Philippines stop China from double digit Military Spending intended for War in the Disputed Seas

Wen urged China to enhance ability to take victory in 'local wars': South China Sea

Premier Wen Jiabao urge China to enhance the ability of its military to win "local wars, (South China Sea)"  said, as Beijing grows increasingly assertive about its territorial claims in Asia.

Beijing lays claim to large swathes of the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) which are also claimed by its smaller neighbors, and must also secure supply routes and new sources of raw materials to fuel its booming economy.

Wen's made his comments at the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, a day after the government announced military spending would top US$100 billion in 2012 — an 11.2-percent increase on last year.

"We will enhance the armed forces' capacity to accomplish a wide range of military tasks, the most important of which is to win local wars under information age conditions," Wen said in his "state of the nation" speech.

China's territorial disputes with countries including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have grown rockier in recent years and its neighbors have accused it of behaving aggressively.

The Asian giant already has the world's largest armed forces and its defense budget has seen double-digit increases every year for much of the last decade, rattling the United States, which is forging ahead with plans to expand its own military power in Asia.

Analysts say actual defense spending is probably double the published figure, with funding for modernizing the country's military not included in the budget.

China has made advances in satellite technology and cyber warfare in recent years and invested in advanced weaponry including its first aircraft carrier, a 300-meter-long (990-foot) former Soviet naval vessel that had its first sea trial in August.

But it remains technologically far behind the United States. Wen said Beijing aimed to "enhance our capacity for making innovations in defense-related science and technology and in weapons and equipment development."

"We will vigorously carry out military training under information-age conditions," he told the 3,000 delegates gathered in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

Philippines asks China to cut military spending for WAR in the disputed Sea

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario urged the Chinese government yesterday not to spend a huge part of its budget for military expansion that could lead to further intrusions into the disputed Spratly Islands of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea to the government). He said Beijing should instead use its vast financial resources for peaceful purposes.

The Philippine government is impressed with the fast economic growth of China that is likewise benefiting the Philippine economy, he said.

"With this growth, China is also increasing its defense spending, which is its sovereign right to do so," del Rosario said.

But he also said the Philippines was "relying on China to fully utilize its vast global influence in the most responsible way, especially in terms of promoting peace, prosperity and stability in the region."

Beijing announced over the weekend that it would increase its defense budget by 11.2 percent after the US also bared plans to increase budget allocations for military spending by 2013 as part of its comprehensive plans to increase its military presence in the Southeast Asia amid increasing tensions in the disputed islands in the region.

Li Zhaoxing, spokesman of the National People's Congress, said Beijing would increase its military spending to 670-billion yuan ($106.4 billion) in 2012 which is 68-billion yuan more than its 2011 spending.

The US defense budget for the 2013 fiscal year is $613.9 billion, including $525.4 billion in base spending.

The Philippines has been protesting increasing military presence and activities in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) and proposed the adoption of a Zone of Peace and Freedom before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

ASEAN foreign ministers are now drafting a legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea to ease tensions in the disputed Spratly Islands believed to be sitting on rich natural gas, oil and marine resources.

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PHILIPPINES: Women Weather Climate Change

As the world commemorates International Women's Day March 8, 2012, women around the globe are speaking out on various issues that affect them. In light of recent natural disasters and calamities in the Philippines, women are increasingly citing climate change as one of their most pressing concerns. According to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW)'s executive director Emmeline Versoza, the traditional role played by women makes them one of the most vulnerable populations to climate change.

"During disasters, women attend to the needs of the family and prioritize the safety of family members, especially their children, which makes them more vulnerable," Versoza told IPS.

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world, with an average of 20 typhoons hitting the country every year. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction reported that in 2011, a total of 33 natural disasters ravaged various parts of the country, resulting in huge losses of life and massive damages to agricultural produce, infrastructure, and properties.

Tropical cyclones, storm surges, heavy rain, floods and landslides are expected to worsen as a result of climate change, putting people, particularly the urban and rural poor at risk, according to Versoza.

Pangging Santos, Advocacy Officer of Sarilaya, a community-based organization working on women's issues and the environment, told IPS that female farmers are feeling the impact of climate change most acutely.

"Extreme weather events have really been on the rise, which has affected the farming sector. When yields are low, it's usually the women farmers who have to find a way to make ends meet," Santos told IPS.

Irregular rainfall, unexpected droughts and an unusually high incidence of insect infestations have all impacted the agriculture sector, which contributes to a large chunk of the Philippine economy.

Sarilaya works with rural women in Nueva Ecija, an agricultural province in the North dubbed the 'rice granary' of the country. Following several killer typhoons that battered the country, thousands of hectares of rice-farming land and corn plantations were destroyed, affecting local women's livelihood.

"As the men of the farming households sought occupations in the city, it was the women left to tend the fields. As early as six in the morning, they are exposed to extreme heat and harsh weather conditions. Many of the women we've worked with are suffering from urinary tract infections and other health problems that often go untreated," explained Santos.

Meanwhile in urban centers, flashfloods brought by intense rains over the past few years regularly displace thousands of people into cramped evacuation centers, where women and girls face further risks.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has documented cases of child birth in unsafe conditions in evacuation sites during extreme disasters.

At the height of the killer typhoon Ketsana in 2009, Maritess Gural gave birth to her sixth child inside a basketball court, which had been converted into a makeshift evacuation centre. Hours before going into labor, she had been wading in murky floodwaters to save what she could of her family's belongings.

"Fear was the farthest thing from my mind. I told my husband I couldn't leave until I had salvaged our belongings," recounts Gural in the documentary "A Woman's Story" produced by UNFPA.

