PHNO-HL: CHINA SENDS PATROL SHIPS TO SPRATLYS AS PH-US START WAR EXERCISES

CHINA SENDS PATROL SHIPS TO SPRATLYS AS PH-US START WAR
EXERCISES

[PHOTO-
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 2, 2012) –
Two US ships arrived in the southern Philippines to participate Monday for a
nine-day joint naval war games with local military forces. The USS Vandegrift
and the US Coast Guard ship Waesche arrived in the port of General Santos City
over the weekend.]
MANILA, JULY 3, 2012 (TRIBUNE)
Written by Fernan J. Angeles and Angie M. Rosales - 4 VESSELS
ASIDE FROM 28 SEACRAFT IN SCARBOROUGH.
As the Philippines and the US military start today war exercises in Mindanao,
China had deployed yesterday four patrol ships in the disputed Spratly islands,
China's state media said.

The Philippines, Vietnam, China and other
nearby countries have conflicting territorial claims on the islands.

The
ships, described by the Xinhua news agency as surveillance vessels, reached what
China calls the Huayang reef in the Spratly islands.

China, thus, will
now have naval presence in both the Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal in what
appears to be an intensified effort to pursue its territorial
claims.

[PHOTO- CHINESE SHIPS]
China continued to maintain a heavy presence in Scarborough Shoal in South
China Sea based on monitoring of the Philippine Navy that showed at least 28
Chinese seacraft — including five government-controlled vessels being spotted in
the disputed territory.

Navy Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral
Alexander Pama had said aerial reconnaissance conducted recently showed three
Chinese maritime surveillance ships (MCS), two fishery law enforcement command
(FLEC) vessels, six fishing vessels and 17 dinghies or utility boats in the
shoal area.

China last month summoned Vietnam's ambassador to Beijing and
protested a law adopted by the Vietnamese parliament that places the disputed
Spratly islands under Hanoi's sovereignty.

China and Vietnam, as well as
other neighboring nations, are locked in long-standing territorial disputes over
the South China Sea, including the resources-rich Spratly and Paracel islands.

Xinhua said that the ships left China's southern island province of Hainan on
June 26 and would travel more than 2,400 nautical miles on patrols.

The
ships are under the authority of the Chinese government's State Oceanic
Administration and are not under the country's navy.

China said Thursday
it would resolutely oppose any military provocation in its territorial waters
and protect its sovereignty — remarks which appeared to be directed partly at
Vietnam.

China's military has established routine naval patrols in the
South China Sea as a matter of "national sovereignty," defence ministry
spokesman Geng Yansheng said.

"The determination and will of China's
military to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity is
unwavering," he said.

China said last month it had elevated the
administrative status of what it calls the Nansha (Spratly) and Xisha (Paracel)
islands from a county to a prefectural-level district.

China's
state-backed China National Offshore Oil Corp. has also called for tenders from
foreign companies to explore for oil in the South China Sea near Vietnam, a move
Hanoi deemed "illegal."

Tensions in the South China Sea have risen
sharply recently, with China and the Philippines also locked in a maritime
dispute over Scarborough Shoal, a reef off the Philippine coast.

Taiwan,
Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia and the Philippines all claim parts of the
South China Sea.

The American and Philippine navies, meanwhile, started
yesterday joint naval exercises amid China's declaration that it will resolutely
oppose any military provocation in its territorial waters.

[PHOTO -
CARAT 2012]
Dubbed as Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training or CARAT 2012, the joint
exercise, aimed at enhancing the skills of the naval forces of the two allied
states, has been seen as another effort that would aggravate what is already a
strained relationship between the two Asian nations claiming jurisdiction over
the West Philippine Sea.

Malacanang however reiterated its preference to
resolve territorial conflict with China through diplomatic avenues while veering
away from moves seen to escalate tension, the Philippine government
said.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has advised President Aquino to
"pay no heed to China's protestations over the government's decision to
participate in the naval exercises" including those in Hawaii involving the
United States, Russia and Australia.

