Three days before the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law ( Republic Act No. 9522 ) was signed last Wednesday, the United States protested “harrasment” by Chinese vessels of their mapping ship in international waters off China which once again underscores the volatility of the South China Sea.
Immediately after Malacañang announced the signing of the baseline law, China protested the inclusion of islands in the Spratlys and Scarborough shoal in Philippine territory as “regime of islands” even as Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who was the first one to file a baseline bill, accuses the Arroyo administation of “selling out” to the Chinese.
Trillanes insists that Scarborough shoal, off Zambales, should be within the country’s archipelagic baseline. By excluding the area, which was the scene of Philippine Navy skirmishes with Chinese forces in 1999, from the baseline, the country lost some 15,000 square nautical miles of Philippine territory.
Trillanes said the exclusion of Scarborough Shoal can be attributed to “pressure” from China, which has several investment and development deals with the Arroyo administration. He added,”We will definitely amend it once GMA is out of power.”
But it looks like the Chinese are not happy with what Arroyo has given them. In its statement, the Chinese Embassy conveyed “strong opposition and solemn protest and reiterates that Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands have always been parts of Chinese territory and that the People’s Republic of China has indisputable sovereignty over these islands and their adjacent waters. The claim to territory sovereignty over Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands by the Philippines is illegal and invalid.”
Huangyan Island is the Chinese name for Scarborough shoal and Nansha Island is their term for the Spratlys group of islands.
It’s not only China who is protesting the Philippine archipelagic baseline. Indonesia, we learned, is also protesting the inclusion of Palmas island in Philippine territory. Palmas island which is only 3.2 kilometers long and 1.2 kilometers wide and is located 47 nautical miles east-northeast of Saranggani islands off Mindanao.
Indonesia has informed Philippine officials as early as 2003 that they have included the islands of Palmas (which they call Pulau Miangas), Marore and Merampit in their territorial baseline.
In a 2003 Philippine Star special report, Romel Bagares and Aurea Calica said inclusion by Indonesia of Palmas island in their baseline would gain for them 15,000 square kilometers of Philippine territory.
Indonesia derived it’s claim on Palmas, Marore and Merampit islands from its being a former colony of Netherlands which disputed ownership of the small island with the United States in 1909, which was decided in 1925 in favor of the former.
Lawyer Harry Roque, in his article at the Philippine Law Journal said an 1899 Atlas de Filipinas showed the Palmas island as belonging to the Philippines. However, the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which settled the Spanish-American war and ceded several Spanish territories to the United Sates including the Philippines, excluded Palmas island from Philippine territory.
Roque disputes the claim of Netherlands, and later Indonesia, over the Palmas islands because “for all intents and purposes, Palmas is occupied by Filipinos with no Indoenesian presence at all.”
Roque said while Palmas, Marore and Merampit are only small islands, they are important because they lie close to the “strategic axis” linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
“The establishment of archipelagic sealanes between Cape San Agustin and Palmas over which the Philippines has sovereignty enables the country, possibly in cooperation with Indonesia, to monitor, control and maintain surveillance of sensitive maritime jurisdictions,” Roque said.
“Such monitoring and control is vital to the security and economic interests of the Philippines since major population centers, industrial zones and ports of Mati, Davao City, General Santos, Cotabato, Pagadian and Zamboanga are directly accessible from these sealanes,” he added.
It’s also strategic value that makes the Scarborough shoal and Spratlys important to claimants namely the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei. Beyond the territorial claim and area’s rich resources is freedom of navigation.About 70 per cent of Japan and South Korea’s oil supply pass through the South China Sea.
It was reported yesterday that the U.S and China are working to defuse the situation in the South China Sea ignited by last Sunday’s “harrassment” by the Chinese of the US Navy ship, Impeccable, which was mapping the ocean floor with sonar, compiling information the Navy can use to steer its own submarines or track those of other nations.
Here’s the Association Press account of that high seas encounter between the world’s two most powerful countries: “At one point during the incident Sunday the unarmed USNS Impeccable turned fire hoses on an approaching Chinese ship in self defense, the Pentagon said. At another point a Chinese ship played chicken with the Americans, stopping dead in front of the Impeccable as it tried to sail away, forcing the civilian mariners to slam on the brakes…The Chinese mariners had stripped to their underwear following the blast by the Impeccable’s fire hoses.”
AP said a Pentagon account said a Chinese vessel closed to within 25 feet of the “Impeccable” and startled the unarmed ship.
“Impeccable’s crew radioed to tell the Chinese ships that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate.But two of the Chinese ships stopped directly ahead of the Impeccable, forcing it to an emergency stop, the U.S. account said. The Chinese also dropped pieces of wood in the water in Impeccable’s path,” AP reported.
Political observers say last Sunday’s South China Sea incident could be China’s way of testing the new US president, Barack Obama. In April 2001, four months into George W. Bush’s presidency, China forced the landing of a US spy plane and seized its crew.
It should be made clear that there is no deadline for the submission of Baseline Law with the United Nations.
What the United Nations Law of the Sea requires is the submission of the countries’ claim of extended continental shelves not later than May 13, 2009.
To measure a country’s extended continental shelf, however, one needs to define its archipelagic baseline.
Ellen,
Gloria is really barking mad — that woman should be hogtied and fed to the sharks in the China Sea.
I wonder what former FOIC VAdm Ernie de Leon (who retired some 4 years ago), who is now serving as RP ambassador to Australia will say to this.
De Leon was one of the brilliant commanders at the time who staved off the Chinese over Scarborough Shoals; matter of fact, unknown to the public and the press, in one incident while he was serving at sea (to earn his command badge), he sank a Chinese vessel by ordering the shooting of the vessel at the water line with a 50 caliber gun (the vessels’ passengers claimed they were fishermen but to me, they were actually “spies”).
It truly boggles the mind how an immoral midget like Gloria could order the dismantling of the Republic without a whimper from the general public.
We do know that she owes those Chinese a great deal after the failed ZTN scam but goodness me, we shouldn’t pay for her bloody mistakes — let the Chinese hang her from their highest lamppost in the middle of the Red Chinese Square but she mustn’t be allowed to pay them with our territory.
Shoot the immoral midget!
Actually, if a certain area is classified as “regime of islands”, it is still part of the territory, but the measuring of maritime zones would be different.
An area classified as “regime of islands” is only entitled to have territorial waters (12 nautical miles from the shores) and contiguous zones (24 nautical miles).
It is not entitled to exclusive economic zones and continental shelves (200 nautical miles) and extended continental shelves (350 nautical miles) and continental shelves.
That’s why if you include Scarborough shoal in the baseline, you get your extended continental shelf 350 nautical miles from the shores of that area.
the philippine government is making the right decision to secure our border, 200 miles EEZ as define and interpreted by international law. Today, we are in the world where borders must be legally secured.
