PHOTOS: Philippines challenges China's Claim of West Philippine Sea at UNCLOS Tribunal in The Hague

Philippines challenges China's Claim of country's exclusive economic zone at UNCLOS Tribunal in The Hague. image: inquirer.net

IN PHOTOS: Philippines challenges China in The Hague

In photos emailed to Rappler, the Permanent Court of Arbitration gives us a glimpse of the closed-door hearings pitting Manila against Beijing

MANILA, Philippines – Behind closed doors, the Philippines recently waged a legal battle against China in The Hague, Netherlands, in a historic case over the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

The Philippines on Thursday, July 23, is set to submit a new document to The Hague to bolster its case.

While Manila pursues this, a question remains: What exactly happened during hearings from July 7 to 13?

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, which serves as the venue for the arbitration proceedings, emailed Rappler high-resolution photos to give us a glimpse of the closed-door hearings.

China claimed the shores of Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Japan as their own

The photos show a powerhouse team, led by internationally acclaimed lawyer Paul Reichler, defending the Philippines' case before an equally high-caliber arbitral tribunal in The Hague.

The tribunal said around 60 members joined the Philippine team. (READ: Binay hits Philippine team vs China in The Hague))

Check out these photos from the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague.

TOP DIPLOMAT. Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario delivers an opening statement. Photo courtesy of PCA

IN SESSION. Early on, the arbitral tribunal in The Hague decides to hold the hearings behind closed doors. Photo courtesy of PCA

TOP GOVERNMENT LAWYER. Philippine Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, who serves as agent for his country, delivers a statement. Photo courtesy of PCA

TEAM OF EXPERTS. The counsel team for the Philippines, including Professor Bernard Oxman, Professor Alan Boyle, and Mr Lawrence Martin, in the closed-door hearings. Photo courtesy of PCA

HISTORIC CASE. The arbitral tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, listens to the first country that brought China to court over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Photo courtesy of PCA

'GIANT SLAYER.' Internationally acclaimed lawyer Paul Reichler, the Philippines' chief counsel, delivers a statement. Photo courtesy of PCA

REPRESENTING GOVERNMENT. Members of the Philippine delegation, including Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Menardo Guevarra. Photo courtesy of PCA

OBSERVER DELEGATIONS. The tribunal allowed observers from the following countries – Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Japan – to attend the hearings. Photo courtesy of PCA

HIGH-CALIBER TRIBUNAL. The arbitral tribunal is led by Judge Thomas Mensah (president, C), the first president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The high-caliber tribunal also includes the following (L to R): Judge Jean-Pierre Cot, Judge Stanislaw Pawlak, Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum, and Professor Alfred H. A. Soons. Photo courtesy of PCA

TEAM PHILIPPINES. Representing all 3 branches of Philippine government, the Philippine delegation comes in full force in The Hague. Photo courtesy of PCA

The 5-member tribunal said it "now enters its deliberations" on whether it has the right to hear the Philippines' case. It said it expects to rule on this matter "before the end of the year."

The tribunal said it "is conscious of its duty under the Rules of Procedure to conduct proceedings 'to avoid unnecessary delay and expense and to provide a fair and efficient process.'"

Once the tribunal decides it has jurisdiction over the case, the Philippines can already present the meat of its arguments. (READ: EXPLAINER: Philippines' 5 arguments vs China)

The Philippines said it expects a definitive ruling against China by 2016 – Rappler.com

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AFP is reinforcing rusting Navy ship on Spratly Ayungin reef outpost with Welding and Cement

Filipino soldiers wave from the dilapidated Sierra Madre ship of the Philippines Navy as it is anchored near Ayungin shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, in this photo taken in May. Photo: Reuters

Philippines reinforcing rusting Navy ship on Spratly reef outpost

Manila:  The Philippines navy is quietly reinforcing the hull and deck of a rusting ship it ran aground on a disputed South China Sea reef in 1999 to stop it breaking apart, determined to hold the shoal as Beijing creates a string of man-made islands nearby.

Using wooden fishing boats and other small craft, the navy has run the gauntlet of the Chinese coastguard to move cement, steel, cabling and welding equipment to the BRP Sierra Madre since late last year, according to two navy officers who have been inside the vessel.

The BRP Sierra Madre, a marooned transport ship which Philippine Marines live on as a military outpost, photographed last year. Photo: Reuters

The 100 meter-long tank landing ship was built for the US Navy during World War Two. It was eventually transferred to the Philippines navy, which deliberately grounded it on Second Thomas Shoal to mark Manila's claim to the reef in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea. A small contingent of Philippine soldiers are stationed onboard.

Manila regards Second Thomas Shoal, which lies 195 km south-west of the Philippines region of Palawan, as being within its exclusive economic zone. China, which claims virtually all the South China Sea, says the reef is part of its territory.

