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| The Kalayaan, Panatag & other disputed islands; Future conflict zones? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 2 2005, 08:00 PM (156,111 Views) | |
| israeli | Mar 18 2008, 02:06 PM Post #131 |
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US THINK TANK ARTICLE: RP warned on peril of Spratlys study By Volt Contreras Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 00:52:00 03/18/2008 MANILA, Philippines—An American think tank has urged Washington to treat with “serious concern” the corruption scandal over the aborted National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp. as well as suspicions linking the flow of Chinese loans to Manila to a 2004 accord that allows Beijing to scan the disputed Spratlys island chain for fuel deposits. The Heritage Foundation, however, said that from a US standpoint it would be “far more preferable” for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to finish her term rather than be ousted through extra-constitutional means, “even if under a cloud of suspicion” over the NBN-ZTE and Spratlys issues. It observed that the NBN-ZTE scandal had aroused “still-meager protests” and that “public outrage has not reached a level that rules out amicable settlement.” But the group also echoed warnings from critics of the Spratlys agreement, saying a “study today” of the area’s resource potential may eventually threaten Philippine sovereignty and ultimately reinforce Chinese claims on the territory. “As Washington calculates its diplomacy and geopolitical interests, politics in Manila going completely off the rails should be a serious concern,” said Walter Lohman, director of the foundation’s Asian Studies Center. For sale “Even more disturbing is the thought that a pillar of the United States’ historic presence in the Pacific may be for sale,” Lohman said in an article titled “Off the Rails in the Philippines” and released on Friday. The 35-year-old Heritage Foundation is a research and educational center based in Washington DC. It describes itself as an institute that promotes conservative public policies based on principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Its recommendations are generally addressed to the White House and US Congress, as well as the US academe, media, and public policy communities. Lohman said “the most spectacular charge to emerge from the (NBN) controversy is that the contract flows from a 2004 China-Philippines deal to put aside sovereignty claims in the South China Sea in order to conduct a joint seismic study.” Threat to sovereignty The Heritage official was referring to the three-year Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU), an agreement first inked between China and the Philippines. Vietnam was later included in the agreement after the country, being another Spratlys claimant, registered its protest. Lohman spoke of the “obvious danger” that the tripartite cooperation contemplated under the JMSU “will eventually threaten Filipino sovereignty.” He noted that the area covered by the study was “far from the China mainland, but close to the Philippines.” He further warned: “A study today will lead to a joint tapping of resources tomorrow and ultimately reinforce Chinese claims in the territory.” Such a “concession” was difficult to understand strictly from an assessment of the Philippine national interest, Lohman said. Just data gathering The Arroyo administration has defended the JMSU, which expires this June, saying it is just a “data-gathering effort among oil companies” from the three countries. Malacañang, mainly through former Energy Secretary Vince Perez and former Philippine National Oil Co. president Eduardo Mañalac, maintained that the JMSU was “scientific in nature” and not a treaty that would affect any territorial claims of the Philippines. Lohman noted that the NBN-ZTE deal was “only one element to emerge from the $2 billion per year Chinese project loans offered soon after the deal on the seismic study.” Dozens of deals The Chinese loan program extends until 2010, Ms Arroyo’s last year in office and “has already facilitated dozens of deals beyond the ZTE broadband project,” he said. “Another massive deal that has aroused suspicion is the 25-year concession to the Philippines power grid,” Lohman said. He was apparently referring to the awarding to Monte Oro Grid Resources the right to operate the assets of National Transmission Corp. (Transco). Monte Oro counts among its partners Enrique “Ricky” Razon, port operations magnate and a treasurer of the administration ticket Team Unity in last year’s senatorial elections. [Razon, who has invested in a port in Shandong province, denied that he was the treasurer of Team Unity.] “The biggest privatization in Philippine history, the $4-billion deal has a similar confluence of factors: Chinese involvement, high-value assets, and charges of connections to the First Family,” Lohman said. He said what was alarming about these cases was the possibility that corruption in the Philippines may have reached the point of trumping national interest. Lohman noted that one commentary on the JMSU, for instance, had called the deal an act of “treason” on the part of Ms Arroyo. “While to date the evidence of a connection between the seismic deal and official corruption appears circumstantial, the new depths being plumbed by this ‘debate’ are reason enough to be concerned,” he said. Fix the system But Lohman said Ms Arroyo deserved