Word war Vietnam- China could not solve disputes in Spratly and Paracel- Philippines

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) shows the light Blue Dotted line as 200 Nautical Mile Economic Zone for the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, China and Indonesia. The disputed Areas are just in the middle of the 3 SEAS (Vietnam’ East Sea, West Philippine Sea and South China Sea) The incident now is the other claimants of the Disputed Area is now entering to the Philippine Water which is not Disputed. Chinese Vessel fired the Filipino Fishermen inside the Philippine territory 67 Miles from Palawan Shore. China has no sovereignty over Spratly as directed by UNCLOS which china’s limit is only until the PARACEL and the disputed Areas outside the Philippine Water. The Philippines recorded already 6 invasion by china to the West Philippine Sea As of June 10, 2011.

Malacañang palace Manila appealed to China June 9, 2011 to refrain from issuing inflammatory statements that could start a counter-productive word war and to stop intruding into the West Philippine Sea, as well as the disputed Spratly Islands.

“The Republic of the Philippines has stated its position on the various territorial issues in the West Philippine Sea. We are committed to dialogue with other claimants. We call on all parties to refrain from inflammatory statements that would make it more difficult to reach a mutually agreeable solution,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Lacierda told a press briefing that the Department of National Defense (DND) would undertake measures to protect Philippine territorial waters from incursions, especially in the Reed Bank in Western Palawan.

He said the Spratlys issue was taken up during a security cluster meeting in Malacañang Palace, Manila and the DND and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) were tasked to resolve the matter.

“We understand their statements, they (China) claim that the entire South China Sea is theirs including Reed Bank. We have already mentioned that we encourage everyone to refrain from making inflammatory statements. Our goal here is to really have a peaceful resolution so it would be better for the parties to speak away from the cameras so discussions would be better,” Lacierda said.

Like the Philippines, Vietnam also said it was determined to protect the “incontestable” sovereignty the Disputed Sea archipelagos (Vietnam East Sea, West Philippine Sea and South China Sea), intensifying a war of words with China.

Beijing earlier accused the Philippines of harming its sovereignty by making “irresponsible statements” about Manila’s claims to parts of disputed islands in the West Philippines Sea and South China Sea.

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim territories in the sea base in UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone, which covers an important shipping route and is thought to hold untapped oil and gas reserves.

China’s claim is to most of the sea’s 648,000 square miles (1.7 million square km), including the Spratly province of the Philippines and Paracel archipelagos which in disputed between China and Vietnam.

Tensions between Beijing and Hanoi are at their highest in years owing to long-standing territorial disputes over the potentially oil-rich Paracels and Spratly Islands.

The situation escalated in late May after Vietnam accused China of violating its exclusive economic zone stretching to 200 nautical miles.

Hanoi said that three Chinese marine surveillance vessels severed the exploration cables of a Vietnamese oil survey ship, violating the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Manila accused China of intruding into the Philippines’ territorial waters as well and stressed it would continue oil explorations in Reed Bank, which was never disputed.

But despite the exchange of words, Lacierda said the relationship between China and the Philippines remained warm and that both countries were committed to resolve the dispute through dialogue.

“We believe in a multilateral approach on all the disputed areas, including all claimants of the South China Sea,” Lacierda said.

“I strongly believe that in our discussions with China, they are very, very hopeful for a peaceful resolution and this could be done diplomatically,” Lacierda added.

PHL offers framework for peace

The DFA said the Philippines is guided by its offer of a framework that transforms the South China Sea from an area of dispute to a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship, and Cooperation (ZoPFF/C) by a segregation of disputed relevant features from the undisputed waters in the region consistent with UNCLOS.The disputed features if you could see the map is just between the West Philippines Sea, Vietnam’s East Sea and South China Sea.

The UNCLOS light blue dotted map is showing the area of more than 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone as “Disputed Areas”.  The sad thing is each claimant is overlapping and most of them are entering to the Philippine Waters just to claim the islands which is inside the Philippine Territory and part of the Spartly which is not part of the disputed Areas. The angst hit to the Philippines at this point as they are disturbing the daily business and activity of the Philippines within its territory.

Philippine President Aquino has referred to ZoPFF/C as a modality for ensuring that “what is ours is ours, and with what is disputed, we can work towards joint cooperation.”

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario earlier said the framework offered by the Philippines would reinforce the goal of the 2002 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-China Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

Del Rosario pointed out that the parties also affirmed the need for a binding Code of Conduct (COC) and agreed to work towards its realization under the DOC. A COC would concretely express the country’s collective goal for rules-based actions by all concerned parties.

“The Philippines has offered a specific framework for the resolution of differences and the pursuit of cooperation in the form of the ZoPFF/C,” the DFA said.

Del Rosario stressed that a rules-based regime is a requisite for securing peace and stability in the region.

He cited the Reed Bank or Recto Bank as part of the continental shelf of the western coast of Palawan. It is about 85 nautical miles from the nearest coast of Palawan and therefore well within the 200 nautical miles continental shelf of the Philippine archipelago under UNCLOS.

In contrast, it is roughly 595 nautical miles from the nearest coast of China.

“This means that the Philippines has unequivocal sovereign rights over Recto (Reed) Bank,” Del Rosario said. “Since the Recto (Reed) Bank is ours, it can only be exclusively developed by the Philippines. The Philippines may, however, invite foreign investors to assist in developing the area in accordance with Philippine laws.”

Del Rosario said the disputed features could be transformed into a Joint Cooperation Area for joint development and the establishment of a marine protected area for biodiversity conservation under ZoPFF/C.

