When it comes to learning more about what they need to buy, Filipinos are among the most active in the Asia-Pacific region in using the Internet for product research and snaring online deals.
This was the key finding of a recent study conducted by market research firm Nielsen on the influence of digital media on shopping habits.
The Nielsen report found that among consumers who engaged in e-commerce activities, 72 percent of online consumers in the Philippines indicated using the Internet for grocery shopping research over the past month.
Of this number, 47 percent did so on a daily basis, comparing favorably against the average 39 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.
“With Internet penetration increasing exponentially in the Philippines, and the growing number of consumers who are turning to the Internet to conduct product research and ensure they are getting the best price or deal, this trend provides an apt environment to convert online researchers to make online purchases,” Nielsen Philippine managing director Stuart Jamieson said in a statement.
The study also showed that online Filipino consumers were also the most active in Asia-Pacific to search online for deals.
Sixty-one percent of Filipino consumers have, in fact, done online deal searches during the past month, compared to only 39 percent in the Asia-Pacific.
The study exposed the Achilles heel of Filipino online consumers, however, showing that when it comes to online purchase conversion, only 34 percent have made purchases online in the past month compared to 62 percent in the Asia-Pacific and 49 percent globally.
“The Internet presents an opportunity for retailers and manufacturers to tap into a broader consumer base and increase engagement levels with consumers,” Jamieson said. “However, clear strategies to build online consumers’ trust and ultimately increase purchase conversion rates need to be ascertained.”
At the same time, the Nielsen study noted a gradual evolution in the patterns of Filipino consumers’ behavior as far as online product research was concerned. While non-consumer packaged goods (CPG) such as electronics, clothing and travel reported the highest penetration for digital shopping intentions, the level of influence for CPG-related products was observed to be growing. In fact, Filipinos’ intentions to buy food and beverages via online sources more than doubled from 15 percent to 32 percent in two years, it showed.
“Connected devices, such as computers, mobile phones and tablets have become a way of life for many, but shoppers are digitally engaged to varying degrees depending on the products they buy,” Jamieson said. “Marketers need to determine which consumers are embracing digital for their grocery shopping needs so they can focus on the right shoppers with the right digital strategies to improve consumers’ online experience.”
The study showed that 52 percent of Filipino respondents said they planned to purchase a computer, game or software via a connected device in the next three to six months—up from 19 percent two years ago—and again compared to 35 percent in Asia-Pacific.
Forty-six percent of Filipinos surveyed indicated they would buy a mobile phone online, compared to 33 percent in the region, making technology categories the key driver of online purchase intention for Filipinos within the next three to six months.-Philippine Daily Inquirer (September 04, 2012 10:54PM)
Three Taiwanese legislators flew to a hotly-contested island in the South China Sea Tuesday as garrison forces there held a live-fire drill, officials said, risking stirring up new tensions in the area.
The lawmakers left an airbase in the south of Taiwan at around 7:00 am (2300 GMT Monday) on board a C-130 transport plane, arriving at Taiping, the biggest islet in the Spratlys, three-and-a-half hours later.
"The group observed a live-fire drill conducted by the coastguards," Hsieh Chin-chin, a coastguard spokesman, told AFP.
Two of the lawmakers were from the ruling Kuomintang party, and the third from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.
The Spratlys are a group of islands claimed entirely or in part by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.
They are believed to lie on top of major energy resources and sit near a number of important trading routes.
The Spratlys, and the South China Sea as a whole, have been at the centre of a series of escalating diplomatic rows between countries with overlapping territorial claims.
In July Taiwan boosted its artillery and mortar weapons on Taiping, and last week its security chief and the interior minister visited the islet, in moves that angered Vietnam.
Despite warnings by other claimants, some right-wing Taiwanese politicians have been pressing the government to reinforce the garrison, urging it to replace the existing coastguard detachment with an elite marine unit.
All claimants except Brunei have troops or coastguards posted on the group of more than 100 islets, reefs and atolls, which are spread across a vast area but have a total land mass of less than five square kilometres (two square miles).
South China Sea tensions rose in July when China announced a new city and military garrison in the disputed Paracel Islands, prompting Washington to voice concern.-Interaksyon (September 04, 2012 4:13PM)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads Tuesday to Beijing after talks with emerging ally Indonesia as she voiced hope for progress in managing soaring tensions in the South China Sea, including that with the Philippines, which calls the area the West Philippine Sea.
Clinton, on her third visit to the region since May, encouraged a united front among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations as she stood firm in calling for freedom of navigation in the strategic sea.
The top US diplomat travels to China after sounding an optimistic note in Indonesia, where she will meet Tuesday with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and visit the headquarters of the ASEAN bloc.