a fair hearing “if for no other reason than that she is the duly elected President. If not guilty of treason, (her) government may yet garner enough trust among the Filipino elite to put the controversy behind it.” If the President’s critics have sensed that the impeachment process has itself become “too corrupt to render an accurate judgment, the answer does not lie in appeal to extra-constitutional means, but in a concerted effort to fix the system, however difficult and lengthy it may be,” Lohman said. Calling the Philippines a “natural American ally,” Lohman said that “from the perspective of a concerned friend, it would be far more preferable for the President to finish her term in office—even under a cloud of suspicion—than for the Constitution to be breached.” He said that the United States “should help (the Philippines) avert what has the potential to become a major constitutional crisis.” The United States should hold up a mirror to the Philippines, Lohman said. “The US does its Filipino friends no good by pretending corruption is any less than a cancer eating away at its body politic … Above all, the US must be crystal clear that it supports the constitutional order in the Philippines,” he said. Malacañang Monday said it agreed with the US government that the NBN-ZTE controversy had not affected Philippine-US ties, as observed by the Heritage Foundation. “As far as we know, this alleged effect on the US government has been denied by the US ambassador herself and I guess that’s reasonable stand to make,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye told reporters. “We agree with the stand of the US ambassador that this has not affected our relations,” Bunye said. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño |
| "To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz | |
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| israeli | Mar 18 2008, 02:13 PM Post #132 |
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RP might lose waters if baseline law not amended--DFA By Veronica Uy INQUIRER.net First Posted 13:07:00 03/18/2008 MANILA, Philippines -- Congress should pass a measure that will amend its old baseline laws and allow the country to conform to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a paper on UNCLOS obtained by INQUIRER.net. If there will be no amendments to the law, there is a possibility that these bodies of water between the Philippines’ islands will be considered high seas, the same paper said. The amendment of Republic Act 3046 is "the first and most urgent step that the Philippines must take to put its archipelagic house in order," the paper said. UNCLOS has "potentially" extended the Philippines an additional area of water of about 93 million hectares; it also gave the country "entitlements to maritime jurisdictions five times more water than land," it said. "Yet, these potential economic benefits could not be fully realized unless and until our archipelagic house is put into order," the paper said. The Philippines ratified UNCLOS in 1985 -- two years after the convention went into force. "The amendment of these laws and then establishment of a new baseline system consistent with the Convention on the Law of the Sea is very basic, essential, and critical as this is the starting point for the determination of the outward limits of our various territorial and jurisdictional zones," the paper said. "Without these amendments, doubts will continue to linger that pockets of high seas exist between islands in the Philippine archipelago," it stressed. DFA undersecretary for policy Enrique Manalo, in an interview, explained that without the amendments, the three-mile rule would prevail and non-Filipinos could fish in and explore the waters outside the three-mile limit from the shores of Philippine islands. "The waters between Cebu and Negros, the waters between Mindanao and the Visayas, they can be considered high seas, and anyone can claim right of passage without a law on our official baselines…Di sila pwedeng tabuyin [We cannot drive them away]," he said. Manalo urged the enactment of the baseline law before the May 2009 deadline. "Otherwise, nothing will be recognized as our official baseline. We have to indicate our baselines and communicate these to all," he said. |
| "To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz | |
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| flipzi | Mar 18 2008, 06:04 PM Post #133 |
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SECURE OUR RIGHTS FIRST by solidifying our claim with that law. Then let's negotiate about the conflicting interests with other claimants later on in another forum. Let's not be too soft on this, BECAUSE THE OTHER CLAIMANTS NEVER DID AND WILL NEVER BE. Tatanga nga yung past leaderships. Pinahina kasi Armed Forces. Kung ako lang yung leader nung nilusob ng Vietnamese yung Pugad Island, binomba ko na yun kasi tayo naman nauna dun eh. Mahirap kasi pag duwag ka masyado sa kalaban. Gagagaguhin ka lang. Tignan mo China. Sabi ng sabi ng peace pero sinasaksak tayo sa likuran. Look at China. They talk peace but they stab us in the back. What they did in Mischief Reef is a clear example of that behavior Dapat maging matigas ka minsan dahil pag naramdaman ng kalaban na mahina ka ay lalo kang paglalaruan. In short, HUWAG MAGPAKATANGA AT MAGING DUWAG! Else, mauulit ang kaso ng sa Pugad Island at Mischief Reef. BTW, yung paranoai na sasakupin tayo ng China ay malaking kalokohan yun. Maaari lang nilang gawin ay