"We know China has been waiting for the ship to disintegrate but we are doing everything to hold it together," said one of the officers, adding that while the work was progressing slowly, it should be finished by the year-end.

A newly deployed Philippine Marine, part of a military detachment stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, fishes near the ship in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this photo taken last year. Photo: Reuters

The other naval officer said welding was being done at night because of the heat. Concrete foundations were being laid inside the ship's hull to try to stabilize it, he added.

Without giving exact dates, both sources said they witnessed the repairs taking place earlier this year. They declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The soldiers currently stationed on the ship, who are demolition experts, were doing the work, said the second source.

Just to the west of Second Thomas Shoal is Mischief Reef, one of seven coral formations in the Spratlys that China is rapidly turning into islands that Beijing says will have undefined military purposes.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims to the Spratly waterway, which is some 1,100 km from the Chinese mainland.

Asked about the repairs, Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles Jose declined to comment. But such work would not violate an informal code of conduct signed in 2002 by China and south-east Asian states that prohibited any change to the status quo in disputed areas, he said.

"In our view, repairs and maintenance of existing facilities are allowed ... especially if such repairs and maintenance work are for the safety of our personnel and safety of navigation," Mr Jose added.

A Philippines general familiar with the repairs  said the ship's hull and deck were being strengthened, and air-conditioning units added.

"We are improving the living quarters inside, to make life for our soldiers more comfortable," he said, declining to give further details about the repairs or to be identified.

Photos show a pockmarked vessel covered in rust, sitting on the permanently submerged reef but listing slightly to one side. Much of the boat's hull is visible.

Besides being a military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre is also a commissioned Philippine navy ship.

That means Manila could request U.S. military assistance under a decades-old security treaty with Washington if the ship was attacked, said senior Philippine military officials.

"Even if it's covered with rust, it will remain an active duty commissioned navy ship. It's a symbol of our sovereignty," said the Philippine general.

Second Thomas Shoal illustrates the mismatch in power between the Philippines and China.

Since the start of 2014, the Philippine navy's regular attempts to resupply soldiers on the BRP Sierra Madre with food and water have become a cat-and-mouse routine, with large Chinese coastguard vessels on patrol in the area trying to block the path of the smaller Philippine boats, naval officials said.

The Philippine vessels have always got through by making a run for the shoal's shallow waters, which aren't deep enough for the Chinese coastguard, naval officials said. The tear-shaped shoal itself is large, some 10-11 nautical miles from top to bottom.

Zhang Baohui, a mainland security expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University, said Beijing would be angry about the repairs, adding that Chinese ships would probably continue their "menacing" tactics. But they would not do anything that could be considered an act of war, Dr Zhang said.

"The larger geo-strategic context is more important than Second Thomas Shoal," he said. - Reuters/The Sydney Morning Herald

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Google Maps removes Chinese name for disputed South China Sea reef Scarborough Shoals

Google Maps shows the name Scarborough Shoal for the disputed island Photo: Google Maps

Google drops Chinese name from Maps after South China Sea controversy

Following pressure from the Philippines, Google redacts the Chinese name for the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea

Google has removed the Chinese name for a disputed shoal in the South China Sea from its Maps service, following protests from Philippine citizens.

Google Maps English service on Tuesday corrected the labeling of the atoll to read Scarborough Shoal, the internationally neutral term for the territory claimed by both the Philippines and China.

Chinese protesters in Los Angeles, part of an escalating territorial dispute over the Huangyan Island, the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal (Alamy)- image: The Telegraph

The move came after more than 2,000 people signed an online petition on Change.org asking for Google to stop identifying the shoal as part of China’s Zhongsha Island chain.

“We’ve updated Google Maps to fix the issue. We understand that geographic names can raise deep emotions which is why we worked quickly once this was brought to our attention,” Google’s office in Manila said in a statement.

In 2012, China and the Philippines engaged in a standoff at Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground, after a Philippine warship attempted to expel Chinese fishing boats in the area. China has controlled the shoal since, though it is some 650 km away from Hainan island, the nearest major Chinese landmass.

China bases its claim to the area on its “nine-dash line”, a demarcation based on historical records that decrees almost the entire to South China Sea as Chinese territory.

A Filipino holds a sign during a demonstration in front of the Chinese embassy in Los Angeles (Alamy) - image: The Telegraph

The Philippines claims the shoal as part of its exclusive economic zone under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“China’s sweeping claim of South China Sea under their nine-dash line purportedly historical boundary is illegal and is creating tension among nations,” the petition read.

“Google maps showing this is part of Zhongsha island chain gives credence to what is plainly a territory grab that peace loving nations should stand against.”

