US begins military exercises with Philippines

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China, Philippines dispute raises tensions in South China Sea

With tensions between China and its neighbors over the South China Sea already high, any disagreement runs the risk of becoming militarized.

By Ariel Zirulnick, Staff writer / April 11, 2012


This photo shows two Chinese surveillance ships which sailed between a Philippines warship and eight Chinese fishing boats to prevent the arrest of any fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal, a small group of rocky formations whose sovereignty is contested by the Philippines and China, in the South China Sea, about 124 nautical miles off the main island of Luzon on April 10.
Courtesy of Philippine Army/Reuters

The highly-disputed South China Sea is once again the site of a diplomatic standoff between two East Asian countries, with both the Philippines and China unwilling to back down in a fishing dispute that risks becoming much more.

Two Chinese ships have blocked a Philippine naval ship from arresting Chinese fisherman for fishing in waters that the Philippines considers to be within its "exclusive economic zone." China has ordered the Philippine naval ship to leave, insisting that it has sovereignty of the area, while the Philippines refutes this.

Voice of America reports that the dispute is "the most dangerous confrontation between the two countries in recent years" and comes after both countries said they were seeking rapprochement.

The Philippine foreign ministry says the Chinese fishing boats were first noticed Sunday by Manila's flagship naval vessel, the U.S.-built Gregorio del Pilar.

Manila says the two Chinese surveillance ships on Tuesday positioned themselves between the warship and the Chinese fishing boats, "preventing the arrest of the erring fishermen."

The Chinese Embassy statement says the fishing boats were simply taking shelter near the island due to inclement weather.

It said the two surveillance ships were taking action to safeguard "Chinese national maritime interests and rights."

A Philippine inspection of the Chinese fishing boats revealed illegally harvested coral, clams, and live sharks, according to the Philippine government, Associated Press reports.

The contested area, known outside of the Philippines and China as Scarborough Shoal, is 143 miles from the Philippines island of Luzon, according to Agence France-Presse (see map). But China, which calls the area Huangyan Island, claims sovereignty over the entirety of the South China Sea, including areas close to the shores of other sovereign countries – and hundreds of miles away from its own territory. Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of the sea.

AP reports that an unnamed Philippine navy official said that additional naval ships were being dispatched to the Scarborough Shoal, or Panatag, as it is known in the Philippines. Meanwhile, the Philippines said it had agreed with China to resolve the dispute "diplomatically," but neither country backed down. Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario said he told China's ambassador "if the Philippines is challenged, we are prepared to secure our sovereignty."

China has been regularly criticized for its aggressive efforts to stake a claim over the entirety of the South China Sea, which is a critical shipping conduit for countries in the region and contains oil and gas deposits and fishing grounds. China was accused last year of firing "warning shots" at Filipino fisherman and "harassing" a ship that was exploring the area's underwater oil deposits, AFP reports.

Concerns about China's encroachment were high enough last year for the Philippines to request help from the US in building up its maritime defenses.

The US provided the country with what is now its biggest, newest ship – the Gregorio del Pilar – which was the Philippine ship involved in today's spat with China, according to AFP.

Philippines President Benigno Aquino III, elected in 2010, has taken a firmer stand against China's territorial encroachment than his predecessor and has also reached out to the US, both of which have riled China, The Wall Street Journal reports. The US has emphatically stated that the South China Sea must remain open to navigation and has been blatant in its support for other countries in the region, for example running joint military drills with the Philippines.

Already this week, a hawkish Chinese general has warned that the Philippines is facing its "last chance" to peacefully resolve sovereignty disputes over the South China Sea. Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan, writing in the Global Times newspaper, accused the Philippines of hijacking a recent Southeast Asian summit in order to further pressure China over the South China Sea, and warned that Manila's alleged provocations would fail.

"The biggest miscalculation of the Philippines is that it has misestimated the strength and willpower of China to defends its territorial integrity," Gen. Luo wrote.

China and the Philippines are not the only countries locked in an ongoing territorial dispute. The Spratly Islands – claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan – have commanded international attention for the high tensions they have spawned. AP reports that the islands have "long been feared" as the next locus of fighting in the region.

The Philippines and Vietnam recently announced they would hold football and basketball matches on some of the disputed Spratly Islands as part of a recent agreement between Hanoi and Manila to take "confidence-building" steps.

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US begins military exercises with Philippines

Updated: 2012-04-17 08:10

By Wang Chenyan (China Daily)

Nearly 7,000 American and Filipino soldiers began a 12-day military exercise in Manila on Monday amid wide suspicion of the annual drill's aim at containing China and growing concerns over the South China Sea.

The joint exercise, named "Balikatan" or "shoulder to shoulder", started with an opening ceremony attended by Philippine Armed Forces Chief General Jessie Dellosa and US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Tomas at the military's general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo. It will continue through April 27.

In a speech at the opening ceremony, Dellosa did not specifically mention China but stressed that the drill displayed strong US support for its ally.
"Given the international situation we are in, I say that this exercise, in coordination with all those we had in the past, (is) timely and mutually beneficial," Dellosa said.

"The conduct of this annual event reflects the aspirations to further relations with our strategic ally, a commitment that has to be nurtured, especially in the context of the evolving challenges in the region."