She said she saw positive signs in Southeast Asia and was optimistic for movement on a code of conduct governing the South China Sea in time for an Asia summit in Cambodia in November to be attended by President Barack Obama.
"I think we can make progress before the East Asia Summit and it's certainly in everyone's interest that we do so," she told a joint news conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.
Clinton refrained from criticizing China directly before her visit but signaled unease over Beijing's recent establishment of a remote garrison in the South China Sea where six nations, including the Philippines, have often overlapping claims.
"The United States believes very strongly that no party should take any steps that would increase tensions or do anything that would be viewed as coercive or intimidating to advance their territorial claims," Clinton said.
"We believe the nations of the region should work collaboratively together to resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation, without threats and certainly without the use of force," she added.
The United States has taken a vocal stance on the South China Sea -- through which half of the world's cargo flows -- as the Philippines and Vietnam accuse Beijing of intimidation to exert its claims.
But when Clinton visited Cambodia in July, ASEAN foreign ministers for the first time failed to issue a joint communiqué at their annual meeting as the nations stood divided on how to deal with an increasingly active China.
The United States and its partners believe a code of conduct would establish dialogue and mechanisms to manage disputes in the South China Sea and prevent flare-ups of the kind seen recently from escalating into full-blown conflicts.
In an effort that heartened Clinton after the divisive meeting in July, Indonesia's foreign minister spearheaded a recent statement of ASEAN principles that includes the 10 nations working together on a code of conduct.
Natalegawa, who welcomed Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to Jakarta last month, said that his initiative was not aimed at countering China as a code of conduct was in the interests of all nations in the region.
"Absent a code of conduct, absent a diplomatic process, we can be certain of more incidents and more tensions in our region. So it is a win-win," Natalegawa said.
The Obama administration has supported a greater role for Indonesia, seeing the populous and historically moderate Muslim-majority democracy as a positive force for the region and beyond.
US relations with China have been fraught with tensions, despite what US officials say is quiet cooperation in several areas, including on pressuring Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
Chinese state media have accused Clinton of trying to contain the Asian power's rise. China claims most of the South China Sea and has generally preferred to negotiate individually with each nation instead of a united ASEAN.
Clinton's last visit to China in May was overshadowed by a crisis over prominent dissident Chen Guangcheng, who fled to the US embassy after reporting beatings under arbitrary house arrest in his home in Shandong province.
China eventually allowed the blind activist, who angered authorities by exposing forced abortions under the one-child-only policy, to leave for New York to study.
A US official said that Clinton was expected to discuss human rights but that it was unclear if Chen's case would again come up.-Interaksyon (September 04, 2012)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met in Indonesia Tuesday with the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to discuss rival territorial claims to the South China Sea.
Secretary Clinton met with ASEAN's Surin Pitsuwan and permanent representatives to the regional body's secretariat in Jakarta.
Senior State Department officials say she was seeking their advice on how the United States can best help resolve competing territorial claims to the South China Sea.
The Obama administration is encouraging ASEAN members to work as a group in negotiating a code of conduct with China to set parameters for resolving the dispute. China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, and the Philippines all have competing territorial claims to parts of the South China Sea.
Secretary Clinton says all nations have an interest in maintaining regional peace and stability.
"The United States believes very strongly that no party should take any steps that would increase tensions or do anything that could be viewed as coercive or intimidating to advance their territorial claims," she said.
Secretary Clinton says encouraging ASEAN unity is not just about China. It is also about resolving rival maritime claims within the group itself.
"There are many claimants. It’s not just ASEAN members claiming vis-a-vis China. There are claims within ASEAN members themselves," Clinton added. "So this is in everyone’s interest and it is time for diplomacy. We have the East Asia Summit coming up in Phnom Penh in November."
Clinton says that should be the diplomatic goal: to make progress on a "robust code of conduct to literally calm the waters" before that summit in Cambodia.
Secretary Clinton met with ASEAN leaders in Jakarta following talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa says ASEAN's path is clear: to apply itself to getting a code of conduct done.
"Absent a code of conduct, absent a diplomatic process, we can be certain of more incidents and more tension for our region. So it is a win-win relationship," said Natalegawa. "It is not only right that ASEAN must be united, but it is also the smart thing to do, because absent an ASEAN unity, the question will become like a loose cannon in the way the issue is being discussed."
Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea will be part of Secretary Clinton's talks in Beijing and Brunei as well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Russia.-Voice of America (September 04, 2012)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Asia where she is discussing efforts by U.S. allies Indonesia and Singapore to help calm tensions over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Following talks with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Secretary of State Clinton said the United States, like all countries, has a national interest in maintaining peace and stability, freedom of navigation, and unimpeded lawful commerce in the South China Sea.