Construction at Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the south China Sea by China (EPA) -image: The Telegraph

The kerfuffle comes at a moment when tension between China and the Philippines over South China Sea territory is high, following months of rapid and dramatic land reclamation work by China on the Spratly Islands, another disputed archipelago.

Last week the Philippines launched a case in the Permanent Court of Attribution in The Hague in an attempt to prove that China’s “nine-dash line” claim is incompatible with UNCLOS. - Source: The Telegraph

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The Fate of West Philippine Sea/South China Sea at the United Nation's Tribunal begin its Journey in Hague vs China

The Philippine delegation, with lawyers and advocates, before the start of Commencement of the 1st Round of Philippines Argument.- Image CNN Philippines

South China Sea dispute: Philippines warns China flouting UN maritime laws

THE HAGUE: The Philippines has appealed to an international tribunal to declare China's claims to most of the South China Sea illegal, warning the integrity of United Nations' maritime laws is at stake.

In opening comments to the tribunal in the Hague on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines had sought judicial intervention because China's behavior had become increasingly "aggressive" and negotiations had proved futile.

Del Rosario said the UN's Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the Philippines and China have both ratified, should be used to resolve their bitter territorial dispute.

"The case before you is of the utmost importance to the Philippines, to the region, and to the world," del Rosario told the tribunal.

"In our view, it is also of utmost significance to the integrity of the convention, and to the very fabric of the legal order of the seas and oceans."

China insists it has sovereign rights to nearly all of the South China Sea, a strategically vital waterway with shipping lanes through which about a third of all the world's traded oil passes.

Its claim, based on ancient Chinese maps, reaches close to the coasts of its southern neighbors.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to parts of the sea, which have for decades made it a potential military flashpoint.

Tensions have risen sharply in recent years as a rising China has sought to stake its claims more assertively.

Following a stand-off between Chinese ships and the weak Filipino Navy in 2012, China took control of a rich fishing ground called Scarborough Shoal that is within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

China has also undertaken giant reclamation activities that have raised fears it will use artificial islands to build new military outposts close to the Philippines  and other claimants.

China has rejected all criticism over its actions, insisting it has undisputed sovereign rights to the sea.

However del Rosario told the tribunal in the Hague that China's argument of claiming the sea based on "historic rights" was without foundation.

"The so-called nine dash line (based on an old map used by China) has no basis whatsoever under international law," he said.

The Philippines submitted its case to the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, a 117-state body that rules on disputes between countries, in early 2013.

Del Rosario's comments, held in closed door proceedings but released by his office in Manila on Wednesday, were part of the Philippines' opening oral arguments.

China has refused to participate in the proceedings and said it will not abide by any ruling, even though it is has ratified the UN's Convention on the Law of the Sea.

However the Philippines hopes a ruling in its favor will pressure China into making concessions.

Any ruling from the tribunal is not expected until next year.

The week covering July 7 to 13 will be pivotal to the Philippines’ legal battle to assert its claims over the portion of the South China Sea that it calls the West Philippine Sea.- Image CNN Philippines

Day 1: PH begins arguments in The Hague

On July 7, 2015, the Philippines has begun arguing before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that the treaty-based court has jurisdiction — and should intervene — in the country's dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea.

Malacañan said the first day of hearings began with Solicitor General Florin Hilbay's introduction of the Philippines' case, and his presentation of the order of speakers.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario made a plea for the tribunal to recognize its jurisdiction. He noted that the case is important not just to the country but also to the global community, owing to its impact on the rule of law in maritime disputes.

Paul Reichler, chief counsel of the Philippines, presented the justification for the five-man tribunal's jurisdiction over the Philippine claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Reichler was followed by Philippe Sands, who explained that the Philippines did not raise questions of sovereignty over land or maritime delimitation.

Sands is the director of the University College London's Centre on International Courts and Tribunals.

The first round of Philippine arguments will continue Monday  (July 8) with two more hearings, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Philippine time.

A few hours before the hearing, Undersecretary Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, told CNN Philippines that the delegation is cautiously optimistic that the tribunal would rule in favor of Philippine' on the jurisdiction issue.

Valte is also in The Hague with the Philippine delegation.

"We have been preparing every day, every step of the way to come to a proceeding like this," she said.

China has refused to take part in the proceedings. It prefers to conduct bilateral talks with the Philippines. Sources: CNN Philippines and The Economic Times

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Philippine Navy sends first patrol ship to West Philippine Sea anew -beg China to respect its sovereign territory

China asked United States of America to respect its national interest in Asia; the Philippines asked China to respect its sovereign territory and it's 370 Kilometers from its coast or 200 Nautical Miles (NM) Exclusive Economic Zone as grants from UNCLOS: US will respect china's interest.