banatan pwersa natin sa Palawan area habang nakikipagbakbakan tayo para mabawi Spratly's. Nonetheless, the Spratly's is worth the fight. China is just taking advantage of our very weak military. China does not own the South China Sea. They just put it as if it is since the other claimants are weak militarily. Look? China is a thousand miles far from Spratly's. So is Taiwan. Vietnam is too far as well. While us, .. the area is within our 200 nautical mile EEZ. But because we either allow them or cant do about it, we simply let them do this to us. This has to stop. We have to confront them in any way possible. We should now modernize our military and start reasserting our sovereignty over the "whole" Kalayaan Islands. Imagine yung China at Taiwan ay libong milya layo pero inaangkin nila? Ganun din si Vietnam. Samantalang tayo, .. BAKURAN NATIN MISMO. Mga sobrang mahina lang sa estratehiya mga nagdedesisyun nuon. Puro kasi pagnanakaw sa pera ng bayan pinagplaplanuhan ng magandang stratehiya. tsk tsk tsk. Yung nagsasabi ng walang pera ang bansa para ayusin ang military ay mali. May pera po ang bansa. Ang problema sa paglalaanan na mananakawan nila ibinubuhos ang mga pondong ito. Okay. Sana nga po mali ako. Sana nga. Dalangin ko lang. Anyway, let's think about this sugestions. 1) Solidify our claim by approving the amendments to the baseline laws, which makes it clearly include the Spratly's and other islets and shoals like the Scarborough shoal. 2) Modernize our military to prevent the repeat of the Mishicef Reef and Pugad Island takeovers . 3) Negotiate with China for the joint use of the facility they set up in the Mischief Reef. This is for security reasons . The structure in Mischief Reef is the closest Chinese presence in Palawan. The structure COMPLETES THE LINE OF CHINESE PRESENCE THAT ENCIRCLES THE SPRATLY'S. 4) Negotiate for the return of the Pugad Island or break economic ties with Vietnam until they give Pugad Island back to us. Military option is also not out of the question. 5) Bring the matter to the UN to solve all other issues on overlapping claims. ... China can shove the rest of the South China Sea, including the earthquakes and all the sunken vessels deep down there, up its ass. What's wrong with China? Are they still not satisfied with having Tibet, the Paracels and Hong Kong and Taiwan? What greed. |
![]() " Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them! - Art. II Sec 1, Philippine Constitution " " People don't care what we know until they know we care. " getflipzi@yahoo.com | |
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| israeli | Mar 19 2008, 04:44 PM Post #134 |
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now, some ----- in the DFA is blaming the US for all the controversy surrounding the NBN-ZTE deal, the Spratlys issue, etc. i presume that this lady "diplomat" is a ChiCom sales person. ![]() DFA OFFICIAL SAYS Linking NBN to Spratlys deal threatens RP-China relations By Veronica Uy INQUIRER.net First Posted 16:17:00 03/19/2008 MANILA, Philippines -- The country’s relations with China are “in serious jeopardy” because of the "unsubstantiated" linking of bilateral agreements with the emerging economic giant are being linked to the alleged corruption in the $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal with China's ZTE Corp. This was revealed by a senior official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), who asked not to be named as she is not authorized to speak on the matter, who also blamed the United States, a major economic rival of China, for “fueling” the controversy over China-related agreements and issues. The senior Filipino diplomat insisted that the NBN controversy is not in anyway linked with the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) or even the dispute over the Spratlys, as both have been the subject of continuing diplomatic reviews over the past 10 years. "We are putting our diplomatic relations with China in serious jeopardy because the ZTE investigation is being linked to the JMSU. The Chinese government is now raising protest on the way we handle the matter," she said. "The US has been wanting to be involved in the oil exploration in the South China Sea but the Philippines has already agreed to undertake this with China," the diplomat explained. The senior diplomat also blames the public’s eroding trust in the Arroyo administration for compounding the problem. “The problem is the Arroyo administration has lost its credibility to govern and anything it does now is being viewed with distrust,” she said. On the other hand, another DFA official privy to the negotiations on the JMSU said the so-called Spratlys deal, the tripartite agreement with China and Vietnam for the joint seismic survey, was separately negotiated from the economic agreements with China like North Rail and the NBN project. The official explained that even as the Philippine National Oil Company signed the agreement with its counterparts in China and Vietnam, the JMSU was internally discussed by an interagency team that includes officials from the DFA, National Security Council, Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice. The JMSU was signed by the national oil companies of Philippines, China, and Vietnam in September 2005 as part of the confidence-building measures of claimant countries to the Spratly islands, she said. The diplomat recalled that the interagency teams held several meetings at the DFA to discuss the JMSU "because we were going to break new ground in regional diplomacy but we had to make sure it was aboveboard." |
