Philippine Military Denial of Using US Killer Drones –Killings Abu Sayyaf Leaders

The Philippines military denied that the United States staged a drone strike in the Philippines to kill Indonesian terrorist Umar Patek in 2006 in the mountainous and remove province of Sulu in trouble Southwestern Mindanao .

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said US troops in the country are not involved in combat operations but just mere consultants and advisers.

"That's (US troops' involvement in actual combat operations) against the law. The United States does not participate in [actual] military operations here in the Philippines," Burgos said.

He was referring to the 1987 Constitution which forbids the involvement of foreign armed forces in military combat operations.

Burgos said the activities of American soldiers in the country are limited to sharing of information and training.

Former AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the military had conducted air surveillance under his watch but the US soldiers had not been involved.

Esperon said that American forces that belong to the Joint Special Operations Task Force merely provided "technical assistance" to his troops.

"They (US soldiers) are not active in combat," Esperon, who served as AFP chief from July 21, 2006 to May 12, 2008, said.

Esperon said that while the AFP had acquired aircraft to beef up its capability, it never had a Predator drone.

"We sent planes for surveillance, but we did not stage an attack using drones," he said.

Lately, the Philippines government confirmed that they killed the Al qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf leaders using the US technology which they called "Smart Bomb" which deployed in the middle of the dawn to attack the camp of the abu sayyaf leaders.

An article that appeared on the July 1, 2012 publication of New York Times claimed that US troops in the Philippines staged a drone strike that targeted Patek in 2006.

In the article "The Drone Zone," writer Mark Mazzetti said a Predator drone was sent to the jungles of the Philippines to eliminate the international terrorist.

The attack, which reportedly involved a "barrage of Hellfire missiles," failed to kill Patek, who was tagged in the bombings in Bali, Indonesia that claimed the lives of 202 persons.

The same New York Times article claimed that Pentagon is increasing its fleet of drones by 30 percent.

Patek is a member of the Jemaah Islamiyah, which has links to international terror cell al-Qaeda and local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

Earlier reports claimed that Patek had managed to sneak into the Philippines to meet with local militants.

Patek had been arrested and slapped with a 20-year jail term for his participation in the Bali bombings.

Leftist group in the Philippines protested and accused the Philippine Government for violating the 1987 constitution for he said US Drone attacks which said to be conducted in the trouble Southern Philippine territory killing the Al qaeda linked abu sayyaf group leaders. 

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Philippines Protested for Chinas’ New Sansha City in the International Waters of West Philippines Sea

The Philippines on July 7, 2012 protested China's move placing virtually the entire West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), including the Philippine territory of Macclesfield Bank and its surrounding waters, under the jurisdiction of a newly created city.

Manila's protest came as the latest sour turn in relations between the Philippines and China, which have yet to find a temporary solution to their dispute over Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), a resource-rich reef in the West Philippine Sea just west of Zambales province.

Also on the following day, President Aquino urged the Chinese authorities to "balance their statements with the truth" in response to their accusation that he was trying to stir tension in the West Philippine Sea by asking for US help in monitoring the disputed waters.

Aquino convened his Cabinet—the second time in a week under an administration that rarely holds full Cabinet meetings—to discuss territorial issues with China and hear views on dealing with the country's increasingly aggressive neighbor.

Strongest statement to China

The President issued his strongest statement yet since he threatened last week to send government vessels back to Panatag Shoal unless China called its ships and fishing boats home.

"It's not clear with me what the provocative statements that have been said to have come from Philippine officials, but we know there are many things being said from the other side," Aquino told reporters in Malacañang.

"They should read what has been written from their end and, with all due respect, perhaps they should balance what they are saying with the truth," he said.

"It has been almost three weeks since our Coast Guard vessel pulled out of [Panatag Shoal]. If [China's] vessels … have also gone home, there's already no more issue," the President said. "So who could be the one prolonging this [dispute over] Panatag Shoal?"

Asked when he would order government vessels back to Panatag Shoal, Aquino said, "That will be, of course, dependent on the weather."

Macclesfield Bank is a huge underwater group of reefs and shoals located east of the Paracel Islands, southwest of the Pratas Islands and north of the Spratly Islands in the center of the West Philippine Sea. 

Macclesfield Bankis beyond 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone of Vietnam and China and located in the center of the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines claims Macclesfield Bank and administers it through the provincial government of Zambales. It is one of the largest atolls in the world, covering an area of 6,500 square kilometers, and is surrounded by excellent fishing waters.

Policy of de-escalation

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs said in June that putting Macclesfield Bank, the Paracels and the Spratlys under Sansha would "further strengthen China's administration and development" of the three island groups.

There was no immediate comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila on the Philippines' Macclesfield protest.

The Philippines on June 15 stepped back from a two-month maritime standoff with China at the shoal and had since imposed a policy of deescalation.

But on July 2, 2012, President Aquino said the government might ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the West Philippine Sea to help monitor the disputed waters.

And on Wednesday, after weeks of inaction, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) protested China's latest move that impinged on Philippine sovereignty over its parts of the West Philippine Sea.

Diplomatic protest

In a statement issued Thursday, the DFA said it summoned Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ma Keqing on Wednesday and handed her a note protesting China's recent declaration that placed Macclesfield Bank under the prefectural oversight of newly established Sansha City.

In June, China's State Council declared Macclesfield Bank, Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands—known in Chinese as Zhongsha Islands, Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands—parts of Sansha City, to tighten its grip on contested parts of the West Philippine Sea amid territorial disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam.

The DFA said the extent of Sansha's jurisdiction "violates Philippine sovereignty over the Kalayaan Group of Islands and Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal)."

China's move also "infringes on Philippine sovereign rights over the waters and the continental shelf of the West Philippine Sea," the DFA said.

The expansive jurisdiction of Sansha, the DFA said, "contradicts the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)." The Asean and China signed the nonaggression accord in 2002.

The DFA reiterated that the Kalayaan Group and the Bajo de Masinloc, which Manila also calls Panatag Shoal, and their surrounding waters "form an internal part of Philippine territory and maritime jurisdiction."

Help from treaty ally

On asking the United States for spy plane overflights, Aquino said the Philippines was well within its right to ask an ally for assistance in monitoring its own territory.

"America is a treaty ally. We have a lack. They have a capability," Aquino said. "If ever our capability would fall short, I believe we can approach them to add to our situational awareness, especially in the West Philippine Sea."

Aquino said, however, that asking for US help in monitoring is just an option, correcting a report that seemed to indicate permission has been given for overflights.

The meeting on the territorial dispute with China began at about 1:30 p.m.

Talks, not ships

Among those seen going into the meeting were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Enrile is a former secretary of national defense, while Trillanes is a former Navy officer.

As the Cabinet prepared for the discussions, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo urged Malacañang to deescalate the growing tensions with China over Panatag Shoal.

Pabillo said the government should continue talking to the Chinese instead of sending back ships to the shoal.

"We can achieve [peace] through dialogue," Pabillo said. "Don't aggravate the situation [by sending the ships back]. Hold dialogues."

Situation stable

On Tuesday, Liu Weimin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a press briefing in Beijing that the situation in the West Philippine Sea was stable with no Philippine vessels at Panatag Shoal.

But China, the Chinese Embassy in Manila quoted Liu as saying, is "willing to continue to hold dialogues and consultations" with the Philippines on their dispute over Panatag Shoal.

GMA News

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