As published in the Business World Online Thursday, The Philippine Government once again calls for China to respect the "territorial sovereignty" and the exclusive economic zone after the former sent its first patrol ship to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement on Friday.

"The Philippines strongly objects to the Chinese patrol of Philippine maritime domain in the WPS [West Philippine Sea]," DFA Assistant Secretary and Spokesman Raul S. Hernandez said in a text message to reporters.

"Such patrol will not validate the 9-dash lines [China's claim] and is contrary to China's obligation under international law including UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]," Mr. Hernandez added.

The government reacted to the reports that a patrol ship was sent from China in the disputed areas in the West Philippines Sea.

The dispute between the Philippines and China escalated after the Scarborough Shoal issue. Other countries such as Malaysia and Taiwan claim ownership of parts of the disputed seas. (read further in the Business World Online)

Philippines objections to new Chinese gunboat in the Spratly

MSN News also published that the  Philippines on Friday said it "strongly objects" to China's deployment of a new patrol vessel in the South China Sea, where the two countries have a seething maritime territorial dispute.

Such patrols will not boost China's claim to the disputed territory where the two countries have had a standoff since April, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a statement.

"The Philippines strongly objects to the Chinese patrol of Philippine maritime domain in the West Philippine Sea," the statement said, using the local name for the South China Sea.

It called on China to respect the country's "territorial sovereignty and EEZ", referring to the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

China's official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday an ocean-going patrol vessel equipped with a helipad would be deployed to the South China Sea, the first of its kind in the area.

In late November, China said it had granted its border patrol police the right to board and turn away foreign ships entering the disputed waters, raising fears of a confrontation.

Both the Philippines and China have overlapping claims over parts of the South China Sea, a major shipping route that is also believed to hold vast mineral resources.

Tensions between China and the Philippines have risen in the area since April after ships from both countries had a standoff over a rock outcropping known as the Scarborough Shoal.

While the Philippines has withdrawn its ships, it says China reneged on an agreement to pull out its own vessels.

China claims the shoal as well as nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of neighbouring countries. The Philippines says the shoal is well within its EEZ. (read further in MSN News)

Philippines claims South China Sea islands, How Filipinos Discovered the Paradise in the Kalayaan Group of Islands?

Filipinos have settled on Thitu Island as a means to strengthen the country's claim on the Spratlys.

hitu Island is at the centre of one of the biggest territorial disputes in the world.

It is part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which are believed to be sitting on billions of dollars' worth of oil and gas reserves.

Six countries claim ownership of the tiny archipelago, including the Philippines, which has people living on Thitu Island as a means to strengthen its claim on the Spratlys.

Article published in Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan reports from the Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Watch the Video of the Pagasa Island (Thitu Island) of the Paradise Kalayaan Group of Islands, Spratlys, Province of Palawan, (Old Sultanate of Sulu) Philippines.

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World’s newest & stealthiest $3Billion USD destroyer will counter China in West Philippines

This file image released by Bath Iron Works shows a rendering of the DDG-1000 Zumwalt, the U.S. Navy's next-generation destroyer, which has been funded to be built at Bath Iron Works in Maine and at Northrop Grumman's shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. (AP/Bath Iron Works)

A super-stealthy warship that could underpin the U.S. navy's China strategy will be able to sneak up on coastlines virtually undetected and pound targets with electromagnetic "railguns" right out of a sci-fi movie.

But at more than $3 billion a pop, critics say the new DDG-1000 destroyer sucks away funds that could be better used to bolster a thinly stretched conventional fleet. One outspoken admiral in China has scoffed that all it would take to sink the high-tech American ship is an armada of explosive-laden fishing boats.

With the first of the new ships set to be delivered in 2014, the stealth destroyer is being heavily promoted by the Pentagon as the most advanced destroyer in history -- a silver bullet of stealth. It has been called a perfect fit for what Washington now considers the most strategically important region in the world -- Asia and the Pacific.

Though it could come in handy elsewhere, like in the Gulf region, its ability to carry out missions both on the high seas and in shallows closer to shore is especially important in Asia because of the region's many island nations and China's long Pacific coast.

"With its stealth, incredibly capable sonar system, strike capability and lower manning requirements -- this is our future," Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, said in April after visiting the shipyard in Maine where they are being built.

On a visit to a major regional security conference in Singapore that ended Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Navy will be deploying 60 percent of its fleet worldwide to the Pacific by 2020, and though he didn't cite the stealth destroyers he said new high-tech ships will be a big part of its shift.

The DDG-1000 and other stealth destroyers of the Zumwalt class feature a wave-piercing hull that leaves almost no wake, electric drive propulsion and advanced sonar and missiles. They are longer and heavier than existing destroyers -- but will have half the crew because of automated systems and appear to be little more than a small fishing boat on enemy radar.