| "To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz | |
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| flipzi | Mar 23 2008, 04:35 PM Post #135 |
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Threatened? It's been in that status since the big bully invaded the Mischief Reef!!! IT'S CHINA'S FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE. |
![]() " Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them! - Art. II Sec 1, Philippine Constitution " " People don't care what we know until they know we care. " getflipzi@yahoo.com | |
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| flipzi | Mar 24 2008, 02:52 PM Post #136 |
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Arroyo neglect, gov't infighting jeopardize RP's territorial claim VERA Files 03/24/2008 | 01:56 PM (First of two parts) MANILA, Philippines - Neglect by President Gloria Arroyo and squabbles over turf and money have derailed government efforts to establish the country's new archipelagic baseline, and may jeopardize the Philippines' claim over resource-rich Spratlys that fall within its extended continental shelf. With a year left before the May 13, 2009 deadline for filing its claim for an extended continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Philippines is nowhere near completing the studies, surveys and report required to bolster the country’s claim over its extended territory. The UNCLOS, which the Philippines ratified 14 years ago, requires coastal states to declare their extended continental shelf, which is the underwater extension of the land. In Congress, lawmakers are debating a redefined archipelagic baseline bill. Although there is no deadline to the filing of a country's archipelagic baseline with the UN, it is, however, going to be the basis for measuring all maritime regimes or zones: territorial sea (12 nautical miles from the baseline), contiguous zone (24 nm), economic exclusive zone (200 nm), continental shelf (200 nm) and extended continental shelf (350 nm). The drafting of the country's claim under the UNCLOS is a tale of infighting among agencies wanting to take the lead and subsequently controlling the billions of pesos of government fund for that undertaking, including a $250,000 grant from the Norwegian government. It is also a story of President Arroyo’s failure to give importance to the complicated tasks involved (such as marine hydrographic, gravity and magnetic surveys and studies) to come up with data required in drafting territorial baseline despite the urgency of a May 2009 deadline. In 2001, President Arroyo abolished the Cabinet Committee on the Treaty on the Law of the Sea, created under Ferdinand Marcos and maintained by the three succeeding presidents – Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, and Joseph Estrada. Arroyo replaced it with the mid-level Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center (MOAC), which was just a unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) then headed by Assistant Secretary Alberto Encomienda. It was only in March 2007, after six years, that Arroyo restored the issue as a Cabinet-level concern when she issued Executive Order 612 creating the Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs (CMOA) under the Office of the President. The CMOA is to be chaired by the Executive Secretary with the Justice Secretary and Foreign Affairs Secretary as vice chairs. The initial members were the departments of national defense, environment and natural resources, budget and management, transportation and communications, tourism, trade and industry, National Security Council, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, National Mapping and Resources Information Authority (NAMRIA), and the Philippine Coast Guard. Arroyo designated the Department of Foreign Affairs as the lead agency and secretariat of the CMOA. She also committed a major oversight: she excluded from the EO creating CMOA the Department of Energy, which had been involved in doing scientific studies on the country's continental shelf with other agencies. It took nine months for Arroyo to correct the lapse. On Dec. 17, 2007, she issued EO 612-A including DOE in the CMOA "in order (for it) to be able to fully contribute its knowledge and expertise" in the preparation of the country's claim for extended continental shelf. Outside the Palace, however, there were other initiatives toward complying with the UN requirement. In 2001, the University of the Philippines, through its National Institute of Geological Sciences and the UP Law Center's Institute of International Legal Studies, undertook a project, "Delineation of the Outer Limits of the Philippine Continental Shelf," with the DOE, NAMRIA and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. UP law professor Harry Roque, an international law expert, recalled the confusion on who was to take the lead in this project. Foreign affairs officials wanted the DFA to lead because it was in charge of submitting the claim to the UN. DENR said they should take the lead because the project involves natural resources and NAMRIA is its line agency. The NSC also got into the picture, citing security considerations. In the end, the project proposed an executive order creating an interagency national committee with the president or vice president as chair and the DFA and DENR as vice chairs. When the UP-led project ended months later, Arroyo