China make the 5th invasion to the Philippines - Scarborough Shoal

China's naval intrusion to the Philippine territory since Saturday April 7, 2012 in the Scarborough Shoal / or also called Panatag Shoal is a follow-up to its recent forays into Philippine western territorial waters. It is the fifth times where China Intruded the Philippine Territory since June 2011.

China has confronted Philippine military and civilian vessels in the following places:

1. Recto Bank
2. Rajah Soliman Reef
3. Quirino Atoll
4. Escoda Shoal.
5. The recent is the Panatag Shoal / Scarborough Shoal.

All four lie a few dozen kilometers off Palawan but 2,000 km from China's nearest island-province of Hainan; Scarborough is 220 km off Zambales but more than 800 km from Hong Kong. China's pretext of protecting its fishermen and seismic surveyors is not unique. As in the last two decades, it trespasses into Philippine offshore oilfields and abets fish poaching to prop up a shaky counterclaim over the West Philippine (South China) Sea.

China's flouting of international and Philippine fisheries laws triggered the Scarborough standoff. Eight Chinese craft were spotted Sunday hauling in endangered shark, giant clams, and corals in the 150-sq-km lagoon called Baja Masinloc, long a rest stop of Luzon fishermen. As the Philippine naval patrol BRP Gregorio del Pilar approached, two Chinese marine surveillance ships cut its path to shield the poachers. Beijing was quick to accuse Manila of harassing Chinese fishers who supposedly had only sought shelter from a storm.

The Philippine response was mainly diplomatic. President Noynoy Aquino and Foreign Sec. Albert del Rosario quickly but firmly reminded the Chinese ambassador of the two countries' pact to shun violence in the troubled seas. The Navy has pulled out to let its Coast Guard civilian counterpart handle things as a police matter. A military skirmish would be futile. Though the Navy's fastest vessel, the del Pilar is a refurbished five-decade-old US coast guard cutter. The handful of other Philippine warships and planes are newer but lightly armed. On the other hand, China seems to treat tact as its debility. Both sides are signatories to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which defines coastal and archipelagic countries' 200-mile exclusive economic zones. China's counterclaim to the long-recognized western Philippine shoals, reefs, atolls, and banks is based solely on unverified "ancient maps."

In contrast to Manila's stance, China is itching to play the military card. Its naval buildup has been worrying not only the Philippines but other ASEAN members as well, and Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and America. China's annual defense spending has risen from $30 billion in 2000 to $120 billion in 2010, says the SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute).

Since Beijing habitually deflates by half its true naval and arms acquisitions, reports The Economist, the true budget for 2012 including research and development could well run up to $160 billion. It's still less than a fourth of America's (declining) defense buys, so Chinese leaders make a show of shuddering at comments of aspiring to become a military "near peer." But while invoking China's "peaceful rise," they employ war footing with Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan— and the Philippines — when it comes to territorial counterclaims in the North, East and South China Seas.

Having 75 principal surface warships and some 50 diesel electric submarines emboldens China. Defense magazine's latest issue enumerated the arsenal of China's People's Liberation Army-Navy: 26 destroyers, 53 frigates, 26 tank-landing vessels, 49 attack submarines, and five nuclear submarines. Not counting the fighting craft from five civilian agencies (coast guard, maritime surveillance, fisheries enforcement, etc.) the PLAN also has 86 coastal patrol craft. All are armed with anti-ship medium-range cruise missiles.

China's avoidance of diplomacy also has to do with its hazy chain of command. While its government funds most of its operations, supplies and personnel, the People's Liberation Army does not report to the defense ministry. Its orders come instead from the Communist Party's Military Commission, headed by the Party chairman, also the President. By contrast, the foreign office is low in the Politburo totem pole. Perhaps it proceeds from Mao Zedong's tenets. "Political power grows out of the barrel of the gun," the founder of communist China had pounded. "Without the Army, the Party is nothing."

