Clinton warns against intimidation in South China Sea dispute

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday urged claimants to the South China Sea not to resort to intimidation to push their cause in the potentially oil-rich waters, an indirect reference to China ahead of a regional leaders' summit.

Clinton reiterated that the United States wanted a candid discussion of the maritime dispute, which an Australian think tank warned earlier this year could lead to war, when the leaders gather in Bali, Indonesia, this week.

However, China says it does not want the issue discussed, putting it at loggerheads with the United States once again after they exchanged barbs over trade and currency at last week's meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Hawaii.

"The United States does not take a position on any territorial claim, because any nation with a claim has a right to assert it," Clinton said in Manila, while marking the 60th anniversary of the U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty.

"But they do not have a right to pursue it through intimidation or coercion. They should be following international law, the rule of law, the U.N. Convention on Law of the Sea."

She said disputes in the sea lanes should be resolved through the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which defined rules on how countries can use the world's oceans and their resources.

That could embolden Southeast Asia's hand against China, which has said it would not submit to international arbitration over competing claims to the area, believed to be rich in natural resources and a major shipping lane.

China says it has historical sovereignty over the South China Sea and so supersedes claims of other countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

"Introducing a contentious subject into the meeting would only affect the atmosphere of cooperation and mutual trust, damaging the hard-won setting of healthy development in the region," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said on Wednesday. "That's is beyond any doubt."

Beijing bristles at what it calls U.S. interference and has blamed the maritime tensions on U.S. trouble making.

Estimates of proven and undiscovered oil reserves in the South China Sea range from 28 billion barrels of oil to as high as 213 billion barrels, U.S. figures showed in 2008. Gas deposits could be as high as 3.8 trillion cubic metres, the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated. Both would supply China with energy supplies for decades if proven.

China's resource needs and its risk-taking behaviour over staking its claim in the increasingly crowded sea lanes of the maritime region raise the possibility of armed conflict that could draw in the United States and other powers, the Lowy Institute said in a report in June.

Tensions flared again earlier this year with concerns raised over China's enforcement of its claim in areas also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines, including the cutting of cables on survey ships, threats to ram some vessels and breaches of airspace by military aircraft.

UNITY

On Tuesday, the Philippines criticised its South East Asian neighbours for failing to take a united stand against China.

"ASEAN is now at a critical junction of playing a positive and meaningful role to contribute in the peaceful resolution of the disputes in the South China Sea," said Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario.

Manila wants ASEAN to be able to help resolve sensitive issues without letting them affect bilateral or multilateral relations, he said.

Smaller Southeast Asian claimants view a U.S. presence and a multilateral approach to negotiations as strengthening their stance against China's all-encompassing claim on the sea.

ASEAN and China approved guidelines this year to make a code of conduct agreement signed in 2002 more concrete as they sought to cool tensions.

Indonesia's foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, suggested claimants to the maritime region should pursue the code of conduct negotiations while apparently chiding China and the United States.

"ASEAN now has a clear scenario and approach. So ASEAN countries will not let the Southeast Asia region become a competition arena for countries who consider themselves as big powers, whoever or whenever they maybe," he told a press briefing.

"We have an interest to make a clear code of conduct (for the South China Sea) so that concerns from non-Southeast Asian countries can be reflected based on the interest of ASEAN countries' national interest," he said.

It was important for ASEAN to promote a break from "a self-fulfilling vicious circle of action and counter-reaction," he added.

Washington says its interest in the rift is to make sure a shipping lane that carries some $5 trillion in international trade a year is kept open and can be freely navigated.

"President Obama will reaffirm our national interest in the maintenance of peace and security in the region and internationally," Clinton said.

She said that included freedom of navigation, the rule of law and unimpeded lawful commerce, with the United States seeing UNCLOS as the overriding framework for territorial disputes.

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Philippines Sandwiched by 2 competing superpowers US-China

Philippines’ President Benigno Aquino III will discuss the disputes over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and steps on further strengthening the long-standing economic and defense relations between the Philippines and the United States during his meeting with US President Barrack Obama in Bali, Indonesia where the 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit is being held.

The President left at around 8 a.m. on Thursday for Indonesia from the tarmac of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing at the Villamor Airbase in Paranaque City (Metro Manila).

In his pre-departure speech, the President cited the importance of the regional bloc, which was established in 1967 and is aimed at the "creation of a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient region".

In a press briefing at the Courtyard Mariott Bali Nusa Dua Hotel, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon Carandang said that the United States has been exerting efforts to re-engage itself with the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines, which the world superpower considers as important partners in economic and political development.

"I think what's very clear is that the United States wants to re-engage itself in the Asia Pacific region, especially now that they're winding down their commitments to other parts of the world.