I will not rock the boat regarding this matter. We need it and we need to secure our future. The signing of the bill is our active participation with UNCLOS according to our legal claim. Any islands, inlets and whatever around 200 miles from the shore (interpreted by the EEZ -UNCLOS) is ours. The bill is about our land and our country. Trillianes could be wrong.
again, our legal claim is 200 miles from our shores. China should do the same and I think they are claiming islands based from its 1700 century, extending over 1000 miles away from its shores. Is it fair? In the yes of the world, we will win.
It is a confusion. More than one countries have claims of these islands. The Chinese has the islands in their maps since the 12th century and the Vietnamese has these islands in their maps since the 17th century. Now even Malaysians, Filipinos and the people of Brunei kingdom also have claims of these islands.
in my understanding, china has no legal basis according International Law by the SEA. China may put pressure to Philippine government for some investments but then that investment would become a negative type of interest like bribery or solicitation. Meaning, china offered favorable loans to us because of some “islands” interest? then in international law, that could mean illegal for China and the debts become odious and the people of the Philippines will not pay but will be paid by the regime. The regime is the arroyo and her cronies.
i will not be worried too much about it.
let’s support the bill. Later on if we can re-establish our archipelagic baseline-to be more than what we currently propose then legally we can still claim as many islands according to the rule of law. so what’s the fuzz…
let’s support the bill. Later on if we can re-establish our archipelagic baseline-to be more than what we currently propose then legally we can still claim as many islands according to the rule of law.—-asiandelight
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I completely agree with you.What does international law say about this, that the main guidance is provided by previous international agreements, rulings by the International Court of Justice, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing has said it will use the convention as a basis for negotiations, although of the six claimants only the Philippines and Vietnam have actually ratified it.
The precedents in international law suggest that all the claims to sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and sector of the South China Sea — are weak.
The historic record supporting the claims of China, Taiwan and Vietnam is incomplete and intermittent, and would probably be unconvincing to the International Court of Justice.
None of the claims to the Spratlys, including the more recent claims of Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei, is supported by the requisite continuous and effective control, administration and governance.
Even if some of the sovereignty claims were to prevail, these tiny outcrops in the sea do not appear to be legally qualified to generate surrounding exclusive economic zones out to 200 nautical miles, or the even more extensive continental shelves. According to the Law of the Sea Convention, rocks that cannot sustain human habitation or an economic life of their own cannot be the basis for such zones; nor can artificial islands.
If the court were asked to determine the maritime boundaries in the area, it would probably define the area in dispute, measure relevant coastlines and identify significant geographical features to be taken into account. It would develop provisional boundaries based roughly on median lines, check to see whether those lines violated “equitable principles,” focusing in particular on the relative coastline lengths and relying on a rough sense of fairness to each claimant. It would then adjust the lines accordingly.
Last year VERA Files came out with a special report on the work being done to define Philippine archipelagic baseline and our compliance to the UNCLOS.
I suggest to everyone to read it to understand this technical but important matter.
Please click here for Part I (Arroyo neglect, government squablling jeopardize RP territorial claim ) and Part II (RP in last-minute scramble to meet deadline)
Sovereignty over the Spratlys themselves might be allocated based on the sector in which they are situated, or might eventually fall to the present occupants. But in either case, sovereignty would be limited because the islets would generate only a 500-meter safety zone or perhaps a territorial sea out to 12 nautical miles. The Spratlys would be demilitarized and open to access for peaceful purposes by other claimants.
If the claimants could not agree to an allocation scheme, the UN Law of the Sea Convention requires them to establish a provisional arrangement. The convention also urges cooperation in semi-enclosed seas as well as sharing of the resources in areas beyond 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones.
These principles taken together favor a dramatically different option — multilateral joint development of an agreed area.
One logical approach would be for China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei to set aside their claims for now and establish a multilateral Spratly Management Authority.
Cocoy, China would only agree to joint use as long as it is the controlling authority. In short, it WILL ALLOW joint use by other claimants.
Take note, it will allow. Meaning, it will be the one who will give permission. That’s because its claim is that it owns the whole South China Sea.
I agree with you Ellen,Who can stop China among the claimants with this Island in dispute from it’s dominance in military and economic power. United States and Japan do not want to get involve in these disputes,as long as safety and freedom of navigation would be assured through the South China Sea, which is an important maritime highway for naval and commercial shipping of many nations.
basta kulang sa pera , masakit ang ulo. once we become a participating members with UNCLOS then our safety lies within the legal context and interpretation of the LAW of the Sea among its member. It is safer to have some support from other UNCLOS member who can understand the legality of our borders in this century. Let china and the others figure out their business.
Let them spend money patrolling. By law, their actions can be used against them as trespassing and harassment 🙂
in tort – international law. any harassment or trespassing is illegal. the defendant can be liable to pay damages to the victims. In this case, the Philippines is the victim therefore we can call our debts “quits?” 🙂
Why the exclusion of scarborough shoal?
who said scarborough shoal is excluded? the BILL is about BASELINE. how does one understand baseline? the baseline can be the start of how we extend and measure any bodies of water or land from the shore. The baseline bill in my understanding is our proximate shores that will become the basis of claiming 200 miles or 350 miles from the north east west and south ( whatever is the right term) . Inside the 200 miles is our lovely scarborough shoal 🙂 imho
200 miles from the baseline is our legal claim according to UNCLOS. scarborough is between the baseline and the outermost 200 miles. it’s ours.. period. 🙂
The U.S. historically started most wars on flimsy causes. Harrassment on the highseas could be just another one.
Barry Wain in Far Eastern Economic Review Jan-Feb 2008 cloumn “Manila’s Bungle in the South China Sea”:
And further:
You now have an idea why Trillanes says it’s a sellout.
The Philippines had PREVIOUSLY defended its rights in the islands, the most daring one when it destroyed Chinese markers in Mischief Reef and whereabouts and captured Chinese spies pretending to be fishermen.
On Scarborough, one just have to look at the terrain, never mind the comparative distance vs. the other claimants’. Show the seismic survey to any snut-nosed kindergarten kid and he will tell you that based on the underwater land formation, it clearly supports inclusion in the Philippine baseline.
I agree with Barry Wain’s innuendos. There is an obvious agenda by the Biggest Little Crook from Manila.
Including scarborough shoal in our archipelagic baseline will definitely gain us more than 14,500sq.kilometers of sea water territory from the rock.The rock is not entitled to exclusive economic zone and ECS (extended continental shelf).Good ground for filipino fishermen and perhaps oil down below.
Asian Delight, Cocoy, please attribute the source of the views that you are quoting. Is it a Malacañang release? It’s important so we would know where that source is coming from.
You are correct, Asian Delight, by saying that Scarborough Shoal is not excluded from Philippine territory as regime of islands.
But by not including it in the baseline even if it qualifies because the measurement of the distance from the main territory meets the requirement, the country loses some 14,500 square kilometers in territory (plus some of the rights over it like air space) because the measurement of maritime zones with regime of islands is different from a baseline.
