'China's claims in Spratlys groundless'

China's claims in the South China Sea are groundless, an Australian defense expert said at a recent Washington DC forum organized by a US think-tank.

Professor Carlyle Thayer from the Australian Defense Force Academy said at the June 27-28 gathering sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that China's so-called U-shaped line in the South China Sea is not legal.

He said the line, which China created in 1948, was drawn before the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was signed in 1982.


The 2-day forum, entitled “The East Sea and Asia Pacific in Transition: Exploring Options for Managing Disputes” focused on maritime security concerns in the region.

The gathering took take place a week before US Secretary of State Clinton attends the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Doubts over China's claim

US Senator Joseph Lieberman, in a keynote speech during the forum, also expressed doubts over China's 9-dash line.

"The lack of clarity... over the rationale for China's nine-dash line, has been especially unsettling," he said.

Lieberman said he is concerned about China’s behavior in region.

"I believe it’s pushing the region in the wrong direction and sending a message that is discouraging about what kind of great power China will be and how it will relate to its closest neighbors," he said.

"The overly broad scope, nature and basis of China’s claims are quite naturally fostering a climate of anxiety and driving other parties, most recently Vietnam and the Philippines, to fortify their own claims," he added.

Lieberman said, while the US is not a claimant in the disputes over the Spratlys, Washington has a keen interest in the area.

He said more than $1.2 trillion worth of US trade flows through the South China Sea every year.

He added that what happens in the region matters to the US because it "is a test of whether the geopolitics of a rising Asia are going to be defined by win-win cooperation or zero-sum competition."

"China’s conduct in the South China Sea will inevitably affect its relations with the U.S. and just about everyone else in the world. And in this respect, what happens in the South China Sea really is everyone’s business," Lieberman said.

China will be isolated

"When China pursues policies in the South China Sea that are heavy-handed or lack a clear basis in international law, it naturally creates distrust, increases the danger of miscalculation and leaves China, I’m afraid, more isolated in the region and in the world. That’s not an outcome that any of us should want, least of all the United States," he added.

During the forum, Lieberman praised President Benigno Aquino for his handling of the Scarborough shoal dispute.

"The de-escalation of the conflict in the Scarborough Shoal was very important. And I appreciate that President Aquino actually reacted – I think he handled it in a very balanced and sensitive way," he told Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.

The US senator said the Mutual Defense Treaty between the the US and Manila "is a matter of national obligation" for Americans.

"It’s real," he said.

He added, however, that the US should "strengthen the Philippines defensively so that no one runs the risk of trying to take advantage" of the country.

Lieberman said Washington and Manila are holding discussion "the US Senate Armed Services Committee is interested in, which are aimed particularly to give (the Philippines) some greater defensive capabilities."

Kurt Campbell, US Assistant State Secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, said Clinton will take the lead on high-level diplomacy in the region.

"The secretary will be rolling out some specific initiatives when she visits Southeast Asia in the next few weeks," he said.

Praise for Aquino

He also praised the Philippines and President Benigno Aquino's handling of the South China Sea issues.

"I must commend our colleagues in the Philippines who, I think, are working hard to ensure that peace and stability prevails," Campbell said.

"This is one of the best governments we’ve seen in decades. We want to support that government," he said.

He described Aquino recent visit to the US as a success.

"He is tackling corruption in his country in a way that we have not seen in over a generation," Campbell said.-ABS-CBN News (July 02, 2012 11:31PM)

Ateneo, UP, DLSU among world's best in teaching English - London ratings firm

Three Philippine universities have been listed as among the world's best in teaching English, according to London-based research and ratings firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

QS' World University Rankings by Subject included Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines (UP), and De La Salle University in the Top 50 on its English list.

All three showed marked improvement from their 2011 rankings, especially Ateneo which jumped from 35th to 24th with a score of 68.9.

Ateneo passed UP in 2012 as the nation's top university in teaching English, according to the QS ranking.

The state-run UP ranked 32nd with a score of 65.7, tied with University of California Irvine.

De La Salle University ranked 44th with a score of 63.1.

Most of the leading universities in this ranking are from countries where English is the native language such as the United Kingdom and the United States.

"A degree in English equips students with a range of transferable skills, which are useful in a range of career sectors. The 2012 QS World University Ranking for English Language and Literature lists the best universities in the world to study English language and literature," the QS report said.

Important to investors

Commenting on the results, Labor department spokesman Director Nicon Fameronag said such reports about the Philippines' English competence are important.

"They help investors decide to set up here and employ Filipinos," Fameronag told GMA News Online. 

Topping the list is the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, with a score of 100.

Harvard University (US, score 85.3), University of Oxford (UK, score 82.7), Yale University (US, 82.4) and University of California Berkeley (US, 81.1) comprise the top five.