"We believe the nations of the region should work collaboratively together to resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation, without threats, and certainly without the use of force," said Clinton.
China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, and the Philippines have competing territorial claims to parts of the South China Sea. The United States is working to encourage agreement on a code of conduct to establish clear procedures for resolving those disputes.
Indonesia has played a key role in making progress toward that goal, especially when regional foreign ministers failed to reach agreement in July. So too has Singapore, which is more actively mediating South China Sea disputes as part of growing ties with the United States.
Joshua Kurlantzick is a Southeast Asia analyst for the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
"Singapore, I think, is walking farther away from the role it has historically played, which is really close to the U.S., but it sort of publicly did not talk about it and still tried to be a balancer," said Kurlantzick. "I think we are moving with them closer to a more traditional alliance."
Analyst Justin Logan of the Washington-based Cato Institute agrees that Singapore is moving closer to the United States, but says this might not be a traditional alliance.
"The United States likes to have very, very enthusiastic allies," said Logan. "And I think that the Singaporeans tend to have a more reserved, more calculated, careful approach. So it is certainly true that relations between the United States and Singapore have gotten better. They are getting more attention in Washington. But I do not think that you are going to have this extraordinarily tight, sometimes ebullient-style relationship that the United States has enjoyed in the past."
Logan says Singapore understands its position in the various South China Sea claims.
"Everybody wants to sit down and talk with the Singaporeans," said Logan. "And they realize that everybody wants to be friendly with the Singaporeans. Given their strategic positioning in this, they have played, I think, a very adept diplomatic game in trying to be friendly with everyone because everyone wants to be friendly with them."
It is a balance shared by neighboring Indonesia, where Foreign Minister Natalegawa last month hosted his Chinese counterpart and is quick to make clear that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, is not trying to pressure China.
"It is important to underscore ASEAN unity is not meant to be at the expense of any other party," said Natalegawa. "It is not about us rallying around to counter or to put any other country on the spot or to put them in a corner."
Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea will be part of Secretary Clinton's talks in Beijing and Brunei as well as at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Russia.-Voice of America (September 03, 2012)
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang said Monday that Vietnam attaches great importance to the development of Vietnam-China traditional friendship, and is willing to enhance the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with the Chinese side.
Sang made the remarks during the meeting with Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ma Xiaotian, who is currently in Hanoi for the sixth defense and security consultation between Chinese and Vietnamese defense ministries.
During the meeting, Sang said Vietnamese party, government and people will always cherish the support and assistance that China offered them in the causes of national liberalization and socialist construction. He said Vietnam greatly treasured the traditional friendship with China, adding that Vietnam attaches great importance to the development of Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership guided by the 16-word motto and the four-good spirit principles.
Vietnamese leaders pledge their support for the Vietnam-China military cooperation. Vietnam always believes that China's stable development is conducive to the development of Vietnam and the regional stability, he said.
Ma Xiaotian, for his part, said China and Vietnam are friendly neighbors and enjoy a traditional friendship between two peoples. Friendship and cooperation have remained the mainstream of China- Vietnam relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties.
He said under the current situation, the two sides should properly handle differences and effectively control the crisis. China hopes that the two armies will continue to further enhance understanding, strengthen mutual trust, promote cooperation, to inject positive factors into the development of bilateral relations, and jointly safeguard the China-Vietnam friendship relations.
Ma Xiaotian left Beijing on Sunday for visits to Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore. Vietnam is the first leg of Ma's ongoing four-nation Asia tour.-China Daily (September 04, 2012 3:37AM)
Magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Bukidnon in Mindanao island, Philippines around 3:00AM today.
Intensity 5 felt in Musuan, Maramag, Bukidnon; Intensity 3 in Cagayan de Oro City and Intensity 2 in Cotabato City.
Source: Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs)
Thirteen Indonesian fishermen from Tangkahan hamlet in Batubara, North Sumatra, who were caught fishing illegally in Malaysian waters on Aug. 5, have been released.
The fishermen, six of them under the age of 17, embarked on two fishing ships, KM Jasa Laut and an unnamed boat, to go fishing in the Malaka Strait on Aug. 3 before being stopped by the Malaysian Marine Police near Jarak Island.
Ahmad Khori, 33, the captain of KM Jasa Laut, said that seven adult fishermen were detained in a temporary shelter until Aug. 14, while the six underage detainees were held at the rumah detensi (or detention centre).
The adult fishermen were later sentenced to five days in jail by the Malaysian Subordinate Court for illegally entering Malaysian territory.-Asia News Network (September 03, 2012)
If Japan is worried about China's growing economic and military clout, its Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Koro Bessho did not show it.