“We are confident that ZoPFF/C represents an important contribution to securing peace, stability and progress in the South China Sea within a rule-of-law framework, and that the concept deserves serious and favorable consideration by countries with stakes in the South China Sea,” he said.

The Philippines’ policy in the South China Sea, both with respect to securing its terrestrial and maritime domain and to advocating dispute resolution and joint cooperation where applicable, is grounded on an unwavering adherence to international law, Del Rosario said.

Since international law must be observed, the secretary said it behooves the Philippines to embrace this imperative to the fullest.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said on Thursday that the current dispute between Manila and Beijing and claims that led to the lodging of a diplomatic protest all started with a “bad rumor.”

Liu said the incident last Feb. 25 involving a Chinese naval vessel that fired warning shots near Filipino fishing vessels at Quirino Atoll, the incursion of Chinese ships at the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and the harassment by Chinese vessels are rumors and untrue.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan joined calls yesterday for the administration to act on the reported Chinese “bullying” of the Philippines over the Spratly Islands.

“Why the high-handed and arrogant posturing (by China)?” asked Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture.

Pangilinan described as “most unfortunate” Liu’s statement asking all parties to stop searching for mineral resources in the disputed areas.

Liu’s statement came after Beijing asked Manila to refrain from unilateral actions that could affect China’s sovereignty.

“Coming as it does from the second largest economy in the world is quite disturbing. China’s insistence that other nations must first seek its permission in moving about these disputed waters is high-handedness and arrogance that is unnecessary if indeed a peaceful resolution is what we all seek. They talk peace yet they do so with arrogance and high-handedness,” Pangilinan said.

“We should not be bullied by this undiplomatic posturing. The Philippines has a long history of freedom and popular uprisings against tyranny and the arrogance of power. We will never allow any superpower to bully us into submission,” Pangilinan added.

The Aquino government recently lodged a protest in the United Nations over the harassment by a Chinese vessel of a Department of Energy vessel.

Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada urged the Aquino government to settle through diplomacy the Philippines dispute with China over the Spratlys.

Estrada, chairman of the Senate committee on labor and human resources development, said the Philippines should use its diplomatic ties with other countries that are also claiming territory at the Spratly Islands.

“We have to solve it diplomatically. We cannot fight them. We have to deal also with the other countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and China, which have claims in the Spratlys. What is due us, is due us,” Estrada said.

Estrada also said that the Philippine government has no other alternative but to resolve the Spratlys issue diplomatically.

“The Philippine government should never give up… What we need is a dialogue,” Estrada said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen Eduardo Oban Jr. said soldiers deployed in the Philippine-held Kalayaan Island Group are under orders to avoid “miscaculation” in all their dealings with other military forces in the disputed Spratlys to avoid further complicating the security situation in the region.

But Oban said that if the troops are facing hostile actions, they are also under orders to shoot back.

“If they (intruders) are hostile towards us and firing at us, we will shoot back,” Oban said at the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) forum last Thursday night at the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati City.

Filipino forces conducting maritime and aerial territorial patrols over the country’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea are also under orders not be confrontational but when push comes the shove, the troops have to defend themselves, Oban said.

“While we try to avoid miscalculations (so as not to complicate the security situation in the KIG), we will shoot back if fired upon,” Oban said.

China issued another Warning to Vietnam

China has again warned Vietnam to halt all activities that it says violate its sovereignty in disputed waters in the South China Sea after an incident involving vessels from the two communist nations.

Hanoi protested to Beijing after what it described as a “premeditated” attack on an exploration ship in its waters.

Vietnam said a Chinese fishing boat “intentionally rammed” the exploration cables of a vessel, chartered by state energy giant PetroVietnam, conducting a seismic survey inside its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone Thursday.

But, apparently referring to the same incident, China gave a different version of events in a report carried by official news agency Xinhua early Friday.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China had indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands.

He said Chinese fishing boats were chased away by armed Vietnamese ships on Thursday morning. During the incident the fishing net of one of the Chinese boats became tangled with the cables of Vietnamese oil exploring vessel, which China says was operating illegally in the area.

According to Beijing’s account, the oil exploration boat continued dragging the Chinese vessel for more than an hour.

The Chinese fishermen were forced to cut off the fishing net before the two vessels lost contact, Xinhua said.

“This has seriously endangered the safety of the Chinese fishermen,” Hong said.

Hong said oil exploration in the area and the actions of the Vietnamese vessels had grossly infringed on Chinese sovereignty, calling on Hanoi to stop all such action.

Relations between Beijing and Hanoi have grown increasingly tense in recent days over a long-standing dispute related to the sovereignty of the Paracel archipelago and the Spratly Islands.

 

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Vietnam will conduct a live Fire Drill in the Paracels - June 13

China’s Claims with undisputable over Spratlys is true as it is baseless according to the UNCLOS

After the Philippines’ protests to the United Nations for China’s navy harassing Philippine Oil Research Ship in the Philippine Waters - UNLOS International Law of Seas 200 Nautical Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, China pronounced their undisputable claim over Spratlys as it is 1000 Nautical Mile from their shore. China’s invasion is a purely invasion to the waters of the Philippines and Vietnam as they are not part to be called as having a reliable claim over the area.

The same word by “hong” (China’s Spokesperson)  to Vietnam as Vietnam and the Philippines have almost the same rights over Spratlys as part of Spratlys is Within Philippine Sea and other parts are within the Vietnam Waters.

For the common understanding to the International community it is  the right time for China to back off as they are not part of the Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea. The same thing with Vietnam to follow the UNCLOS and must not extend their claims to the Philippine waters so the peace will be re-established in the disputed sea.

Hong reiterated last June 7, 2011 that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters. His claim is very true because UNCLOS International Law of the Sea defined 200 Nautical Mile and China’s distance to the Spratlys is 1,000 Miles(One Thousand Miles).