The statement was seen as directed
at the those participating in the "Rim of the Pacific" naval exercised launched
by the US in which the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries will take part
in.

China was not invited either as a participant or observer. "Of course
they will say that, so what? Of course we would always pray for peace to
prevail. But you also always think of the worst condition and prepare for it.
You should not assume a peaceful world. There's no such thing as peace all the
time," Enrile said over the weekend.

The solon, who was the defense
minister of the Marcos administration, stressed that the government should
always be prepared for any eventuality, whether or not the tension with China
over the Scarborough Shoal or in West Philippine Seas continues.

"That is
why they say, if you want peace, prepare for war. There's no certainty of peace
all the time. There's no such thing because there isinteraction of conflicting
interest and when that happens, either you surrender or raise your voice and if
you raise your voice, you must have the means to back it up. If you don't have,
you'll be like a dog — put your tail behind your legs and run away," he
said.

The matter of resolving the issue with China remains in the hands
of the government and not with ally nations, Enrile said.
"The solution there
is to reinforce the country's security, fortify the Armed Forces, Air Force,
Navy," he said, adding that there were funds provided in the national budget
yearly to finance the modernization of the AFP.

"But those funds were
used for other purposes in the past. Maybe the previous presidents thought we
would not come to this, that all the time no one will take interest in (in those
disputed waters).

"We have no one to blame but ourselves. If someone took
advantage of you or try to prevail over you, you have no one to blame but
yourself because you did not prepare, you did not defend yourself," he
said.

Enrile expressed belief that the government was taking all
necessary measures to address the issue with China although he himself noted
that it seemed to be taking some time.

A Palace official confirmed in a
radio press briefing that American and Filipino forces will commence the annual
series of joint naval exercises — Carat 2012 — from today until July
10.

The joint military exercise however will not be conducted anywhere
near the disputed region of the Panatag Shoal or the West Philippine Sea.
Instead, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that this year's
Carat will be held in General Santos City.

Interestingly, the visiting US
military force would be paying more attention on the Philippine Navy which would

be drilled in exercises seen to enhance combined interoperability capability.
The local navy, it was learned, would engage its personnel in tests and naval
assets operational readiness and ultimately, improve the naval defense
capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines by an exchange of doctrinal
and tactical best practices.

[PHOTO -The
commissioning ceremony of the USCG cutter Waesche]
The Americans are expected to come in with modern military hardware which
includes two Navy ships, the USS Vandergrift and USNS Safeguard, and a Coast
Guard vessel, the USCG Waesche. Around 350 US Navy personnel and 150 US Coast
Guard personnel will participate in the activity.

The Vandergrift is a
4100-ton frigate and, while the Safeguard is a US Navy Military Sealift Command
salvage and rescue ship.

The Waesche is a 4,306-ton US Coast Guard
cutter

The Philippine Navy has earmarked four ships: the corvettes BRPs
Magat Salamat and Miguel Malvar, the fast patrol craft Salvador Abcede, and the
coastal patrol craft Teotimo Figuracion, and 400 personnel for the
Carat.

Also, the Philippine Coast Guard has committed the BRP Pampanga
and 50 personnel. The Pampanga was the PCG ship that recently patrolled the
Panatag Shoal.

The aircraft to be employed by US forces include an
anti-submarine and maritime patrol P3C Orion plane, and a SH60B Seahawk
helicopter. The Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard will be using an
Islander patrol plane and a BO-105CB helicopter, respectively.

The actual
exercises will be held in the Mindanao Sea. The training activities lined up
include command post exercise; diving exercise; salvage exercise; search and
rescue exercise; at-sea training; cross-training exercise; visit, board, search
and seizure exercise; and maritime interdiction.

Last year, the venue of
the Carat was Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and the year before that, it was
held in Zambales.
Moreover, this year's exercise will include civil military
operations in Glan, Sarangani. The town was hit by flashfloods last month,
leaving two people dead and scores of others reported missing.
Fernan J. Angeles, Angie M. Rosales and AFP



Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved




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