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Near our waters; PLAN vs USN
Topic Started: Jun 28 2008, 08:06 AM (7,235 Views)
Dreamrider
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:demon: so as not anger Sen. Biazon and the leftists groups....

source

By Juliet Labog-Javellana
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Visayas Bureau
First Posted 01:46:00 06/28/2008


NEW YORK (VIA PLDT)--Amid criticisms from Filipino militants, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan will keep out of Philippine territory and merely stay "at the edge" of its waters, President Macapagal-Arroyo said here.

In a speech to the Filipino community on Wednesday at the Hilton Hotel ballroom, Ms Arroyo thanked the United States for sending the carrier to help victims of Typhoon "Frank" in the Philippines.

"Kaya lang may taga-ating nagbatikos na naman. May nuclear weapons daw ang aircraft carrier, kaya bawal raw pumunta sa Pilipinas. Para na lamang iwasan ang intriga, mananatili na lang ito sa dulo ng territorial waters ng Pilipinas," Ms Arroyo said.

(But there are those who are criticizing it. Supposedly the aircraft carrier is carrying nuclear weapons so it is barred from going to the Philippines. To avoid controversies, it will just stay at the edge of the territorial waters of the Philippines).

Asked about the specific location of the Ronald Reagan, the spokesperson of the US Embassy in Manila, Rebecca Thompson, said in a text message Friday: "Still in Sulu Sea, international waters."

In the past, US officials were not known to disclose the locations of their Navy ships.

Statements from military spokespersons in Western Visayas, also issued Friday, appeared to clash with the official pronouncements. They said in separate telephone interviews that the Ronald Reagan was near Panay Island.

Lt. Col. David Tan, public information officer of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, Friday said the aircraft carrier was around 50 km off the coast of northwest Panay, near the boundary of Antique and Aklan provinces.

Capt. Lowen Gil Marquez, chief of the 32nd Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Western Visayas, said the warship was "between 50 to 100 km west northwest of Panay."

Marquez said the vessel arrived around 2 p.m. Wednesday but was not able to go near Iloilo because of the shallow waters.

A good ally

In a report on Thursday, the British Reuters news agency said the carrier was "moored several miles off Panay island."

There was no immediate official explanation for the apparent disparities.

In her speech, Ms Arroyo recalled that after their White House meeting on Tuesday, President George W. Bush had dispatched the Ronald Reagan to help in the search and rescue of typhoon victims and the distribution of relief goods.

The carrier has about 6,000 sailors aboard.

"They sent the newest and largest Nimitz aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, the cruiser USS Chancellorsville, the destroyers USS Decatur, USS Gridley, and USS Howard, the frigate USS Thach, and other supporting vessels, not to mention the aircraft on top of the carrier, to assist in transporting cargo, aerial damage assessment, search-and-rescue, production and delivery of potable water, medical assistance, and machinery repair," Ms Arroyo said. "That is what a good friend and ally does."

Ms Arroyo told reporters earlier that the US vessels would be around for as long as they were needed.

Opposition Sen. Rodolfo Biazon had questioned the deployment of an aircraft carrier to help typhoon victims.

"An aircraft carrier is not designed for salvage. The USS Ronald Reagan is a strategic and combat vessel whose main assets are aircraft, F-18s. What will the F-18s do for the recovery [efforts]?" Biazon had asked.

Suspicions

Leftist groups in the Philippines were suspicious about the decision to send the battleship group to the typhoon-battered country.

They claimed it was meant to show military powers in Asia, like China and North Korea, that the United States was capable of rapidly deploying its military forces in the Asian region at any given time to counter any threat to US military supremacy.

"How sure is Malacaņang that there will be no nuclear weapons inside Ronald Reagan?" Fernando Hicap of the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya asked.

The Philippine Constitution bars the presence of nuclear weapons in the country. It makes no explicit statement about nuclear-powered vessels.

The US Embassy has said that the carrier group will support rescue, recovery, relief efforts being carried out by Philippine authorities in the wake of the typhoon.
Ms Arroyo's 10-day US visit ends on Saturday. She is expected to return to Manila on June 30.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said that Ms Arroyo would fly to typhoon-ravaged Iloilo a day after her arrival to assess the disaster situation.
With a report from Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas
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adrian_yamato
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people who criticised the carrier's presence should shut thier mouths off :fire:
buti pang may tumutulong: e sila kaya ang gumawa? kaysa pumutak ng pumutak na parang puwet ng manok!
"There's only one Government, one Armed Forces, one Contitution, & one Filipino people"

-word of then Gen. Angelo T. Reyes during the Mindanao war against the MILF & Abu Sayaff-

"The Army is like a cooked Spaggetti, You can't push it, you have to pull it after you"

-Gen George S. Patton-
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Dreamrider
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USS Ronald Reagan Sailor Returns to Devastated Home, Assists Typhoon Victims

navy compass

By Lt. Ron Flanders, Carrier Strike Group 7 Public Affairs

ILOILO, Republic of the Philippines (NNS) -- A USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Sailor, Storekeeper Seaman Grace Geroche, a native of Iloilo City, Republic of the Philippines, returned home June 27 to assist the joint Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and U.S. Navy humanitarian efforts and console her family, who nearly lost their lives when Typhoon Fengshen struck the area.