In an exclusive interview with The Nation's editor-in-chief Suthichai Yoon over the weekend, he reiterated that his country did not see Beijing as a threat, but rather as a big neighbour who's taking a more assertive role in the region. But this big neighbour and everyone around would be better off if there was a greater degree of transparency in crucial foreign policies.
"Saying that a problem or conflict exists is very different from saying that someone is a threat. I don't think China bullies us, but I would agree that the Chinese are getting to be more assertive. And that is something that the international community has recognised and has asked China to play a role (accordingly) - an important role that they can perform," he said.
The Japanese deputy minister was in Bangkok last week and met Sihasak Phuangketkeow, the permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry. The trip followed up on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's official visit to Japan in March, when several important agreements were reached.
Bessho said Japan was aware of but not alarmed over developments in China including its military profile in the region.
"We certainly do not see China as a threat. What we are saying is that we would like China to be more transparent in their policies and their relationship with their policies, and the actual (scale) of their military build-up."
A Beijing-Tokyo maritime row erupted when Japan detained 14 Chinese nationals from Hong Kong who landed on the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands on August 15, in hope of asserting Chinese sovereignty. After detaining them, Japanese authorities quickly deported them. The incident ignited nationalistic sentiment across China.
"Our position is that there is no territorial dispute. We feel that we don't want the differences in our views or positions on this particular issue to overshadow the overall relationship," Bessho said.
"We have no reason to believe that the Hong Kong fishermen were backed by the Chinese government to trespass on Japanese territory," he said.
As this year marks the 40th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, their leaders have agreed to strengthen a relationship that is mutually beneficial based on common strategic interests.
However, there have been better days in the bilateral ties.
"Between the mid-1980s and now, we do see the decline of the warm feelings that we had enjoyed in the 1980s," he said.
He was quick to add that Japan's nationalistic sentiment had other factors including the bursting of the bubble in the 1990s, which coincided with the declining birth-rate, which aggravated the situation of an ageing society, and, of course, the great natural disaster (tsunami) last year.
"People are feeling a little less optimistic about the future. I think people are beginning to look inward. What we want to do is to be more outward-looking," he said.
Asked about the US rebalancing strategy in the Asia-Pacific, he said: "We all welcome that, including China, including Southeast Asia and of course Japan.
"Their [the Americans'] interest is important for us and Asean countries. We want to secure stability in this region and I think it's the same for China, which is so essential for economic development," he said.
In terms of Asean+3 (10 Asean countries plus China, Japan and South Korea), he said the plus three nations had played a very important role and achieved some important cooperative targets.
"What Japan wants to do is to come up in the end with a free-trade agreement for all [the] Asia-Pacific. That may be the ultimate goal," he said.
"We have enough experience, technology and strong partnership with our friends. We can play a role that could help build and cement a solid and stable platform from which we can all benefit," he said.
In regard to North Korea's missile programme, he said: "What we would like to see is for North Korea to show us that we can believe in them and that we can establish a relationship of trust.
"The starting point is for them to honour their past promise. I think that'll be the most important point," he said.
Asked what might be Japan's biggest concern from a foreign policy viewpoint, he said: "North Korea certainly is considered a very important issue. But in order to deal with this issue and any other flash point, I think it's important to (solidify) a regional structure that can deal with them (peacefully).
"As for the structure we already have in hand, what we want to do is make sure it can actually function."-Asia News Network (September 03, 2012)
Two items on the government's energy agenda - preparations for talks with Cambodia on a solution to the countries' overlapping claims in the Gulf of Thailand and the plan to open a 21st round of bidding for petroleum exploration and production concessions - are likely to be delayed until next year.
The government had planned to finish its preparations for the negotiations next month and send them to the Cabinet and Parliament for approval. However, completion of the preparations might be postponed until next year, as the government does not want to run the risk of the opposition raising the issues in the upcoming censure debate, an Energy Ministry source said.
Songpope Polachan, director-general of the Department of Mineral Fuels, said both countries would benefit from the development of natural gas fields in the overlapping 26,000 square-kilometre area if they can solve the problem quickly.
The department has proposed that the solution be based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries last year that the bilateral negotiations will be divided into two parts. The first stage of the talks would cover the upper part of the overlapping area, in which the military and national security agencies would be responsible for negotiations. These talks would use demarcation principles to divide the area.
For the overlapped areas, the Joint Development Area (JDA) basis would be used.
If the negotiations lead to collaboration and exploration, this will help increase Thailand's natural gas reserve by 30 per cent.