Here’s my post earlier. Please take time to read.
Ellen Says:
.
Asian Delight, classifying Scarborough Shoal as regime of islands removes it from the EEZ or extended continental shelf of the Philippine baseline.
Ellen my quoted comments were not from any Malacanang release.It so happened that it was being discussed in one of the lectures in my Political Science subject way back so many years ago and it is still fresh in my mind.
Thanks a lot, Cocoy. Sounds familiar. I might have attended similar lectures too.
ellen,
in my understanding of “regime of islands ” can be considered the start of the archipelagic baseline but its treatment for disputes will not be the same as define by EEZ except ” An area classified as “regime of islands” is only entitled to have territorial waters (12 nautical miles from the shores) and contiguous zones (24 nautical miles).
or, these ” regime of islands” remains to be within the EEZ zone if archipelagic baseline starts from the coast Zambales. however we look at it.. it is still ours. 🙂
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/090311/kyodo/d96rl9j00.html
the quoted statement was in the news recently. sorry can’t find the link but googled search Baseline Bill 2009.
In my interviews with foreign affairs officials why Scarborough Shoal was excluded from the baseline (Kalayaan islands in the Spratlys are a different matter. Dapat talaga doon regime of islands) they were so anxious not to displease China. They echo what Sen. Enrile and Cong. Cuenco said, “Do we have the capability to fight China?”
I found that disappointing and disturbing. I told them, “If you told me that you are doing this because you believe it does not qualify to be in the baselines, it would be easy for me to accept and support it. But if you tell me that you have to do it because you are afraid of China,you are doing the Filipino people great disservice.”
It turns out that even that, Scarborough shoal as regime of islands, is not acceptable to China. Gusto nila kanila talaga the whole of South China Sea.
about spratly and scarborough
Thanks, Asian Delight. I’m enjoying this very educational exchange.
therefore if china and other will claim “regime of islands” but NOT within the context of UNCLOS then they are not in accordance with law of the Sea.
if for example the current regime of arroyo made a deal with china to collateralize one of the “regime of islands” for a loan, then China might have to wait for the payment.:) it’s a loan anyway…
If the agreement includes provision that we will no longer own part of ” regime of islands” because of some bad deals like ” sell out” then that transaction is considered unconstitutional. the people of the Philippines can still claim it legally. The terms of the contract will become null and void. The debts become odious and will be paid by the arroyo and her cronies only. that to me is the rule of law 🙂
If the Malacañang reporters were as knowledgeable about the issue as the bloggers here, they should have asked Ermita,”Since Scarborough is part of Philippine territory, there were structures put up there by the Philippine Navy, and the distance is within the length that can be considered part of the main territory, why was it not included in the baseline?”
We know of course there are many reasons. One is our lack of capability to defend our shores from invaders. Another thing are the deals entered into by Gloria Arroyo with the Chinese. Pinagkwartahan na tayo.
Asian Delight, re ” then that transaction is considered unconstitutional. the people of the Philippines can still claim it legally.”
You are correct there. That’s what Trillanes said,”We will definitely amend it once GMA is out of power.”
What is important now is to meet the UN deadline on the submission of the country’s Extended Continental Shelf not later than May 13, 2009.
I suggest also to everyone to check out Sen. Trillanes’ position paper on the baseline issue: http://senator.trillanes.org/the-baseline-issue/
It’s the most substantial by any legislator on the issue.
You’re right Ellen,our Philippine military is weak to deal with these Chinese intrusion,and thus did not have the capacity to patrol and protect the Spratlys vigilantly,engaging in skirmishes with Chinese naval vessels,our navy will be needing a lot of courage to fight with only a limited supplies of fuel and armaments.The government had neglected to upgrade our military capabilities and now we are being caught with our pants down.
the people has the right to know what are the terms and provisions within that contract between China and Philippines if there was? No need to wait after Arroyo’s term. This confirm the manana habit of ” unya na inig hawa niya”. Uy that’s not acceptable to the current generation. We are now in a fast pace generation where people get so irritated if things are not done on time? or is it just me? 🙂
you see this is the problem of our Senate,the policymakers. They don’t do anything to correct, amend and practice the rule of law. Worst is the justice court. Their decisions are not dependent by one person alone- the president. It cannot be. It’s totally a different entity. The constitution says, the senate can decide independently and veto any decision made by the president. so how come nothing happens?
if the senate were really concerned about the people and our lovely Scarborough shoal, they could have done something about it at that time when the heat was on.
hay naku…
cocoy,
do you think China will get worldly support knowing the fact that they may be guilty of trespassing and harassment? i don’t think China can do that. It’s not economical. Any collateral damage is a liability.
for example: mang juan is fishing 100 miles off Zambales coast, 50 miles east of spratley. Chinese army confiscate Juan’s fish and all of his equipment. Juan is now considered a hostage. Doing that is a liability because Mang Juan can sue the Chinese government of assault, battery and kidnapping 🙂 If I was a lawyer, I will push China to award Mang Juan 50 million pesos. 🙂
can you imagine if china kills 1000 filipino soldiers within our territorial water?
asiandelight,
These Chinese will kill all Filipino people if they have to as long as they can pursue their agenda on world domination.
Arroyo who have bought into the pitch that if only she make nice with China, she can and will corrupt them and win them over to her capitalist way. Trading with Communist China is a dangerous preposition. The problem is that they are rapidly becoming a super-power and they have ambitions that are even greater than super-power status. They want to become a super-super-power. They want to become the Hegemon, the dominant power in the world.
They want to control the Pacific so that they can paralyzed the strategic and logistic command of the United States.Once the Philippines fall under their flag it will become a domino effect in neighboring Asean countries. They have plans for world domination that make reference to Chinese history 2500 years ago — when the institution of Hegemon first developed — when China first came together as a unified state and it sought to bring in peripheral areas under its dominance. That’s a long-range plan by any standard.
Allegedly, these guys who are sitting there asses in Malacanang aren’t smart. They are laboring under a number of misconceptions. The first is, that China is going our way.That won’t happen until maybe,Jesus Christ will be brought back to life. The erosion of our republic, are a product of incrementalism. China’s incrementalism is on a much grander scale. They really do intend to be the dominant force in Asia.
asiandelight,
Do the Filipinos sue the Japanese government when they pulverized our country Dec.8,1941 when they dropped bomb?
for example: mang juan is fishing 100 miles off Zambales coast, 50 miles east of spratley. Chinese army confiscate Juan’s fish and all of his equipment. Juan is now considered a hostage. Doing that is a liability because Mang Juan can sue the Chinese government of assault, battery and kidnapping 🙂 If I was a lawyer, I will push China to award Mang Juan 50 million pesos.–asiandelight
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you can if you can produce Mang Juan’s body in court.Hahaha!
Ang kayang bilhin ng China sa Asia ay yung mga corrupt lang. They can NOT dictate on Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. As a matter of fact I have a cousin who worked as a top excutive in an offshore bank in Indonesia for over 20 years. He sent his wife back to PI coz she has some Chinese blood and she really looks Chinese. Galit ang mga Indonesian sa mga instsik. My cousin was afraid his wife would be in trouble.