In 2011, UP and Ateneo were also included in the Top 50, with De La Salle ranking between 51st and 100th.

The 2011 list saw UP at 34th with a score of 43.7; and Ateneo at 35th with a score of 42.8.-GMA News (July 02, 2012)

Philippines may ask for US spy planes over South China Sea

The Philippines may ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the South China Sea to help monitor the disputed waters, President Benigno Aquino told Reuters on Monday, a move that could worsen tensions with its giant neighbor China.

The two countries only recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, a horseshoe shaped reef near the Philippines in waters they both claim - the latest round of naval brinkmanship over the resource-rich sea.

The United States has stressed it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute, despite offering to help boost the Philippines' decrepit military forces. China has warned that "external forces" should not get involved.

"We might be requesting overflights on that," Aquino told Reuters in an interview, referring to U.S. P3C Orion spy planes. "We don't have aircraft with those capabilities."

There was no immediate comment from Washington.

Last month, Aquino pulled out a lightly armed coast guard ship and a fisheries boat due to bad weather around the Scarborough Shoal, a group of rock formations about 140 miles west of the main Philippine island of Luzon.

The South China Sea is potentially the biggest military flashpoint in Asia, and tensions have risen since the United States adopted a policy last year to reinforce its influence in the region.

At stake is control over what are believed to be significant reserves of oil and gas. Estimates for proven and undiscovered oil reserves in the entire sea range from 28 billion to as high as 213 billion barrels of oil, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a March 2008 report.

China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia have competing claims on the sea, but China's claims encompass almost all its waters.

China said last week it had begun "combat-ready" patrols in waters it said were under its control in the South China Sea, after saying it "vehemently opposed" a Vietnamese law asserting sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands.

"We hope the Philippines will no longer issue information that provokes public opinion and avoid complicating the situation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters on Monday, responding to the Philippine military's assertion that it could return to the Scarborough Shoal at any time.

"WE HAVE A LOT OF NEEDS"

Aquino, whose presidency has seen a cooling of ties with China over the sea dispute, said he had not decided whether to send Philippine ships back to the disputed shoal. He said he had called a cabinet meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue and overall relations with China.

"We'll discuss the whole issue of the relationship with China and I would like to get the advice of my advisors," the 52-year-old president told Reuters in a wood-paneled reception room in the Malacanang presidential palace.

Manila has been looking to its old ally Washington for ships, aircraft, surveillance equipment and other hardware as the United States refocuses its military attention on Asia. Manila has offered Washington greater access to airfields and its military facilities in exchange for more equipment and frequent training.

"The Philippines has demonstrated time and again its interest to preserve the peace and the de-escalation of the situation," Aquino said. "But we don't exist in a vacuum. We would want to see China reciprocate all of these moves that have been done as far as de-escalating the tensions."

The maritime dispute was high on the agenda when Aquino met U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington last month. In August last year, the U.S. Pacific Command made an initial offer to deploy the P3C Orion spy planes to the Philippines and help monitor disputed areas in the South China Sea after China increased its presence and activities near Reed Bank, part of the western Philippines Palawan island group.

The Pentagon offered to share real-time surveillance data with the Philippines while seeking wider access to airfields in its former colony in Southeast Asia.

Despite its professed neutrality over the South China Sea dispute, the U.S. military "pivot" back to Asia is widely seen as a response to China's growing military capabilities. Its shift back to the region may be encouraging smaller nations such as Vietnam and the Philippines to take a bolder stance over the sea dispute, analysts say.

"We have a lot of needs," said Aquino, the son of democracy icon and former president Corazon Aquino.

"For instance the coast watch system - we have 36,000 km (22,000 miles) of coastline. We don't have radar coverage for all of this."

Aquino also said he would not object to an increased "rotational tempo" for U.S. military forces in the country to help train their Filipino counterparts.

Aquino said China should not be alarmed by Philippine efforts to improve its monitoring capability.

"Does the Philippines have the capacity to become an aggressor?" he asked. "By any stretch of the imagination, the Philippines does not. So why should it upset a superpower if we're all reasonable?"-Interaksyon (June 02, 2012)

AFP to help secure fishermen in shoal

The Armed Forces of the Philippines will support and coordinate efforts with the Philippine Coast Guard to ensure the safety of fishermen returning to the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said yesterday.

“In coordination with concerned agencies of the government, we will continue to relentlessly pursue all means necessary to ensure that our citizens are well-protected at all times and that they are able to exercise their freedom to include maritime rights within our sovereign territory,” Burgos said.

“The safety and security of our citizens will always be of paramount concern in all our undertakings,” he added.

The fishing ban imposed by the Philippine government in the shoal will be lifted on July 15.

Malacañang, however, has yet to decide whether to send back government ships to the shoal.