Shi Yinhong, a professor of US studies at Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said the US and the Philippines view China as the imaginary target, which is "very clear" judging by the training courses their militaries use.

"The number of participants and the training content suggest the US intends to deter China in the short term from imposing any possible military threat to the Philippines. As for the long-term significance, the regular drill certainly strengthens the strategic military alliance between Washington and Manila to contain Beijing in the South China Sea," Shi said.

The Philippine military said the venue of the training exercises includes the area of South China Sea off Palawan, where both forces will pursue amphibious exercises and gas and oil platform defense drills.

Prior to the exercise, Emmanuel Garcia, the Balikatan public affairs officer, said on Sunday that the exercise is not in anyway related to the standoff between Philippine and Chinese ships at the Huangyan Island in the South China Sea. He said the military training would be focused on maritime security and counter-terrorism. He stressed that the exercises are not directed at any country.

"The ongoing drill is merely one of the frequent joint exercises of the US and the Philippines. However, in such a sensitive area and at such a sensitive moment, the drill conducted by a country that has disputable claims with China and no other maritime threat speaks to a hidden motive for (the Philippines)," said Li Guoqiang, director of the Research Center of Chinese Borderland History and Geography in China's Academy Social Science.

Reiterating that the Philippines had violated China's sovereignty and triggered a standoff in waters off the Huangyan Island, which is an integral part of Chinese territory, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin on Monday also said that China expects relevant countries to do more to deepen mutual trust and protect peace and stability in the region.

Shi said Beijing's attitude shows that China still puts the overall stability of the region first, although the moves by the US across the Asia Pacific will "raise strategic doubts" between Washington and Beijing.

"Maybe we need not to exaggerate the influence of the annually scheduled drill," Li said. "But its frequency, the escalating scale and the disregard of China's concerns are clearly violations of the Declaration on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea, as well as the consensus reached by Beijing and Manila."

Xinhua and AFP contributed to this story.
wangchenyan@chinadaily.com.cn

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Philippines starts US war games

Military alliance: Philippine and US officials salute during the opening ceremony of the joint US-PH military exercise. Picture: AFP
Related Coverage

• Warship stands down from standoff
• Philippines, China work to end stand-off
• 'We are prepared to secure our sovereignty'
• China orders Philippine Navy to leave
• 'More US troops are welcome'

THE Philippines has hailed the start of major war games with the United States.

It comes as a timely boost to their military alliance, amid a tense territorial dispute with China.

More than 6000 Filipino and US soldiers will take part in the 12 days of exercises across the Philippines, which come as the host nation is embroiled in a dispute with China over rival claims to the South China Sea.

At an opening ceremony for the exercises in Manila, Philippines' armed forces chief Jessie Dellosa did not specifically mention China but said the war games highlighted strong US support for its weaker ally at a crucial moment.

"Given the international situation we are in, I say that this exercise, in coordination with all those we had in the past, [is] timely and mutually beneficial," Mr Dellosa said in a speech.

"The conduct of this annual event reflects the aspirations to further relations with our strategic ally, a commitment that has to be nurtured especially in the context of the evolving challenges in the region."

China and Taiwan claim nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.

The competing claims have for decades made the sea - where there are shipping routes vital for global trade and which is believed to hold huge deposits of fossil fuels - a potential flashpoint for military conflict.

While diplomatic efforts have kept the dispute from flaring into violence over recent decades, the Philippines and Vietnam said last year that China was becoming increasingly aggressive in staking its claim to the sea.

The Philippines accused Chinese vessels of firing warning shots at Filipino fishermen, harassing an oil exploration vessel and laying markers in areas close to Philippine landmass.

Tensions spiked again last week when the Philippines sent its biggest warship to a tiny shoal about 230 kilometres west of the county's main island of Luzon where eight Chinese fishing boats had been seen.

China deployed three vessels to stop Philippine personnel from arresting the fishermen, and the dispute escalated with both countries launching protests and trading accusations that the other was violating their sovereign territory.

While the fishing boats left Scarborough Shoal over the weekend, both nations are continuing to assert their sovereignty over the area, which is many hundreds of kilometres from the nearest major Chinese landmass.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said yesterday that Balikatan had nothing to do with the Scarborough Shoal dispute and there was no reason for the war games to provoke China.

However the Philippine military has confirmed some of the drills will be held just off the western coast of Palawan in waters facing the South China Sea.

The exercises are also being held as the United States is rebuilding its military presence across the Asia Pacific, partly to counter the growing political, economic and military might of China.

The director for the US side for Balikatan, Brigadier General Frederick Padilla, confirmed yesterday the exercises were part of US President Barack Obama's military plan for the region.

"The president of the United States has stated that it is the desire of our country to be engaged more in the Pacific region - that includes working with the Filipino government and the armed forces," he told reporters.

But Padilla insisted the exercises were not meant as a warning to China amid its dispute with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal.
"This exercise is, from our stand point, not linked to any particular situation," Mr Padilla said.

China, which has expressed irritation at the increased US focus on Asia, said yesterday it was displeased with the war games.

"The major trend of the times in this region is peace and development. Military exercise does not represent the major call of the times," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in Beijing.