Kaya lang ng China ang Pilipinas, Myanmar, Taiwan and Tibet. Maliit man ang Brunei eh palagay ko hindi kasing corrupt ng Pilipinas.
On the contrary, history tells us that China was a victim of foreign invasion for centuries instead of conquering other nations. Remember the “Opium War” when China was torn into pieces using opium to weaken the Chinese government. China has the oldest civilization. In the early days when other countries were still naked using their bare hands to eat, China already was using chopsticks and culturally more advanced than the others. China invented paper, powder and so many other things. Actually, China could claim almost the whole Asia since the Koreans, Japanese, Vietnames, Thailands and other parts of Asia are of Chinese descents.
Within the next 10 to 20 years, China shall replace the US as the world super power. The US and the West know this. The recent incident involving a US ship being surrounded and provoked by some Chinese vessels was an indication of how ready China is in a military confrontation. If you are powerful economically, it’s easy to be powerful militarily.
What if it was another country’s vessels that provoked the US ship. A blood confrontation…you can bet on that.
Yes, the Chinese were and continue to be persecuted in Indonesia.
In the US, the Chinese are the ones buying the foreclosed homes mostly in cash.
Whether we like it or not, China will be the next Super Power.
It’s time to learn Chinese language which I’m doing right now.
I may not be so technically knowlegeable in this issue but common sense tells me that the Baseline Bill should have been done with a lot of thought, consultations and research on the stablishment of the Philippine Is. If the world knows that the Philippines is with 7100, dapat kasama na rin dyan yung mga maliliit na islands all around the three big islands-Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Postponing the claim on the disputed islands will just give a chance for China and the other interested countries to pursue their interests in these islands.
I don’t think the Chinese can match the military power of the United States, bitchevil.
The Chinese have much better grounds for fearing the United States than the other way around, and this holds true not only in terms of actual military capabilities, but also in the readiness and willingness to use them. Unlike the US, which has well over a quarter of a million troops stationed overseas with attendant army, naval, and air force weapons and delivery systems equal to the rest of the world together, the entire Chinese army, navy, and air force are based within its own borders, and shooting at no one.
BE, hindi lang sa US bumibili ang mga Intsik, they are investing a lot in Canada (Ontario is dominated by Chinese now)and Europe too. They are all over the world as a matter of fact. I do not know if they are going into Eastern Europe. I did not see them there yet.
cocoy, example lang si mang juan.. what about the 1000 soldiers?
Issue: Could there be war?
Facts: chinese vessel harrasing other vessels such as the US. a strong protest against our baseline bill.
Rule of Law: according to the principles of natural Justice
Conclusion: China will surely not go to war for the reason of self defense and maintenance of law and order. China may claim enforcement of justice. The latter can be disputed because China has no legal claims according to the 1982 UNCLOS. What justice can they claim? therefore in international criminal law, china can be liable.
A mere threat using deadly weapons is sufficient to commit the crime of attempt even if the act of war was not completed. It is then a serious violations of international human rights law and maybe genocide of poor pinoys 🙂 lol
Let them buy the real states on the world.Still they could not own the country where they buy their property,they will only become a residence and obligated to tax.
cocoy,
i think we got paid by the japanese, did we? my lolo told me we did. maybe we should make china mad to decrease our population and we will get paid later? 🙂 hehehe
BE, I do agree with you that China will one day be a super power. She is already the next biggest economy in the world next to the US. But she has to be able to acquire more “toys” like the US to be able to be a military super power. This will not be that easy as the US watches all of China’s moves. Unless China aligns with some other powerful countries to get what she wants, it is still remotely possible. For now, China just wants to be the economic leader to feed her over a billion population. Besides, the migration of Chinese nationals to all parts of the world can neutralize China’s quest for military super power, I hope.
Asiandelight, I like your idea of reducing our population since CDCP simply wont raise a finger to control our population explosion!
asiandelight,
I’m not sure if the Japanese paid us.All I know these living WWII are still asking some more for uncle Sam, because the dole out that is being given to them is not enough,$10,000 0r $15,000 since the war ended.Figure it out for more than 50 years.$200 per year compensation for marching in the Death March.Maybe,if Manuel Quezon is still alive he can answer that question.Hehehe!
The Filipino comfort women are not paid yet by the Japanese, Asiandelight!
palapit na ba ang mundo sa kanyang katapusan?
ito ba ang isa sa mga palatandaang isinasaad sa banal na kasulatan?
tao lamang ang makapagsasalba sa mundong ito. ‘yun ay kung pangingibabawin ang pagiging asal taong may pakundangan sa kapakanan ng kapwa tao at kumikilala sa kapangyarihan ng sa kanya ay lumikha. subalit, kung mas pangingibabawin ang mataas na tingin sa sarili ay mauuwi ito sa pagpuksa sa kapuwa na hindi hahayaan ng iba bagkus ay ipagtatanggol ang sarili at ang mga nasa paligid ay mapipilitang kumiling sa inaakala nilang magwawagi sa bandang huli.
at, ‘yan ang pagsisimulan ng ultimo delubyo sapagkat gagamitin ng bawat bansang ungos sa makabagong teknolohiya ang mga armas nilang inimbak para sa ganitong pagkakataon.
ano sa palagay ninyo ang magiging resulta?
RP kasado sa aangal sa Baseline Bill
(Rose Miranda/Dindo Matining)
………..We’re always prepared for that, but this is not the first time naman because when there are claimants everyone is trying to give a basis to justify their claims and so we are prepared to respond to any legal action whatever it is that the other claimant countries will put up,” ani Ermita.
…………We should defend our territorial boundaries and strengthen it. We have the sympathy of other nations on this matter,” ani Lagman.
http://www.abante-tonite.com/issue/mar1309/news_4.htm
umandar na naman ang dalawang kulangot ni gloria!
The best analogy in simple terms who’s considered superpower is this: China has AK47’s/US counters with Phalanx CIWS (Close In Weapons Systems) or Gatling Guns.
Pareng Coy, sarcasm set aside, what if the US don’t pay their trillions of debt to China, now what? wink! wink!
tru blu,
What’s gonna happen nga kaya? As I posted in another loop, Hillary begged China to buy more US treasury setting aside the former’s human rights violation issue.
But I agree with Cocoy that in terms of military capability, US will still dominate and remain the number one world super power.
Economy wise, China is leading all countries including the once most powerful US of A.