In a separate matter, the department will delay its launch of the 21st round of bidding for petroleum exploration and production concessions to next year from September, as Myanmar will launch its petroleum concession bid in November. Myanmar's petroleum fields have higher potential and are more attractive to bidders than those offered by Thailand. If the department and Myanmar launch the bid at a similar time, the department is concerned its concessions might fail to attract bidders.
The 21st bidding round features 22 plots, of which 11 are in the Northeast, six are in the North, and the rest are in the Gulf of Thailand. The total area is 46,000 sq km. According to the department's preliminary estimate, the area could contain between 3 trillion and 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 5 million to 10 million barrels of crude oil.-The Nation (September 03, 2012)
China's Foreign Ministry said it had already made "solemn representations" as a survey group from Tokyo wrapped up an illegal survey at the waters off China’s Diaoyu Islands on Sunday.
"The Chinese side reiterates that any unilateral action by the Japanese side on the Diaoyu Islands is illegal, invalid and will not change the reality that the Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands belong to Chinese territory," it said in a statement.
Analysts issued warnings to watch out for Tokyo's duplicitous dirty tricks, as Japan is enhancing its rival claim over the islands while calling for cooling tensions with China.
The survey group, organized by Tokyo's prefectural government, was comprised of 25 people, including officials and estate valuers, to do surveys at the waters near the islands, the Kyodo News Agency reported.
Tokyo's prefectural government is also preparing another survey on the islands in October. Right-wing Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has vowed to take part in the trip despite possible disapproval from the central government.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced his cabinet's plan to "nationalize" the islands in early July, a move that prompted protests.
Tokyo on Sunday said it has entered the final phase of negotiations with the islands’ "private owner", and it is estimated to cost Japan 2 billion yen ($25.54 million), Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported.
But the date for the deal is still "under consideration", and Tokyo indicated that final plans may be released after Noda returned from the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leadership summit, which is scheduled to start on Saturday, Mainichi said.
On Friday, Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, visiting Japan's parliamentary senior deputy minister of foreign affairs, handed to State Councilor Dai Bingguo a letter from Noda to President Hu Jintao.
Meanwhile, Chen Guangbiao, a Chinese billionaire and high-profile philanthropist entrepreneur, unleashed his latest plan to publicize China’s sovereignty over the islands through Japanese media.
Chen has contacted some Japanese media about publicizing the issue, and negotiations have been "tough", he told the Beijing Youth Daily.
An unnamed influential Japanese newspaper has preliminarily agreed, Chen said.
Zhang Yuqiang, a researcher on international communication studies at Communication University of China, said "as China speeds up its pace to integrate itself into the world, Chinese citizens are showing growing visions and willingness to safeguard China’s sovereignty".-China Daily (September 03, 2012 2:27PM)
If the investment plan of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) pushes through, the world may soon be awash in coconut water, virgin coconut oil and other coconut byproducts, including chips, jam, vinegar, frozen coco meat, liquid coco milk, coconut milk powder, macapuno, coco liquor, coco coir and coconut handicraft.
The PCA under the Department of Agriculture is looking at investing over P1.7 billion to boost the export of coconut products to at least 100 countries.
PCA Administrator Euclides Forbes cited records that indicated that 39 coconut products and byproducts were among the country’s leading agricultural exports, with export earnings totaling $1.96 billion last year.
The P1.75-billion investment, Forbes said, would be used “to devise and implement strategies to take advantage of the growing export demand on coco water, VCO and coconut sap sugar.”
The PCA, he said, was working with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) to develop processing and postharvest technologies to further lengthen the shelf life of coconut water for domestic and export markets.
For his part, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that President Benigno Aquino “(has) instructed that assistance be given to coconut farmers.” He added that the coconut industry should take advantage of available technologies to enable coconut farmers and entrepreneurs to create new and innovative byproducts.
Alcala said the PCA was implementing a nationwide coconut planting and replanting program under which some 14.6-million seed nuts had been planted as of July 31 to sustain the productivity of small coconut farmers and increase their income.
The PCA also hoped to fertilize up to 25-million coconut trees next year and to implement a coconut livelihood and intercropping program, the Kasaganaan sa Niyugan ay Kaunlaran ng Bayan (Kaanib) at 300 sites nationwide, the agriculture official said.
Last year’s top exports included coconut oil at $1.4 billion, dessicated coconut at $287 million and coco chemicals at $35 million, Forbes said.
He added that exports of coconut water during the first six months of the year increased to 10.2-million liters worth $11.2 million, while VCO exports doubled to 4,422 metric tons worth $18.2 million in the same period.-Philippine Daily Inquirer (September 04, 2012 2:32AM)
President Aquino wants a “four eyes” meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vladivostok, Russia this week.
But presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said yesterday there was no firm schedule yet on the meeting and he could not say whether China’s expansion of Mischief Reef structures would be raised.
“Four eyes” means only Aquino and Hu will be present at the meeting.
Sources said Aquino made known his desire for this kind of meeting during an executive briefing in Malacañang last Friday.
Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of think tank Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said the latest structures to be spotted in the area were a windmill, solar panels, a concrete platform suitable for use as a helipad and a basketball court.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Laura del Rosario said China was seeking a bilateral meeting with the Philippines on the sidelines of the APEC summit and that the West Philippine Sea issue was expected to be discussed.
Del Rosario, however, did not give details.
Aside from the Mischief Reef issue, there have also been Chinese vessels at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and they have been preventing Philippine authorities from arresting Chinese poachers in the area.
Since China introduced its nine-dash line theory, areas being claimed by Beijing in the West Philippine Sea have expanded.
“We will wait for the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to make the statement (on the meeting),” Lacierda said.
He said it would also be up to the DFA to deal with the issue on Mischief Reef. -The Philippine Star (Septmeber 04, 2012 12:00AM)
Hong Kong faces a possible shortage of domestic helpers by 2017 as the Philippines and Indonesia, which supply most of the territory’s 300,000 helpers, seek to put in place policies to encourage their citizens to pursue skilled jobs at home instead of working as domestic helpers abroad.
The Philippine government is reportedly considering a plan to stop deploying domestic helpers abroad by 2017, but the country’s consulate in Hong Kong has denied this.
Philippine labor attaché in Hong Kong Manuel Roldan said the government is encouraging skilled Filipinos to work at home, or to seek skilled jobs abroad, rather than work as domestic helpers.
He also said the government does not intend to impose a ban on deployment of domestic helpers abroad.
Indonesia is currently drawing up its Domestic Worker Roadmap 2017, which targets “zero sending-out of domestic maids” by that year.
A small number of domestic helper agencies in Hong Kong have begun supplying clients with workers from mainland China, who reportedly get rates lower than the HK$3,800 prescribed salary for a foreign helper. Workers from China get only HK$3,000.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Immigration Department, however, said the government has no plans to import domestic helpers from the Chinese mainland, saying that mainlanders caught working illegally as domestic helpers in Hong Kong will be arrested.-The Philippine Star (Septmeber 04, 2012 12:00AM)
The Philippines is exploring the possibility of holding military exercises involving the Philippines, the United States and Australia, a defense official said yesterday.
Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said it's possible to hold the trilateral exercises as the Senate ratified in July the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, which paves the way for the conduct of exercises between Australian and Filipino forces.
"It's currently being studied how that can be done,"Galvez said. But the spokesman could not immediately say the status of the study and said the involvement of the Australian troops in their exercises should seek the approval of the United States.
Galvez said the troops of the three countries stand to learn from each other during such trilateral exercises, including in response to the threat of terrorism, piracy and calamities, among others.
The United States and the Philippines hold a number of annual exercises in the Philippines, the most prominent of which is Balikatan.-The Philippine Star (Septmeber 04, 2012 12:00AM)
Asian markets mostly rose Monday after more weak Chinese manufacturing data fuelled hopes for a fresh round of monetary easing by Beijing.
The downbeat figures out of China added to expectations of more stimulus measures in the United States following strong hints from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke on Friday.
In the afternoon Hong Kong added 0.37 percent and Shanghai was 0.64 percent higher, while Sydney gained 0.31 percent, or 13.6 points, to end at 4,329.7.
Seoul put on 0.40 percent, or 7.59 points, to 1,912.71 but Tokyo slipped 0.63 percent, or 56.02 points, to 8,783.89
Fears over growth in China were stoked again on Saturday when the official purchasing managers' index (PMI) of manufacturing activity fell to a nine-month low of 49.2 in August from 50.1 in July, owing to slumping demand in the key export markets of Europe and the United States.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 points to contraction.
And on Monday a PMI reading from HSBC showed activity fell to its lowest level since March 2009 in August.
The final reading of the British banking giant's index slid to 47.6 from 49.3 in July.
The results add to rising concerns over China's economic growth and come despite Beijing cutting interest rates and lowering the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve as it looks to boost activity.
China's economy grew just 7.6 percent in the three months to June, the worst performance in three years and the sixth straight slowdown, while figures for trade, industrial output and retail sales in July were also weak.
The latest results will boost expectations of another cut to banks' reserve requirements or even interest rates.
"The pace of growth has slowed much more than the authorities (in Beijing) expected," Stephen Halmarick, head of investment markets research at First State Investments, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Global markets posted gains at the start of last month as dealers bet that central banks in China, Europe and the United States would announce fresh stimulus and easing policies, but the lack of action has led to selling pressure in the past few weeks.
