PHNO-HL: SOUTH SEA: CHINA TO DEPLOY MILITARY PRESENCE IN ITS NEW CITY SANSHA

SOUTH SEA: CHINA TO DEPLOY MILITARY PRESENCE IN
ITS NEW CITY SANSHA
[PHOTO -CHINA ESTABLISHED A
NEW CITY IN DISPUTED TERRITORY NAMED SANSHA]
MANILA, JULY
23, 2012 (BULLETIN) By ELLSON QUISMORIO -
China will establish a military presence in its newly established city of
Sansha, which covers a vast expanse of the flashpoint South China Sea (West
Philippine Sea) including islands within the Philippines' territory.
In a news report posted on Chinese government website gov.cn, Beijing
announced that its central military authority "has approved to form and deploy a
military garrison in the newly established city of Sansha".
The online report posted Saturday said China's Central Military Commission
(CMC) had authorized the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Guangzhou Military
Command to set up the garrison.
The PLA refers to China's unified military force and is also the world's
largest with three million members.
"The garrison command will be a division-level command under the PLA's Hainan
provincial sub-command, responsible for managing the city's national defense
mobilization, military reserves and carrying out military operations. The PLA's
Sansha Garrison Command will be under the dual leadership of the Hainan
provincial sub-command and the city's civilian leaders," the report stated.
China has also just recently begun forming a legislative body for Sansha
which in turn will create a government for the new city.
According to Beijing, Sansha City administers over 200 islets, sandbanks and
reefs in Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands, covering 13 square kilometers in
island area and two million square kilometers of water.
The Philippine government, through a Note Verbale issued by the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) to Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing last June 28, had
protested the formation of Sansha.
DFA said it is protesting the inclusion of Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and
Bajo de Masinloc (BJM) under China's new prefecture.
Both of KIG and BJM are within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ), as provided under the United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS) to which Beijing is a signatory.
The Philippine government first established a municipality covering nine
islands, sandbars and reefs in KIG back in 1978, the Department noted. Mayor
Eugenio Bito-onon heads the municipality, which is considered part of Palawan.

China's decision to send its military to Sansha came at the heels of a
statement from its Foreign Ministry spokesman expressing Beijing's willingness
to quell tensions at the volatile waters through the implementation of a code of
conduct, being a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).
"The Chinese side is willing to work together with the ASEAN members to
implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC)
comprehensively and effectively," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei
said.
FROM RAPPLER.COM
PH town 'no match' vs China's Sansha City by
Paterno Esmaquel II Posted on 07/19/2012 1:30 AM | Updated 07/19/2012 7:05 PM

[PHOTO -FACING CHINA. A kindergarten school is the newest major
structure built in Kalayaan, one of the poorest Philippine towns that is likely
to clash with a new Chinese city. Photo from AFP/Office of the Kalayaan Mayor]

MANILA, Philippines – One of the Philippines' poorest municipalities,
Kalayaan in Palawan, is facing off with China's new Sansha City that governs the
disputed South China Sea.
In a phone interview with Rappler, Kalayaan Mayor Eduardo Bito-onon said his
town is "no match" to China's new prefectural-level city that will soon elect
its congress.
Sansha City includes areas claimed by the Philippines, such as portions of
the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.
"Napakalayo... Fifth class lang ang municipality ng Kalayaan. 'Yung kanilang
island, ang budget noon, city," Bito-onon said. (We lag behind... The
municipality of Kalayaan is fifth class. Their island has the budget of a city.)

Bito-onon said Kalayaan town, which is part of the disputed Spratlys, thrives
on an annual Internal Revenue Allotment of P37-M that covers government
salaries, among other things. It also receives an P8-M annual development fund
for basic services.
The budget is big – if only the town's population is to be factored in. Its
population is 114, based on the latest government statistics.
It is, however, also of strategic importance to the Philippines, given
China's show of force in the South China Sea.
'No support'
China is fortifying Sansha, which, as a lower-level government unit in the
past, had already received comparatively huge amounts. Beginning as a
county-level administration office in 1959, the city has had enough money to
build hotels, a supermarket, restaurants, an insurance company, and even 3G
spots.
[PHOTO -NEW CITY. The prefectural-level Sansha City, which is
stationed on Paracel Islands, governs contested portions of the South China Sea.
Photo from the Chinese embassy]
In February alone, Sansha spent 2.2-M yuan or P14.3-M – roughly a third of
Kalayaan's annual budget – to build diesel oil power regulators.
Bito-onon said Kalayaan town, on the other hand, has a dilapidated airstrip,
a 5-bed lying-in clinic, and a small kindergarten school. He said it lacks funds
to build supposed essentials like a sheltered harbor, for livelihood and
tourism, that could cost P300-M.
"Eh halos wala naman tayong makuha sa national government na infrastructure,
support," the mayor said. (We do not get enough from the national government in
terms of infrastructure, support.)
"Ang pinanghahawakan natin," Bito-onon said, "lakas ng loob." (What we hold
on to is fortitude.)
Complex structure
Funding is not the only challenge facing Kalayaan. The political structure of
Sansha is also more complex, an indication of power over the disputed islands.

Such "intentional display of power and authority over the territory" is a
means to prove its ownership, said international law expert Dr Suzette Suarez in
a forum over the weekend. In addition to this is a "continuous and peaceful"
exercise of jurisdiction and state functions. (Watch part of Rappler's interview
with Suarez below.)
Suarez, however, told Rappler political structure is only one of the factors
in claiming ownership. "It's not going to be the only decisive factor... It
depends on the state, how you argue the case," she said.
Suarez, who used to work with the International Tribunal on the Law of the
Sea, cited decisions that are not solely based on complex political structures.
One such case is the Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan, in which
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) favored Malaysia over Indonesia.
In this case, Malaysia presented evidence on government's simple intervention
in everyday life:
"measures taken by the North Borneo authorities to regulate and control the
collecting of turtle eggs on Ligitan and Sipadan, an activity of some economic
significance in the area at the time," based on the Turtle Preservation
Ordinance of 1917; and
North Borneo's construction of a lighthouse on Sipadan in 1962 and another on
Ligitan in 1963, as well as their maintenance by Malaysian authorities
"The activities relied upon by Malaysia... are modest in number but... they
are diverse in character and include legislative, administrative, and
quasi-judicial acts. They cover a considerable period of time and show a pattern
revealing an intention to exercise state functions in respect of the two islands
in the context of the administration of a wider range of islands," the ICJ
explained.
[PHOTO -GOVERNMENT SEAT. Sansha City's top government office is found
on a South China Sea island called Yongxing. File photo from
china.org.cn]
Infrastructure, thus, can also help Kalayaan. For one, Suarez said the
establishment of a kindergarten school in the town, among other structures, can
bolster the Philippines' claim. "May local population... Meron na siyang
semblance of regular community life," she said. (It has a local population... It
has a semblance of regular community life.)
In claiming Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines has also cited evidence of
effective occupation and jurisdiction, such as the installation of Philippine
flags and the construction of a lighthouse. The town of Masinloc, Zambales has
jurisdiction over it, says the Philippines.
This is a key in claiming territory, according to experts: for government to
assert its presence. – Rappler.com


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




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