had not created any such committee. In the case of MOAC, interagency coordination was saddled by its not being Cabinet level; thus, no policy decisions could be made. To be fair, Encomienda presented updates on the project before the Cabinet cluster on security attended by President Arroyo. There were also personality differences among MOAC members. Some did not regard highly the entry of a retired police general, Dionisio Ventura, as head of NAMRIA, while others resented what they said was Encomienda's "soliloquy" during meetings. Worse, some agencies refused to share data with MOAC. Bureaucratic wrangling also marred baseline-related activities of the past administrations. During the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos, interagency power play derailed a project that would have strengthened the Philippine position to include a portion of the disputed Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) within the Philippine archipelagic baseline. The KIG is part of Spratlys. Documents obtained by Vera Files showed that as early as 1994, Ramos ordered various agencies to work together on projects to redefine the country's archipelagic baseline. In mid-1994, then NAMRIA administrator Jose Solis (now congressman of Sorsogon) sought financial assistance from then Energy Secretary Delfin Lazaro for the building of lighthouses on three islets in the KIG: Nares Reef, Recto Bank or Marie Louise Reef, and Sea Horse Bank. This was about the time that the Chinese were starting to occupy Mischief Reef in the KIG, which is only 135 nautical miles away from the Philippine baseline. Lazaro supported the lighthouses project and sought Ramos’ approval to draw funds from the DOE's Special Account. In a memo to Ramos, Lazaro cited possible international complications and risks of the lighthouse project: "While this project will be beneficial to the Philippines in terms of expanding available area not only for petroleum exploration but for other natural resources as well and that the lighthouses will also be important navigational aids, we wish to point out that actual construction of the lighthouse could provoke international protests from other countries (such as China and Vietnam) including possible physical stoppage of the work by their navies." Lazaro’s request for a go-signal got stalled in Malacanang. His successor, Francisco Viray, pursued the lighthouse project. In a memo to Ramos dated Dec. 12, 1994, Viray said: "Once established, these lighthouses will serve as legal basis in determining the new baseline. Other countries are doing the same things to fortify their territorial claims." Viray said the presence of lighthouses would reinforce the country’s claim over the Reed Bank. A lighthouse would have qualified Reed Bank, which is within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone, to be part of the archipelagic baseline. This would increase Philippine archipelagic waters within the baseline by 11,042 square nautical miles or 7,750,000 hectares. Documents obtained by Vera Files showed that on Feb. 15, 1995, Ramos finally approved the release of P178-million for the mapping, survey, and construction of lighthouses in the KIG. He instructed the DOE to supply the funds, and the NAMRIA to supervise the design and construction of the lighthouse as well as the coordinates of the benchmarks identifying the territorial limits based on the 200-nautical mile EEZ. Formal public bidding was waived "in view of the urgency and confidentiality of the project." But soon after the funding was approved, Ramos himself revoked NAMRIA's authority to oversee the project and transferred it to the Philippine Navy upon the recommendation of Defense Secretary Renato de Villa. This led Solis to complain: "The NAMRIA has been religiously working for the immediate implementation of the KIG project. I would like to inform the Executive Secretary that when there were still no available funds for the project, it was the NAMRIA which did all the work to convince the funding agency to support the project. However, when the funding was approved and the authority was given to the NAMRIA, the Cabinet made a decision to transfer the project to the Philippine Navy." For one reason or another, the KIG lighthouses never got built—and the Philippines has lost its chance to build them. In 2002, the Arroyo government signed the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that bans construction of new structures on uninhabited islands in the disputed areas. Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines are claiming wholly or partially about 160 islands in the South China Sea. A number of baseline and continental shelf legislations have been filed in both chambers of Congress. In the Senate, Sen. Leticia Shahani filed such a bill in 1993. A proposed baseline law authored by detained senator Antonio Trillanes IV is pending in the 14th Congress. The bill seeks to amend existing baseline to include Scarborough Shoal and treating the KIG as a regime of islands to conform to the criteria set by UNCLOS. In the House of Representatives, Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco's bill has been returned to the committee level after reaching second reading last December. There were earlier initiatives in the House by then representative and now senator Francis Escudero and Rep. Gerry Salapuddin. "The project was stalled due to lack of available funds," Salapuddin said back then. Indeed, it is the government's failure to provide the