MALAYA EDITORIAL: ON SPRATLYS, DIPLOMACY IS OUR ONLY RECOURSE
MANILA, AUGUST 25, 2011 (MALAYA) Let us not deceive ourselves.
WE are all for strengthening the Navy and the Air Force to protect our territory as well as to see to it that other countries do not poach into our exclusive economic zones.
President Aquino's reiteration of his commitment to upgrade the Navy and Air Force at yesterday's commissioning ceremonies for BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a Hamilton class cutter acquired from the United States, is thus welcome and reassuring.
That said, we must, however, do a serious re-thinking of our defense and law enforcement doctrines. Not because of the conflicting territorial claims over the Spratlys where will always be outgunned and outnumbered by militarily stronger rivals. On the Spratlys, diplomacy is our only recourse. Let's not deceive ourselves. We are not economically strong enough to match the others in the event of a regional arms race.
The pressing challenges before us are the consequences of the passage of the Archipelagic Baseline Law. The Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of the 2009 legislation which, the by way, the country had submitted to the United Stations following the requirements of the Convention of the Law of the Sea.
The most controversial provisions in the Baseline Law are those declaring Pag-asa and Scarborough Shoals as regimes of islands forming part of the Philippines territory. These provisions have triggered enough controversy, but even leaving these issues aside, Baseline Law raises problems that have yet to attract public attention.
The territorial waters of the Philippines are now limited to those extending 12 miles from the baseline. This makes patrolling for our Navy easier because our earlier definition of national territory encompassed waters as far as 200 miles from our nearest shore.
The bigger waters, that is, those extending beyond 12 miles from shore but enclosed by the baseline, are now considered archipelagic waters. The Philippines exercises sovereignty over the archipelagic waters in the same way that it does over territorial waters. But these are now open to innocent passage even by warships. The airspace above is also open to foreign overflights.
What this basically means is that anybody can now enter the Mindanao, Sulu, Sibuyan seas without even the country's leave. To be sure, the country can lay designate sea lanes in the archipelagic waters where foreign vessels may pass unhindered as long as they do not dawdle for whatever reasons.
Now how do we ensure that the foreign vessels don't? By keeping watch over them to ensure their honesty, we suppose. The Sulu Sea between Mindanao and Palawan, however, is a wide swath of waters that probably could swallow all the warships that the Philippine Fleet has in its inventory with a lot more area left unguarded.
Deploying that Hamilton-class vessel off Western Palawan would amount to a shallow display of flag if we cannot even secure from intruders the waters between Palawan and Mindanao.
RELATED HEADLINE NEW FROM MALAYA
After 'Gregorio del Pilar,' why not a submarine? Aquino BY REGINA BENGCO
The Philippine Navy is studying the possibility of buying a submarine, to help patrol and protect the country's territory as he led the welcome for the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a Hamilton class US Coast Guard cutter acquired under the US Excess Defense Articles program.
As a military band played "In the Navy," the Philippines' newest and second warship docked at Pier 13. The vessel was greeted by a crowd waving small Philippine flags and a fly-by by three Cessna planes and two Islanders.
The high-endurance cutter arrived in Manila Sunday from California and is classified by government as a surface combatant ship. It is powered by combined diesel engines and gas turbines and is equipped with a helicopter flight deck, a retractable hangar, and facilities to support helicopter operations.
Asked what other defense and military equipment he wants, Aquino, a lover of guns and cars, said: "I want everything, but what we will acquire (is a different matter)."
He said that for the Air Force, he wants a jet trainer to maintain the skills of jet fighter pilots, surface attack craft, air defense radar, long-range patrol aircraft, and close-air support aircraft.
For the Navy, he said he would like to acquire strategic sea-lift vessels with amphibious vessels, off-shore patrol vessels, at least three naval helicopters, and coast watch stations like the heavy endurance cutter.
For the Army, he said there will be new assault rifles, tanks and armored personnel carriers, helmets, bulletproof vests, night-fighting equipment, and radios.
Aquino said the arrival of the BRP Gregorio del Pilar signals the strengthening of the Armed Forces.
"Ang pagdating nga nitong BRP Gregorio del Pilar ay senyales na babawasan natin yung puro tapang na lang at nalilimitahan yung kakayahan dahil wala tayong kasangkapan…Siyempre ayaw na nating mangyari na parati tayong nalalamangan," he said.
