Philippines, Australia Hold 5 Days LUMBAS Maritime Exercise

Philippine Coast Guard & Australian Royal Navy - 5 day LUMBAS Maritime Training Exercise October 22 - October 27, 2012 

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is gearing up for a five-day LUMBAS maritime training exercise with the Philippine Navy and the Royal Australian Navy that begins tomorrow, Oct. 22.

Members of the PCG-Special Operations Group (SOG) as well as the Coast Guard's search and rescue vessel BRP Pampanga and helicopter will be deployed to the joint maritime exercise.

Coast Guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo, said the SOG personnel are scheduled to participate in the joint training to improve their knowledge, skills and tactics in maritime operations.

The main objective of this year's LUMBAS exercise is to provide training on selected personnel of PCG, Filipino and Australian sailors on vessel boarding, border protection, gas and oil security, and law enforcement.

Balilo said the PCG personnel will be interacting with their foreign counterparts to further hone their interoperability skills.

"Interoperability starts from the grassroot level and through the nurturing of friendly relations with training participants," he said.

Balilo emphasized that the maritime joint exercise will allow PCG personnel to have the opportunity to know their counterparts better and establish a good working relationship.

During the LUMBAS, participants will be able to undergo lectures and harbor training to be held in the headquarters of PCG and Philippine Navy in Manila, while the vessel boarding would be conducted in the Manila Bay.

The PCG is regarded as one of the most challenged coast guards in the world. The Philippines has the fourth longest coastline in the world, next to Indonesia, Russia and Canada.

Because of this, the Coast Guard carries many responsibilities on its shoulders that require extensive training.

Apart from LUMBAS, there are members of PCG-SOG being trained to detect weapons of mass destruction under the United States maritime law enforcement course.

On its second week, they are taking up the advance boarding course as well as exercise on radio encryption using the recently donated encrypted radio by the US Export Control and Boarder Security (EXB).

The US Regional EXB handles all the programs and training, which are being given to their Filipino counterparts.

Manila Bulletin 

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US USS George Washington Aircraft supercarrier Arrive Vietnam, Philippines

USS George Washington (CVN-73) is an American nuclear-powered supercarrier, the sixth ship in the Nimitz class and the fourth United States Navy ship to be named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. It was built by Newport News Shipbuilding and was commissioned 4 July 1992.

US shows its maritime resolve in disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea)

US USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier arrived Vietnam Saturday and will depart and scheduled to Arrive Manila this Wednesday October 24, 2012

America sent a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier on a cruise through the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea),  on Saturday, projecting its power in waters that are fast becoming a focal point of its strategic rivalry with Beijing.

The USS George Washington's mission could raise hackles in China, which is locked in disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines and other governments over ownership of islands in the region.

It will likely reassure the jittery smaller nations of Washington's support in their tussles with China, whose growing economic and military might is leading to a greater assertiveness in pressing its claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). The United States is building closer economic and military alliances with Vietnam and other nations in the region as part of a "pivot" away from the Middle East to Asia.

China is also locked in an unexpectedly fierce dispute with American ally Japan over the ownership of islands in the nearby East China Sea. On Friday, Beijing staged military exercises near the islands to demonstrate its ability to enforce its claims.

China claims nearly all of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), where the U.S. says it has a national interest in ensuring freedom of navigation in an area crossed by vital shipping lanes. Vietnam, the Philippines and several other Asian nations also claim parts of the sea.

The U.S. Navy regularly patrols the Asia-Pacific region, and the trip by the George Washington off the coast of Vietnam is its second in two years.

A second aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis, is also conducting operations in the western Pacific region, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

"China will take this as another expression by the United States of its desire to maintain regional domination," said Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii. "The U.S also wants to send a message to the region that it is here for the long haul .... and that it wants to back up international law."

Vietnam is pleased to accept help from its one-time foe America as a hedge against its giant neighbor China. It has reacted angrily to recent moves by Beijing to establish a garrison on one of the Paracel islands, which Vietnam also claims. The United States also criticized the move by Beijing.

"Vietnam requests China to respect the sovereignty of Vietnam and refrain from taking any other similar wrongdoings," the Foreign Ministry said this month.

While most analysts believe military confrontation in the waters is highly unlikely, they say tensions are likely to increase as China continues pressing its claims and building its navy.

US Navy super carrier to visit Manila

US USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier US Navy's largest aircraft carriers is scheduled to arrive in Manila Wednesday Oct 24 2012.

In a press statement, the US Embassy in Manila said the nuclear-powered USS George Washington will visit the Philippines on October 24, Wednesday, "for a goodwill visit that will further enhance the strong historic ties between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines."

It said the U.S. and Philippine Navy counterparts will conduct community relations projects and professional exchanges.

The American nuclear-powered super carrier is the fourth United States Navy ship to be named after George Washington, the first President of the United States.

Commissioned on July 4, 1992, the aircraft carrier can accommodate approximately 80 aircraft, around 6,250 crew members, and with a flight deck of 4.5 acres (18,000 m²) in size.

The US aircraft carrier will be welcomed by the Philippine Navy and will be escorted to another point in Manila Bay. With a report from Philippine Information Agency.

Fox news, ABS-CBN News

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Philippines donates ₱8.2 Million to China

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying receives ₱8.2 Million donation from Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario. Photo from the Department of Foreign Affairs

Despite a simmering territorial row in the South China Sea, the Philippine government is donating US$200,000 (over ₱8.2 Million) to the Chinese government after recent earthquakes hit China's southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou.

A Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) statement said the donation is "a gesture of support and friendship" to the people of China.

The ceremonial handover of the donation was held during the courtesy call of Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying on Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario on Friday, October 19, 2012.

On September 7, two major earthquakes measuring 5.6 and 5.7 and several aftershocks hit Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces in southwestern China, causing the death of 80 and injuring more than 800 others.

Thousands of people were evacuated and were in need of relocation. Direct economic losses from the tremors were estimated at more than half a billion dollars, as reported by China's state media Xinhua

ABS-CBN News

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