What’s china did is just to bully the neighbors  and to annoy them as they have no rights and sovereignty over West Philippine Sea – The Spratlys.

Vietnam’ s Live Fire Drill in Paracel - June 13, 2011

A fall out over territory in the South China Sea escalated Friday when Vietnam announced a live ammunition drill in an apparent response to China's demand that the Vietnamese halt all oil exploration in the area.

The verbal clash between the two communist neighbors follows a similar one between China and the Philippines earlier in the week over another area of the South China Sea & West Philippines Sea, where several countries are eyeing potentially rich oil and gas reserves.

The disputes generally pit China against its neighbors and have pulled in the United States, which has said it considers some of China's sea claims to be an infringement of international waters and a possible damper on international trade.

Vietnam said it would carry out two exercises totaling nine hours Monday in an area off the country's central Quang Nam province in the East Sea of Vietnam adjacent to the Paracel . The announcement on the website of the state-owned Northern Maritime Safety Corp. warned boats and ships to stay out of the area. It was the first time Vietnam has issued such an alert about conducting live-fire maritime drills.

It came a day after China and Vietnam traded diplomatic punches, with each demanding that the other stay out of waters they claim.

China had accused Vietnam of endangering its fishermen's lives. Earlier Thursday, Vietnam slammed China for interfering with its seismic survey off the central Vietnamese coast, saying the Chinese fishing boat supported by two patrol boats had damaged an exploration cable of the Petro Vietnam a state-owned Vietnamese research boat.

Vietnam said it was the second time China had hindered the operation of an oil and gas exploration boat in two weeks, adding that its actions were "completely premeditated" and accusing it of flaring regional tensions in the South China Sea.

Hanoi says both incidents occurred well within the 200 nautical miles guaranteed to Vietnam as an exclusive economic zone by international law UNCLOS.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Chinese fishing boat crew had instead been in waters around the Spratly Islands of the West Philippine Sea in the Philippine Waters, which are claimed by China and Vietnam and some other Asian nations. He said the crew had merely been protecting itself after being dragged backward for over an hour by a Vietnamese oil and gas exploration vessel - one, he said, that was "illegally working at the scene."

"The claims made by Vietnam are complete misrepresentations of the truth. As is known to all, China has indisputable sovereignty rights over the Spratly Islands and the waters nearby," Hong said.

"It needs to be pointed out that in illegally exploring for oil and gas and forcing out Chinese fishing boats from the Wan'an bank of the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea, Vietnam has seriously violated China's sovereignty and maritime rights," he said.

"China demands that Vietnam stop all invasive activities," Hong said.

Last weekend, thousands of Vietnamese marched in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in rare demonstrations demanding that China stop invading Vietnam's territory.

On Thursday, China denied an allegation by Filipino officials that Chinese forces had intruded into Philippines-claimed areas in the West Philippine Sea around the Spratly Islands six times since February and of firing shots at least once to Filipino Fishermen. Beijing said it would use violence only when attacked but the armless Filipino Fishermen were attacked by the China’s navy opposite from the liar Beijing.

Although the tension is unlikely to escalate beyond a war of words, the conflict could draw in the United States, which worries that the disputes could hurt access to one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last year that the peaceful resolution of disputes over the Spratly and Paracel island chains was in the American national interest.

One of the Legal ground of Secretary Clinton is the American – and the Philippines signed agreement to protect the Philippines from any invaders and the Spratlys is within the Philippine Waters in the West Philippines Sea 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the country which is America is obliged to act on every invasion. 

 

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Vietnam will conduct a live Fire Drill in the Paracels - June 13

China’s Claims with undisputable over Spratlys is true as it is baseless according to the UNCLOS

After the Philippines’ protests to the United Nations for China’s navy harassing Philippine Oil Research Ship in the Philippine Waters - UNLOS International Law of Seas 200 Nautical Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, China pronounced their undisputable claim over Spratlys as it is 1000 Nautical Mile from their shore. China’s invasion is a purely invasion to the waters of the Philippines and Vietnam as they are not part to be called as having a reliable claim over the area.

The same word by “hong” (China’s Spokesperson)  to Vietnam as Vietnam and the Philippines have almost the same rights over Spratlys as part of Spratlys is Within Philippine Sea and other parts are within the Vietnam Waters.

For the common understanding to the International community it is  the right time for China to back off as they are not part of the Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea. The same thing with Vietnam to follow the UNCLOS and must not extend their claims to the Philippine waters so the peace will be re-established in the disputed sea.

Hong reiterated last June 7, 2011 that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters. His claim is very true because UNCLOS International Law of the Sea defined 200 Nautical Mile and China’s distance to the Spratlys is 1,000 Miles(One Thousand Miles).

What’s china did is just to bully the neighbors  and to annoy them as they have no rights and sovereignty over West Philippine Sea – The Spratlys.

Vietnam’ s Live Fire Drill in Paracel - June 13, 2011

A fall out over territory in the South China Sea escalated Friday when Vietnam announced a live ammunition drill in an apparent response to China's demand that the Vietnamese halt all oil exploration in the area.

The verbal clash between the two communist neighbors follows a similar one between China and the Philippines earlier in the week over another area of the South China Sea & West Philippines Sea, where several countries are eyeing potentially rich oil and gas reserves.

The disputes generally pit China against its neighbors and have pulled in the United States, which has said it considers some of China's sea claims to be an infringement of international waters and a possible damper on international trade.

