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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 (156,117 Views) | |
| israeli | May 25 2006, 12:47 AM Post #71 |
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comrade Marschall: the Tigers and Albatroses (although four of the ships are still left in German hands) have long been gone. we Filipinos should set our eyes on those ten Gepard class missile boats that are to be retired from service in the very near future. |
| "To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz | |
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| Marschall | May 25 2006, 03:53 AM Post #72 |
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I see. Thanks for the info. Maybe we could also get our hands on ex-german Tornadoes or F-4 Phantoms. |
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"THE BEST PARENT AND GUARDIAN OF LIBERTY AMONGST MEN IS TRUTH" ~ Pope Leo XIII, Immortale Dei “When learned men begin to use their reason, then I generally discover that they haven’t got any.” - G. K. Chesterton MSantor is not a man of sound reason. Savages have always preferred the club for they know that they are powerless against the pen. But who is the greater fool - the savage or the one that gives him power? May Truth rebuke you. | |
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| Fmr TOPP Awardee 82'PNP | May 25 2006, 06:17 AM Post #73 |
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PDFF Moderator
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That was only a word because there is no conflict yet. It is bit of a normal diplomatic ploy just not to pour hot water into the issue. In politics "yes or no " is nothing only the inevitable is predictable. |
![]() "GUILTY CONSCIENCE NEEDS NO ACCUSER" | |
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| israeli | Jun 26 2006, 02:18 AM Post #74 |
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![]() -- Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga tests the waters around Pagasa island during a weekend tour of its facilities and various development projects being implemented by the military’s Western Command. Photo By James Mananghaya RP to beef up Spratlys presence By Anthony Vargas, Reporter Monday, June 26, 2006 PAG-ASA ISLAND, Kalayaan Group of Islands: The military plans to increase its presence in this disputed chain of islets to protect the country’s interests. The Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Generoso Senga, divulged the plan Saturday after visiting military forces stationed on this island at the southern tip of the South China Sea, some 300 miles east of Palawan. “This is our last frontier. We just cannot let it go. We just want to be sure that we are protecting our interest as far as Kalayaan Islands is concerned,” Senga said. Accompanying him to Pag-asa were top military officials and journalists. Senga said he intends to first use the area as a training ground for specialized troops like the Naval Special Operations Group (Navsog). “For special skills of Navsog we can hold training, but as a general training [ground] its too far. We have more other feasible training area,” Senga said. The Navsog, which is the Philippine counterpart of the US Navy Seal, is used in battling Islamic militants and renegade Muslim rebels in Mindanao. The 34-hectare Pag-asa is the largest island being occupied by Philippine troops in the Spratly chain. It has an airstrip that can accommodate a C-130 cargo plane. Senga said that funds to improve the island’s beaching have been released and once the beaching is completed, this tiny island can accommodate huge navy vessels. At the other side of the island lies the BRP Benguet, a Navy landing ship that ran aground on December 2, 2004, while delivering supplies to troops on the island. The Spratlys, which is believed to be rich in mineral deposits, are being claimed by the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan. “As of now we don’t have too many problems here because we are following a code of conduct,” Senga said. In 2002 the claimant countries in 2002 agreed to a code that calls for diplomacy in settling issues or problems involving the Spratlys. Pag-asa is about 90 minutes by plane from Manila or a two-and-a-half-day boat ride from Puerto Princesa City. “We want to look into their morale, problems or our people if there are and I’m happy to note that our troops [stationed] here are on a high morale,” Senga said. Senga was accompanied by Vice Adm. Tirso Danga, the AFP’s Western Command chief, and several other military and police officials. After Pag-asa, Senga proceeded to Wescom headquarters in Puerto Princesa where he was briefed on the military campaign against communist rebels in the area. |
| "To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz | |
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| spearhead | Jun 26 2006, 05:04 AM Post #75 |
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DoctorNO, Your Neutral Observer.
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sounds good!