Neighbors doubt China's assurances that, like them, it wants peaceful resolution of its encroachments. Beijing's bigwigs talk from both sides of the mouth. The Party's English-language paper, Global Times, betrays the doublespeak. As the defense minister mentioned "peace" 26 times in a speech before East Asian leaders last October, it editorialized: "If these countries don't want to change their ways with China, they will need to prepare for the sounds of cannons. We need to be ready for that, as it may be the only way for the disputes in the sea to be resolved."

Beijing may disavow the communist hawks' opinions as unofficial. But there can be no doubt about the official line, as stated by the PLA's doctrinal "Science of Military Strategy," published in 2005. The Economist quotes it: "Although active defense is the essential feature of China's military strategy, if an enemy offends our national interests it means that the enemy has already fired the first shot. In which case, the PLA's mission is to do all we can to dominate the enemy by striking first."

In the news is not only the Philippine territorial row with China, but also ex-President Gloria Arroyo's arraignment for the NBN-ZTE scam. To better understand these and other events, readers may wish to read Exposés: Investigative Reporting for Clean Government. This selective compilation of my Gotcha columns also features, among others, the Diwalwal-ZTE scam, the near cession of territory to Moro separatists, and the NAIA-3 construction anomalies. Early copies available at National Bookstore and Powerbooks.

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Philippines, China agree on diplomatic resolution in naval standoff in Scarborough Shoal as neither backs down

Philippines and China agreed to resolve an ongoing naval standoff diplomatically, but neither side was ready to back down Wednesday in the most dangerous confrontation in the disputed South China Sea in years.

Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario said he warned Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing that the Philippines would defend itself if provoked. At their meeting, both insisted the Scarborough Shoal location was part of their own country's territory.

Despite the impasse, "we resolved to seek a diplomatic solution to the issue," Del Rosario told a news conference.

"Nobody will benefit if violence breaks out there," President Benigno Aquino III said.

The Philippine government said its navy tried to detain Chinese boats fishing in its waters, but was stopped by two Chinese surveillance craft. The Chinese Embassy accused the Philippine warship of harassing the fishermen.

The West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) is home to a myriad of competing territorial claims, most notably the Spratly Islands south of the shoal, that are believed to be in rich in oil and gas. The region is also prime fishing ground and one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

Both China and the Philippines flexed their muscles Wednesday. Del Rosario said that he warned China's ambassador that "if the Philippines is challenged, we are prepared to secure our sovereignty."

The Philippine navy was sending more vessels toward the shoal, which lies about 120 miles from the nearest Philippine coast, a Philippine navy official told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the situation with the media.

The standoff began Sunday when a Philippine navy surveillance plane spotted eight Chinese fishing vessels anchored in a lagoon at Scarborough, the Philippine navy said. That prompted the military to deploy its largest warship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which was recently acquired from the United States.

On Tuesday, armed Filipino troops from the warship boarded the Chinese vessels for an inspection, finding large amounts of illegally collected coral, giant clams and live sharks inside the first boat. Del Rosario said the Chinese fishermen had been "engaged in illegal fishing and harvesting of endangered marine species."

The Filipino troops did not make any arrests and returned to the warship.

Two Chinese maritime surveillance ships later arrived and positioned themselves between the Philippine warship and the Chinese fishing vessels "thus preventing the arrests of the erring Chinese fishermen," the Philippine statement said.

The two Chinese ships told the Philippine warship by radio that it had intruded into Chinese territory and ordered it to leave. Philippine navy officials aboard the warship resisted, saying the area was not part of China's territory and well within Philippine territorial waters, the Philippine navy said.

"This resulted to the standoff which is still ongoing," the navy said.

The Chinese Embassy said the fishing boats had taken shelter from a storm in the lagoon, and that Philippine troops, including some who were armed, harassed the fishermen.

"Two Chinese marine surveillance ships are in this area fulfilling the duties of safeguarding Chinese maritime rights and interests," it said in a statement.

It said the shoal "is an integral part of the Chinese territory and the waters around it the traditional fishing area for Chinese fishermen."