When asked if the lifting of the fishing ban would lead to the redeployment of government ships, Burgos said the Coast Guard, not the military, is directly involved in the issue.

A security official said the lifting of the fishing ban in Panatag could pave way for the return of Philippine government vessels to the disputed area.

The official, who requested anonymity, said allowing the fishermen to conduct fishing activities in the area would entail the presence of security forces to ensure their safety.

“The responsibility of authorities in the area is not just to apprehend illegal activities but also to ensure the safety of fishermen,” the official told The STAR.

“If fishermen are allowed to return (to the shoal), there ought to be personnel or vessels that would oversee them,” the official added.

The Philippine government earlier declared a fishing ban in Panatag Shoal last May to replenish the fish stock in the area.

China also declared a fishing ban even if the shoal is part of Philippine territory, as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

However, China seems to have violated its own fishing ban due to the continuous presence of Chinese fishing boats inside the shoal’s lagoon.

Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of think tank Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said China could take advantage of the Philippines’ absence in the shoal.

“It confirms the observation that the Philippines lacks capacity to sustain and enhance our presence in the shoal despite its geographic proximity. China can take advantage of this weakness,” Banlaoi told The STAR.

“But at present, the holding of CARAT (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) will enable the Philippines and its Asian allies to monitor the developments and activities in the shoal,” he added, referring to the joint Philippine-US naval exercises that will start today.

Banlaoi said the participation of some Philippine ships in CARAT is one of the reasons why the government is not yet sending vessels to Panatag Shoal.

“Philippine ships should return to Panatag Shoal to maintain our presence and demonstrate our peaceful control and benign administration of the area with or without fishing ban,” he said.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, on the other hand, called on President Aquino to intensify in the modernization of the AFP if the government wants leverage against China over the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

Enrile noted that the annual budget allocated for the country’s military is not enough.

But he said Malacañang should be given leeway to address this and provide the military its much-needed boost for modernization.

Enrile also welcomed the holding of the CARAT exercises.

Enrile shrugged off reports that the joint military exercise is a move to provoke China.

“Of course, that is what they will say, so what? If you’re provoked, move on… Peace? We always pray for peace but in this world, you always think of worst condition, and prepare for it, not assume a peaceful world, there no such thing, peace all the time,” Enrile said.

He said the people should not always put limitation to the government especially in terms of modernizing the country’s depleted military hardware and equipment.

“The day will come that you will go to war, so you need to spend for that to serve the country. What will you do if your country will be taken away from you and what will you do if countries like China will swallow you alive?” he asked.

Called off

Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles from the nearest base point in Zambales.

It is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone as provided by the UNCLOS, to which China is a signatory.

A standoff ensued on April 10 after Chinese maritime surveillance ships stopped the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese fishermen who had engaged in illegal fishing and harvesting or endangered species in the area.

The Philippines has protested the Chinese vessels’ action but China has insisted that it has sovereignty over the area.

Both countries support peaceful means to resolve the dispute despite reports of bullying by Chinese ships of Filipino vessels and fishermen.

On June 15, President Aquino directed two Philippine ships to pull out of Panatag Shoal allegedly to bad weather.

These ships have been facing off with Chinese vessels and boats that have remained in the area since April.

Five days after, on June 20, an alleged Chinese vessel accidentally rammed a local fishing boat in Bolinao, Pangasinan, north of Panatag Shoal, killing one and leaving four others still missing.

A maritime investigation is still underway to identify the foreign vessel involved in the accident.

The Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy, however, have stopped searching for the four missing fishermen.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Benito Ramos, however, said local responders continue to conduct search operations.

“The Coast Guard and Navy have called off their search operations because the fuel (for their air and naval assets) is very expensive. But our Office of Civil Defense in Region 1, our local responders and fishermen in the area are still searching for the missing persons,” Ramos yesterday told radio dzBB.

He said they are not yet giving up on the missing fishermen, whose fishing boat was reportedly rammed by a Hong Kong-registered vessel.

“We are not losing hope. They have life vests,” he said.

The four missing fishermen were identified as Fred Celino, Arnold Garcia, Domy de los Santos and Amante Resonable.

Authorities are still investigating whether the vessel really came from China and whether the collision was an accident. -ABS-CBN News (July 2, 2012 7:04 AM)

US, 4 other nuclear powers to pledge not to use nukes vs ASEAN countries

PHNOM PENH - The United States and four other nuclear powers that are permanent members of the UN Security Council will pledge not to use nuclear weapons against any of the ASEAN member countries in a protocol expected to be signed next month in Cambodia, ASEAN sources said Friday.

The sources said the protocol to the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty is expected to be signed on the sidelines of a regional security conference to be held in Phnom Penh in mid-July.