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"Men of War must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to array his troops." - Plato![]() ![]() | |
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| Marschall | Jun 26 2006, 06:43 AM Post #76 |
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Are tehy just planning to station some more troops there or provide them some equipments as well? |
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"THE BEST PARENT AND GUARDIAN OF LIBERTY AMONGST MEN IS TRUTH" ~ Pope Leo XIII, Immortale Dei “When learned men begin to use their reason, then I generally discover that they haven’t got any.” - G. K. Chesterton MSantor is not a man of sound reason. Savages have always preferred the club for they know that they are powerless against the pen. But who is the greater fool - the savage or the one that gives him power? May Truth rebuke you. | |
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| israeli | Jun 26 2006, 09:25 PM Post #77 |
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http://globalnation.inq7.net/news/breaking...article_id=6678 Lone cop keeps Spratly village safe By Joel Francis Guinto Last updated 05:43pm (Mla time) 06/26/2006 PAG-ASA ISLAND -- Police Officer 2 Allan Remojo had single-handedly achieved what no ranking police official could do -- keep his area of jurisdiction free of crime. For five months in this island village in the disputed Spratly islands, the only report on the police blotter was for alarm and scandal, which was not even counted on the Philippine National Police (PNP) crime index. Remojo is the only policeman in this 34-hectare island with a civilian population of 23. His police station is a nipa hut. At night, he patrols the island with two barangay tanods [village guards]. "The only report is for alarm and scandal, one villager got drunk and made a scene," Remojo told reporters. When asked if petty crimes such as snatching had been reported since his assignment here in February, Remojo said: "No." Senior Superintendent Elpidio de Asis Jr., Palawan provincial police commander, said four policemen would take turns manning the Pag-asa village police station. "Eventually, we will bring in some more policemen here," De Asis said in a separate interview. Military officials refused to reveal how many soldiers were stationed in the island for security reasons. Of the 53 islands in the Kalayaan chain, Pag-asa is the only one with an airstrip, which is not even concretized. Landing on the island is rough. Some soldiers and reporters aboard the cargo section of a C-130 plane almost fell from their seats when the aircraft touched down before noon Saturday. Military Chief General Generoso Senga and his family were on the same plane, seated on the VIP section of the aircraft. He was in Pag-asa Island to check on the morale of the troops and to bid them farewell. He will retire on July 21. From Puerto Princesa City in Palawan province, it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to reach Pag-asa Island. By boat, it takes two days. There is only one mobile phone service provider in the island, but when Senga and his party were there Saturday, there was no signal. Residents said however that the cell site was not damaged. The Chief of Staff visits the island at least once a year. Every two months, a Navy ship docks to bring supplies such as fuel. In the morning, residents get their electricity from generators from the Kalayaan municipal government and the Navy. A solar power plant lights up the village at night with energy collected during the day. Beaches with powdery white sand surround the island. To get to the area where fishermen set sail, one coming from the village proper has to maneuver through a trail filled with trees and shrubs. On the opposite end of the island, Senga said plans were underway to build a “beaching area” or docking site for Navy ships. A Navy ship, damaged when it attempted to dock sometime in 2004, had remained there. Senga said the ship would be sold as scrap metal after Navy mechanics had salvaged all its possible spare parts. * so, BRP Benguet will be scrapped by the Navy? what if we just turn the ship into a bunker similar to the BRP Sierra Madre? there you have it... a solar power plant powers Pagasa Island.
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| "To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz | |
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| flipzi | Jun 26 2006, 10:06 PM Post #78 |
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R-A-T-S
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This is great! The AFP is taking a proactive step in protecting our interest in the Spratly's. I suggest that the AFP sets up a monitoring station facility similar to the one that the Navy has put up in Mindanao lately. I wish Gen. Senga's term will be extended. He's been showing great performance as a top-ranked military leader. |
![]() " 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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| spiderweb6969 | Jun 26 2006, 10:32 PM Post #79 |
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| israeli | Feb 27 2008, 07:48 PM Post #80 |
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Manila may lose Spratlys by default By Othel V. Campos Manila Standard, Feb 26, 2008 The Philippines will lose its claim on Kalayaan Islands (Spratlys) and other Extended Continental Shelf areas if it fails to enact a law formalizing its claim on these areas. That was the warning Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap raised yesterday as he pointed out that the United Nations has set a May 2009 deadline for filing such claims. “Congress has to pass soon enough a new legislation redefining the Philippines’ Archipelagic Baselines to establish the standard 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and stave off the ‘disastrous consequence’ of the loss of the country’s territorial claim over such ECS areas as the Kalayaan Island Group and Benham Rise.” Alongside the fishery resources, which are the primary concern of the Department of Agriculture, Yap said these areas at stake have vast deposits of mineral resources such as nickel and gold along with raw materials used for pharmaceutical products. “These areas will either become part of the International Seabed Area—the so-called Common Heritage of Mankind—or be awarded to neighboring states that are similarly contesting jurisdiction over them,” lamented Yap . There is a pending measure authored by Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco—House Bill 3216—seeking to redefine the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines by amending Republic Act 3046 and RA 5446, the laws defining the Philippines’ maritime borders. But this proposal is not related to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on every country’s archipelagic baselines. Fisheries and Aquatic Resources bureau Chief Malcolm Sarmiento said that the National Tuna Industry Council raised this issue during a day-long session attended by over 500 agriculture and fisheries stakeholders at the Great Eastern Hotel in Quezon City. Sarmiento said that following UNCLOS’ adoption in 1982 and its ratification two years later, the Philippines signed this international accord establishing a comprehensive framework for the use of all ocean space and determining the maritime boundaries for every coastal state. Each state is authorized under this UN accord to explore and use resources of its continental shelf and adjacent seabed up to 200 miles from its shore, Sarmiento said. In cases where the margins exceed 200 miles from the baselines, these states can assert their respective claims to these ECS areas, he added. He said the deadline for filing such ECS claims expires on May 13 next year because the UNCLOS requires the affected states to submit their supporting scientific and technical data, maps and other pertinent documents within 10 years from May 13, 1999. “The Philippines has to make a formal claim on the ECS areas such as the Benham Rise and the Kalayaan Island Group because these are beyond the 200-nauticial mile border set by UNCLOS,” he said. An amendatory law is needed, added Sarmiento, because the Philippines’ existing baselines, as defined by RA 3046 and amended by RA 5446, are not in accordance with the parameters set by this UN accord. The Department of Foreign Affairs has long been lobbying Congress to pass HB 3216, and that the Philippine Tuna Council and BFAR have expressed their concern over this issue in a joint resolution adopted in April 2007. |
| "To secure peace is to prepare for war." - Carl Von Clausewitz | |
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8:32 AM Jul 11