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said China lodged a protest, saying the Philippines violated an agreement to maintain peace and stability in the region and prevent any escalation of disputes.

"We hope the Philippines can focus on China-Philippines friendship, peace and stability, and won't make new disturbances," Liu said.

Last year, the Philippines accused Chinese vessels of intruding into other parts of what it considers Philippine territory in the South China Sea. China has regularly dismissed the protests, saying Beijing has indisputable sovereignty over those areas on historical grounds.

The United States has insisted it takes no sides in the territorial dispute but says it should be solved peacefully. China has balked at what it considered U.S. interference in the region.

The disputes over the Spratlys have settled into an uneasy standoff since the last major clash involving China and Vietnam killed more than 70 Vietnamese sailors in 1988.

Sources: Fox news, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Al Jaseera

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Philippines and China Standoff in Scarborough Panatag Shoal

The Philippines' biggest warship was locked in a standoff with two Chinese vessels in the124 Nautical Miles Panatag Shoal or  Scarborough Shoal of the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea), reigniting tensions in a decades-long dispute over the resource-rich waters.

The Philippine government said the Chinese ships were blocking efforts by its navy flagship vessel to arrest Chinese fishermen that were found on the weekend to have illegally entered its territory.

In a dramatic day of diplomacy, the Philippines summoned the Chinese ambassador in Manila and lodged a formal protest, but China insisted it had sovereign rights over the area and ordered the Philippine warship to leave.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said he was looking to end the standoff through diplomatic means.

"No one will benefit if we have violence," he told reporters.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said both sides wanted a peaceful resolution, but also cautioned that negotiations were at an "impasse" and his country was ready to defend its territory.

"If the Philippines is challenged, we are prepared to secure our sovereignty," del Rosario said.

The standoff was occurring at Scarborough Shoal, just 124 nautical miles from the Philippines' main island of Luzon.

China insists it has sovereign rights to all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coast of other countries and hundreds of kilometers from its own landmass.

The Philippines says it has sovereign rights over areas of the sea within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and that its position is supported by international law.

Apart from China and the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, making the waters one of Asia's potential flashpoints for armed conflict.

The South China Sea holds enormous economic and political significance, as it is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas resources, has huge fish stocks and hosts shipping lanes that are vital for global trade.

The Philippines and Vietnam complained last year of increasingly aggressive acts by China in staking its claim to the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea).

The Philippines accused Chinese vessels of firing warning shots at Filipino fishermen, as well as harassing an oil exploration vessel and placing markers on islets within Philippine territory.

However this week's stand-off is the highest-profile in recent years.

It occurred after the Philippines detected eight Chinese fishing boats at Scarborough Shoal on Sunday.

Panatag Shoal or  Scarborough Shoal

The Philippines said the boats were subsequently found to have hauled in live sharks, corals and some endangered species including giant clams.

The two Chinese surveillance vessels appeared on the scene yesterday, and blocked the Philippine warship from approaching the fishing boats.

The Chinese embassy in Manila released a statement today ordering the warship out of the disputed waters.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin accused the Philippines of "harassing" the Chinese fishermen and said a protest had been lodged.

"We urge the Philippine side ... not to make new troubles and create conditions for the friendly relations of the two countries," Liu said.

But in Manila, del Rosario insisted the Philippines could do as it pleased at Scarborough Shoal.

"We are there because we have sovereignty over the area. We want to be there and we have the right to be there," he said.

The Philippine coast guard also said it would deploy a boat to support the warship.

On Wednesday evening, del Rosario briefed reporters again, saying no breakthrough had been achieved.

Philippine concerns about China's perceived aggressiveness prompted it to seek help last year from the United States in building up its poorly equipped military and weak maritime defense capabilities.

The US responded favorably, delivering the Gregorio del Pilar, a a 115m decommissioned US coast guard cutter, to replace a World War II-era vessel as the Philippine Navy's biggest ship.

The Gregorio del Pilar is the vessel involved in April 11, 2012 Wednesday's stand-off.

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