Vietnam said it would carry out two exercises totaling nine hours Monday in an area off the country's central Quang Nam province in the East Sea of Vietnam adjacent to the Paracel . The announcement on the website of the state-owned Northern Maritime Safety Corp. warned boats and ships to stay out of the area. It was the first time Vietnam has issued such an alert about conducting live-fire maritime drills.

It came a day after China and Vietnam traded diplomatic punches, with each demanding that the other stay out of waters they claim.

China had accused Vietnam of endangering its fishermen's lives. Earlier Thursday, Vietnam slammed China for interfering with its seismic survey off the central Vietnamese coast, saying the Chinese fishing boat supported by two patrol boats had damaged an exploration cable of the Petro Vietnam a state-owned Vietnamese research boat.

Vietnam said it was the second time China had hindered the operation of an oil and gas exploration boat in two weeks, adding that its actions were "completely premeditated" and accusing it of flaring regional tensions in the South China Sea.

Hanoi says both incidents occurred well within the 200 nautical miles guaranteed to Vietnam as an exclusive economic zone by international law UNCLOS.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Chinese fishing boat crew had instead been in waters around the Spratly Islands of the West Philippine Sea in the Philippine Waters, which are claimed by China and Vietnam and some other Asian nations. He said the crew had merely been protecting itself after being dragged backward for over an hour by a Vietnamese oil and gas exploration vessel - one, he said, that was "illegally working at the scene."

"The claims made by Vietnam are complete misrepresentations of the truth. As is known to all, China has indisputable sovereignty rights over the Spratly Islands and the waters nearby," Hong said.

"It needs to be pointed out that in illegally exploring for oil and gas and forcing out Chinese fishing boats from the Wan'an bank of the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea, Vietnam has seriously violated China's sovereignty and maritime rights," he said.

"China demands that Vietnam stop all invasive activities," Hong said.

Last weekend, thousands of Vietnamese marched in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in rare demonstrations demanding that China stop invading Vietnam's territory.

On Thursday, China denied an allegation by Filipino officials that Chinese forces had intruded into Philippines-claimed areas in the West Philippine Sea around the Spratly Islands six times since February and of firing shots at least once to Filipino Fishermen. Beijing said it would use violence only when attacked but the armless Filipino Fishermen were attacked by the China’s navy opposite from the liar Beijing.

Although the tension is unlikely to escalate beyond a war of words, the conflict could draw in the United States, which worries that the disputes could hurt access to one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last year that the peaceful resolution of disputes over the Spratly and Paracel island chains was in the American national interest.

One of the Legal ground of Secretary Clinton is the American – and the Philippines signed agreement to protect the Philippines from any invaders and the Spratlys is within the Philippine Waters in the West Philippines Sea 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the country which is America is obliged to act on every invasion. 

 

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Bank loans in the Philippines up 14.2% to P 2.42 Trilion as of April 2011

Economy: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday that bank lending continued to post double-digit growth in April despite the economic slowdown experienced in the first quarter of the year.

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said in a statement that bank loans grew 14.2 percent to P2.423 trillion as of end-April from P2.121 trillion as of end-April last year.

“The steady growth in bank lending reflects the prevailing pace of domestic economic activity,” Tetangco stressed.

This was the fourth straight month that bank lending posted a double digit growth after expanding by 11 percent in January, 12.3 percent in February, 14.1 percent in March, and 14.2 percent in April.

Economic managers through the Cabinet level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) see the country’s domestic output as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) growing between seven percent and eight percent this year and next year.

The country’s GDP posted a surprising growth of 7.6 percent last year after slackening to 1.1 percent in 2009 from 3.8 percent in 2008 due to the full impact of the global financial crisis.

As expected, the country’s GDP growth slowed down to 4.9 percent in the first quarter of the year from the revised 8.4 percent in the same quarter last year due to government underspending as well as the weak global trade.

Despite the economic slowdown, loans extended to productive activities grew 15.7 percent to P2.187 trillion as of end-April from P1.899 trillion in the same period last year as corporate borrowers sourced more loans from banks to bankroll their expansion programs.

In terms of growth, data showed that loans to the mining and quarrying sector posted the biggest growth of 74.2 percent followed by the electricity, gas, and water with 47.3 percent, and the manufacturing sector with 19.5 percent.

In terms of amount, the manufacturing sector got the biggest share with P406.18 billion followed by the real estate, lending and business services with P385.9 billion; the agriculture, hunting, and fisheries sector with P344.38 billion; wholesale and retail trade sector with P269.1 billion; and the electricity, gas, and water sector with P215.3 billion.

Tetangco also reported that the growth in the loans extended for household consumption was steady at 12.9 percent to P199.41 billion in end-April from P176.59 billion in the same month last year.

Data showed that credit card loans went up by 7.6 percent to P120.5 billion from P111.95 billion while auto loans jumped 27.3 percent to P62.2 billion from P48.86 billion.

The BSP chief pointed out that authorities would ensure appropriate monetary and financial conditions for continued credit expansion while promoting the BSP’s primary mandate of maintaining price stability.

“Going forward, the BSP will contiue to provide the appropriate credit conditions to support its primary mandates of maintaining monetarya and financial stability ,” Tetangco added.

A BSP survey showed companies are still planning to expand their operations and hire more workers in the Philippines this year despite the projected easing in economic growth this year.

BSP director for Department of Economic Statistics Rosabel Guerrero said one of every four respondents of the Business Expectations Survey (BES) for the second quarter 2011 indicated plans to expand their operations.

“About one for every four respondents in the industry sector ir 24.7 percent indicated expansion plans for the third quarter,” Guerrero stressed.

However, she explained that the percentage of respondents that signified their intention to expand their operations went down to 24.7 percent in the second quarter of the year from 33.9 percent in the first quarter.