Patas lang sila ngayon, kaya walang gera between them. As Tongue said, sinusubukan lang ng China si Barack kung kaya. Mag wi-wink-wink lang sila to each other. 🙂
I stand steadfast in my view that approving the baselines bill is the prudent decision. We are in no position to challenge anyone on the Spratlys claim, not Malaysia, not even Brunei, certainly not China. That is my comment in a nutshell; my long view is contained in:
Mischief1 http://orly28.blogspot.com/2008/03/mischief-on-mischief-reef-part-1.html
Mischief2 http://orly28.blogspot.com/2008/03/moving-finger-still-writing-sequel.html
Mischief3 http://orly28.blogspot.com/2008/03/mischief-part3-regional-squabble-over.html
neonate,
great blog you have there.. but please explain or blog about you statement:
Cocoy, I agree that China cannot match the US…not yet. But you just wait. There’s a saying that for every land that you see, there are always Chinese. That means the Chinese are so many that even if a country uses all the bullets to shoot them, there will still be many Chinese. Even in Latin America and Africa, the Chinese are doing business and residing in those places. China has suffered so much for centuries under the cruel hands of foreign invaders. This time, China is ready to face any country.
Off topic: My sympathy goes out to the Filipino couple in Japan:
TOKYO — A Filipino couple in Japan Friday agreed to follow a deportation order but will leave their 13-year-old daughter behind in a case that has attracted much public sympathy here, their lawyer said.
The couple faces deportation because they entered the country on false passports nearly 17 years ago, but they had pleaded to be allowed to stay so their Japan-born daughter could finish her schooling in the country.
Japanese authorities have pressed the parents to leave the country. They detained the 36-year-old father Arlan Cruz Calderon this week and warned that all three would be repatriated unless the parents were to leave voluntarily.
bitchevil,
The Chinese are not good inovators,they lack the talent to developed high tech weaponry,so they resort to to thivery and espionage. If the chinese are soo good,they could have done it long time ago. Their population eat lots of noodles that retard the brain. Come on,you dont expect people who use chopstick to eat dominate the world. These gooks are serial hoarders and thieves,they are the chinese and they will eat bugs and grubs, to survive. Thats their advantage,when the final war comes,they will eat anything even humans. I mean if you can butcher and eat Fido (dog) and kitty you can survide armagedon. I believed they also eat crickets and cockroach. Man,it doent looks good for the world. These animals are bastards.
Talk to you later,I need to buy fish in Filipino store to fry…Hehehehe!
But remember, the Chinese could use the chopsticks in self-defense, attack and even play the drum.
The Chinese also eat monkey brain. Anyway, let’s admit the fact that China has lots to offer. Many of the things we enjoy today are from China. If they did not invent the noodles, do we have Pancit today?
Ellen,
RE: “last Wednesday, the United States protested “harrasment” by Chinese vessels of their mapping ship in international waters off China”
This type of things happen more often than we think.
What we don’t know is that perhaps the USNS IMPECCABLE was too close to something Chinese, i.e., vessels, either skimmers and/or subs as in perhaps there was a submarine there??? Although, that (being too close for comfort to a Chinese sub) just might be a bit of a long shot.
But you must remember that in the Taiwan Straits the US is seen as at least 50% an enemy by the Chinese.
So lots of brouha-ha, but probably not really dangerous…
What bothers me is the we are “excluding the area, which was the scene of Philippine Navy skirmishes with Chinese forces in 1999, from the baseline, the country lost some 15,000 square nautical miles of Philippine territory.”
That’s a lot of territorial interest that we are virtually giving away!
What happens when our own Navy sort of “inadvertently” sail into that area? By excluding that from our baseline, we are opening ourselves to bullying on what should be our own territory. We are leaving ourselves open to not only being harassed openly by the Chinese but also pottentially beaten to a pulp (if ever our Navy encounters one of ’em Chinese ships skippered by a drunk Red Chinese captain) because we will not even have a technical leg to stand on!
I find it absolutely treasonous of Macapagal to have sold out!
China will use human waves armed with chopsticks to occupy disputed territories. Heheeh. Sabi ni Brenda noon: “China invented civilization in the East, but as well it invented corruption for all of human civilization.” Kaya pala wala pang riles ng tren ang Nothrail project ni Gloria.
While this issue has been debated many times, people are still confused with the baselines law. It is not the baselines that will have to be submitted or filed before the UN before May 13 this year but the Limits of the Continental Shelf. And since the extended continental shelf is measured from the baseline, thus, the baselines law had to be enacted first.
Secondly, the legislators were choosing from 4 options, the variations coming from whether to include KIG and Scarborough, or either one, or none, to the baseline, and leave the rest, if any under the “regime of islands” claim. But even some of the lawmakers didn’t understand what “regime of islands” really meant except for analogy – as Hawaii is to the US while Falklands is to the UK.
In my opinion, what they failed to consider is that we already occupy NINE islets in Spratlys, cays and reefs plus Reed Bank and Scarborough shoal that choosing the “safer” option of both KIG and Scarborough under the regime of islands could really be considered a sellout. Never mind that Pinoy Tomas Cloma and his crew once occupied 53 islets which he later named The Kalayaan Group of Islands and claimed them as his own.
Of the Philippine-occupied islands in Spratlys, note that except for Commodore Reef (Rizal) which is nearest to Balabac Island, North East Cay, West York Island (Likas), Thi Tu Island (Pag-asa), Loaita Island (Kota), Lankiam Cay (Panata), Flat Island (Patag), and Nansha Island (Lawak) are all clustered around the Northeast of KIG, nearest to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Reed Bank is farther up to the North East while Scarborough Shoal is nearest Zambales.
Sen. Trillanes’ version of “Scarborough in the baseline and KIG as a regime of islands” is the most practical, legal, and beneficial since Scarborough is well within the 125 nautical mile baseline UNCLOS limit while parts of the KIG, including the biggest island, Pag-asa are beyond.
tongue,
in my understanding of ” regime of islands” is not equivalent to hawaii or falklands. but correct me if i’m wrong…
“regime of island”
therefore, if we have people living on some of the disputed islands, that could mean that our archipelagic baseline will start from there. If so, we can extend further in accordance of what EEZ required of an island. it could also mean that we own the whole china sea? LOL 🙂
my issue with trilianes and the senate is their inability to amend , correct and formulate bills required for our safety during the time of ” sell out” and “negotiations”.
if we only have 1-5 trilianes in the senate then it is not enough for an independent senate to decide what’s best for the people. Besides, the senate and its lower house are truly the direct representative of the people according to the region and district they serve , so how come nothing happens. Don’t tell me that Gloria paid them all? if so then all are vicariously liable to the people of this country. we can always go back and charge them with fraud, embezzlement thru tricks and false pretenses. Any personal assets acquired during and after office , which are considered higher than normal income, are considered the property of the people.. 🙂
the whole brouhaha is a confirmation of a centralized government with divided goals and mission. it’s common goal is to make money out of people’s money.
A defeatist attitude of a leader is no leader at all.It’s always better to assert our rights infront of an adversary,this I believe will make us better Filipinos.
If China’s populace of one billion out of 1.3 do a “jumping jack” exercises all at once, it will create a massive earthquake in Asia. If India participates, the world will have a catastrophy.
