Washington- the Philippines will celebrate 60th Aniversary MDT - August 30 2011

The United States will send one of its highest military officers and a nuclear-carrier battle group to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its defense pact Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the Philippines this August 30, 2011.

Speaking before the Asia Society Thursday evening (August 11, 2011), US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas Jr. reiterated the American position that although it will not meddle in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, it is committed to the defense of the Philippines from any invasion from the outside force.

“The United States is a longstanding treaty ally of the Philippines,” he told a largely Filipino-American audience, “We are a strategic partner and we will remain that way.”

The Philippines is one of only two countries in the Southeast Asian region with a defense treaty with the US. The Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) was signed in Washington DC on August 30, 1951.

The MDT was thrust to the forefront because of rising tensions in the Spratly Islands that are claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. 

The Philippines protested China’s harassment of its research ships exploring for oil and gas deposits in the Philippine Territory area in the West Philippines Sea (WPS). China has also built structures that encroach on Philippine territorial waters, officials in Manila charged.

Outnumbered and outgunned, the Philippines have been forced to rely on the deterrence of the American security umbrella promised by the MDT.

When Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario conferred with State Secretary Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Washington DC last June 2011, he received an assurance the US will help build Philippine military capabilities to defend its borders.

“We don’t take sides in this issue and we expect people to exercise restraint. This is something that should be negotiated on the table in a peaceful manner,” Thomas explained.

When he returns to Manila in the second week of August, Thomas will be followed by Gen. Norton Schwartz, the US Air Force chief. His arrival comes in the heels of the visit of another ranking US military official, Pacific Command chief Admiral Robert Willard, on the last week of July 2011.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John Stennis (CVN-74) and her escort flotilla are scheduled to arrive in Manila on the last week of August, after leaving her home port in Washington state last July 25.

She rendezvoused with the rest of Carrier Strike Group-3 that is composed of the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and ships under Destroyer Squadron 21 that includes the USS Pinckney, USS Kidd, USS Dewey and USS Wayne Meyer that left San Diego last July 29 2011.

After their Philippine stop, the battle group will take up station to support US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 1,000-foot John Stennis has a crew of 5,000 officers and men and has 4 strike fighter squadrons, 2 combat helicopter squadrons and the 2 other squadrons for electronic warfare and airborne early warning.

“This shows our commitment to the Philippines,” Thomas stressed.

Amid fears that China could fill a perceived power vacuum in the South China Sea, the American envoy insisted that the US will continue to have a military presence in the region as he revealed that American warships make about a hundred port visits in the Philippines every year.

As the US gets ready to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the American envoy said, “We are very confident in the ability of the Philippine government to align with us to combat terrorism.”

He noted recent battlefield setbacks for the Philippine military pursuing the Abu Sayyaf. “The Philippine military has taken a few tough weeks and they’ve had to sacrifice,” Thomas noted, adding that “their families are crying out for justice.”

Thomas pointed out that top Al-qaeda leaders Ramzey Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed hatched a terror plot called Bojinka that is widely seen as the precursor to the use of jetliners in the 9-11 attacks, in Pasay City just a few kilometers from the US Embassy in Manila.

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Military upgrade of the Philippines to protect the SEA access -Warned by China to pay price

The Philippines’ Government warned on August 4, 2011 that China’s extended claim over the disputed West Philippine Sea threatens free access in the disputed territory, a Cabinet official said, while calling the act arbitrary and illegal.

“If left unchallenged, China’s baseless 9-dash line claim over the entire West Philippine Sea would not only adversely affect our sovereign rights and jurisdiction but could as well potentially threaten the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce of many other nations,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said in a forum at the Ateneo de Manila University.

He further noted that there was no basis for Beijing claim that was submitted to the United Nations two years ago.

“The Philippines contends that the 9-dash claim of China is, to put it plainly, illegal. It is arbitrary and bereft of any basis or validity under international law, specifically the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” Mr. del Rosario said.

A statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs explained that the 9-dash line, also known as the 9-dotted line or the “ox tongue” line, represents the nine dashes that mark China’s claim to the entire West Philippine Seabased on submissions to the UN on May 7, 2009.

Mr. del Rosario noted that China’s intrusion was within 85 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine island of Palawan, well within our country’s 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone, and where the Philippines exercises full sovereign rights, as provided by UNLCOS.

Tension between China and the Philippines escalated after it was it was reported that from February to May that the Chinese Navy allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen, intimidated a Philippine oil exploration ship and put posts and a buoy in Philippine-claimed areas in the Spratly Islands.

The area is also claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Also on Friday, a strongly worded editorial in the China Daily warned the Philippines against the construction of military structures in the Spratlys.

Amid the tension, Mr. del Rosario said a “cooperative framework for managing the disputes” is being crafted by Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) maritime legal experts.

They experts are set to meet in September in Manila to discuss the framework, which is based on the Philippine’s proposed ASEAN Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation, or (ZoPFFC).

Under the ZoPFFC, the Philippines proposes that the disputed relevant features in the West Philippine Sea be separated from the undisputed areas in accordance with international law, specifically the UNCLOS. The undisputed areas could be transformed into areas for joint cooperation and development.

China media warns Manila on military in Spratlys

BEIJING - CHINESE media on Friday warned the Philippines against building up its military presence in disputed areas of the South China Sea, amid a deepening rift between the two countries.

A strongly worded editorial in the China Daily accused Manila of infringing 'China's territorial integrity' and said the Philippines could pay 'a high price' for misjudging the issue. The Philippines was 'not taking seriously' an agreement struck by Beijing and Association of South-east Asian Nations members in Indonesia last month 'to solve the maritime disputes in peace', the English language newspaper said.

The editorial came after a weekend Philippine Star newspaper report that the Philippine navy would soon complete a shelter to 'protect troops guarding and securing the country's maritime domain' on an island claimed by both countries.

The shell-like structure the navy began building in May is on an island called Patag by the Philippines and Feixin by China - part of the Spratlys chain which is also wholly or partially claimed by Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Tensions in the decades-old dispute escalated this year amid accusations from the Philippines and Vietnam that China was becoming increasingly aggressive in staking its claims to the sea, which the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea. Manila has accused Chinese forces of harassing an oil exploration vessel and shooting at Filipino fishermen.

The Philippine navy is awaiting the arrival of a newly-purchased US-built coast guard ship the Star said would be used to 'secure natural resources' - which the China Daily said have been tapped in 'illegal' projects.

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