In terms of Employment Outlook Index of the survey, Guerrero said the number of respondents who expected to continue hiring in the third quarter declined to 14.5 percent in the second quarter from 23 percent in the first quarter

 

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China embarrassed in the International Community over invasion in the Philippine Waters in the Spratlys

China stepped up criticism of the Philippines in a fresh exchange of invectives over disputed waters, calling on Manila to stop infringing its sovereignty with irresponsible claims over the Spratlys, after thousands of protest online denouncing China’s invasion and incursion to the Philippine waters UNCLOS 200 nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

“China demands that the Philippines stop unilateral actions that damage China’s  believed sovereignty and interests at sea and could lead to the expansion and complication of the South China Sea & West Philippine Sea dispute, and stop issuing irresponsible comments that are inconsistent with facts,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei. As UNCLOS law of sea showing that China is violating the international law, China is embarrassed in the international community of being called the “UNCLOS international law violator China”.

Malacañang of the Philippines shrugged off the Chinese statement.

“We are very careful in crafting these statements and we see to it that we back up our statements and base it on facts,” President Aquino’s deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte told reporters in Manila on Wednesday ( June 8, 2011).

“We stand by what we believe in and what is ours,” she added.

The Philippines is confident of their stands as Tomas Cloma, a Filipino Business man and navigator is the first person in the world pronounced his Ownership in the whole Spratlys Archipelago in 1955 and then turned it over to the Philippines.

The Philippines is also confident as the Spratlys which is become disputed is just within the Philippine waters within UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the West Philippine Sea and Palawan shore.

The Philippines is also confident as the called disputed Spratlys is the traditional fishing ground of the Filipinos since the ancient times.

The comments, posted on the ministry’s website on Tuesday, were China’s most vitriolic in weeks of tension as the Philippines denounced what it said was the increasing assertiveness of Chinese ships in the region. It also cited the United States’ stake in the stability and security of the world’s second-busiest sea lane.

Hong said China had stood by its position for centuries. He said conducting missions and patrols by Chinese vessels in waters under Chinese jurisdiction was “completely reasonable.” The China’s beliefs which for them reasonable as they are giants is definitely not reasonable to the small  ASEAN countries who owned the Islands and Sea which China’s tried to invade. The Old map also of China didn’t show that Spratly’s is part of their claim. The China’s Claim over the Spratly’s of the Philippines started after the rumored of its contain the 4^th largest Oil and Gas Deposit in the World.  The Oil thirsty china needs the Spratlys to survive from their oil needs.

The Philippines is the strongest bone which China’s fear of as most part of the islands and waters they tried to invade are within the Philippines Waters in the West Philippines Sea - UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone. China’s shame of being called as UNCLOS International law violator as so embarrassing and unacceptable for them in the international communities and lost their credibility to lead in both power and economy.

Diplomatic solution

“President Aquino of the Philippine has also already said that we are preparing reports on these alleged incursions and that we want to present them to the appropriate body,” Valte said.

Asked if the Chinese statement would affect Mr. Aquino’s plan to report the intrusions to the United Nations, Valte said, “It will not hold us back as far as we still reiterate our stand that we will handle these conflicts in the most diplomatic way possible.”

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim territories in the West Philippine Sea and  South China Sea, which covers an important shipping route and is thought to hold untapped oil and gas reserves which ranked 4^th largest oil and gas deposit in the World. Though the Philippines have started their Oil and Gas Exploration within the Archipelago’s 200 Mile Exclusive Economic Zone, it is not yet to the fullest which China; the oil thirsty country want to be part of what’s the Philippines have now in Malampaya Gas Exploration Project in Palawan Province.

China claims most of the sea, some 1.7 million square kilometers, including the Paracel  which is within their UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone and the Spratly of the Philippines which is within the Philippines Waters UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone. Paracel and Spratlys are Different because Paracel is within the waters of Vietnam and China which the 2 countries are fighting for; while Spratlys – most part is within the Philippine Waters and some part is in Vietnam Waters, Malaysia, & Brunei.

6 incidents of intrusions

Manila has accused China of intrusions into its territory, citing six instances, including one in March when two Chinese patrol boats tried to ram a Philippine survey ship.

Vietnamese officials have also complained about Chinese activity in the contested waters, accusing Chinese patrol boats of harassing an oil-exploration ship conducting a seismic survey 120 kilometers (75 Miles)  off Vietnam’s south-central coast.

One incident this month, in which Chinese vessels placed a buoy and posts in a part of the sea it claims, spurred protests in the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

Hong said China was willing to negotiate directly with the Philippines to “seek an appropriate resolution to the relevant dispute.”

Aircraft carrier

The Chinese blast against the Philippines came amid reports that China could launch its first aircraft carrier this year, a year earlier than US military analysts had expected.

The Hong Kong Commercial Daily on Wednesday reported that a top Chinese general had confirmed that Beijing was building an aircraft carrier, marking the first acknowledgement of the ship’s existence from China’s secretive military.

In an exclusive interview, the newspaper quoted Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as saying the 300-meter refurbished Soviet carrier “is being built, but it has not been completed.”

He declined to elaborate although there has been wide speculation that the vessel was nearly finished after the ship, then called the Varyag, was reportedly purchased in 1998. It is currently based in the northeast port city of Dalian.

The ship, which an expert on China’s military has said would be used for training and as a model for a future indigenously built ship, was originally built for the Soviet Navy. Construction was interrupted by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

End of month launch

The Hong Kong paper quoted anonymous sources as saying the carrier would be launched by the end of June at the earliest.

Qi Jianguo, assistant to the chief of the PLA’s general staff, told the newspaper that the carrier would not enter other nations’ territories, in accordance with Beijing’s defensive military strategy.