Geroche's mother and 5-year-old brother were among the affected when the typhoon caused water levels in the city to increase by several feet in the span of just a few hours.

"We almost lost our lives," said Edna Geroche, Seaman Geroche's mother. "The water was up to our necks. We had to sleep in the rafters under our ceiling. We were lucky to survive, but the situation is still bad. There's mud everywhere, and there's no clean water for drinking or bathing."

Seaman Geroche is a member of Ronald Reagan's supply department, which provided more than 28,000 bottles of water and 9,060 lbs. of rice to residents of Panay, an island in the central portion of the Republic of the Philippines. Flown to her hometown aboard a C-2 Greyhound aircraft filled with non-perishable food items, Geroche -- a member of the U.S. Navy's humanitarian assistance team -- had an emotional reunion with her family before assisting U.S. Navy personnel and Philippine Army soldiers load and unload relief supplies.

"I'm so grateful to be assigned to USS Ronald Reagan right now," said Geroche. "I'm so thankful that we're here assisting the people of my hometown."

HH-60H and SH-60F Seahawk helicopters from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 4, embarked aboard USS Ronald Reagan, SH-60B Seahawk helicopters from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) 43, embarked aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83), and Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) 37, embarked aboard the guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) have spent the last four days delivering relief supplies brought to Panay by the AFP and non-governmental relief organizations. C-2A Greyhound aircraft from Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30 have also been instrumental in shuttling relief supplies to Iloilo's Santa Barbara airport, the central hub of relief operations.

The efforts have been a portrait of teamwork; AFP personnel are in each helicopter flight, and AFP officers are aboard USS Ronald Reagan, working with the ship's Crisis Action Team (CAT), which helps respond to humanitarian emergencies.

"The AFP commanders are telling me my mission," said Rear Adm. Phil Wisecup, commander of the U.S. Navy ships involved in the effort. "We're doing everything we can to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We'll stay here as long as the government of the Philippines requires it and no longer."

The mission is giving Filipino-Americans a chance to provide needed assistance in their native homeland, an emotional experience to say the least, considering the devastation caused by the typhoon, which left 540 dead on Panay and destroyed more than 100,000 homes.

"My mom saw me on TV," said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Robert Catre, a medic and translator for the U.S. Navy humanitarian team. "I feel great about what we're doing here."

"I was terrified for my wife," said Storekeeper 1st Class Raymond Paguia of USS Howard, whose wife Mahrnee lives in Iloilo. "I was just waiting for the call, trying to get here. I'm so proud to be an American Sailor right now, doing this."

For Seaman Geroche, the emotions were strong. The 22-year-old Sailor helped load rice for delivery to her neighbors and countrymen, and was able to console her family at the same time.

"When President Bush sent us here, I was happy. I was hoping I'd get this chance to see my family. It felt good to hug my mom and tell her everything will be OK now," said Geroche.

With her mother's arms wrapped around her, tears streamed down Geroche's face. "I'm home Mommy," she said. "I'm home."

























:salute:
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asianbloodline187
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Yung mga leftist na yan walang ginawa kundi magreklamo at umangal, wala naman silang naitutulong.. nagpapadagdag pa nga sila sa gulo..
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docrjay
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/12/china.submarine/index.html

Didn't the destroyer hear the submarine?
I thought the towed array sonar is supposed to be the best ASW sensor for surface ships?

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pachador


other questions: or did the sub see the sonar array ? or was the sub captain playing mahjong ?
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docrjay
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He cant possibly see the array if you mean visually. I think the implication is that the destroyer should have heard the submarine when it went near the array either that or the submarine must have been very silent which chinese subs are not known for.
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pachador


what i meant is that the destroyer cannot do nothing if the sub hits the array acciddentally or purposely because it has no control over the actions of the sub or the sub's captain specially if the said sub was trying its best to avoid detection.

what i meant by the submarine did not see, is that the sub uses sonar and other electronic means to travel underwater so it can avoid obstacles. in this case the sub was not able to avoid hitting the array for who knows why. many factors such as sub's detection gear not working properly, sub captain took unneccesary risks in going to close to the destroyer, sub crew was negligent, etc.

in other words, walang kamalay malay yung sonar na hinihila ng destroyer tapos binunggo nung submarine intentionally or accidentally.

one scenario is that naasar yung sub captain kasi nahuhuli siya nung destroyer while they were playing cat and mouse(this is common between adversaries during the cold war till now) so ginawa niya , bunggo niya yung sonar. its a calculated risk that the sub can withstand the collision because sub hulls are very tough to handle the tremendous pressures underwater. one time an american sub surfaced suddenly and it did not know there was a fishing trawler which it hit and sunk.

other scenarios are either the detection gear not working properly, sub captain took unneccesary risks in going to close to the destroyer, sub crew was negligent, etc.
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truegrit


Is the submarine really gone inside our Territorial Waters? Thats a chinese intrusion and that sub should be apprehended.
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jooper
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The leaking of the news is awake-up call to our politicians! We have zero ASW capability!

I would not be surprised if the Chicom sub captain deliberately rammed the towed hydophone array as an expression of frustration or even mild intimidation.

What if the incident took place within twelve miles from the nearest Philippine coast! A possibility since this sub might have been practicing on monitoring shipping coming in and out of Subic Bay.
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