Chinese Media Warns Of War With Philippines

[Ryan Ruck]

Chinese Media Warns Of War With Philippines

China warned its citizens in the Philippines to "stay indoors" on Thursday as its state media warned of war over a month-long dispute in the South China Sea

May 10, 2012



Territorial rivalry has escalated throughout the seas around China as regional and international navies seek to establish rights of passage against an expanding Chinese presence.

Chinese and Philippine vessels have been locked in a high seas stand-off since the PLA Navy prevented a Philippine warship from arresting crews of Chinese fishing boats near the Scarborough Shoal on April 8.

Both countries claim the fish rich shoal as their own and protests by Philippine fishermen over their loss of livelihood have drawn mass support in the south-east Asian country.

China International Travel Service, the state-owned tourism operator, yesterday suspended ties with the Philippines after organisers announced plans to demonstrate outside Chinese embassy buildings and property today.

Beijing also issued a travel advisory warning its citizens to keep a low profile. "Avoid going out at all if possible, and if not, to avoid going out alone," it said. "If you come across any demonstrations, leave the area, do not stay to watch."

Reports in Japan said five Chinese warships – including two guided missile destroyers, two frigates and a amphibious landing ship – had passed through waters close to Okinawa moving to Philippine reefs.

As the dispute escalated, Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, met senators in a push to ratify a treaty that would bolster legal backing for US naval patrols in dispute regions such as the South China Sea.

Seizing on warnings of the dangers of escalating "gunboat diplomacy" Mr Panetta called on the senate to ratify the Laws of the Sea, a UN treaty that has been hindered by procedural disputes.

"By moving off the sidelines and leading the discussion, we would be able to influence those treaty bodies that develop and interpret the Law of the Sea," he said. "In that way, we would ensure that our rights are not whittled away by the excessive claims and erroneous interpretations of others."

American officials also announced the deployment of Littoral Combat Ships, a new generation of vessels that would allow the US much more extensive coverage of Asian sea lanes including the Strait of Malacca, as well as areas disputed by China.

The first of the shallow-draft ships, Freedom would be deployed to operate from Singapore for 10 months.

[Ryan Ruck]

China TV 'claims' Philippines as Chinese territory

May 9, 2012

An anchor on China's state-run television network has accidentally declared the Philippines a part of China, in an embarrassing gaffe as tensions between the two nations run high.

He Jia, anchor for China Central Television's (CCTV) nationally televised news broadcast, made the claim during a late Monday broadcast that has been repeatedly replayed on the Internet.

The presenter apparently meant to say that the Huangyan islands -- known in the Philippines as the Scarborough Shoal, and claimed by both nations -- is China's territory.

"We all know that the Philippines is China's inherent territory and the Philippines belongs to Chinese sovereignty, this is an indisputable fact," He said in the broadcast, which has since disappeared from the CCTV website but is available elsewhere on the web.

Viewers joked in online postings that the presenter's nationalistic fervour led to her mistake.

"This anchor woman is great, a good patriot, she has announced to the world the Philippines belongs to China," said a microblogger named helenjhuang.

"We should attack directly, send (Philippine President Benigno) Aquino packing and take back our inherent territory."

Another microblogger named kongdehua said, "the Philippines have basically been making irrational trouble, if they want to start a war then we will strike, no one fears them.

"If every Chinese spat once, we could drown (the Philippines)."

CCTV officials refused comment on He's gaff when contacted by AFP and would not say whether the station had apologised.

When commenting on territorial disputes and separatist movements in Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and neighbouring sea areas, Chinese diplomats and media routinely claim all such areas as an "indisputable part of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said late Monday Beijing was ready for "any escalation" of the maritime standoff with the Philippines that has become one of the most high-profile flare ups over the South China Seas and its vast oil and gas deposits in years.

[Ryan Ruck]

India Steps Into Philippines-China Spat Over South China Sea

As the Philippines braces for anti-China protests on Friday, India has stepped into the hottest South China Sea dispute to counsel restraint.

In an unusual statement that signals India's growing interests in South China Sea, the MEA on Thursday weighed in on the growing dispute between China and the Philippines. Admitting Indian concern about the events, the MEA spokesperson said, "Maintenance of peace and security in the region is of vital interest to the international community. India urges both countries to exercise restraint and resolve the issue diplomatically according to principles of international law."