Down the road, the ship is to be equipped with an electromagnetic railgun, which uses a magnetic field and electric current to fire a projectile at several times the speed of sound.

But cost overruns and technical delays have left many defense experts wondering if the whole endeavor was too focused on futuristic technologies for its own good.

They point to the problem-ridden F-22 stealth jet fighter, which was hailed as the most advanced fighter ever built but was cut short because of prohibitive costs. Its successor, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, has swelled up into the most expensive procurement program in Defense Department history.

"Whether the Navy can afford to buy many DDG-1000s must be balanced against the need for over 300 surface ships to fulfill the various missions that confront it," said Dean Cheng, a China expert with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research institute in Washington. "Buying hyperexpensive ships hurts that ability, but buying ships that can't do the job, or worse can't survive in the face of the enemy, is even more irresponsible."

The Navy says it's money well spent. The rise of China has been cited as the best reason for keeping the revolutionary ship afloat, although the specifics of where it will be deployed have yet to be announced. Navy officials also say the technologies developed for the ship will inevitably be used in other vessels in the decades ahead.

But the destroyers' $3.1 billion price tag, which is about twice the cost of the current destroyers and balloons to $7 billion each when research and development is added in, nearly sank it in Congress. Though the Navy originally wanted 32 of them, that was cut to 24, then seven.

Now, just three are in the works.

"Costs spiraled -- surprise, surprise -- and the program basically fell in on itself," said Richard Bitzinger, a security expert at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. "The DDG-1000 was a nice idea for a new modernistic surface combatant, but it contained too many unproven, disruptive technologies."

The U.S. Defense Department is concerned that China is modernizing its navy with a near-term goal of stopping or delaying U.S. intervention in conflicts over disputed territory in the South China Sea or involving Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province.

China is now working on building up a credible aircraft carrier capability and developing missiles and submarines that could deny American ships access to crucial sea lanes.

The U.S. has a big advantage on the high seas, but improvements in China's navy could make it harder for U.S. ships to fight in shallower waters, called littorals. The stealth destroyers designed to do both. In the meantime, the Navy will begin deploying smaller Littoral Combat Ships to Singapore later this year.

Officially, China has been quiet on the possible addition of the destroyers to Asian waters.

But Rear Adm. Zhang Zhaozhong, an outspoken commentator affiliated with China's National Defense University, scoffed at the hype surrounding the ship, saying that despite its high-tech design it could be overwhelmed by a swarm of fishing boats laden with explosives. If enough boats were mobilized some could get through to blow a hole in its hull, he said.

"It would be a goner," he said recently on state broadcaster CCTV's military channel.

Foxnews

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Vietnam will conduct a live Fire Drill in the Paracels - June 13

China’s Claims with undisputable over Spratlys is true as it is baseless according to the UNCLOS

After the Philippines’ protests to the United Nations for China’s navy harassing Philippine Oil Research Ship in the Philippine Waters - UNLOS International Law of Seas 200 Nautical Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, China pronounced their undisputable claim over Spratlys as it is 1000 Nautical Mile from their shore. China’s invasion is a purely invasion to the waters of the Philippines and Vietnam as they are not part to be called as having a reliable claim over the area.

The same word by “hong” (China’s Spokesperson)  to Vietnam as Vietnam and the Philippines have almost the same rights over Spratlys as part of Spratlys is Within Philippine Sea and other parts are within the Vietnam Waters.

For the common understanding to the International community it is  the right time for China to back off as they are not part of the Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea. The same thing with Vietnam to follow the UNCLOS and must not extend their claims to the Philippine waters so the peace will be re-established in the disputed sea.

Hong reiterated last June 7, 2011 that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters. His claim is very true because UNCLOS International Law of the Sea defined 200 Nautical Mile and China’s distance to the Spratlys is 1,000 Miles(One Thousand Miles).

What’s china did is just to bully the neighbors  and to annoy them as they have no rights and sovereignty over West Philippine Sea – The Spratlys.

Vietnam’ s Live Fire Drill in Paracel - June 13, 2011

A fall out over territory in the South China Sea escalated Friday when Vietnam announced a live ammunition drill in an apparent response to China's demand that the Vietnamese halt all oil exploration in the area.

The verbal clash between the two communist neighbors follows a similar one between China and the Philippines earlier in the week over another area of the South China Sea & West Philippines Sea, where several countries are eyeing potentially rich oil and gas reserves.

The disputes generally pit China against its neighbors and have pulled in the United States, which has said it considers some of China's sea claims to be an infringement of international waters and a possible damper on international trade.