“All of the great nations in the world own aircraft carriers—they are symbols of a great nation,” he was quoted as saying.

Despite its growing naval might, China says it poses no threat to its neighbors and that its long-term double-digit increases in military spending are in line with overall growth.

China clashes with Tokyo

In addition to China’s claims in the South China Sea, Beijing has clashed with Tokyo over the disputed Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, located in the East China Sea.

In April, Adm. Robert Willard, head of the US Pacific Command, said China’s Navy had adopted a less aggressive stance in the Pacific after protests from Washington and other nations in the region.

The PLA—the largest army in the world—is hugely secretive about its defense programs, which benefit from a big military budget boosted by the nation’s runaway economic growth

 

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China to lose face with incursions in the West Philippine Sea - Spratly

China will lose face before the international community if it continues its incursions into Philippine territory and in the disputed Spratly archipelago in the West Philippine Sea & South China Sea, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said on Tuesday.

Gazmin said the international community will hold China to Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie’s declaration at the Asia Security Summit in Singapore over the weekend that Beijing was after peace and stability in the region.

He said Liang was very specific in saying that aggression towards other countries was not an option for the Chinese and that they were for a peaceful resolution of the dispute over the Spratlys group.

“Remember, that statement (by Liang) was made last Sunday. The incursions (occurred) before, so we now have a baseline. So anything that happens from now on is a clear violation of what he said,” Gazmin told a news briefing at the defense department on Tuesday.

“If they do that, they will lose face in the international community. They wouldn’t want to do that,” he said.

The Spratlys, a chain of islets and atolls in the South China Sea believed to sit above rich oil deposits, is claimed wholly or in part by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes the Philippines, signed a nonbinding accord in 2002 that called on claimants to exercise restraint and stop occupying new areas.

At the annual regional security forum in Singapore, called the “Shangri-La Dialogue” over the weekend, Gazmin and Vietnamese Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh complained about harassment from the Chinese military in the Spratlys.

No opportunity

Gazmin said there had been an “alarming” five to six incursions by China this year in territories claimed by the Philippines. The latest incident occurred while Liang was in the country for an official visit from May 21 to 25.

Gazmin said he did not have the opportunity to bring up the latest incursion with Liang during the summit.

Gazmin said he had bilateral talks with his counterparts from Vietnam and Malaysia.

“We are one in resolving the disputes in a very peaceful manner. We have mechanisms that are in place in the resolution of these cases,” he said.

“All the ministers that I have talked to (said) that there should be peaceful resolution to make this area stable,” he added.

The forum was also attended by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates who expressed increasing US concern that clashes could erupt in the South China Sea unless the countries with conflicting territorial claims adopt a mechanism to settle the dispute peacefully.

Don’t Trust the Devil

The 2002 nonbinding accord in 2002 that called on claimants to exercise restraint and stop occupying new areas which was signed by China and Other ASEAN nations has been violated by series of incursion by china to the Philippine waters.

Even though they have signed the 200 non binding accords, “Ops! They did it again” early this year in 2011.  ASEAN countries must be reminded to be on alert all the time because we don’t know what is in the mind of this dragon. They will blow fire anytime they want if you are sleeping.

The US destroyer is in the vicinity now and that is one of the reason that they must have to calm down because Uncle Sam is there, he is carrying an “Arnis Stick”. The stick my choke the dragon if they will blow fire while the boss is there.

Be remain calm but on the highest alert level Philippine, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia maybe 1 day soon, you will wakeup your island is already a laying ground of a hungry dragon.

 

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Armed Forces of the Philippines will install radars and Airbase in the Spratly Islands, Province of the Philippines

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said , they  will install radar equipments on nine islands in the disputed Spratlys of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) to monitor intrusions even as the Coast Guard said it deployed three patrol vessels to secure a government oil survey ship reportedly harassed by two Chinese boats in the South China Sea.

“With the available resources that we have right now, all we can do is to react,” Western Command chief Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban said in an interview in Camp Aguinaldo.

“But we will be installing radars in all our controlled islands in the Philippine Waters for fast monitoring.”

On March 2, two Chinese Navy patrol vessels harassed an Energy Department survey ship, the m/v Veritas Voyager, in the Reed Bank, but left after the Navy and Air Force sent aircraft to the area.

Seismic testing for gas by an Anglo-Filipino consortium had been halted after an incident in which Manila says two Chinese boats threatened to ram a survey ship, the government said.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said the seismic tests would resume after the Philippines and China held talks to resolve the dispute. Manila would send maritime affairs experts to Beijing later this week for negotiations.

“They had to pack up and reconstitute everything,” Almendras told reporters, saying it would take a few days to restart the tests. “We have to wait, but we hope to resume.”

The Philippines has already filed a diplomatic protest with the Chinese government over the incident, but Beijing has yet to respond to it.

Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario said the Energy Department’s research vessel was well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Over the weekend, Coast Guard chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said two vessels with divers and medical teams on board and a surveillance vessel were sent to patrol the waters off the southwestern province of Palawan and help the government-contracted ship doing a seismic survey of the area.

Sabban suggested that the government could renovate an airstrip on Pagasa Island and turn it into an airbase so it could respond faster to such incidents.

“We have an airstrip on Pagasa Island already, and all we have to do is to make an airbase to augment our maritime patrols, especially in the vicinity of our claimed islands,” Sabban said.

“We’re the first one to build an airstrip, but we’ve already been surpassed by the kind of airstrips that Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia have put up in the Spratlys.”

US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. urged the Spartlys claimants, especially China, to act with restraint.

“We urge restraint on all sides,” he said.