In the United States, Bernanke on Friday told central bankers that stagnation in the labour market was "a grave concern" and signalled he would be pushing for more help for the economy.
His comments led to speculation that the Fed would undertake a third round of bond-buying, or quantitative easing, lifting US shares.
The Dow added 0.69 percent, the S&P 500 rose 0.51 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 0.60 percent.
However, Mizuho Securities senior technical analyst Yutaka Miura told Dow Jones Newswires: "Although Bernanke's comments left hopes in markets, we still find it difficult to foresee when and whether the Fed will really take action.
"The external environment looks uncertain, with the Chinese economy deteriorating. Any aggressive bids may be limited."
On currency markets the euro bought $1.2572 in afternoon Tokyo trade from 1.2576 in New York late Friday.
The European currency was also trading at 98.44 yen compared with 98.51 late Friday.
The dollar was at 78.27 yen from 78.31 yen.
Oil eased, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, shedding seven cents to $96.40 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for October falling 15 cents to $114.42.
Gold was at $1,689.30 at 0605 GMT compared with $1,658.80 on Friday.
In other markets, Taipei gained 0.72 percent, or 53.47 points, to 7,450.53. Hon Hai Precision surged 6.13 percent to Tw$90.0 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.72 percent higher at Tw$83.9.
Wellington closed flat, edging up 2.35 points to 3,669.03.-Interaksyon (September 03, 2012 2:44PM)
Defense ministers of India and China were set to meet for talks on Tuesday with concerns over competing influence across South Asia likely to be high on the agenda, according to officials.
Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie will meet his counterpart A.K. Antony and top military staff after being received by a traditional honor guard in New Delhi, defense ministry officials said Monday.
The minister arrived in India on Sunday on a four-day visit from Sri Lanka with Indian media saying he was travelling with a 23-member delegation.
"There will be a wide range of talks on regional and international issues but we don't expect (the disputed state of) Arunachal Pradesh to figure in the parleys," a senior ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The reference was to China's claims over the northeastern Indian state as well as other areas in the northwestern state of Kashmir.
Renewed joint military training exercises would also be discussed during talks, the Times of India reported.
The disputed border between India and China has been the subject of 14 rounds of fruitless talks since 1962, when the two nations fought a brief, bloody war over the issue.
China's buildup of military infrastructure along the frontier has become a major source of concern for India, which increasingly sees Beijing as a longer-term threat to its security than traditional rival Pakistan.
The visit is the first by a Chinese defense minister in eight years, and comes amid India's fears about Chinese activity in nations such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh that New Delhi regards as being within its sphere of influence.
New Delhi is worried that Beijing may be seeking to encircle India.
Last week, however, during his Sri Lankan visit, the Chinese minister dismissed the idea that Beijing posed a threat.
"Some people in the international community suspect that China would take the road of expansion with force and have been actively spreading the 'China-threat theory'," he said in a speech.
China's efforts "in conducting friendly exchanges and cooperation with its counterparts in South Asian are intended for maintaining regional security and stability," he said.
The presence of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in the Indian hill town of Dharamshala is another cause of prickly relations between the two Asian giants. -New York Daily News (September 03, 2012 2:45PM)
The roll-on/roll-off (RORO) service between Davao City and Bitung, Indonesia is expected to be operational by next year.
Marc Ayes, deputy team leader of Research, Education and Institutional Development (REID) Foundation, said local shippers, representatives from government and private sector will meet with different stakeholders in Bitung, Indonesia in mid-September to discuss the RORO service.
Bitung and Manado shippers, RORO operators, customs officials, port officials and the Bitung Governor will attend the meeting, he said.
Already, a Cebu-based Super Shuttle Ferry has signified interest to service the route, he said.
He explained that with a RORO service, transport cost of goods will be reduced by about five to 10 percent compared with those done through wooden hulled vessels. Transport time will also be reduced from an average of 2.5 days to 1.5 days between this city and Bitung, about 350 nautical miles apart.
Also to be discussed during the meeting are the frequency of service, customs of clearance, port fees, freight rates, incentives and mutual recognition of chassis or trucks.
A memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed in November during the Davao Investment Conference.
Maria Lourdes Monteverde, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., said the RORO service is in preparation for the free trade agreement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by 2015.
“We really need to be competitive towards exchanging of goods,” she said.-Black Pearl (September 03, 2012 10:59PM)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Indonesia Monday hoping to encourage unity among Southeast Asian nations in an effort to manage increasingly tense disputes with China.
Clinton's last trip to the region in July was marred by the failure of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to reach a consensus at talks in Cambodia, amid divisions in the 10-member group on how to treat a rising China.