This scramble for baselines defining territories, coupled with Chinese and American vessels in the area betrays something is afoot. Nobody said anything about OIL being discovered in the area. US naval vessel IMPECCABLE says it is “hunting for submarines”. Soon the Spratleys region will be booming with oil rigs and pinoys will be rich like the saudis.
asiandelight.
The Chinese EEZ should include the San Francisco Bay, the Hudson Bay,Mississippi River and the Chesapeake Bay. And the US should declare that Yangtze as one of its EEZ.Hehe!
TB, this is why US made sure that India is her ally. Most of the customer service calls whether it be a mortgage, trouble shooting for a computer, the call is answered by an Indian. The IT is dominated by Indians. Almost all motels and small hotels in the US, Canada and Europe are owned by Indians or are they called Hindi?
Kejotee,
US is sending a destroyer as escort for the spy ship,China may need more sailors to moon the destroyer.
Chinese Mooning, the result of years of research conducted by China using their moon crashing experience, is the primary naval attack system of the Chinese navy. The intense light reflected from the mooning surface is designed to blind any person or objects observing the mooning processes, rendering the observer defenseless and incapacitated.
WARNING: Don’t try the mooning process at home. These Chinese sailors were trained intensively for these missions. Observation of these mooning is also dangerous to your health, causing injury or death.Hehehe!
“Pinoys will be rich like the Saudis” Kejotee says. Specifically who? The pandak maybe or her annointed dummies. Maybe if Teodoro will win the presidency, kay Danding Cojuangco na ang oil rigs. He now owns San Mig and Petron and some banks. Gee, kanya kanyang cronies yan. Too bad for the Marcoses coz they trusted Lucio Tan, now kanya na yung mga kayamanan ng mga Marcoses. Mahirap ng mabawi.
Trublue,
China is going to win another worlds greatest!!CCP is the most loved organization in the world, with 1.3 billion lovers, and can do anything it sets its mind to. There is no help necessary for CCP.Hehehe!
an island like hawaii can independently sustain when humans live in it. if the Philippine KIG is considered an island but NOT ” regime of islands” with economic life and normal trade then we will conform to the requirements of UNCLOS of using KIG as part of our baseline. BUT here’s
kalayaan wikipedia:
can i repeat: Once a month, a Philippine Navy Ship goes to this island to drop supplies of goods.
china can argue that this island is not sustainable because it relies food from the outside. it has no hospital or medical care, kamote and talong may not grow, school system, and other basic needs that defines a community or a community in the island, like hawaii.
there’s a gray area that can be disputed of which is happening now. The Philippines must prove that KIG is truly an island and not a ” regime of islands” according to the definition of UNCLOS.
I don’t know who put that information on wiki.. it creates liability in our part. Now this might the reason why we cannot include the KIG as the start of our archipelagic baseline but a “regime of island” instead.
oh well. sumakit ang ulo ko.
Wen is barking at Obama,he said “We have loaned you a huge amount of money,Of course, we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I’m a little bit worried, and I’d like through you (Western journalists) to call on the United States to keep its word and stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets”. Wen’s gentle reminder is that China has a lot of skin in the game when it comes to global economic recovery.
Wen don’t trust Celso Delos Angeles and Madoff in the United States.–WEN MANONG! Don’t put your trust on these bunch of crooks.
Off topic, I would like to please request anyone to get this Alberto Jr Abogado (via Multiply) <multiply@multiply.com to keep clear of my email cluttering it faster than I could delete him away. I cant even get through him with his auto replies. Once I got hold of him on the chat but he went off the air right after saying he is busy elsewhere. I know he is among us because I only sign on on this corner. Besides, he is duplicating things here in his cluttering blogs. Thanks.
asiandelight,
Choto Mati Kudasai! What will happent to these 350 fishermen in KIG if we lost the island by default? Are we going to turn them over to Chinese?
The Philippines could lose its claimed territories in the South China Sea by default if it fails to pass a new baselines bill as required by the United Nations.To settle the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, the UN required all six claimants – Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Brunei – to pass a law defining their respective “archipelagic baselines” If the Arroyo government will not include these KIG it may result in the forfeiture of our claim to the territory.
If Gloria had indeed signed the deal allowing China to explore Philippine territorial waters,she has effectively given away Philippine sovereignty to a foreign power.A person on his/her right mind could not just give away it’s property without something in return.Something fishy in this deal.What do you think?
China and the US is silently killing us and our economy. Their policy is to exploit the rich natural resources of countries like the Philippines. Both countries whose oil deposits will be depleted in 10 and 8 years respectively, are interested on the estimated 213 billion barrels of oil in the Spratly and Paracel Islands.
1- Both countries provides loans to our debt-ridden government. As a result, our govt. succumbs to their demands. Almost a third of our budget goes to debt servicing where we pay only the interest or just a portion of it. And still, they are willing to give us loans. In fact, our govt. needs to loan around P500M for this year’s budget. It won’t be long before our govt. needs to allocate half of our budget to debt servicing. This can be considered the collapse of our government and needs to submit itself to all their demands, e.g., our natural resources, trade and land.
2- Both countries are using food as one of their weapon for mass destruction. Kissinger is on record for having stated, “Control oil, you control nations; control food and you control the people.” In his Memo he specifically targets thirteen countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, Thailand, and The Philippines. The weapon to be used was food; even if there was a famine food would be used to leverage population reduction. The “Green Revolution” was part of the Rockefeller agenda to destroy seed diversity and push oil-and-gas-based agriculture inputs in which the Rockefellers had a main interest. Destruction of seed diversity and dependence on proprietary hybrids was the first step in food control. To read more, please clink on these 2 sites,
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2008/06/19/seeds_of_destruction_.htm and
http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20060907.htm
Most of our hybrid rice seeds and GMO seeds comes from the US and China. It tends to deplete our inbred rice. It is starting to kill our rice production because its is pricey and requires expensive farm inputs. It makes me suspect that the ebola virus may come from the GMO’s too.
Huhummmmmm! Sinabi na ngang ginawa na ni Bobang collateral ang Pilipinas e. Please huwag nang turo ng turo ng daliri. It’s all the fault of the idiot and those before her who should be blamed for giving countries like the US and China to lay claims on the Philippines and its territories.
Tangnanay nitong mga pongang ito. Nalaman lang na baka may langis sa Spratlys, kanila na raw iyon e kay layo-layo naman sa Tsina. Maski nga iyong isla sa Japan na may pangalang hapon, kanila daw. Nanghahamon talaga ng away.
Gosh, buti na lang maselan ang mga tao dito. Maagang nakita ang mga bulate, etc. sa mga pagkain na made in China kaya stop ang importation, at di naging dependent ang mga hapon sa mga intsik.
Tangnanay ni Gloria, makapasikat lang binili na iyong mga bulok na gulay sa Tsina na ipinapakain sa mga baboy para ipakain sa mga kababayan niya. Pati baboy na puro bulate imported sa Tsina. Tangnanay niyang hindi niya gawin self-reliant ang mga pilipino at hindi iyong tinatrato niyang parang mga pataygutom na puede niyang pakainin ng kahit baboy di makain.