According to UNFPA added that the risk of sexual violence is also high in emergency situations when "protection mechanisms are absent."

"There have been reported cases during natural disaster of gender-based violence because of the open living conditions in evacuation centers. Women's special needs - such as safety, privacy, separate toilets and gender-sensitive hygiene kits should be taken into consideration by local government during disaster-planning," said Versoza.

In light of the global impact of climate change, PCW highlighted the importance of governance and accountability in their month-long celebration of National Women's Month. The theme "Women Weathering Climate Change" highlighted that disaster risk reduction is everyone's responsibility and underscored women's role as agents of change.

"We want women and local governments to be more informed and prepared for any disaster - because climate change is here. We will be visited by many more typhoons in the years to come and we have to be prepared," said Versoza.

Government agencies and women's community groups gathered in a tree-planting activity to help reforest Marikina watershed, the source of most of the flood waters that inundated Metro Manila during the height of tropical storm Ketsana.

"Women are very active at the village level and they are the ones mobilizing the community to help rehabilitate the watershed and take care of the nursery," said Versoza.

Groups like Sarilaya are also working with women famers to mitigate climate change.

"We're training women to practice organic farming. We've set up a sustainable farm school and established the use of organic (and) traditional rice and vegetable seed banks," said Santos.

Meanwhile, other local governments are stepping up efforts to address climate change.

Late last year, the province of Albay, which is located right in the path of tropical cyclones coming into the country from the Pacific Ocean, set up the country's first Climate Change Academy.

The academy provides training to local government units to study actual preparations, evacuation, and mitigation measures for disasters and evaluate climate risk hazards and adaptive capabilities.

Find out more about the forces behind climate change - but also about the growing citizen awareness and new climate policies towards sustainable development http://ipsnews.net/climate_change/

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Big Manufacturers quitting China for Philippines – PHL rating ups

Philippine officials say rising labor costs in China's southern coast are driving big foreign manufacturers to relocate to the country.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said Tuesday there has also been "very strong" interest from Japanese investors who are looking for tracts of land in Philippine export processing zones. They include electronics, ship building and steel companies.

He said investors relocating to the country include foreign garments factories closing in China. A big company which left the Philippines has decided to return, while another one is seriously considering coming back, he said.

Domingo told a government economic briefing that so far this year the country is seeing "the most we've ever seen" of investor fact finding missions.

China, which after economic liberalization in the 1980s became the world's low-cost factory, is now grappling with rising wages and production costs that have made it less attractive to some foreign manufacturers.

The Philippine officials did not have estimates of the value of the incoming investment or the jobs that would be created. Domingo refused to name the companies that are relocating to the Philippines.

Foreign direct investment in the Philippines totaled ₱87.3 billion pesos ($2.04 billion) in the first nine months of last year, up slightly from ₱79.4 billion pesos ($1.85 billion) a year earlier.

The Philippine economy is forecast to grow 5 percent to 6 percent this year, driven by increased spending on infrastructure and more efficient budget spending, Socio-economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga said.

Domingo thinks economic growth could exceed 7 percent this year with the stock market achieving a new record high Monday, and strong growth in exports, the outsourcing industry, tourism and investments.

Officials also said the Philippines is estimated to hit its demographic "sweet spot" by 2015, when majority of Filipinos will be of working age, a situation which usually fuels growth.

Philippines seen getting credit-rating upgrade from S&P

Philippines stands a good chance of getting a credit rating upgrade in the short term from Standard & Poor's, which expects the country's debt profile to further improve as the economy grows and revenue collection rises.

In its latest outlook report for Asia-Pacific, S&P cited the Philippine government's focus on shoring up revenue collection and plans to help pump-prime the economy by enticing private firms to invest in infrastructure projects.

Currently, S&P assigns the Philippines a credit rating of BB and an outlook of "positive." This is two notches below investment grade, while the outlook indicates probability of a credit-rating upgrade within the short term if expectations of better indicators materialize.

"The positive outlook is based on our expectation that continued adherence to fiscal consolidation, combined with improved medium-term growth prospects, will further moderate the Philippines' public debt and interest burden," S&P said in the report titled "Asia-Pacific Sovereigns: Mixed Outlook in an Uncertain Year."

The ratio of the Philippines' public sector debt to the country's gross domestic product stands at about 55 percent. The ratio has declined from more than 70 percent in the early 2000s.

The country's economic managers are hoping to bring the ratio down closer to 50 percent or even lower to get a credit-rating upgrade. Such an objective requires making economic growth consistently exceed the rise in the country's debts.

The officials are hoping the Philippines will get investment-grade rating by 2013, claiming that macroeconomic indicators of the country are improving and are just about the same as those of other developing countries that are already enjoying investment grade.

Indonesia, which the Philippines would like to consider as its counterpart, recently obtained an investment grade rating.

"The rating [of the Philippines] could be raised on material progress in achieving a sustainable structural revenue improvement or further strengthening of the public balance sheet, thus reducing fiscal vulnerability," S&P said.

The credit-rating firm said its baseline projection was that the Philippines would be able to post better fiscal numbers over the short term.

However, it stressed that should actual developments on the fiscal front veer away from the baseline projection, the country may see its current rating being kept, if not downgraded.

S&P said the Philippines would likely grow by 4.2 percent this year on the back of government commitments to raise public spending and likelihood of rising investments by the private sector in public infrastructure under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

Under the PPP program, the government invites private enterprises to invest in public infrastructure projects. The objective of the program is to fulfill the country's needs for infrastructure without derailing the government's goal of reducing its budget deficit and debts.

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