Once the documents are ratified by the signatory countries, Southeast Asia will become the first nuclear-free zone in Asia, a key strategic objective ASEAN member countries have sought since the Cold War.-Interaksyon (June 30, 2012)

India, Japan & South Korea agreed trilateral military pact against China

Japan and South Korea on 29th June 2012 agreed to share intelligence in their first joint military pact since World War II.

The agreement is seen as a breakthrough in ties between two neighbors with a difficult history. Japan ruled Korea as a colony for several decades until the end of World War II in 1945, and Seoul has often been wary of Japan's postwar military development, but the nations have many shared concerns, particularly North Korea and China.

Noting that the South China Sea was witnessing "competing claims", India strongly pitched for co-operation instead of competition in the seas and oceans at a trilateral meeting with Japan and South Korea.

With China's growing assertiveness in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea), India, Japan and South Korea - Asia's three leading democracies –( June 29, 2012 )Friday held their first trilateral meeting in India and pitched for freedom of seas and expanding their multifaceted cooperation.

Asserting that India, Japan and Republic of Korea depend heavily on the Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs) for their energy security which are also the mainstay for trade and connectivity, Sanjay Singh, Secretary (East) in Ministry of External Affairs, said "there is indeed a compelling case for us to cooperate on maritime security."

"India has a valued geostrategic location straddling the SLOCs. The Indian Ocean Rim is characterized by large Exclusive Economic Zones and unexplored and untapped marine resources. Similar potential exists for example in the South China Sea which today is witnessing competing claims.

The three sides discussed a host of regional and global issues to cement their trilateral cooperation cutting across diverse areas, including maritime cooperation, security, terrorism, and trade and investment.

The trilateral dialogue seeks to address the three major themes - the evolving Asian security architecture, non-traditional security issues and prospects and challenges for this process.

The India-Japan-South Korea trilateral seeks to reinforce the India-Japan-US trilateral dialogue that also focuses on expanding strategic and maritime cooperation.

They identified the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA), Korea National Diplomatic Academy, and Tokyo Foundation as the three partnering institutions to carry forward the trilateral dialogue.

"Being leading democracies of the world, we share a common commitment to democratic values, open society, human rights and the rule of law," Sanjay Singh, Secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry, said while underlining a congruence of strategic interests of the three leading economies of the region.

"We seek a peaceful and secure Asia free from the threats of terrorism, proliferation, piracy and conflict between states," he said.

Although China was not mentioned explicitly, it was very much the elephant in the room, with discussions focusing on maritime cooperation and freedom of navigation in international sea lanes of communication.

"There is common commitment to maintaining freedom of the seas, combating terrorism and promoting inclusive economic growth. India, Japan and ROK depend heavily on the Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs) for their energy security," Singh said.

"These are also the mainstay for trade and connectivity amongst our countries and other countries in the region. India has a valued geostrategic location straddling the SLOCs," he said.

In this context, the three sides noted that like the Indian Ocean Rim, West Philippines Sea has tremendous potential for cooperation, but is "is witnessing competing claims".

"Our common objective is to see that the seas and oceans become regions of cooperation instead of competition, particularly as our energy security and trade depends on them," Singh said.

Underlining the need for maritime cooperation, the sides discussed ways to expand trilateral cooperation to deal the conventional risks associated with nuclear power and confront the risks of nuclear and missile proliferation in our neighborhoods.

"Deepening cooperation amongst our defense and security establishments will promote our mutual security," said Singh.

Beijing has yet to react to the India-Japan-South Korea trilateral, but it has been uneasy about leading democracies of the region getting together in what it sees as an exercise in encirclement of a rising China.

Trilateral Military pact

The pact establishes a framework for sharing intelligence in such areas as missile defense, North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Chinese military operations and other regional security matters.

It was previously approved by South Korea, and Japan's Cabinet gave its final approval Friday ahead of a formal signing ceremony. "Considering the security situation in east Asia, it is very significant for us to create the foundations for sharing information," said Japan's foreign minister, Koichiro Genba. "I think this is a very historic event."

The pact reflects deepening mutual concerns that more cooperation is needed to enhance security readiness.

The two countries are increasingly concerned by potential threats from North Korea, which is developing its long-range missile and nuclear weapons capabilities. They are also closely watching the rise of China's military.

North Korea heightened regional tensions in April with the launch of a rocket that was widely criticized as a test of long-range missile technology. The launch was of particular concern to Seoul and Tokyo because they are within reach of the North's missile arsenal.

Such fears spurred the government efforts to cooperate more closely on intelligence sharing, though the pact remains controversial among some in South Korea.

"An accord for military-information protection with Japan is necessary given the ever-growing threat from the North," South Korea's JoongAng Daily newspaper said in an editorial. "The more quality information we have about the North, the better our security."-Rebuilding for the Better Philippines (June 30, 2012)