India not only has a growing presence in oil and gas exploration off Vietnam in the South China Sea, there has been an Indian presence in helping to keep the sea lanes safe and open for some time now. Besides, India is also signaling to the Southeast Asian nations that it remains engaged about the issues that concern them.

According to reports, over 1,000 people are expected to protest in Manila on Friday against what the Philippines calls a sovereignty dispute over a set of islands. While, China calls them Huangyan Islands, the Philippines calls them Scarborough Shoal. This week Beijing has asked Manila to ensure security of its citizens, asked its citizens to stay indoors, etc.

The People's Liberation Army Daily, the official voice of Chinese military, has also published a commentary on Thursday titled, "Never Expect to Take Away Half an Inch of China's Territory." It said, "We never tolerate any unreasonable embarrassment with blind patience, not to mention that the issue matters for China's territorial integrity, national dignity, and even social stability.

"For anyone who tries to snatch the sovereignty over Huangyan Islands, not only will the Chinese government not agree; the Chinese people will not agree; and the Chinese army will not agree."

In early April, Filipino naval forces intercepted eight Chinese fishing vessels in the disputed islands, boarded them and forced China to back off. It was then seen to be part of China's new aggressive policy in the region. But things heated up last week, when China asked the Philippines to withdraw all its vessels from the island.

Any conflict in that region would affect Indian economic interests. But equally, China has been commenting on issues that New Delhi considers its own bilateral ones - like Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's recent whistle-stop India visit. And, India's commentary on the South China Sea issue has to be seen in that light.

[American Patriot]

Owns the Philippines eh?

[MinutemanCO]

Another big-time escalation with interesting timing. Is something grandiose afoot in the multiple lands of the world's largest communist entities? Maybe I'm connecting dots with no relation to one another.

[American Patriot]

Might be nothing.

Might be a key indicator.

[Malsua]

I wonder if the media will crucify the Chinese if they invade and violate human rights. Oh wait, that's right, the media won't have clue what's going on because the Chinese won't let have anyone have any access to anything they're doing.

I'm sure the media lapdogs will eat up the Chicom propaganda as gospel.

[Ryan Ruck]

Chinese Ship Rams Philippine Fish Boat; 1 Dead

4 missing, 3 injured in incident off Pangasinan

June 25, 2012

A Chinese vessel last week rammed a Philippine fishing boat north of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), killing a Filipino fisherman and leaving four others missing.

Executive Director Benito Ramos of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Sunday said the Chinese vessel might have intentionally hit the fishing boat AXL John on Wednesday, but the vessel did nothing to help the fishermen.

“They did not [help],” Ramos said. “That’s why it’s suspicious. If it was accidental, then they should have helped.”

The AXL John may have been the first casualty in the dispute between China and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal. Manila refers to the area as Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc.

The state-owned China News Agency (CNA) reported on Saturday that a Chinese official had ordered navy ships to target “Filipino vessels that hang around” Scarborough Shoal “and don’t leave.”

The order of Rear Adm. Yin Zhuo, director of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) Information Expert Committee, came as an answer to President Benigno Aquino’s statement on Wednesday that he would order Philippine vessels back to the shoal if air surveillance found China still had vessels there.

Scarborough standoff

Vessels from China and the Philippines faced off at the shoal, which both countries claim, for more than two months until June 15 after an agreement had been reached for a withdrawal, with bad weather as reason for calls to vessels to return home.

Expecting that China would keep its word, Mr. Aquino ordered a Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessel and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources survey ship home on the night of June 15.

But China withdrew only some fishing boats from the shoal’s lagoon, refusing to call home seven government vessels that had been stationed outside the lagoon to assert Chinese sovereignty over the area. Beijing refers to the shoal as Huangyan Island.

Fisherman dies

The NDRRMC’s Ramos said the fishing boat set off from the coastal town of Bolinao in Pangasinan province on Monday and was reported to have sunk two days later.

“Of the eight fishermen aboard, four were plucked out of sea only yesterday (Saturday), but one of them died in a hospital,” Ramos said. “Four more are still missing.”

Bolinao Mayor Alfonso Celeste said a telephone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Christopher Carbonel, 32, a fisherman from the island village of Dewey in Bolinao, died Sunday morning at Gabriela Silang General Hospital in Vigan City, where he and three other fishermen were taken.

Celeste said another fisherman, Herman Balmores, was in critical condition.

The two other fishermen in the hospital were Edimio Balmores and Celino Damian.

