USS Louisville - US submarine docks at Subic Zambales

A nuclear-powered attack submarine of the United States Navy arrived yesterday for a port call in Subic Bay, Zambales amid tension between the Philippines and China over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

The USS Louisville would replenish supplies and give its crew an opportunity to take their rest and relaxation, according to a statement from the US embassy.

The embassy said the routine port call "highlights the strong historic, community, and military connections between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines."

The USS Louisville is the second US attack submarine that visited the Philippines since Washington announced plans to boost its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The first was the USS North Carolina that docked in Subic Bay last May 2012.

The port call was made as China and the Philippines are in a standoff near Panatag Shoal, located 124 nautical miles from the coast of Masinloc, Zambales.

The military, however, clarified that the visit of the Louisville has nothing to do with the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China.

"(The ship) has no mission in the Philippines except replenishment. That was stated in its diplomatic clearance. They have no activity involving the Philippine Navy," said Navy spokesman Col. Omar Tonsay.

He said there is nothing unusual even if the Louisville's visit came just a month after North Carolina's port call.

"I don't see anything unusual there if they will just replenish here in the Philippines. It's normal for ships to replenish," Tonsay said, adding that it was the US that sought clearance for the port call.

USS Louisville will dock in Subic Bay until June 30. The fast attack Los Angeles-class submarine is the fourth US ship to bear the name of the city of Louisville, Kentucky.

Journalists were not allowed to cover the visit of the submarine, which was commissioned on Nov. 8, 1986 at the Naval Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut.

The Louisville is 360 feet long, weighs 6,900 tons, and is armed with sophisticated MK48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The standoff in Panatag Shoal started on April 10 after Chinese maritime surveillance ships barred the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese fishermen who were caught poaching and illegally harvesting endangered marine species in the area.

Manila had protested Beijing's actions in the shoal, which is within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

China maintained that it has sovereignty over the area even if it is a signatory of the UNCLOS.

Aside from Panatag Shoal, the Philippines is also claiming several islets, shoals, reefs and sandbars in the Spratlys group of islands, which is also being claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

Early this month, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the US is planning to deploy a majority of its naval fleet to the Pacific by 2020.

Speaking to the delegates of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Panetta said the move is in line with US efforts to boost its presence in the Asia Pacific.

He said the US naval assets would be realigned from a roughly 50-50 split between the Pacific and the Atlantic to about 60-40 split between those oceans.

Panetta said the move would involve key assets including six aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, littoral combat ships, and submarines.

The US official claimed that the deployment was not meant to challenge China, which has been wary of Washington's plan to boost its presence in the region.

Panetta, nevertheless, said the US is "paying close attention" to developments at Panatag Shoal.

Information sharing not necessary

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said sharing with the US the information on Chinese intrusion in Philippine waters may not be necessary since Washington already has very sophisticated intelligence equipment.

Responding to a question during the Joint Membership Meeting of the Makati Business Club and the Management Association of the Philippines last month about how the Philippines shares with the US information about Chinese intrusion, Del Rosario said, "I think we do not have to send pictures to the US."

US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. said on Thursday that there is no doubt and no question that his government stands by its commitments under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

Asked about questions and doubts raised on US support to the Philippines on the issue of maritime dispute because of deep economic ties between the US and China, Del Rosario said it is an opinion everybody is entitled to.

"We stand by our treaty commitment. It's amazing to me that people would question that," Thomas told the media during the first Kapihan sa Embahada.

He said the US is concerned about the events in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), including the tensions surrounding Panatag Shoal, emphasizing that Washington opposes coercion by any nation to advance its claim and the US clearly supports the Code of Conduct between China and ASEAN.

But Thomas did not provide a categorical answer when asked about the provision in the MDT on an attack on one party being considered an attack on the other, saying it is hypothetical and the US hopes for de-escalation and no violence in the disputed waters.

"All we can say (is) we stand by our commitments and I'm not going to change that. The Secretary of State, the President of the United States have also said we stand by our treaty commitments," he said.

US embassy Political Counselor and acting Deputy Chief of Mission Joy Yamamoto said, "The language of the MDT demonstrates our very strong commitment to the Philippines."

Yamamoto and Thomas said the US supports settlement of the disputes in the West Philippine Sea towards the use of a rules-based regime in accordance with international law and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

Yamamoto said, "We've been very consistent throughout the dispute in supporting international law and settlement of this kind of dispute under international law, so we would support China and the Philippines settling the issue through international means."

China had accused the US of creating tensions in the region and repeatedly warned that territorial disputes over the West Philippine Sea were issues between China and claimant countries.

Beijing said it would not allow US involvement in territorial disputes.

The ambassador said the US has been very clear that it takes no side in territorial disputes or cross-cutting claims between several states, not just China, but urged all parties to sit down and iron out disputes in a peaceful and legal manner.

Although the US position is not to get involved in territorial disputes, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing concerns on the US accession to UNCLOS, where she said Chinese claims exceeded what was permitted by the UNCLOS.

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China Ship rammed Filipino Fisherman in Payaw off 78 NM Pangasinan- 1 dead, 4 missing 3 CD

A china ship with label "Hong Kong" rammed Filipino Fishing ship resting in "Payaw", a Philippine Government made artificial fish Sanctuary 78 Nautical Miles of Bolinao Pangasinan.