The Asia-Pacific region has become much more important to them economically and politically. And what we're seeing are manifestations of that increased importance that Asia-Pacific, including the Philippines, is taking and I am sure the discussions between the two leaders will hew to that general theme," he said.

When asked if the Philippines will seek security assistance from the United States on the dispute in the West Philippine Sea, Carandang said that the government has been considering that.

"I think we've been doing what we can already with the West Philippine Sea issue and the American presence here, and the fact that they agree with our position is something that we find helpful," he said.

Carandang added that the government welcomes any assistance from the US, specifically in increasing the maritime defense capabilities of the Philippines.

The bilateral talk betweens President Aquino and Obama is scheduled on Friday as part of the 19th Asean Summit and Related Summits.

Also attending the event are the heads of state of Asean's dialogue partners including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and United Nations Secretary General BanKi-moon, among others.

The Asean will widen on Saturday into the East Asia Summit which takes in Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, and this year welcomes the United States and Russia.

A major issue

The maritime dispute with China and a debate over whether to reward Myanmar for fledgling reforms are expected to dominate talks during the 19th Asean Summit.

With the eurozone lurching through a debt crisis, raising the specter of Asean's export markets drying up, there is also pressure on the 10-member bloc to speed up the integration of its potentially huge common market.

Obama is coming to Bali as the US rolls out a diplomatic campaign to assert itself as a Pacific power, including plans for up to 2,500 Marines to be deployed in Australia.

Its more robust role, which smaller Asian states welcome as a counterbalance to China, has caused friction with the two powers trading warnings that set the stage for a confrontation at the East Asia Summit.

The US has signaled that it will raise the issue of China's territorial claims over the West Philippine Sea, with its strategic shipping lanes and rich oil and mineral reserves, despite Beijing saying that the topic should be off-limits.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday on a visit to the Philippines, which along with Vietnam has complained that China is becoming more aggressive in asserting its claims, that threats were unacceptable.

"Any nation with a claim has a right to exert it, but they do not have a right to pursue it through intimidation or coercion," she said.

The Philippines, which has led calls for ASEAN to build a united front against China over the dispute, was slammed by China's state-run Global Times on Thursday, which said that it should be punished with trade boycotts and travel bans.

"The way that China punishes the Philippines should not be overdone or elicit regional fears toward China, but it must make the Philippines pay the price," said the paper, known for its nationalistic stance.

Diplomats in Bali have expressed concern that Southeast Asian nations may get squeezed between the competing interests of the two big world powers.

"We must ensure the stability and security of our region," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in an opening speech.

"Asean must continue to play a proactive role to facilitate and engage itself in the resolution of issues," he said in an apparent reference to the West Philippine Sea dispute.

Bali, a resort island that is normally a haven for tourism and relaxation, has been transformed for the event, with six warships patrolling off the beaches and 7,000 police and soldiers providing a blanket security presence.

Myanmar issue

The Asean summit also sees the diplomatic debut of Myanmar's new military-backed government, which has surprised observers with a string of conciliatory moves since it was sworn in eight months ago.

The leaders are set to formally approve a plan to allow Myanmar to chair the regional bloc in 2014, despite objections from the United States which said that it was premature.

Myanmar's Information Minister Kyaw Hsan called on the US to recognize what he said were "irreversible" reforms and abandon its economic sanctions, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Thursday.

Kyaw Hsan blamed the sanctions for the country's lack of development and said that they forced Myanmar to be reliant on Chinese companies.

"When we are striving for development, we cannot be choosers -- we have accepted what is best for the country," he added.

The nominally civilian government has held direct talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, freed 200 dissidents, frozen work on an unpopular mega-dam and passed a law giving workers the right to strike.

But rights campaigners say those measures could easily be reversed and that handing Myanmar the diplomatic prize could remove the incentive for more fundamental change in a nation still accused of serious rights abuses.

Asean's leaders will also review stuttering progress on an ambitious plan for a common and barrier-free market by 2015, a task made more urgent by the crisis in major export markets in Europe.

The gaps between the region's economies--which range from the wealthy city-state of Singapore to underdeveloped Laos and Myanmar -- are a formidable barrier to establishing a common market of more than 600 million people.

But Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said on Wednesday that the economic woes in Europe and the US presented an opportunity for Asean to "behave more collectively".

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Ex Philippines President Arroyo Arrested for Life imprisonment

MANILA — The former president of the Philippines; Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was arrested in her hospital room on Friday (November 18, 2011) on charges of election fraud, her attorney said, after days of dramatic tussling with the government over whether she would be allowed to leave the country.

Mrs. Arroyo, 64, said she suffers from a bone ailment that requires medical treatment unavailable in the Philippines. Government officials suspected that the former president, who has denied any wrong doing, might be seeking to flee the country to avoid an eventual arrest on election fraud and corruption charges.

