WAR with the Philippines is Cambodia’s ASEAN way

The abrupt recall last month of Cambodian Ambassador Hos Sereythonh from Manila a year short of his three-year posting left shock waves in the capitals of 10 Southeast Asian nations and sparked speculation on whether the Philippines and tiny Cambodia had plunged into a serious diplomatic crisis, something like being on the brink of war.

 Under diplomatic practice, envoys are relieved after an outrageous breach of protocol of civilized states, requiring urgent steps to avert armed conflict.

 That was not the case when Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario made a surprise announcement to the press last week that the Cambodian foreign ministry had sent him a letter announcing that Sereythonh had been recalled and would not be able to complete his term that was supposed to end on July 27, 2013. The letter did not give any explanation for the relief.

 Last month, Del Rosario summoned Sereythonh to explain comments to a Manila newspaper blaming the Philippines and Vietnam for trying to "sabotage and hijack" the 45th Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) ministerial conference, hosted by Cambodia in Phnom Penh.

 The ambassador, who accused the Philippine and Vietnam of engaging in "dirty tricks," did not show up, claiming illness.

 A Philippine official has claimed that during the Asean meeting, the Cambodian chair rejected at least five drafts of a joint statement that would have addressed the maritime row with China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). China claims blanket sovereignty over all of the sea, but Taiwan and Asean members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims on the area.

The Philippine-Cambodian row flared when Asean failed to issue a joint statement at the Phnom Penh meeting after Cambodia, perceived as an ally of China, blocked moves by the Philippines to mention the standoff between the Philippines and China at Scarborough Shoal (which the Philippines calls Panatag Shoal) in the proposed communiqué. Vietnam also wanted to include China's incursions into its waters in the proposed communiqué.

 Complicating matters, Foreign Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio issued a public statement saying that Asean failed to come up with a joint statement because of Cambodia's firm position not to reflect the recent developments in the West Philippine Sea, despite the view of the majority in the Asean meeting that these events impinge on the overall security of the region. By implication, this majority view seems to hold that Asean swept these developments under the carpet because China objected to this step.

 'Dirty tricks Accusation'

 In response, the Cambodian ambassador sent a letter to Philippine Star, accusing the Philippines and Vietnam of "sabotaging" the Asean's official statement that shut its eyes to the aggressive Chinese incursions in the disputed areas, and engaging in "dirty tricks"—a pretty strong language to use in diplomacy.

 It is not clear whether in summoning the ambassador to explain his letter to the newspaper the Department of Foreign Affairs considered the envoy persona non grata to justify his relief. What seems clear is that the Asean meeting ended fractured over the issue on the standoff at Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands.

 In her paper on the communiqué, Undersecretary Basilio said the Philippines sought the consensus of the 10-nation Asean on the several drafts and revisions to make the draft acceptable. But, she pointed, the Cambodian chair "consistently rejected any proposed text that mentioned Scarborough Shoal."

 Singapore's Foreign Minister K. Shanmugan summed up the fiasco, saying it was a blow to Asean solidarity that "it was unable to deal with something that is happening in our neighborhood and not say anything about it."

 "There is no point in papering over it. There was a consensus of the majority of countries. The role of the chair is to forge a complete consensus amongst all. But that did not happen," Shanmugan said.

 In the Phnom Penh meeting, the most contentious issue boiled down to the standoff at Scarborough Shoal where fleets of Chinese fishing vessels, escorted by armed maritime ships, have swarmed the lagoons to trawl marine life and resources, while puny Philippine Coast Guard vessels stood helplessly, unable to stop the pillage of Philippine marine resources.

 Armed conflict

 During the past few months of the expansive incursions of Chinese expeditions, the encounters between the Chinese predators and Philippine and Vietnamese maritime authorities have increased correspondingly.

 The Philippines and Vietnam have accordingly borne the brunt of these creeping penetrations of what they claim are their sovereign territories by Chinese maritime expeditions. Among the rival claimants on territories in the West Philippine Sea, they are the only two that have stood up to the Chinese expansive penetrations and blandishments.

 The recent encounters have caused the think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) to warn that tensions over competing claims in the West Philippine Sea could escalate into conflict, with arms buildup among rival nations raising the temperature.

 Prospects of solving the disputes "seem disturbing" after a recent failure by Asean to hammer out a "code of conduct" that would govern actions in the sea.

 "Without a consensus on a resolution mechanism, tensions can easily spill over into armed conflict," the ICG said. "As long as ASEAN fails to produce a cohesive (West Philippine Sea) policy, a binding set of rules on handling the dispute claims cannot be enforced."

Inquirer 

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People's trust in Bad China Plunges to its lowest -36 and UP to Good USA

People' s trust to China has continue declining to its lowest phase of -36  in the wake of the Scarborough Shoal standoff in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea), the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in a new report as posted in the Business World Online.

A May 24-27 2012, survey found 55% of the respondents saying they had "little trust" in China, versus the 19% who said they had "much trust", for a "bad" net rating of -36.