 A group of Filipino fishermen who were rescued after three days at sea has told authorities on Sunday (June 24, 2012) that their boat sank after being rammed by a Chinese vessel in the waters of Pangasinan Province.

The incident happened in the North of Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) where the Philippines and China have been engaged in a tense standoff since April 2012.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Vice Admiral Edmund Tan said on Sunday that four of the eight crew members of fishing vessel F/B Axl John were rescued last Saturday morning along the vicinity off Magsingal town in Ilocos Sur after the said vessel was reportedly rammed by a much bigger unidentified shipping vessel while taking shelter along a nearby "Payaw", (better known as artificial fish sanctuary) last June 20 along the vicinity off Bolinao in Pangasinan.

Tan disclosed that the group of eight which all came from the town of Bolinao went out for fishing venture last June 18 despite rough seas based on the report given to them by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Pangasinan.

Around 11:45 p.m. of June 19, F/B Axl John was already filled with too much amount of sea water due to big waves and caused the fishing vessel to be partially submerged few hours later but the crew fortunately manage to secure the vessel to a nearby "Payaw" located around 78-nautical miles northwest of Bolinao where they take shelter and started to conduct some repairs to their damage vessel.

The PCG chief explained that while the crew members are continuing to fix the damage suffered by the vessel, another vessel making its way northward suddenly rammed the "Payaw" and the Axl John causing all the eight fishermen onboard to drift into different direction.

The boat owner identified as Jonalyn Hondrado who is a resident of Barangay Concordia in Bolinao said she received a phone call from Posio Balmores, the boat operator saying that the Axl John was rammed by what appeared to be Chinese vessel while it was anchored at the said fish sanctuary.

On the boat with Balmores were Christopher Carbonel, Lino Damian, Boy Balmores, Fred Celino, Arnold Garcia, Domy delos Santos and Amante Resonable, residents of Barangay Concordia and Barangay Arnedo.

Both Posio and Boy Balmores together with Damian and  Christopher  Carbonel were rescued around 8 a.m. of Saturday in the vicinity waters of Magsingal in Ilocos Sur and they were brought at the Gabriela Hospital in Vigan City for immediate medical treatment.

Unfortunately, Christopher Carbonel, 32 year old from island village of Dewey in Bolinao died few minutes later while his other comrade is still under observation while the two others were discharged on Sunday and were brought back to Bolinao.

Meanwhile, still missing are Celino, Garcia, Delos Santos and Resonable.

Tan on Sunday dispatched one the agency's rescue vessel, Tug Boat-271 to conduct a follow-up search and rescue operations for the three missing crew along the vicinity off Ilocos Sur.

A Notice to Mariners was also issued in all the maritime vessels in the nearby areas to be on watch out for the said three fishermen and render immediate assistance when spotted.

Philippine authorities could not immediately verify if the vessel that hit the Axl John was Chinese.

Office of Civil Defense chief Benito Ramos was quoted by the Agence France Presse as saying the incident occurred north of Scarborough Shoal where the Philippines and China have been engaged in a tense stand-off since April.

"It's north of the Scarborough, though we could not determine how far in terms of distance or nautical miles," Ramos said.

Vice Admiral Tan meanwhile said that based on the statement given to them by one of the survivors, the vessel that rammed them was marked with blue and maroon paint both on the top and freeboard portions while a word "HONGKONG" was seen somewhere near the rear part of the ship.

The stand-off at Scarborough began in April, when a Philippine Navy ship tried to apprehend Chinese fishermen allegedly poaching in the shoal.

Chinese maritime security vessels prevented the PH Navy and Coast Guard from arresting the Chinese fishermen or confiscating their cargo of live sharks, clams and coral. –with additional reports from Agence France Presse.

The of recent clash is not exactly at the Panatag Shoal but it is in the northern part of the Shoal 78 Nautical miles in the waters of Bolinao, Pangasinan. The Philippines and China have been engaged in a tense standoff since April 2012 closer this area.

President Aquino earlier this month ordered two Philippine ships to pull out from the shoal during bad weather, a move that the Chinese said calmed tensions in the area.

While China said it would also ask its fishermen to leave the area, it stressed it had no intention of pulling out its bigger ships from there.

Last week, Aquino said the government will be re-deploying ships if Chinese vessels remain in the area.

"The guidelines are very clear," Aquino said.

"If there are vessels that are not ours, we have to send back our vessels. I have ordered them back (to port) because of the weather condition.

"If there's a presence in our territorial waters, then we will redeploy. But if there is no other presence or other vessels that might impinge on our sovereignty, there's no need to deploy," he clarified.

As of last week, there were still seven Chinese ships at the shoal, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The dispute erupted in April after Chinese government vessels blocked Philippine authorities from arresting Chinese fishermen who were caught poaching and illegally harvesting endangered marine species like giant coral and sharks near the shoal.

Since then, both countries have maintained ships there to press their respective claims to the area.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of neighboring countries.

The Philippines says the shoal is well within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

The shoal sits about 230 kilometers (124 nautical miles) off Masinloc town in Zambales. The nearest major Chinese landmass is 1,200 kilometers northwest of the shoal, according to Philippine Navy maps.

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