Vietnam said it would carry out two exercises totaling nine hours Monday in an area off the country's central Quang Nam province in the East Sea of Vietnam adjacent to the Paracel . The announcement on the website of the state-owned Northern Maritime Safety Corp. warned boats and ships to stay out of the area. It was the first time Vietnam has issued such an alert about conducting live-fire maritime drills.

It came a day after China and Vietnam traded diplomatic punches, with each demanding that the other stay out of waters they claim.

China had accused Vietnam of endangering its fishermen's lives. Earlier Thursday, Vietnam slammed China for interfering with its seismic survey off the central Vietnamese coast, saying the Chinese fishing boat supported by two patrol boats had damaged an exploration cable of the Petro Vietnam a state-owned Vietnamese research boat.

Vietnam said it was the second time China had hindered the operation of an oil and gas exploration boat in two weeks, adding that its actions were "completely premeditated" and accusing it of flaring regional tensions in the South China Sea.

Hanoi says both incidents occurred well within the 200 nautical miles guaranteed to Vietnam as an exclusive economic zone by international law UNCLOS.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Chinese fishing boat crew had instead been in waters around the Spratly Islands of the West Philippine Sea in the Philippine Waters, which are claimed by China and Vietnam and some other Asian nations. He said the crew had merely been protecting itself after being dragged backward for over an hour by a Vietnamese oil and gas exploration vessel - one, he said, that was "illegally working at the scene."

"The claims made by Vietnam are complete misrepresentations of the truth. As is known to all, China has indisputable sovereignty rights over the Spratly Islands and the waters nearby," Hong said.

"It needs to be pointed out that in illegally exploring for oil and gas and forcing out Chinese fishing boats from the Wan'an bank of the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea, Vietnam has seriously violated China's sovereignty and maritime rights," he said.

"China demands that Vietnam stop all invasive activities," Hong said.

Last weekend, thousands of Vietnamese marched in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in rare demonstrations demanding that China stop invading Vietnam's territory.

On Thursday, China denied an allegation by Filipino officials that Chinese forces had intruded into Philippines-claimed areas in the West Philippine Sea around the Spratly Islands six times since February and of firing shots at least once to Filipino Fishermen. Beijing said it would use violence only when attacked but the armless Filipino Fishermen were attacked by the China’s navy opposite from the liar Beijing.

Although the tension is unlikely to escalate beyond a war of words, the conflict could draw in the United States, which worries that the disputes could hurt access to one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last year that the peaceful resolution of disputes over the Spratly and Paracel island chains was in the American national interest.

One of the Legal ground of Secretary Clinton is the American – and the Philippines signed agreement to protect the Philippines from any invaders and the Spratlys is within the Philippine Waters in the West Philippines Sea 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the country which is America is obliged to act on every invasion. 

 

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China is embarrassed in the International Community over invasion in the Philippine Waters in the Spratlys

China stepped up criticism of the Philippines in a fresh exchange of invectives over disputed waters, calling on Manila to stop infringing its sovereignty with irresponsible claims over the Spratlys, after thousands of protest online denouncing China’s invasion and incursion to the Philippine waters UNCLOS 200 nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

“China demands that the Philippines stop unilateral actions that damage China’s  believed sovereignty and interests at sea and could lead to the expansion and complication of the South China Sea & West Philippine Sea dispute, and stop issuing irresponsible comments that are inconsistent with facts,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei. As UNCLOS law of sea showing that China is violating the international law, China is embarrassed in the international community of being called the “UNCLOS international law violator China”.

Malacañang of the Philippines shrugged off the Chinese statement.

“We are very careful in crafting these statements and we see to it that we back up our statements and base it on facts,” President Aquino’s deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte told reporters in Manila on Wednesday ( June 8, 2011).

“We stand by what we believe in and what is ours,” she added.

The Philippines is confident of their stands as Tomas Cloma, a Filipino Business man and navigator is the first person in the world pronounced his Ownership in the whole Spratlys Archipelago in 1955 and then turned it over to the Philippines.

The Philippines is also confident as the Spratlys which is become disputed is just within the Philippine waters within UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the West Philippine Sea and Palawan shore.

The Philippines is also confident as the called disputed Spratlys is the traditional fishing ground of the Filipinos since the ancient times.

The comments, posted on the ministry’s website on Tuesday, were China’s most vitriolic in weeks of tension as the Philippines denounced what it said was the increasing assertiveness of Chinese ships in the region. It also cited the United States’ stake in the stability and security of the world’s second-busiest sea lane.