Enough is enough. Ngayon na, puede ba? Dagdag pa, isama ko na—FREE TIBET!
Tongue, you are correct here: “While this issue has been debated many times, people are still confused with the baselines law. It is not the baselines that will have to be submitted or filed before the UN before May 13 this year but the Limits of the Continental Shelf. And since the extended continental shelf is measured from the baseline, thus, the baselines law had to be enacted first.”
Newspapers, TV and radio networks, even our legislators keep on saying that we have to submit the baseline law to the UN by May 2009. Wrong. See above paragraph.
Patria adorada, I echo your stand:
March 14th, 2009 at 4:59 am
A defeatish attitude of a leader is no leader at all.It’s always better to assert our rights in front of an adversary,this I believe will make us better Filipinos.
You can watch the clear explanation of the Baselines Bill by Winnie Monsod by clinking site below.
http://www.gmanews.tv/largevideo/latest/38266/-QTV–Analysis-What's-the-big-deal-about-the-Baseline-Law
You can also see why Sen. Trillanes proposal is right.
Corr: site is
http://www.gmanews.tv/largevideo/latest/38266/-QTV–Analysis-What's-the-big-deal-about-the-Baseline-Law
The UN will most likely favor Philippines over the disputed KIG Islands and the Scarborough Shoal. It may even ask to include these disputed islands on its baselines. The reasons, oil and to protect the important shipping lanes serving countries north and northwest of the country like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. These countries are all very important trading partners of the US in Asia. The US will be trying its best to push China the farthest it can from the Spratlys the soonest before its military and naval build up. This maybe the reason why our country was given a May 2009 deadline.
The main donors of the UN are the G7 countries dominated by US and Japan. The G7 countries contributes 65% of the UN’s budget with the US contributing 22% while Japan at 16.8%. China’s contribution is 2.6% only.
asian delight says: “…basta kulang sa pera , masakit ang ulo. once we become a participating members with UNCLOS then our safety lies within the legal context and interpretation of the LAW of the Sea among its member….”
problema nga, sa ilalim ng pamumuno ni gloria, ang pilipinas ngayon ay miyembro ng mga NAMAMALIMOS. subalit ang pinakamasakit, ‘yung LIMOS na galing sa mga pinupuintahan niyang bansa ay UTANG na babayaran ng ating mga kaapuapuhang hindi naman natin pinakinabangan kundi sila silang mga ganid na magkakaalyado ang napahati hati. kung meron mang nakalaan sa atin, ‘yun ay LATAK na lamang.
kaya nga, kapag giniyera ang pilipinas ngayon, ang mga kawal natin kapag naubusan ng bala ay gagamit na lamang ng TIRADOR!
“…mga ganid na magkakaalyado ang NAGHATI HATI.”
Finally, Pres. Obama called on GMA. He must have reminded GMA that the US is interested in exploring oil in the Spratlys and the Scarborough Shoal.
cocoy,
Even if we claim the KIG and shoal as “regime of islands” and therefore excluded from the archipelagic baseline, it is still within or in between the baseline and EEZ guidelines.
if you have the time to go back to trilianes site, it is indeed an educational site about our options but the site may have failed to clarify the definition of “regime of islands”.
Archipelagic baseline cannot start from any “regime of islands” because by definition both KIG and shoal MAY not be able to sustain economic life as define by UNCLOS therefore the archipelagic baseline may start where there is real LIFE. In this case for example, the baseline must start from the coast of zambales and palawan. From the Coast of Zambales and palawan plus 200 miles lies in between – the shoal and the KIG. Therefore, no forfeiture will result because both the KIG and the shoal are within definition of EEZ, imho.
the deal can be considered unconstitutional therefore the signed deal becomes NULL and VOID, meaning it is UNENFORCEABLE. China cannot demand payment ffom the people but china can demand payment from the arroyo and her cronies. another interpretation of “something in return” like money, sell out or financing terms can be considered ” the best deal” debts incurred by the regime- (the arroyo regime and her cronies) . The rule of law will interpret the debts as ODIOUS debts ( please google search Odious debt) . In short, the people of this country cannot be liable or responsible to pay the debts.. blah blah blah. 🙂
a divided SENATE and a weak Justice Court will create a leader with a defeatish attitude. what comes around goes around. It’s not a one way street.
off topic:
On the Legacy issue, why will the PDIC use the taxpayers’ money to pay for Legacy’s crimes? All PDIC member banks are paying insurance premiums for the protection of its depositors. Where does the collected insurance premiums go then?
From the PDIC’s website, Freq. Asked Questions,
Question: Shall the depositor pay any insurance premium to PDIC?
Answer: No. Insurance premium is paid by the banks, not by the depositors. The bank is assessed 1/5 of 1% per annum of the assessment base of the bank as insurance assessment.
asianselight,
The doctrine of “regime of island” is grossly misunderstood. Most fear that the label weakens our claim to several of the disputed territories.
Anthony Golez, has said that a regime of islands is “a group of islands whose ownership is being contested by the Philippines and other claimant countries.” His statement confused us.
But actually, regime of islands is defined as a group of islands detached from the main territory of the state but over which that state enjoys full ownership and sovereignty. Just like, for instance,Guam and Marianas Island, which is not part of the American mainland but is under the sovereignty of the United States.
In fact, the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas treats regimes of islands in the same way as it does the main archipelago, granting it its own 12nm territorial sea, 24nm contiguous zone and 200nm Exclusive Economic Zone. These benefits are enjoyed, for example, by the Falkland Islands which the United Kingdom has classified under UNCLOS as a regime of islands.
For the Kalayaan Islands Group, to my understanding,UNCLOS states that “the length of such baselines shall not exceed 100 nautical miles except that up to 3 percent of the total number of baselines enclosing the archipelago may exceed that length, up to a maximum of 125 nautical miles.” Scarborough Shoal counts as one of the exceptions to the UNCLOS’ rule on regimes of islands. According to UNCLOS, “rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.”
labeling the Scarborough Shoal and the KIG as “regime of islands”, contrary to assertion, will not jeopardize Philippine sovereignty over them. In fact, it further concrete the country’s ownership of these islands.
This is why the Chinese have protested the passage of this bill even though they speak Cantonese and Mandarin,they understand English more than Anthony Golez.
Treaty of Paris, which was signed between Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898. President Ferdinand E. Marcos, in June 1978, had issued Presidential Decree 1599 formally annexing the KIG as a municipality of Palawan and placing it under custody of the Department of National Defense. This decree, as far as I know, is still in effect.
I can’t understand the mentality of a divided nation, re the Philippine Senate and Philippine Congress, in deciding matters involving sovereignty and national integrity.