“We urge that the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea issue be resolved in the negotiating table. We believe that the ASEAN (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei) states and China with the presence of the USA should sit down according to the 2002 Code of Conduct.

 

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China illegally invading the West Philippine Sea's islands and violates UNLCOS International Law

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) shows the light Blue Dotted line as 200 Nautical Mile Economic Zone for the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Blue dotted line includes most part of the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly) of the Philippines. UNCLOS did not show any China’s territory in the West Philippines Sea. The Philippines recorded already 6 invasion by china to the West Philippine Sea As of June 3, 2011.

China on Tuesday (June 7, 2011) hit back at the Philippines' accusation of an "increasing presence and activities of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea" as being "unacceptable" and asked Manila to stop harming China's maritime rights and interests.

"Chinese vessels were cruising and carrying out scientific studies in waters under Philippines's jurisdiction, and their activities are violations of the UNLCOS and China is violating the International Law of Sea.

For the side of the Philippines, the West Philippine Sea’s UNLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone is not under China’s jurisdiction and must have to ask a formal approval from the Philippine Government before conducting any research within the Philippine waters.  Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei words only means that they are now claiming the Philippine waters as under their jurisdiction and they violated the UNLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines.

Beijing said its position on the South China Sea is consistent and clear-cut and is in accordance with the international law showing that they disobey the UNLCOS and must be punishable and must be penalize by escalating tension and illegally invading Philippine Waters. .

The Philippines said Saturday that China's move to dispatch vessels to "disputed areas" of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) "hampers the normal and legitimate fishing activities of the Filipino fishermen" and "undermines the peace and stability of the region," according to AFP.

Filipino Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin claimed on Tuesday that the US had a stake in the stability, security and freedom of the world's second-busiest sea lane.

"The US presence is a deterrence to any unlawful activity in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea)," Reuters quoted Gazmin as saying to reporters.

The US has forward bases in East Asia and its carrier battle groups have also been making regular visits to the Philippines, where it used to maintain two huge bases until 1992.

Speaking at the 10th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Hungary, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Monday that any attempt to complicate the situation would be in nobody's interests. He disregarded the accusation of the Philippines considering the Philippines is just a very small country and its just nothing for them if they will invade the Philippine waters.

Yang said the situation in the South China Sea is stable which is opposite of the fact when the shot-out Filipino Fishermen in the sea of Palawan, and hiding their plan of slowly taking over the Spratlys of the Philippines Waters.

China’s interest to spratlys of the west Philippine Sea is towering even though it is not part of their territory because it is ranked to the 4^th among the largest Oil and Gas deposit in the world in line with Kuwait and UAE.

China is hesitant to make a move if the US presence is within the region because they could not bully the small countries like Vietnam and Philippines as the US will mediate them. China Said: It is wrong for countries in the region to try and use Washington's power to counter Beijing as China will not make any concessions on its sovereignty, Zhuang Guotu, director of the Center for Southeast Asia Studies at Xiamen University, told the Global Times."Only dialogue and consultation among relevant countries in the South China Sea can bring peace and stability in the region," he added.

Hong reiterated on Tuesday that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters. A clear word that regardless of the UNCLOS and the international laws, China is not scared to violate it.

Hong's remarks came in response to an anti-China demonstration in Hanoi to demand that China stay out of waters claimed by Vietnam.

He urged Vietnam to make earnest efforts to how appropriately handle maritime issues and maintain stability in the South China Sea.

 

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New Philippines digital plan to highlight National Information & Communications Technology ICT Month

The celebration of National ICT Month is mandated under Presidential Proclamation No. 1521 (Series of 2008), declaring every month of June as National ICT Month.

The month-long celebration features events and activities organized by government and the private sector.

For its part, the CICT, together with various industry associations, will be holding the National ICT Summit, which will feature the official launch of the Philippine Digital Strategy (PDS) 2011-2016 and the launch of a limited edition Commemorative Stamp marking National ICT Month 2011.

Another major event is the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of the National Computer Center (NCC), a component agency of the CICT.

Several milestones have been achieved for the ICT sector, many of these bringing prestige to the country. According to “the Global Location Trends 2010 Report” of IBM Global Business Services, the Philippines is now the world leader in terms of jobs for shared services and business process and outsourcing (BPO) services.

The IT-BPO industry, through the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, has provided more than 525,000 jobs as of December 2010, about 79,000 new jobs created representing an increase of about 24 percent from the previous year.

The increase in employment for this industry can also be attributed to the success of the Next Wave Cities initiative, a program which develops cities as alternative destinations for BPO investments.

Cities such as Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod and Sta. Rosa, Laguna are now in the roster of preferred IT-BPO locations, due to the success of this program.

A significant activity this June is the launch of the Philippine Digital Strategy on the theme “Transformation 2.0: A Digitally Empowered Nation.”

The Philippine Digital Strategy 2011-2016 aims to contribute to the Aquino administration’s “Social Contract with the Filipino People”, mainly by leveraging the use of ICT for national development.

The PDS identifies four strategic thrusts, namely: 1) transparent government and efficient services delivery, 2) Internet opportunities for all, 3) investing in people: digital literacy for all, and 4) ICT industry and business innovation for national development.

The strategy presents a renewed vision for ICT and its importance in transforming Philippine society into a competitive force in the global digital economy by the year 2016.

The PDS is also aligned with the principles and thrusts of the ASEAN Information and Communications Technology Masterplan (AIM) 2015, which was adopted in January 2011. AIM 2015 was developed to serve as a guiding document to advance ASEAN regional ICT cooperation.

 

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Chinese firms urged to locate BPO functions in Philippines

The Board of Investments is urging Chinese companies to put up business process outsourcing facilities in the Philippines, so that they can take advantage of the support that highly skilled English-speaking BPO personnel can provide for their businesses.

