers away from the disputed shoal, Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, spokesman for the Philippine Navy, said last week.
With the joint maneuvers playing out that far from the shoal, reportedly still guarded by three Chinese coastal patrol vessels, the Philippines and the United States do not expect China to view the exercises as “intimidation,” Fabic said.
The war games, called Exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) 2013, begin Thursday and will run up to July 2.
Fabic said holding Carat near Panatag Shoal and other areas off northern Luzon had been planned long before the standoff with China at the reef last year.
The Naval Forces Northern Luzon is the primary Philippine Navy unit responsible for the exercise.
“The Carat 2013 major objectives are to enhance the current Philippine Navy and US capabilities in naval operations … such as communication, naval gunnery, at-sea operations, maritime interdiction and humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations and increase the level of interoperability between the Philippine Navy and the US Navy in the conduct of combined naval operations,” a statement from the Naval Forces Northern Luzon said Wednesday.
It said the exercises would include in-port and at-sea events, individual and unit training, and engagement with the local community, among other activities.
Aside from BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15), a PN Aircraft (Islander), Special Boat Team, Diving Team of Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG), Construction Team from the Naval Engineers and Philippine Marine Corps company will participate in the military exercises “to test their readiness and capability,” the Navy said.
It added that the Philippine Coast Guard would have one of its flagships, the BRP Edsa, joining the war games, as well as a helicopter, its diving team, and a visit, board, search and seizure team.
Aside from the USS Fitzgerald, the US Navy will have its salvage ships, the USNS Safeguard and USNS Salvor in the waters off Zambales.
Members of the US Marine Corps and other specialized personnel will also participate in the war games.
The USS Fitzgerald was sent to the Korean Peninsula last April amid tensions between South and North Korea. It also participated in the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, rankling the North.
In arbitration
Technically, the Philippines and China remain in a standoff at Panatag Shoal.
Philippine ships withdrew from the shoal in mid-June last year at the height of a storm to ease tensions in the area.
But despite an agreement to withdraw, the Chinese ships never left and even cordoned off the mouth of the shoal’s lagoon to prevent the entry of fishing boats from other countries.
With nothing to match China’s military might, the Philippines took the dispute to the United Nations in January for arbitration.
The Philippines and China also have rival claims in the Spratly archipelago, a scattering of islets, reefs and atolls in the middle of the West Philippine Sea believed to be sitting atop vast deposits of oil and gas.
Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the Spratlys in rivalry with China, which claims nearly all of the sea as its territory.
Japan’s defense chief
China is also locked in a territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islands in the East China Sea known to the Japanese as the Senkakus but which the Chinese call Diaoyus.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is meeting Thursday with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who is visiting the Philippines for two days.
Whether the meeting between Gazmin and Onodera has to do with their countries’ territorial dispute with China is unclear, as there was no word about it in the advisory issued by the Department of National Defense on Wednesday.
A recent news report from Japan Times (News on Japan, Asia Pacific and the world | The Japan Times) said that Onodera “plans to discuss with Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin the current tensions in the region and to work out a coordinated response toward China.”
But even this was unofficial, as the Japanese report quoted an unnamed government source.
From Manila, Onodera will fly to Hawaii supposedly to discuss with US officials its territorial row with China.
Wednesday’s advisory said that Onodera will arrive at the defense department at 10 a.m. and will be given arrival honors.
Limited press con
Onodera will meet with journalists after his call and lunch with Gazmin.
The advisory said Onodera would entertain “a maximum of two questions each from the Japanese media (including members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines) and Filipino defense reporters.