Hong said China had stood by its position for centuries. He said conducting missions and patrols by Chinese vessels in waters under Chinese jurisdiction was “completely reasonable.” The China’s beliefs which for them reasonable as they are giants is definitely not reasonable to the small  ASEAN countries who owned the Islands and Sea which China’s tried to invade. The Old map also of China didn’t show that Spratly’s is part of their claim. The China’s Claim over the Spratly’s of the Philippines started after the rumored of its contain the 4^th largest Oil and Gas Deposit in the World.  The Oil thirsty china needs the Spratlys to survive from their oil needs.

The Philippines is the strongest bone which China’s fear of as most part of the islands and waters they tried to invade are within the Philippines Waters in the West Philippines Sea - UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone. China’s shame of being called as UNCLOS International law violator as so embarrassing and unacceptable for them in the international communities and lost their credibility to lead in both power and economy.

Diplomatic solution

“President Aquino of the Philippine has also already said that we are preparing reports on these alleged incursions and that we want to present them to the appropriate body,” Valte said.

Asked if the Chinese statement would affect Mr. Aquino’s plan to report the intrusions to the United Nations, Valte said, “It will not hold us back as far as we still reiterate our stand that we will handle these conflicts in the most diplomatic way possible.”

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim territories in the West Philippine Sea and  South China Sea, which covers an important shipping route and is thought to hold untapped oil and gas reserves which ranked 4^th largest oil and gas deposit in the World. Though the Philippines have started their Oil and Gas Exploration within the Archipelago’s 200 Mile Exclusive Economic Zone, it is not yet to the fullest which China; the oil thirsty country want to be part of what’s the Philippines have now in Malampaya Gas Exploration Project in Palawan Province.

China claims most of the sea, some 1.7 million square kilometers, including the Paracel  which is within their UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone and the Spratly of the Philippines which is within the Philippines Waters UNCLOS 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone. Paracel and Spratlys are Different because Paracel is within the waters of Vietnam and China which the 2 countries are fighting for; while Spratlys – most part is within the Philippine Waters and some part is in Vietnam Waters, Malaysia, & Brunei.

6 incidents of intrusions

Manila has accused China of intrusions into its territory, citing six instances, including one in March when two Chinese patrol boats tried to ram a Philippine survey ship.

Vietnamese officials have also complained about Chinese activity in the contested waters, accusing Chinese patrol boats of harassing an oil-exploration ship conducting a seismic survey 120 kilometers (75 Miles)  off Vietnam’s south-central coast.

One incident this month, in which Chinese vessels placed a buoy and posts in a part of the sea it claims, spurred protests in the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

Hong said China was willing to negotiate directly with the Philippines to “seek an appropriate resolution to the relevant dispute.”

Aircraft carrier

The Chinese blast against the Philippines came amid reports that China could launch its first aircraft carrier this year, a year earlier than US military analysts had expected.

The Hong Kong Commercial Daily on Wednesday reported that a top Chinese general had confirmed that Beijing was building an aircraft carrier, marking the first acknowledgement of the ship’s existence from China’s secretive military.

In an exclusive interview, the newspaper quoted Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as saying the 300-meter refurbished Soviet carrier “is being built, but it has not been completed.”

He declined to elaborate although there has been wide speculation that the vessel was nearly finished after the ship, then called the Varyag, was reportedly purchased in 1998. It is currently based in the northeast port city of Dalian.

The ship, which an expert on China’s military has said would be used for training and as a model for a future indigenously built ship, was originally built for the Soviet Navy. Construction was interrupted by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

End of month launch

The Hong Kong paper quoted anonymous sources as saying the carrier would be launched by the end of June at the earliest.

Qi Jianguo, assistant to the chief of the PLA’s general staff, told the newspaper that the carrier would not enter other nations’ territories, in accordance with Beijing’s defensive military strategy.

“All of the great nations in the world own aircraft carriers—they are symbols of a great nation,” he was quoted as saying.

Despite its growing naval might, China says it poses no threat to its neighbors and that its long-term double-digit increases in military spending are in line with overall growth.

China clashes with Tokyo

In addition to China’s claims in the South China Sea, Beijing has clashed with Tokyo over the disputed Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, located in the East China Sea.

In April, Adm. Robert Willard, head of the US Pacific Command, said China’s Navy had adopted a less aggressive stance in the Pacific after protests from Washington and other nations in the region.

The PLA—the largest army in the world—is hugely secretive about its defense programs, which benefit from a big military budget boosted by the nation’s runaway economic growth

 

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China to lose face with incursions in the West Philippine Sea - Spratlys

China will lose face before the international community if it continues its incursions into Philippine territory and in the disputed Spratly archipelago in the West Philippine Sea & South China Sea, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said on Tuesday.

Gazmin said the international community will hold China to Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie’s declaration at the Asia Security Summit in Singapore over the weekend that Beijing was after peace and stability in the region.