Coming from a recent investment promotion trip to China, BoI managing head Cristino Panlilio said Chinese companies would benefit from offshoring some company functions to the Philippines, especially those that China still had to improve.

“China is starting to bone up on its service exports, so we’re giving them tips and strategic recommendations on how to make their service export industry more competitive,” he said.

Certain banking and financial functions, for example, could be done out of the Philippines for China’s overseas clients, he related.

“The Chinese market is big, and it needs strong support from English-speaking countries like the Philippines to serve its clients in the West. What they can do is move some business functions here, then just move these back to China when they’ve already built their capabilities,” Panlilio said.

“Like in banking, for example. China’s banking capabilities are still not on par with the world’s best. The Philippines can help in that area. We can also do animation and just about any service. A lot of companies in China need BPO services,” he added.

Should Chinese firms decide to bring their BPO business into the country, he said as much as a third of local BPO operations could be servicing Chinese companies.

In an earlier interview, Business Processing Association of the Philippines executive director for information and research Gillian Joyce Virata said the local BPO industry was keen on entering new markets.

Not wanting to rely almost solely on the United States for its business, she related that the BPO sector was pushing to enter new markets such as the United Kingdom and Asia-Pacific.

“Because of the growth of the Asia-Pacific region, there’s now also a big demand (for BPO services). We’re trying to capitalize on our language capabilities. The biggest demand is for Mandarin, Japanese, Thai, Bahasa, and Korean,” she said.

 

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IT-BPO industry exports could reach $ 55 Billion Dollar in 2020 - World bank

World Bank says if the government of the Philippines can fully develop the information-technology and business-process outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector services industry, it has the potential to earn export revenues of $30 billion to $55 billion by 2020.

This is according to a study made by World Bank consultant Raja Mitra, who estimates that medium-term export revenues from the sector could reach far more than the $9 billion it controlled in 2010.

Mitra made three assumptions that resulted in a low-end medium-term export revenue estimate of around $30 billion, the medium-end estimate at $45 billion and the high-end estimate at $55 billion.

“While not a panacea...expanding the scale and scope of exports of IT-BPO services as well as domestic industry development and use of ICT [information and communication technology] will offer new avenues that can help the economy to be more productive and accelerate efforts to achieve inclusive growth within the country and to interface and catch up with the rest of the world,” Mitra said in a slide presentation.

With revenues of this size, Mitra expects the IT-BPO services industry to contribute as much as 11 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020. In 2010 the industry contributed around 5 percent of GDP.

Mitra also projects that Filipinos employed directly and indirectly by the industry will reach 6.8 million by 2020. Those who will be directly employed by the industry could increase to 1.8 million by 2020 from 500,000 in 2010, while those who are indirectly employed could rise to 5 million by 2020 from 1.75 million in 2010.

However, these are merely projections and, in truth, Mitra said, the Philippines’ full potential in the industry has not been met. For one, the country lags behind in providing IT-related services and the use of high technology in all its IT-BPO services.

Mitra said these two factors would significantly help in growing the industry and allowing the Philippines to also shift to high-value back-office services, which are necessary to earn in more revenues.

“[It is] important to simultaneously develop the IT, telecom, education and other knowledge economy sectors and to enhance the potential synergies between BPO and other ICT sectors both in terms of external and domestic markets. Such a development offers significant promise it can contribute toward achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth,” Mitra said.

Mitra said the Philippines already has a larger BPO industry than India and has already overtaken it in call-center operations. Metro Manila now has more people employed in the BPO export industry than any other city in the world.

Data collected by Mitra showed that the sector’s export revenues-ratio-to-GDP was less than 1 percent in the early 2000s and steadily grew to 4.8 percent in 2009. Its share of total exports, on the other hand, increased to 16 percent in 2008 from less than a percent in 2000.

Mitra also said the industry has already come a long way in boosting employment in the country. For one, direct employment in the sector as a share of the total labor force employment has risen to more than 1 percent from less than 0.1 percent in the early 2000s

 

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20 Million years Extinct sea cow fossil found in Philippines

The bones of an extinct sea cow species that lived about 20 million years ago have been discovered in a cave in the Philippines by a team of Italian scientists, the expedition head said Monday.

Several ribs and spine parts of the aquatic mammal were found in February and March in limestone rock above the waters of an underground river on the island of Palawan, said University of Florence geologist Leonardo Piccini.

"The fossil is in the rock, in the cave. We cannot remove it and we don't want to extract it. We would like to wait (for) when the technology will allow us to study the fossil without extracting it," Piccini told AFP.

Speaking on the sidelines of a symposium at the Philippine presidential palace where the find was announced, Piccini said it was a rare discovery in the region from the Miocene era -- 20 million years ago.

"It's the first remains of this kind of animal in the area, so it is important in reconstructing the habitat and the diffusions of this animal in the Miocene," he added.

Initial comparisons with fossil specimens suggest it belongs to one of two extinct species of plant-eating sirenia, also known as sea cows, according to research by Federico Panti and Paolo Forti, a member of the Palawan expedition.

They said the animal would have been about 180 centimeters (about six feet) long.

Two sea cow species live to this day, the dugong of the Indo-Pacific region and manatees of the Atlantic basin.

The paper said such fossil finds in the East had been limited to India along with some fragmentary finds in Madagascar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Indonesian island of Java.

"The specimens (found) in the cave of Palawan Island represent the first from the Philippines and the easternmost occurrence in the region," it added.

It called on the government to protect the area of the find in the Puerto Princesa subterranean river, which is being heavily promoted as a major tourist destination.

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