Indonesia supports Philippines stand on Spratlys - Buy 24 F-16 Fighters

Indonesia is keeping its support for the Philippine proposal to delineate and segregate the disputed parts of the South China Sea from the undisputed areas in drafting the Code of Conduct that will bind countries with territorial claims in the Spratlys group of islands.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the guidance from the ASEAN Summits is how to link the Philippine proposal for a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Cooperation to the drafting of the Code of Conduct in 2012.

"We don't move out of the script from what has already been (agreed upon)," Natalegawa said at the conclusion on Wednesday of the 5th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation between Indonesia and the Philippines.

He said the Code and the Zone are in the interest of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which has four members — Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei — with South China Sea claims.

Leaving things unresolved will continue to cause conflict and disrupt peace and stability in the region," said Natalegawa. "Asean as a whole has a very strong interest to settle the dispute peacefully in accordance with maritime laws."

Indonesia's top diplomat said ASEAN leaders would like to see the Code in place by 2012, in time for the 10th anniversary of Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea).

During the talks, the Philippines and Indonesia approved a 2013-2015 action plan to advance trade, security, defense, border, and cultural cooperation.

The Philippines said it is open to hosting the 6th Meeting of the Joint Working Group of Senior Officials next year to implement the existing Agreement on Trade, Investments, Handicraft and Shipping, as well as review and update the Border Trade Agreement.

Indonesia to buy 24 refurbished US F-16 fighters

Will boost ability to protect "outermost" border regions

Second militarily significant announcement of Obama trip

May stir questions about Taiwan's request for F-16C/Ds

USA plans to supply 24 refurbished F-16C/D fighter aircraft to Indonesia, the presidents of the two countries announced in Bali on Friday on the fringes of an Asia-Pacific summit.

It was the second militarily significant announcement of President Barack Obama's ongoing nine-day Asia-Pacific trip.

The upgraded Lockheed Martin Corp F-16s will give Indonesia a "much-needed" capability to protect its sovereign airspace, the White House said in a "fact sheet" that emphasized the relatively low price tag, put at $750 million by the Pentagon.

Under a separate tightening of ties with Australia, U.S. Marines will start rotating through northern Australia next year, eventually growing to a 2,500-strong task force, the two governments said during a visit by Obama before he flew to neighboring Indonesia for the summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Jakarta was seeking more capable F-16s able to carry out operations "in the outermost border regions of Indonesia."

The air force's existing fleet of 10 F-16 A/Bs cannot do this, the agency said in a mandatory notice of the tentative deal to the U.S. Congress. It put the estimated cost at $750 million. The aircraft are from excess U.S. inventory.

"The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a strategic partner that has been, and continues to be, an important force for economic progress in Southeast Asia," the notice to lawmakers said.

The White House said the plan was to start deliveries by July 2014, as requested by Jakarta. The deal would help boost Indonesia air defenses significantly "without compromising the defense budget and other national priorities," it said.

The transfer of F-16C/D models to Indonesia may raise new questions about Obama's refusal to meet Taiwan's standing request for 66 new F-16C/Ds of its own to help deter China, which regards the island as a rogue province.

The Obama administration in September notified Congress of a proposed $5.85 billion weapons package for Taiwan, including upgrades of 145 F-16 A/B fighters but none of the C/D models that Taiwan has sought.

Obama said on Thursday in Canberra the U.S. military would expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific despite budget austerity, declaring the United States was "here to stay" as a Pacific power that would help shape the region's future.

The F-16 deal involves the overhaul of 28 United Technologies Corp Pratt & Whitney engines including spares. The aircraft will have the most advanced "Modular Mission Computer" produced by Raytheon Co, along with improved radar, avionics and the capability to carry and field more advanced weaponry and sensors, the White House said.

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Chinese carrier pictured at sea - China Facing Neighboring Anger

WASHINGTON - A satellite image of China's first aircraft carrier has been captured while the vessel was undergoing sea trials in the Yellow Sea, a US company said on its website Thursday.

The 300-metre ship, a refitted former Soviet carrier, was photographed on December 8, said Colorado-based DigitalGlobe Inc, and an analyst from the company spotted it when reviewing images five days later.

The Beijing government said earlier this month that the carrier had started its second sea trial after undergoing refurbishment and testing.

The ship underwent five days of trials in August that sparked international concern about China's widening naval reach amid growing regional tensions over maritime disputes and a US campaign to assert itself as a Pacific power.

The West Philippines Sea (South China Sea), which is believed to be rich in oil and gas and is claimed by several countries, has dominated such disputes involving China, leading to run-ins with rival claimants including Vietnam and the Philippines.

Chinese President Hu Jintao on December 7 urged the navy to "accelerate its transformation and modernization" and "make extended preparations for military combat" to safeguard national security.

Beijing only confirmed this year that it was revamping the Soviet ship, the Varyag, and has repeatedly insisted that the carrier poses no threat to its neighbors and will be used mainly for training and research purposes.

But the August sea trials were met with concern from regional powers including Japan and the United States, which called on Beijing to explain why it needs an aircraft carrier.

China only provided the first official acknowledgment of the carrier in June when Chen Bingde, the nation's top military official, gave an interview to a Hong Kong newspaper.

Nepal & Myanmar Rejects China, SKorea and Japan hard Stance against China

China is facing increasingly hardened diplomatic attitudes from its neighboring countries, with four – Nepal, Myanmar, South Korea and Japan – allowing protests at varying degrees of what is considered Chinese belligerence.

A South Korean coastguard official was stabbed to death at sea after the Korean coastguard intercepted a Chinese fishing vessel in its waters in an incident the South Korean media have talked up as "Chinese Piracy at Sea." The Chinese vessel's captain has been charged with murder and 17 Chinese fishermen have been detained. The situation further deteriorated between the two countries after what sounded like a gunshot was fired at a window of the South Korean Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon.

Tokyo is expected to lodge protests after China sent their new, and largest 3,900-ton armed patrol ship on its maiden voyage to islands and areas considered disputed between China and Japan, including several offshore oil and gas fields and various Sino-Japanese joint development zones.

Also, in highly unusual moves, Premier Wen Jiabao's scheduled trips to Nepal and Myanmar next week have both been cancelled. Myanmar, which recently hosted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently cancelled a Chinese project to build a Dam on the Irrawaddy River. No explanation has been given for the Nepal cancellation.

China has been more assertive recently in refusing to give ground over disputed border areas, and appears to have been playing too hard to gain projects through use of financial and trade muscle. The Chinese efforts to extend territorial land borders with India, where it claims the State of Arunachal Pradesh in its entirety, as well as parts of Ladakh and Kashmir, have long grated with India. Meanwhile, attempts to claim the whole of the South China Sea, in addition to parts of the East China Sea and Yellow Sea have been stepped up. 2point6billion learns that Chinese Embassy officials around the world have been paying particular attention to antique dealers in maps and similar cartographic relics, buying up whatever they can find, presumably in order to prove long held claims or to destroy examples that do not fit with their stated aims. Officials from nations affected by such territorial disputes may wish to consider the importance of such items concerning both cartographic and anecdotal evidence in ancient and historic documents.

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