He said Liang was very specific in saying that aggression towards other countries was not an option for the Chinese and that they were for a peaceful resolution of the dispute over the Spratlys group.

“Remember, that statement (by Liang) was made last Sunday. The incursions (occurred) before, so we now have a baseline. So anything that happens from now on is a clear violation of what he said,” Gazmin told a news briefing at the defense department on Tuesday.

“If they do that, they will lose face in the international community. They wouldn’t want to do that,” he said.

The Spratlys, a chain of islets and atolls in the South China Sea believed to sit above rich oil deposits, is claimed wholly or in part by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes the Philippines, signed a nonbinding accord in 2002 that called on claimants to exercise restraint and stop occupying new areas.

At the annual regional security forum in Singapore, called the “Shangri-La Dialogue” over the weekend, Gazmin and Vietnamese Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh complained about harassment from the Chinese military in the Spratlys.

No opportunity

Gazmin said there had been an “alarming” five to six incursions by China this year in territories claimed by the Philippines. The latest incident occurred while Liang was in the country for an official visit from May 21 to 25.

Gazmin said he did not have the opportunity to bring up the latest incursion with Liang during the summit.

Gazmin said he had bilateral talks with his counterparts from Vietnam and Malaysia.

“We are one in resolving the disputes in a very peaceful manner. We have mechanisms that are in place in the resolution of these cases,” he said.

“All the ministers that I have talked to (said) that there should be peaceful resolution to make this area stable,” he added.

The forum was also attended by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates who expressed increasing US concern that clashes could erupt in the South China Sea unless the countries with conflicting territorial claims adopt a mechanism to settle the dispute peacefully.

Don’t Trust the Devil

The 2002 nonbinding accord in 2002 that called on claimants to exercise restraint and stop occupying new areas which was signed by China and Other ASEAN nations has been violated by series of incursion by china to the Philippine waters.

Even though they have signed the 200 non binding accords, “Ops! They did it again” early this year in 2011.  ASEAN countries must be reminded to be on alert all the time because we don’t know what is in the mind of this dragon. They will blow fire anytime they want if you are sleeping.

The US destroyer is in the vicinity now and that is one of the reason that they must have to calm down because Uncle Sam is there, he is carrying an “Arnis Stick”. The stick my choke the dragon if they will blow fire while the boss is there.

Be remain calm but on the highest alert level Philippine, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia maybe 1 day soon, you will wakeup your island is already a laying ground of a hungry dragon.

 

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Armed Forces of the Philippines will install radars and Airbase in the Spratly Islands, Province of the Philippines

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said , they  will install radar equipments on nine islands in the disputed Spratlys of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) to monitor intrusions even as the Coast Guard said it deployed three patrol vessels to secure a government oil survey ship reportedly harassed by two Chinese boats in the South China Sea.

“With the available resources that we have right now, all we can do is to react,” Western Command chief Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban said in an interview in Camp Aguinaldo.

“But we will be installing radars in all our controlled islands in the Philippine Waters for fast monitoring.”

On March 2, two Chinese Navy patrol vessels harassed an Energy Department survey ship, the m/v Veritas Voyager, in the Reed Bank, but left after the Navy and Air Force sent aircraft to the area.

Seismic testing for gas by an Anglo-Filipino consortium had been halted after an incident in which Manila says two Chinese boats threatened to ram a survey ship, the government said.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said the seismic tests would resume after the Philippines and China held talks to resolve the dispute. Manila would send maritime affairs experts to Beijing later this week for negotiations.

“They had to pack up and reconstitute everything,” Almendras told reporters, saying it would take a few days to restart the tests. “We have to wait, but we hope to resume.”

The Philippines has already filed a diplomatic protest with the Chinese government over the incident, but Beijing has yet to respond to it.

Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario said the Energy Department’s research vessel was well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Over the weekend, Coast Guard chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said two vessels with divers and medical teams on board and a surveillance vessel were sent to patrol the waters off the southwestern province of Palawan and help the government-contracted ship doing a seismic survey of the area.

Sabban suggested that the government could renovate an airstrip on Pagasa Island and turn it into an airbase so it could respond faster to such incidents.

“We have an airstrip on Pagasa Island already, and all we have to do is to make an airbase to augment our maritime patrols, especially in the vicinity of our claimed islands,” Sabban said.

“We’re the first one to build an airstrip, but we’ve already been surpassed by the kind of airstrips that Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia have put up in the Spratlys.”

US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. urged the Spartlys claimants, especially China, to act with restraint.

“We urge restraint on all sides,” he said.

“We urge that the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea issue be resolved in the negotiating table. We believe that the ASEAN (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei) states and China with the presence of the USA should sit down according to the 2002 Code of Conduct.

 

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