He said the Navy leadership thought up the name for the ship as a tribute to the Philippines' youngest general who died in the battle of Tirad Pass some 110 years ago to cover the retreat of President Emilio Aguinaldo, who was then fleeing from the American forces.
He said the Navy only has 132 ships to guard 7,107 islands and 36,000 miles of territory.
"We are in the middle of the Coral Triangle. We have potential oil and natural gas resources in so many places in the country. We are visited by 23 typhoons. Bottom-line: Do we have enough equipment to complement our courage?" he asked.
Aquino said the ship will be used by the Naval Forces Western Mindanao to increase its capability to patrol the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone and energy service contract areas.
He said it will also help fight the entry of illegal drugs, assist in search and rescue operations, protect maritime resources, and in pursuing criminals who enter the archipelago.
The BRP Gregorio del Pilar will have to be repainted gray – its current coat is white – and refurbished before it could be deployed to the Palawan area. The process will take two months.
The ship has a length of 378 feet, surpassing the Navy's current flagship, the destroyer escort BRP Rajah Humabon, which is about 308 feet.
Among those who accompanied the President in the tour were Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Oban, Navy chief Vice Adm. Alexander Pama, and US Ambassador Harry Thomas.
Pama said the Navy is hoping to acquire two more Hamilton cutters from the US.
"We are now seriously discussing, proposing…based on our capacity, our absorptive capacity (the acquisition) of maybe two more (Hamiltons)," he said.
Pama said there were actually two Hamiltons which were decommissioned by US – the now BRP Ddel Pilar and the other one which ended up with Nigeria. – With Victor Reyes
FROM PALACE OFFICIAL GAZETTE
A BRIEFER ON THE 'GREGORIO DEL PILAR'
[PHOTO - BRP Gregorio, the biggest ship ever to be acquired by the Philippine Navy, can stay at sea for 30 days without refueling, although the long journey home will include stopovers in Hawaii and Guam for replenishment. The addition of the vessel in the Philippine Navy's fleet provides another step towards the Philippines' Armed Forces' goal of improving capability and efficiency.PALACE PHOTO]
BRP Gregorio del PilarThe latest addition to the Philippine Navy, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, formerly a Hamilton 378-foot High Endurance Cutter (WHEC) of the United States Coast Guard, arrived at Pier 13 of Manila's South Harbor of Manila Monday and was inspected by President Benigno S. Aquino III. Its voyage from the United States took three weeks from Alameda Island, San Francisco, California.
Now the Philippine Navy's largest vessel, BRP Gregorio del Pilar was laid down 1967 as the Hamilton, first of a class of 378-foot high endurance, Secretary Class (named after former Secretaries of the U.S. Treasury) cutter. Built primarily as a patrol ship for open ocean and long range operations, for decades they were the largest cutters in USCG inventory until the Polar Class cutters were laid down.
With a flight deck capable of landing a helicopter and a retractable hangar, these cutters were introduced to the U.S. Coast Guard inventory in the 1960s. Through the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program that started in the 1980s ending in 1992 the entire class was modernized, which included the replacement of their original 5-inch (127 mm) gun with a much more modern 3-inch (76 mm) weapon.
The vessel was formally acquired by the Philippines last May 13 and is the first military acquisition of the Aquino administration through the Excess Defense Article (EDA) program of the United States. The BRP Gregorio del Pilar will be dry-docked, retrofitted, and given a fresh coat of paint showing the color gray of the Philippine Navy. The Navy expects to commission the ship after one month.
Established by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act of 1976, EDA allows defense articles declared as excess by the Military Department of the United States to be offered to support their allies in their modernization efforts. Through EDA, the Philippine Navy was able to acquire the Hamilton cutter and paid a transfer cost of Php 450 million which covered the transfer from U.S. Inventory to Philippine Inventory.
As reported in the Good News from Government Agencies (Vol. 1, issue 14) newsletter, the Department of Energy used its royalties from the Malampaya operations to fund the acquisition. The deep water vessel will be used to upgrade the defense posture of the Philippines as part of the AFP's modernization program. Capable of staying at sea thirty days at a stretch without refueling, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar is equipped to respond to natural disasters and can be commissioned to undertake rescue operations in case of accidents in the exploration areas.
The vessel is named after the youngest Filipino general during the Philippine Revolution who famously gave up his life in the Battle of Tirad Pass, protecting the retreating party of President Emilio Aguinaldo.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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