MANILA,
JUNE 4, 2011 (STAR)
By Aurea Calica - The government will bring to the United Nations six to
seven incidents of Chinese incursions into the country's territorial waters,
President Aquino said yesterday.
Malacañang also said the Philippines would act accordingly on a report that a
Chinese warship had fired at local boats fishing in Quirino or Jackson Atoll in
the West Philippine Sea.
The President expressed concern over the intrusions in a talk with reporters
on Wednesday night in Brunei while he was on a state visit.
He said the Philippines was preparing to file a report before the UN on some
"six to seven instances" of Chinese intrusion or provocative actions in the West
Philippine Sea.
"We are completing the data. We will present it to them (China) and then
bring these to the appropriate body, which most of the time is the United
Nations," Aquino said.
During his meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guangjie two weeks
ago, Aquino already warned that continued provocative actions in the area could
trigger an arms race in the region.
The firing incident involving Philippine fishing boats in the South China Sea
happened on Feb. 25 before a Philippine-commissioned seismic vessel was
reportedly harassed in the Reed Bank in western Palawan in March and before
Chinese vessels laid steel posts and a buoy in May in the Amy Douglas (Iroquois)
Bank southwest of Reed Bank, which Manila said was within its 200-mile exclusive
economic zone.
Yet while the Philippine government protested the March and May incidents,
one by note verbale another verbally, it did no such thing about the February
incident.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government was
preparing what could be presented before the UN based on the UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea.
"We wish to reiterate that that is really the process that we need to take.
And, again, we reiterate our commitment to resolve the dispute peacefully,"
Valte said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
"We will prepare accordingly and we hope for the best," Valte said.
She said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) would take the lead in
making sure that the country's territorial claims were respected.
Aquino said he was hoping to visit Beijing in the third quarter of this year
and would talk to China during upcoming regional summits.
Aquino said the best option to assert claims would be through diplomacy.
Aquino though noted that no amount of diplomatic efforts would stop the
Chinese from intruding in the Spratlys.
Coming up with a central position on the South China Sea dispute among the
claimant-countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
would be the best way to deal with a superpower like China, Aquino said.
Sensitive issue
Defense and military officials, meantime, are keeping their mouths shut over
the alleged firing incident, saying the issue is highly sensitive.
Defense spokesman Eduardo Batac said all they can do for now is simply
document the incidents in the South China Sea for appropriate diplomatic actions
by the DFA.
"This particular incident though I will not confirm it, could be part of the
incidents already officially reported by the DFA," Batac said, referring to the
Feb. 25 incident.
He stressed that it has been the position of both defense and military
establishments that the country's territorial dispute in the Spratlys with other
claimant countries is best left handled by the DFA.
"The DFA will have jurisdiction over these matters as always, these have
international repercussion," Batac said.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has admitted that the country's military,
with limited and old gunboats and planes, could not be all over the area to
safeguard the country's marine and mineral resources.
This is the reason why, Gazmin said, the defense department is now expediting
the procurement of equipment to upgrade the military's internal and territorial
defense capabilities.
"The incidents that have happened in the South China Sea, especially in areas
where our islands are located, are eye openers that we cannot do away with
without giving particular attention to our external defense," Batac said.
But Batac also stressed the planned military buildup in the Kalayaan Island
Group (KIG) could not be categorized as an arms race because in the first place,
the country does not have sufficient funds to bankroll the full modernization of
the military.
What is being done, he said, is for the country to put a credible presence
and deterrents within the KIG area. – With Jaime Laude
EARLIER REPORT FROM THE BELLINGHAM HERALD &
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
China, Philippine defense chiefs discuss Spratlys
By JIM GOMEZ - Associated Press
[PHOTO - Aaron Favila | AP Photo - Chinese
Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, center, bids goodbye to his Philippine
counterpart Voltaire Gazmin, left, at the Defense Headquarters in suburban
Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday May 23, 2011. Guanglie's
visit comes amid renewed tension over the disputed Spratly's Islands which are
claimed by China, Philippines and four other asian countries and terrotorites.
Washington has expressed concerns that the disputes could hamper access to one
of the world's busiest commercial sea lanes.]
MANILA, Philippines The Chinese and Philippine defense chiefs warned rival
claimants Monday to avoid unilateral action and to act responsibly in the
dispute over South China Sea islands, where recent spats have renewed tensions.
Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and his Philippine counterpart,
Voltaire Gazmin, acknowledged in a joint statement the need to ensure that the
South China Sea remains stable.
Liang's four-day visit comes amid renewed tensions in the disputed Spratly
Islands, which are contested by China, the Philippines and four other nations.
Washington has expressed concerns that the disputes could hamper access to one
of the world's busiest commercial sea lanes.
"Unilateral actions which could cause alarm should be avoided," the defense
ministers said in the statement.
Gazmin said they discussed the May 11 sighting of two unidentified foreign
fighter jets near an island occupied by Filipino troops. Two Philippine patrol
planes failed to identify the jets, which made no hostile moves.
Liang, according to Gazmin, mentioned that Philippine media accounts
identified the two aircraft as Russian-made MIG fighter jets and clarified that
China has no MIG planes in its air force.
The discussions did not touch on a March 2 incident in which the Philippine
government accused two Chinese patrol boats of harassing a Filipino oil
exploration ship into leaving a vast area called the Reed Bank. A Filipino
general scrambled two military aircraft, which arrived at the scene after the
Chinese vessels had left, the Philippine military said.
Filipino officials say the Reed Bank, which lies off the western Philippine
province of Palawan, is not a disputed territory. China countered by saying that
it has jurisdiction over the Spratlys and adjacent waters.
Gazmin said he and Liang agreed that any conflict "should be settled amicably
by opening the lines of communication, dialogues and sitting down and talking to
each other."
Liang discussed the dispute in a meeting with President Benigno Aquino III
later Monday.
Although they did not discuss the recent altercations in detail, both agreed
that there should be more dialogue to safeguard diplomatic relations among
nations with claims to the Spratlys, presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang
said.
Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano in Manila
contributed to this report.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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