The Philippines government offered to shoulder the medication and all expenses for Mrs. Arroyo's hypoparathyroidism and bone mineral disorder but refused the government's offer and insisted to travel abroad

The government of President Benigno S. Aquino III has sought to keep her in the country while she is under investigation, but her midnight appointed Supreme Court justice ruled earlier this week that she could not be restricted from travelling.

Her attorney, Raul Lambino said by telephone that Mrs. Arroyo had prepared herself for the possibility of an arrest and was silent when it happened. He said that the police officers on the scene assured the former president's lawyers that she would not be taken to the police station and would be held in custody in her hospital room.

The arrest followed the filing of election fraud charges Friday afternoon in the Pasay Regional Trial Court in Manila. A conviction could result in a sentence of 40 years to life imprisonment.

Mr. Lambino said that he expected the charges to be dismissed quickly. He said that the regional trial court where the charges were filed has no jurisdiction over a former president. A special high-level court, known as the Sandiganbayan, is mandated with handling charges of corruption against senior government officials, he said.

"They filed these charges in this court simply as a matter of expediency in order to obtain the arrest warrant," Mr. Lambino said. "We are confident that the higher court will dismiss this action swiftly. This is a clear violation of the president's human rights by this government."

The former president's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, issued a statement saying Mrs. Arroyo had been "railroaded" with invalid charges filed in haste in the lower court in order to block Mrs. Arroyo from traveling overseas. "This is a sad day for due process," he said in a statement.

Philippine presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda dismissed the criticism, noting: "It's always a sad day when they lose."

80 to 90% of Filipinos Rejoiced for the new window of Justice

Philippines' former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been known to be the wisest and most smart Philippine leader  in the history as she could able to manipulate justice that could always be in her favor.

She has been known to be the classmate of the former US President William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton, the husband of the US Secretary Hillary Rodman Clinton in the Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C, USA

The justice system of the Philippines never found any sunrise during the Arroyo's more than 9 year term as it is covered by doubts and injustice as she appointed most of the justice in the Supreme Court to always do a good favor for her.

Filipinos are in thirst of justice as many extra judicial killings who are against in here government.

Series of rallies happened to oppose her government but she found the weakness of the Filipinos by hiding the rice to swell its prices so the rally would be stop as the hunger rises in all over the country. The rice prices doubled for the first time in just 3 months period. This is the reason of the rotting of 600,000 metric tons of rice which was imported in India

The Filipinos want justice but the Supreme Court of the Philippines is under control by the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

For so many cases filed against her, nothing will succeed as the Supreme Court justices will make a decision always in her favor. Renato Corona is one of her midnight appointed Supreme Court Justice to be her protector.

The Executive body and the judicial body is always fighting for the right justice but seems to be elusive.

November 18, 2011- the Executive body mark the history of the Philippines to issue a warrant of arrest to the strong woman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for an election sabotage crime.

80 – 90% of Filipinos around the world are celebrating for the success of the executive body to implement justice over the dark-molded and judicial body which is controlled by the arroyo family.

Though it is not in the final stage, Filipinos around the world are excited to hear and see that the accountable must be jailed.

Filipinos are upset of the over-exaggerated interpretation of human rights which the arroyo family is calling for. People are angry of the system as the justice is just for the rich who could afford to buy the law. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as seen to the majority Filipino as corrupt and accountable could not be jailed because of her rights even as criminal.  Filipinos are emboldened with the Friday's issuance of warrant of arrest for Mrs. Gloria Arroyo.

Supreme Court of Arroyo

On Tuesday (November 15, 2011), the Philippine Supreme Court had ruled that Mrs. Arroyo could leave the country for medical care. At the time, she was under investigation for corruption and electoral fraud, but had not been formally charged. But later that day, as she attempted to board a flight to Singapore, she was blocked by airport officials on orders of the government.

On Friday, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its previous ruling and ordered the Philippine government to comply.

"As far as this court is concerned the Arroyo couple can leave," Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said.

The election fraud charges filed Friday, in the lower court, are a separate matter, Mr. Marquez said.

Because the charges resulted in the issuance of an arrest warrant, he said, they nullified the Supreme Court's ruling that allowed Mrs. Arroyo to travel. This effectively ended the standoff between high court and government, he said.

Earlier in the week, the attorney for Mrs. Arroyo's husband, Ferdinand Topacio, said in a television interview that he was so confident in his clients that he would have one of his testicles removed if the Arroyos went overseas and did not return to face charges.

After the filing of charges in the Pasay Regional Trial Court, and subsequent issuing of an arrest warrant on Friday, Mr. Lacierda, the presidential spokesman, said: "The order in the Pasay court has allowed Attorney Topacio to save his family jewels."