money that has slowed down projects needed to revised the baseline law and identify the extended continental shelf. After receiving an initial P50 million funding last year, CMOA is getting only P10 million in the 2008 budget. It also took Malacanang five years to include the budget needed for the extended continental shelf project. A source privy to the project said NAMRIA had initially estimated that P10 billion would be needed for the scientific and technical surveys. Deputy Executive Secretary for Legislative Liaison Jake Lagonera balked, saying, "Masyado yatang malaki 'yan (That's too much)." Indonesia had spent about $100 million for its project. But MOAC had said about P500 million would be enough for the extended continental shelf project. The source said the Palace also found NAMRIA'S second proposal, totalling P2.9 billion, on the high side. It finally approved a P1.7 billion funding to be released over several years. The Arroyo administration's last-minute effort to meet the May 2009 deadline is reflected in NAMRIA's P 1.2 billion budget for this year. For the first time, it is getting a P380 million allotment for the extended continental shelf delimitation project on top of the P547 million for its regular mapping and remote sensing activities. - Ellen Tordesillas, Chit Estella, Luz Rimban, Booma Cruz, Yvonne Chua and Jennifer Santiago, VERA Files http://www.gmanews.tv/story/85939/Arroyo-n...rritorial-claim I agree that developing Kalayaan Islands would solidify our claim on the islands. 1) Lighthouses 2) Piers 3) Fisherman's shelters. 4) Soldiers quarters 5) Bantay-Dagat/DENR/NAMRIA/LGU offices. Last but not the least.... 300-foot FLAGPOLES that will flaunt our flags for everyone to see, including the Vietcongs and the Chicoms.
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![]() " Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them! - Art. II Sec 1, Philippine Constitution " " People don't care what we know until they know we care. " getflipzi@yahoo.com | |
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| flipzi | Mar 25 2008, 02:56 PM Post #137 |
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![]() AFP Chief Geneal Hermoenes Esperon Jr., is welcomed on Pagasa Island by the detachment commander, Navy Lieutenant Noel Cadigal. INQUIRER.NET/JOEL GUINTO Troops monitoring JMSU through satellite TV Local officials backing agreement By Joel Guinto INQUIRER.net First Posted 08:45:00 03/25/2008 PAG-ASA ISLAND, Spratlys – Troops in this disputed island chain in the South China Sea are aware of allegations that the government has softened on its claim to reportedly oil-rich islands, but they have not let the controversy affect their work, their commander said. "It is beyond us. We're just here to do our mission," said Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Noel Cadigal, the detachment commander in this island, the largest of the eight islands occupied by the military, and where majority of the 60 troops deployed to the Spratlys are stationed. Cadigal said troops were monitoring the controversial Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) of the Philippines, China, and Vietnam through satellite television. "They are talking about that in the military leadership, they are more knowledgeable of the JMSU than us," Cadigal told reporters here, adding, "We're just here for our mission." The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, General Hermogenes Esperon Jr., visited Pag-asa Island late Monday afternoon and brought a satellite communications system and several food supplies. "I came here to see to it that those things are functioning and the boys of Lieutenant Cadigal are doing their job," he said in a separate interview. Opposition lawmakers are seeking an investigation into allegations that with the JMSU, the Philippines softened its claim on the Spratlys, in favor of China, in exchange for a multi-million-dollar loan package. Aside from the Philippines, Vietnam, and China, the Spratlys are also being claimed in part or in whole by Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.Asked what his message to troops in the Spratlys was, in light of the JMSU controversy, Esperon said: "Ours is to defend territorial integrity. Your soldiers here, no matter how few we are, no matter how incomplete our equipment are, we will do our job with what we have." The first phase of the JMSU will end by the middle of the year and the Department of Energy is studying whether or not the country would renew the agreement for its second phase. Local officials meanwhile expressed support for the JMSU. "I welcome that move, that we should have the JMSU, why? Because I see that this will open the gates for us to really know the resources we have here," said Kalayaan town mayor Rosendo Mantes. "We are in full support of the endeavors and programs of the municipal government, in fact I think that is an advantage that we should really exploit," said acting Palawan governor David Ponce de Leon. Mantes and De Leon accompanied Esperon in his visit to Pag-asa island. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/...gh-satellite-TV
DONT BE TOO COMPLACENT, GEN ESPERON. ![]() IT REQUIRES MORE THAN GUTS AND COURAGE to solve this problem. OUR MILITARY NEEDS THE NEEDED WEAPONS TO ASSERT OUR RIGHTS. It's about time we modernize the Air Force and Navy assets so that in any eventuality, we can somehow contain the bloodshed if we cant win the war. Nonetheless, a GOOD MOVE on that "much-needed" visit!