The top US diplomat was scheduled to meet Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa shortly after arriving in Jakarta, and the following day will hold talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and visit the headquarters of ASEAN, as part of her effort to promote ties with the economically dynamic and mostly US-friendly bloc.
She hopes "to get a sense of where we are and to get the Indonesians' advice about how we can be supportive, how we can put more wind into the sails of a diplomatic effort, which is what we all very much want", a senior US official said on her plane on customary condition of anonymity.
"The most important thing is that we end up in a diplomatic process where these issues are addressed in a strong diplomatic conversation between a unified ASEAN and China rather than through any kind of coercion," the official said.
Clinton, who made a refuelling stop in Brisbane, Australia, on her way from a South Pacific summit in the Cook Islands, will head to China on Tuesday for talks on the often uneasy relationship between the world's two largest economies.
The Philippines and Vietnam have both accused China of an intimidation campaign over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a waterway through which half of the world's cargo sails.
Clinton, in a visit to Vietnam in 2010, buoyed Southeast Asian nations by declaring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea to be a US national interest, although she said that Washington would not take sides over disputes.
The United States recently issued an unusually strong warning to China after Beijing angered Southeast Asian nations by establishing a remote garrison in the South China Sea. China accused Clinton of seeking to "contain" its rise.
The official on Clinton's plane said the United States supported a recent statement of principles by ASEAN foreign ministers, who pledged unity and the early completion with China of a code of conduct for the South China Sea.
The United States has strongly encouraged work on a code of conduct, or COC, believing it is vital to preventing flare-ups from escalating. But Beijing has preferred to negotiate separately with ASEAN nations instead of dealing with a united bloc.
ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan cautioned that too much attention on the issue could prove counterproductive.
"We just hope that all the attention and the concern would not add to the fragility and instability over the issue. We want a conducive environment that would enable us to achieve the COC as soon as possible. As a major dialogue partner, the US certainly has a role to play and a contribution to make," he told AFP.
Clinton will later in the week visit Brunei, making her the first US secretary of state to visit all 10 ASEAN nations. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in August visited Indonesia and Brunei and took a conciliatory tone.
The administration of President Barack Obama, who spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, took office with a mission to expand relations with the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, seeing it as an ideal partner due to its embrace of democracy and historically moderate brand of Islam.
But momentum for closer relations has faltered, in part due to concern in the United States over recent mob violence by Indonesian Islamists against minorities.
The US official said Indonesia was still considered a "model of tolerance" but voiced alarm over "disturbing incidents" in recent months.
Clinton will "seek views with the Indonesian leadership on how they see things in the wake of those incidents and what the process is going forward to ensure that all communities feel safe and protected", she said.
Mobs have ransacked religious sites and attacked members of the Ahmadiyah Muslim sect along with Shiites and Christians.
Human Rights Watch has called on Clinton to press Indonesia to take "concrete steps" to address religious intolerance, saying that government policies and inaction were fuelling the violence.
In Jakarta some 500 Islamists staged a rally outside the US embassy to protest against her visit, complaining its goal was to advance American business interests, such as US mining giant Freeport McMoran's vast gold and copper mine in Papua province.-Interaksyon (September 03, 2012 8:09PM)
Manila on Monday urged Bangkok to fully comply with a World Trade Organization ruling that found Thailand of unfair treatment of cigarette imports from the Philippines.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Ambassador Esteban B. Conejos Jr., permanent representative to the World Trade Organization, delivered his first official statement at the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting held last August 31.
In his statement, Conejos thanked Thailand for its fifth status report and for its statement made at the DSB meeting, but said a number of matters remain unresolved, more than three full months after the end of the reasonable period of time.
The representative from Thailand had noted that the Philippines and Thailand have continuously engaged in bilateral exchanges and discussions with a view of achieving a mutually satisfactory outcome to the dispute.
Conejos added that the Philippines has sought to address these outstanding matters on a bilateral level, short of a return to formal dispute settlement.
“Whether that dialogue has been fruitful will become clear in the coming weeks, when we assess whether Thailand has followed through on specific actions committed for specific timeframes agreed during our bilateral discussions,” he said.
Conejos said the Philippines has been patient and has exercised restraint well beyond the end of the reasonable period of time given to Thailand to implement the DSB ruling.
“Nonetheless, I have been instructed by my capital to communicate, in clear and concise terms, that our patience and restraint will end should the milestones addressed in our bilateral discussions pass without resolving the outstanding issues. While the Philippines reserves fully all of its rights, we stand ready, between now and then, to do anything we can to assist Thailand in achieving full compliance,” Conejos said. -Black Pearl (September 03, 2012 10:45PM)