Friday's charges stem from allegations that the former president, who left office last year and was subsequently elected to Congress, tampered with the results of congressional elections in 2007. She also faces separate allegations that she diverted government money for use in her campaign. The corruption complaints are under investigation and could result in formal charges.

Mr. Aquino, her successor, was elected in 2010 on an anti-corruption and government reform campaign. He had said repeatedly that the former president should publicly address the widespread allegations against her of corruption and vote-rigging.

Mrs. Arroyo had herself supported the trial and prosecution of her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, on corruption charges. He was sentenced to life in prison but later pardoned by Mrs. Arroyo.

List of the country's known anomalies that linked to the former President Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo

1. NBN ZTE Scandal
2. Millions of bribe money to Congressmen and Governors (October 2007)
3. Cheating in 2004 Elections (Hello Garci Scandal)
4. Joc Joc Bolante Case (Fertilizer Scam, ₱ 728 Million)
5. Jose Pidal Bank Account (Unexplained Wealth, ₱ 200 Million)
6. Nani Perez Power Plant Deal ( $2 Million USD)
7. Use of Road User's Tax for Campaigning in the Election
8. Billion Peso Macapagal Boulevard (Overprice of ₱ 532 Million)
9. Juetengate? (Illegal Numbers game kickbacks)
10. Extra Judicial Killings and the World known Maguindanao Massacre
11. Arroyo Moneys in Germany (Exposed by Senator Cayetano)
12. General Garcia and Other Military Men (Pabaon Scandal)
13. Billion Peso Poll Automation contract to(Mega Pacific) (₱ 1.3 Billion)
14. North-rail Project($503 Million USD)
15. Maguindanao Results of 2007 Elections (Zubiri, Bedol)
16. NAIA-3 controversy
17. Venable Contract (Norberto Gonzales)
18. Swine Scam (Exposed by:  Atty. Harry Roque)
19. GLORIA Arroyo son hidden assets in United States of America
20. EURO GENERAL'S
21. CALAMITY FUND SCANDAL
22. The C-5 road controversy — Senator Manuel Villar
23. ₱ 550-million worth of funds from the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA - OFW Fund)
24. ₱ 780-million LWUA funds-Prospero Pichay
25. Bishop's SUV-Gloria Birthday gift
26. Arroyo linked in ₱ 325M lotto intelligence fund
27. Arroyo got ₱ 200M in kickbacks from Government  projects-Zaldy Ampatuan
28. ₱ 200.41 billion or $ 4.6 billion USD  in Malampaya royalties from 2002 to May this year
29. LACSON ACCUSED FG MIKE ARROYO OF SELLING 3 REFURBISHED HELICOPTERS as brand new TO PNP AT ₱ 105 MILLION EACH
30. 600, 000 metric tons of rotten rice imported from India. Kishore Hemlani, an Indian trader allegedly close to Arroyo, reportedly bagged the P9.5 billion contract for the rice importation
31. Dato Arroyo wife bought the condo unit for $ 570,000 - 70-square-meter one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit (Unit No. 533) at the luxury high-rise, full-service Gramercy Towers located at 1177 California St. in upscale downtown San Francisco, USA
32. ₱ 50-million bribe to FG for the president's veto of two franchise bills.
33. The additional funding led to a 41-percent spike in advertising expenses, from P76.129 million in 2008 to P107.420 million in 2009 which went mostly to ads for Arroyo's achievements.
34. The report said the PIA received from the Department of Budget and Management a notice of cash allocations amounting to ₱344.789 million even though only P222.488 million was appropriated for it under the national budget
35. Denial of pork barrel funds to Malacanang's political enemies
36. Praises for Jovito Palparan, alleged mastermind of extra judicial killings of militants
37. Removal of Government  bodyguards for former pres and Arroyo critic, Cory Aquino
38. Appointment of manicurist as a member of the board of Pag-Ibig
39. Appointment of gardener as deputy of the Luneta Park Administration
40. Midnight appointment of an Arroyo, RENATO CORONA, as SC Chief Justice
41. 200+ other illegal midnight appointments.

So many things to be done

The justice system and the Filipino culture is still a challenge as Filipinos observe a debt of honor (Filipino: Utang na Loob, Binisaya: Utang kabobot-on) after someone lend a help it would be reciprocated with a favor, or a favor would be reciprocated with the same.

Former President Arroyo appointed the Chief Justice Renato Corona as midnight appointment to be her protector for possible trials of corruption charges and anomalies under her term and corona did what the former president wants.

This is a challenge of the current administration as the justice system of the Philippines must be fixed first so the real progress of the country would be attained.

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