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![]() " Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them! - Art. II Sec 1, Philippine Constitution " " People don't care what we know until they know we care. " getflipzi@yahoo.com | |
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| flipzi | Mar 25 2008, 03:01 PM Post #138 |
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Military sets up satellite link to troops in Pag-asa island Esperon: Not violative of Code of Conduct By Joel Guinto INQUIRER.net First Posted 08:18:00 03/25/2008 PAG-ASA ISLAND, Spratlys – The military has set up a satellite communications system here, the largest island occupied by Filipino troops in this disputed and reportedly oil-rich island chain in the South China Sea. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, General Hermogenes Esperon Jr., said the installation of the VSAT, or very small aperture terminal, was for "command and control" of troops and did not violate the Code of Conduct among claimant countries to the Spratlys. The Code of Conduct, signed by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei, prevents the building up of military forces in the island chain. With the VSAT system, Esperon said military general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo will have a direct satellite link to troops in Pag-asa island, and seven other islands where Filipino troops are stationed. "Communications, information is very important, as we all know, that's why we have the VSAT," he told reporters. The military chief said the VSAT system would not be used for intelligence gathering in the Spratlys. "It's simply for command and control," he said. Asked if the AFP's move was in violation of the Code of Conduct, Esperon said: "Not at all. Setting up communications [equipment] is not a violation." Only one mobile telephone service is available in Pag-asa Island, and is available only from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. due to limited electricity supply. Aside from the VSAT, Esperon also brought sacks of rice, DVD movies, and a brand new television set for troops here. Around 60 soldiers are stationed on eight islands in the Spratlys, which the Philippines has named the Kalayaan Group of Islands, majority of which are in Pag-asa Island. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/...-Pag-asa-island |
![]() " Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them! - Art. II Sec 1, Philippine Constitution " " People don't care what we know until they know we care. " getflipzi@yahoo.com | |
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| flipzi | Mar 25 2008, 03:04 PM Post #139 |
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R-A-T-S
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on the lighter side, the Gloria Arroyo leadership got another breather space after the Holy Week and all. Indeed,.. a one lucky....... hmmmmmm... ahhhhhh.... President. ![]() Imbes na makabukol yung Spratly ay nakaluwag pa. God knows why. Peace muna. Oh well. At least the NBN deal is junked and the culprits got the needed slap with the barrage of criticisms. |
![]() " Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them! - Art. II Sec 1, Philippine Constitution " " People don't care what we know until they know we care. " getflipzi@yahoo.com | |
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| Fmr TOPP Awardee 82'PNP | Mar 26 2008, 06:19 AM Post #140 |
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PDFF Moderator
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Mrs. Arroyo's Spratleys Marine Seismic Survey Agreement with China is a breach of the constitutional guarantee protecting our national treasure and resources. The so-called Marine Seismic Survey is an integral part of hydrocarbon exploration. It violates the constitution and entering into an agreement to execute the scheme is an impeachable offense. |
![]() "GUILTY CONSCIENCE NEEDS NO ACCUSER" | |
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