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Retitled: China's "De facto" Control of Panatag Shoal/Bajo De Masinloc; Old Title: China ropes off Scarborough Shoal
Topic Started: Aug 10 2012, 07:38 PM (25,216 Views)
AZKALS
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Panatag Shoal Put Under Jurisdiction of Western Command

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/99477/panatag-shoal-put-under-jurisdiction-of-western-command

By Frances Mangosing
INQUIRER.net
5:35 pm | Tuesday, February 25th, 2014

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine military further bolstered its external defense by moving Scarborough shoal (Panatag) under the jurisdiction of the Western Command (Wescom).“This is so to enhance our external defense capabilities which is now being concentrated at the Western Command and unity of effort and unity of command so that our external defense efforts will just be under one commander,” military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.The Scarborough was previously under the Northern Luzon Command based in Tarlac and is led by Lieutenant General Gregorio Catapang. Wescom is based in Palawan and is headed by Air Force’s Lieutenant General Roy Deveraturda.

The nearest landmass from the shoal is Palauig in the province of Zambales, or 220 kilometers east. It is a source of rich fishing grounds that is well within the country’s 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. China also claims the area. The Philippines brought its dispute with China to arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.Zagala said there was no problem on the transfer of jurisdiction despite the proximity of Scarborough from Wescom as “these are all at sea.”“The [Wescom] has the necessary assets that can address territorial defense and monitoring. They have the necessary aircraft that can fly to all these areas for the purpose of monitoring and reporting to higher government office,” Zagala said.“This is for the purposes of unity of command, unity of effort under one commander and all external defense concerns,” he said.The Wescom’s area of responsibility include Palawan and the disputed Spratlys. It also holds jurisdiction of Ayungin shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), a part of the Spratlys that is also claimed by China. Zagala said external defense matters is a “core competency” of the Wescom.The orders were signed by military chief General Emmanuel Bautista last week, Zagala said.



Edited by AZKALS, Feb 25 2014, 07:36 PM.


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raider1011


Disputed sea is ours – China

Quote:
 
February 26, 2014

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Manila said China’s sovereignty also covers Huangyan Island, its name for Panatag Shoal.

“The Chinese side does not accept the so-called ‘protest’ by the Philippine side. We urge the Philippine side to work with the Chinese side to resolve differences through bilateral consultations and negotiations,” Zhang Hua, deputy chief of Political Section and spokesman of the Chinese embassy in Manila, said. “Chinese government vessels are conducting regular patrols within China’s jurisdiction,” he said. ...

At Malacañang, President Aquino demanded an explanation of the incident from China. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned yesterday and handed a note verbale to Charge d’Affaires Sun Xiangyang of the Chinese embassy to protest the Jan. 27 incident and other acts of aggression by China in the West Philippine Sea. ...

“The international community can now be aware of what is the real situation there, that it really merits an international response and condemnation,” AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said yesterday.

He called the incident “alarming” considering the “already volatile situation” in the area.

“We are supporting the pursuit of government in the path of international tribunal to solve the problem here and the best really is a code of conduct so that it will not happen again,” he said in a press briefing.

When asked by the media what incident would merit military action, Zagala said: “That’s speculative. Don’t let me talk about deploying forces there if that’s what you want to hear.”

Philippine Star

Related: PH won't send Navy to Scarborough shoal
Edited by raider1011, Feb 26 2014, 10:45 AM.
God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless.

|| Chester W. Nimitz

Loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

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seWer Rat
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amateur sewer cleaner

Philippine military to act 'when times comes' in dispute with China

MANILA, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The Philippine government is trying to defuse a dispute with China, but the armed forces will act "when the time comes," a military official said Tuesday.
Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala spoke in response to questions by reporters about an incident last month in which the Chinese coast guard used water cannons on Filipino fishermen, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

The incident was "really alarming," Zagala said, but "does not merit a military response."

"We should look at the force we're facing," he said. "Right now, it's the Chinese coast guard. I don't think it would be appropriate if we send the Philippine Navy at this time. It will just escalate the situation."

"Rest assured that the armed forces will do its mandate when the time comes," Zagala added.

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raider1011


Why the 28 day-delay in reacting to water cannon incident in Bajo de Masinloc

By Ellen Tordesillas, Contributor

Quote:
 
Coast Guard sources said there were actually 14 fishing vessels by Filipino fishermen in Bajo de Masinloc on that day and only two were subject of water cannon spraying. The source said the two vessels must have gone too close to the Chinese Coast Guard ship and the spraying was a warning act. ...

That’s why President Aquino was uncharacteristically a voice of moderation in this incident. Talking to reporters in Cebu, where the 1986 Edsa People Power was commemorated, Aquino noticed inconsistencies in Bautista’s revelation because at the very time the Armed Forces chief was telling the foreign correspondents about the Jan. 27 incident, Filipino fishermen were fishing inside the shoal.

Aquino said: "May I add na medyo inconsistent rin yung nangyari dyan. We're not sure at this point in time if we can call it their standard operating procedure. Kasi as of yesterday, we had fishermen inside the shoal, inside the shoal who are not being harassed or intimidated by any entity. So ayaw naman natin mag-react kung one of incident 'to that they probably will say was acting not under their orders but out of 'yung para bang dinesisyunan ng kapitan ng particular boat na 'yun.”

The President further said that,”The first step will be a diplomatic message directed at the People's Republic of China to ask them to explain what this incident was all about and what their directions are."