The last time this level was hit was in June 1995 during the Mischief Reef incident, one of a number of spats in the country's long-running row with China over conflicting South China Sea claims.

A few months earlier, in March, China's net trust rating among Filipinos was at a "moderate" +10 (39% "much trust", 29% "little trust").

Nearly half, or 48%, of the respondents also claimed to be paying close attention to the row, which started early April when eight Chinese fishing boats were caught carrying fish, corals and other endangered species in the disputed area.

The SWS said China's net trust rating among Filipinos has been mostly negative -- ranging from a "neutral" -1 to the record -36 low -- since 1994. It was positive in only seven out of 24 quarters, peaking at a "moderate" +17 in June 2010.

Significant drops were recorded in June 1999 -- a "bad" -32 -- during another Mischief Reef incident and in December 2008 -- a "bad" -33 -- following news of melamine-contaminated milk from China.

The SWS said the Scarborough Shoal issue was the fourth most followed by respondents during the May poll period, behind the impeachment trial of then Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona (54%), the Maguindanao massacre trial (50%) and the Supreme Court decision to distribute Hacienda Luisita to farmers (50%).

It said China's net trust rating was particularly low among those who were closely monitoring the dispute, at a "very bad" -52, compared to the "bad" -36, -34 and -34, respectively, among those who were following the news "somewhat closely," "just a little" and "not at all."

Representatives of the Chinese embassy in the Philippines could not be reached for comment.

Raul S. Hernandez, Foreign Affairs department spokesman, declined to comment on the SWS survey but said the government was committed to "pushing for a peaceful, diplomatic solution to issues on West Philippine Sea in accordance to international laws, particularly UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea)."

China was not the only Asian country distrusted by Filipinos, with the SWS saying North Korea also had a "bad" net rating of -34 (53% "little trust" and 19% "much trust").

High public trust, meanwhile, is enjoyed by the United States -- which has taken the side of the Philippines, Australia and Japan, at a "very good" +62, "good" +39 and "good" +32, respectively, in the latest poll.

The SWS considers net trust ratings of +70 and above as "excellent"; +50 to +69, "very good"; +30 to +49, "good"; +10 to +29, "moderate"; +9 to -9, "neutral"; -10 to -29, "poor"; -30 to -49, "bad"; -50 to -69, "very bad"; and -70 and below, "execrable."

The May 24-27 survey involved face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. The error margins used were ±3% for national and ±6% for area percentages.

BusinessWorld Online

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Phil Govt Breast milk Bank Industry save Babies

[image from affordablecebu.com]

The Philippine government's state-run breast milk bank is intensifying collection efforts to boost breastfeeding among the poor and help women return to work immediately after giving birth if they want to do so.

Hundreds of women come to have their babies at the Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, the busiest maternity institution in Manila, the capital, where more than 12 million people live. Many women are barely able to afford even the minimal payment, and to help cover their costs some of them donate breast milk to the hospital's milk bank, which is used to feed babies whose mothers have lactation problems.

Esmeraldo Ilem, head of the hospital's family planning unit, said the milk is also sold at up to US$10 for four liters to other hospitals and individuals, with mothers as a first priority. "Even hospitals in far-flung areas or provinces come here to buy milk from us," Ilem told IRIN. "[For instance,] when a mother dies in a hospital [where there is no milk bank, the family] comes here to source the milk."

Nurses ask for donations to the hospital's breast milk bank, where it is pasteurized and refrigerated. Ilem said milk from the Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital also helps working mothers give their babies' breast milk after returning to work. The hospital started its bank in 2007, but since then at least two other facilities in the capital have opened milk banks.

A recent study by the government's Food and Nutrition Research Institute showed that exclusive breastfeeding - giving babies only breast milk for the first six months of life, which boosts their immunity to childhood diseases - has risen from 36 percent in 2008 to 47 percent in 2011 in the Philippines. Breastfeeding a baby within one hour of being born, which has also been proven to reduce infant deaths, increased from 32 percent in 2008 to 52 percent in 2011.

However, there are "disparities in exclusive breastfeeding rates" in different parts of the country and further effort is needed to increase breastfeeding so as to reduce infant mortality. "Human milk or breast milk is the best way to make babies healthy in the early stages of life," said Ilem. "Sadly... there are many mothers who need to go back to work or do not lactate very well, so this is where our milk comes in."

Milk codes

A 2009 law on breastfeeding protects a woman's right to breastfeed publicly, and requires private as well as public companies to allot time for breastfeeding. All public institutions have to provide lactation stations separate from bathrooms.

Since 1986, Executive Order 51, known locally as the "Milk Code", has prohibited the advertising of infant formula for infants under two years old.

But these gains are at risk, according to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), one of the country's largest labor associations, which has warned that the infant formula lobby may have persuaded lawmakers to promote legislation seeking to reverse the breastfeeding law.

"If this happens then we may end up with more unhealthy babies," warned TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay, who said his group is prepared to fight the proposed legislation. "This is where the importance of milk banks also comes in - they provide alternatives for sourcing human milk for all our babies."

IRINEWS 

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