Missing

Fishermen Fred Celino, Arnold Garcia, Domy de los Santos and Amante Resonable remained missing four days after the Chinese vessel hit their boat, which was anchored at an artificial reef off Bolinao.

Police could not say how far the artificial reef was from the Bolinao shore, as they had yet to talk with the survivors.

Police Officer 2 Antonio Naungayan said the survivors might have clung to debris from their boat and were carried by currents to the Ilocos Sur area.

Sigfred Duquing, an official with the provincial disaster council of Ilocos Sur, said two fishermen from Magsingal town on Saturday saw the Pangasinan fishermen adrift and rescued them.

Chinese vessel

Bolinao police said the survivors could not identify the vessel that hit their boat, but Melchito Castro, director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), said the survivors reported to the boat owner, Jonalyn Honrado, that they believed it was a Chinese vessel that hit their boat.

“We don’t know what kind of vessel it was, if it came from China,” Castro said. “They just said it was a Chinese vessel.”

Castro said investigators were having difficulty establishing the vessel’s identity because Honrado was not cooperating with them.

He said authorities were searching the waters off Bolinao for the missing fishermen.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had no immediate comment. “We will have to verify the report first,” said DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez.

The Chinese Embassy said it was not aware of the incident. “I only heard it from you,” said the embassy’s spokesperson, Zhang Hua, who asked the Inquirer for more information.

Board and search

The CNS report quoted Yin as saying Chinese naval troops should board and search Philippine government ships and private fishing vessels.

He said this was already being done by the Philippines on Chinese fishing ships.

Yin said the “Philippines has not yet returned 24 Chinese fishing boats it is holding,” referring to Chinese boats intercepted in Philippine territory in October last year.

Yin, described by CNS as a military expert, said Chinese troops “must try to maintain restraint, not force, not hurt people” when going after Philippine ships found in waters near Scarborough Shoal.

But he told the Communist Party publication People’s Daily on Thursday that China’s Navy would not hesitate to use deadly force against its enemies.

“Our Navy has the absolute ability and the absolute confidence to use arms to defend our country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and maritime rights,” Yin said. “We’re just waiting for the order.”

New ambassador

There was no word from Malacañang about China’s latest action in the West Philippine Sea, but the Palace had ordered the new Philippine ambassador to China to find a peaceful solution the Scarborough Shoal dispute as China tightened its grip on contested territories in the sea.

Sonia Brady, 70, has cleared the Commission on Appointments and taken her oath before President Aquino. China has accepted Brady’s nomination, but there is no information yet from the DFA about her departure for Beijing.

Brady was the country’s ambassador to China from 2006 to 2010. She is returning to Beijing amid the Scarborough Shoal dispute and China’s increasing aggressiveness in claiming territory in the West Philippine Sea.

Brady’s marching orders came two days after China reasserted its dominance in the West Philippine Sea by demanding that Vietnam “correct” a new maritime law that claimed sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands.

Beijing’s disputing the new Vietnamese law, which had been in the works for years, is the latest example of China’s determination to tell its Asian neighbors that the West Philippine Sea is its preserve.

To reinforce its claims, China also announced on Thursday that it had raised the level of government on three island groups in the sea: the Spratlys, the Paracels and the Macclesfield Bank, known in Chinese as the Nansha, Xisha and Zhongsha islands.

Prefectural level

The Chinese State Council issued a statement placing the three groups of islands and their surrounding waters under the city of Sansha as a prefectural-level administration rather than a lower county-level one.

Xinhua, the state-run news agency, quoted a Ministry of Civil Affairs spokesperson as saying that the new arrangement would “further strengthen China’s administration and development” of the three island groups.

China and Vietnam are disputing sovereignty over the Paracels and parts of the Spratlys.

The Philippines claims parts of the Spratlys and Macclesfield Bank, a huge group of reefs and shoals in the middle of the West Philippine Sea. It is the largest atoll in the world, covering an area of 6,500 square kilometers and is surrounded by excellent fishing waters.

The Philippines administers Macclesfield Bank through the provincial government of Zambales.

No comment

As of Sunday, however, Malacañang had nothing to say about China’s move to place Macclesfield Bank under provincial-level administration.

The DFA, too, has not commented on the latest Chinese challenge to the Philippines’ sovereignty over the resource-rich atoll.

But the department said it was confident Brady would use all her diplomatic skills to find a temporary solution to the Scarborough Shoal dispute.