Yahoo News

IMO the President wasn't calling his AFP Chief's statements "inconsistent" so much as he was highlighting the bully's inconsistent responses ...
God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless.

|| Chester W. Nimitz

Loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

|| Mark Twain
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raider1011


And the bully admits it:


China blames Philippines for latest South China Sea incident

Quote:
 
BEIJING Wed Feb 26, 2014

China's foreign ministry, which has already rejected the complaint, said its boats had every right to respond to "provocative" acts in its territory.

China suspected the aims and identities of several Philippine fishing boats that recently appeared in the waters around the Scarborough Shoal, as some of them appeared to just "hang around", foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

The Philippine boats ignored calls from the Chinese ships to leave, with some aboard even adopting a "provocative posture of appearing to spoil for a fight" in activities showing "a strong level of organization and confrontation," Hua said.

"In the face of this seriously provocative behavior, China maintained utmost restraint, and as multiple warnings failed, could not but take the minimum measures to carry out expulsions, which caused no harm to the Philippine fishing boats or personnel," she told a daily news briefing.

The Philippines was guilty of seizing Chinese fishing boats in the South China Sea, Hua said.

"This is like a thief crying, 'Stop, thief!'," she added. "The Chinese government will never tolerate these deliberate provocations."

Since the beginning of the year, China has required foreign fishing boats to get approval before entering waters it claims as its own.

Reuters
God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless.

|| Chester W. Nimitz

Loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

|| Mark Twain
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Hong Nam
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Bought by China


"In the face of this seriously provocative behavior appearing to spoil for a fight."


So the Chinese want the world to believe that a motorized out-trigger fishing boat provoked a much larger, steel hulled CMS ship forcing them to take action. Spoil for a fight... with what? The dirty finger and harsh language?

When you lie, make sure it is a good one. These communist rats seriously need to get their act right. :headbang:



Quote:
 
Filipino fishermen deny provoking Chinese at Bajo de Masinloc
February 27, 2014 11:00pm


Local fishermen who fish in Bajo de Masinloc, also called Panatag Shoal, denied “provoking” Chinese coast guard which supposedly led to the Chinese using a water cannon to drive the Filipinos away.

In an exclusive interview aired on GMA News' “24 Oras” Thursday evening, Ramoncito Dumas, one of the fishermen that the Chinese coast guard drove away with a water cannon on Jan. 27, said they were not provoking the Chinese, but were trapped in the shoal because of bad weather.


GMA News







Edited by Hong Nam, Feb 28 2014, 12:42 AM.

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Hong Nam
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US envoy: Water cannon incident in Panatag Shoal 'not a permissible route'
AMANDA FERNANDEZ
GMA News
March 1, 2014 1:43pm


The United States Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg on Saturday said the water cannon incident in the Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal was not a permissible course of action in the disputed area.

"That coercion and use of force is not at all a permissible route," he said, when asked by reporters to comment on the issue. We made it clear that we want to see legal, peaceful, diplomatic solutions to any issues related to the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea conflict. We believe strongly in the legal process to help determine and resolve disputes. We are an interested party because our interest is freedom of navigation in the air and sea." - Philip Goldberg, United States Ambassador to the Philippines


GMA News




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raider1011


Palace admits: Coast Guard can't defend all Phl waters

Quote:
 
Updated February 28, 2014

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte made this statement after Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin proposed that PCG vessels should be deployed to the West Philippine Sea if their Chinese counterparts would continue to use water cannons to drive away local fishermen.

Valte reacted to Gazmin's suggestion by saying "That is the judgment of the Secretary of the National defense."

But she said that while PCG vessels have been on "constant patrol," certain limitations such as government resources and the country's size prevent them from guarding all Philippine waters.

"They patrol to the best of what they have and to the best of their abilities but given limitations, I think it's quite obvious that they cannot surround the entire country at the same time," Valte said.

Philippine Star
God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless.

|| Chester W. Nimitz

Loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

|| Mark Twain
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Parastriker
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raider1011
Mar 2 2014, 06:55 PM
Palace admits: Coast Guard can't defend all Phl waters

Quote:
 
Updated February 28, 2014

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte made this statement after Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin proposed that PCG vessels should be deployed to the West Philippine Sea if their Chinese counterparts would continue to use water cannons to drive away local fishermen.

Valte reacted to Gazmin's suggestion by saying "That is the judgment of the Secretary of the National defense."

But she said that while PCG vessels have been on "constant patrol," certain limitations such as government resources and the country's size prevent them from guarding all Philippine waters.

"They patrol to the best of what they have and to the best of their abilities but given limitations, I think it's quite obvious that they cannot surround the entire country at the same time," Valte said.

Philippine Star
They could focus on either Luzon, Visayas, or Mindanao, but not all of them. The PCG have three choices;

1. Focus on the Chinese crisis now and leave Visayas unattended, and leave Mindanao prone to covert activities of lawless elements.
2. Ask the PN for help in Bajo de Masinloc, while keeping a thin screen at VisMin. (In my opinion, this is the best route.)
3. Keep the status quo.

Either three are unpalatable for some people, but we'll have to manage.

Another possible choice exists, but I rule it out because of being unfeasible. (Give the PN the rights to patrol the WPS)
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fernandez705
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Like what some suggested put some of the retired navy ships to pcg. I would also like to either hire more pcg people or use place navy reservist to pcg.
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