No thanks to the Americans who must have included the Spratlys when they mapped the Philippines before granting it its independence, because I doubt if Filipinos themselves know what and what not to claim aside from the piece of plot they were alloted to build their kubos on then, or as in the case of those homeless Filipinos at the end of WWII, a place to squat on to build their barong-barongs.
What the Americans should have done then was to build a US base there instead of claiming lands that were fertile enough to plant rice, etc., not bombs as those buried in the US base in Clark Field that still cause agonies and pains to those victims of some nuclear radiation from those bombs.
But then, who would think that the Chinese would be too greedy to claim lands by the South China Sea other than Formosa, now known as Taiwan?
Oh, how I remember those air raid practice when I was a kid because Chinese might come down to the Philippines after getting Formosa! Now that it is for real, I wonder if they still do those air raid practices.
It was one of those reasons, my father decided to take advantage of his US citizenship to take his family to the US of A in the 60’s as a matter of fact. It was a matter of choice between getting discriminated because of the color of our skin or getting annihilated by the Chinese. 😛
…because I doubt if Filipinos themselves knew/know what and what not to claim as theirs other than…what they can grab as in the case of Pidals, et al no doubt!
I bet you that a lot of the Pidal’s landholdings must have been grabbed from victims of the Pidal jueteng operations prior to WWII that had even caused frictions I understand wth the Lopezes.
Pare-pareho lang mga magnanakaw sa totoo lang. No bilib ako!
There must be a way to settle all these hullabaloo. If our squatting congenital potency fails, lets ask around to settle it on the next South East Asian Games. Each island could be up for grabs by the first gold medalist countries. Sportsmanship will prevail over antagonism or political bluffing.
“It’s hot!” as Paris Hilton loves to say. The Philippine Archipelago Baseline Law (RA 9522) is really one hot topic. The irony is very very few really understands what it is. As a matter of fact, RA 9522 does not register in the mind of the common man on the street. The law does not mean much to the Juans and Juanas of the country. Rarely will you find people talking much more discussing what the law means to us as a Nation. Even radio commentators do not understand the law!
So it isn’t far fetch that the Nation is not united in this very important law. And this serves as a big big disadvantage that China can very well exploit. Good that in Ellen’s blog we find a rich discussion of RA 9522. The fact the we got no reaction from the public on China’s protestation only shows the level of awareness of the public on the law. It would not be a surprise if we find our embassy in China confronted by Chinese demonstrators protesting RA 9522 instead of the other way around, that is us protesting and demonstrating infront of the Chinese embassy.
The scary thing is if our own police force and the Philippine armed forces will be the ones beating up the Filipino protesters to protect the Chinese who wants to claim what is part of the Philippine Islands. Remember, China’s greed has no bounds.
Cocoy, ignore anthony golez. The martian does not understand “regime of islands” in UNCLOS.
You know more than he does.
Off Topic:
President Obama met with Chinese Foreign Minister at the White House last Thursday, March 12.
http://www.newsgd.com/news/world1/content/2009-03/13/content_4982896.htm
The following day, March 13, President Obama called that con artist midget.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090313/pl_afp/usphillipinesobamaarroyo
Is this a coincidence?
President Obama was forced to call that con artist midget due to China’s request?
“….ignore anthony golez. The martian does not understand “regime of islands” in UNCLOS.” – Ellen
Bwahahaha!!! Best laugh ever!
Hahaha! Regime of islands lang, di pa alam ni Kilaylay. No wonder Pinas under Gloria is a huge mess, the mouths of the EK residents are full of Pidal’s biomass.
Brilliant discussion, guys. Teka papasadahan ko mula una, mahirap itong absent sa ilang lessons…
Yuko,
Re: “No thanks to the Americans who must have included the Spratlys when they mapped the Philippines before granting it its independence, because I doubt if Filipinos themselves know what and what not to claim aside from the piece of plot they were alloted to build their kubos on then, or as in the case of those homeless Filipinos at the end of WWII, a place to squat on to build their barong-barongs.”
Whatever the case was then or whatever happened, whether Filipinos then knew what or what not to claim or whether they built or wanted to build treehouses or bahay kubos, I think what is important is today — we are claimants and we Filipinos should support the claim.
We don’t have to go to war with any nation, least of all China, but we certainly can and should push our claim in proper venues.
I personally believe the “fight” today is legitimate and to me, that’s what matters.
I share your stand, Anna. We should assert our claim for what we believe belongs to the Filipino people. We owe it to our future generation.
As you said, “We don’t have to go to war with any nation, least of all China, but we certainly can and should push our claim in proper venues.”
You bet, Anna, Filipinos should unite to claim what they have been designated to own, or what the Americans have mapped for them to claim as theirs. Problem is they cannot even make up their minds about it.
But please, Anna, don’t make too much emphasis on Filipinos not going to war with the Chinese or the idiots will take you up on it.
Don’t be surprised if they say one of these days they would not want to antagonize the Chinese and start a war even when the Chinese start putting barbed wires and Chinese flags on Kalayaan Is., etc. long claimed by Filipinos as part of the Philippines when in fact a lot many of them traitors and unpatriotic officials of the Philippine government, especially under the leadership of the boba, must be just waiting for tongpats even from the Chinese!
Palusot pa ang mga unggoy! I just hope Filipinos of today will not allow a repeat of what happened to Philippine claim on Sabah that the Philippines lost because of the father of the boba!
Come to think of it, but I guess it is about time Filipinos think of not allowing ever again a member of the Macapagal clan to be president of the Philippines. Baka maubos ang patrimonies ng Pilipinas na ginagawang collateral ng mga dugong asong utangera’t utangerong iyan.
First, iyong Sabah, next iyong Spratlys. Abaw, baka pag nakaupo iyong horsey na anak, mawala na ng tuluyan ang Mindanao, tapos sunud-sunod na kapag pinaupo pa ang mga kaapo-apuhan ng boba at boyba pati Luzon at Visayas!!! Heaven forbid!
cocoy,
i think you answered your own question about “forfeiture” but your example on “regime of islands” may be wrong?
why the example of guam and mariannas? Guam and marianas are not “regime of islands” anymore. both are islands by itself with economic life having a recorded GDP and GNP or let’s say a taxi cab running around the city that pays taxi permit and the driver goes home and feed his family. It’s land area above water can be 100x bigger than shoal and KIG.
the 350 fishermen can be an initiative by our government but maybe not enough to qualify as an island by itself according to UNCLOS definition.
Guam is a US territory not “regime of islands” under dispute. The island is a type of political division of the United States. It is not about boundaries, continental shelf or borders but an acquired land with CONSENT BY ITS PEOPLE.
do you have any other example? here’s a link about regime of islands and its complex definition
“tongue,
in my understanding of ” regime of islands” is not equivalent to hawaii or falklands. but correct me if i’m wrong” -asiandelight
Basically, the US baseline is defined by the outermost points of the US map we are very familiar with, actually, the whole of the North American continent minus Canada in the north and Mexico in the south, PLUS Alaska. You can conclude that Hawaii is owned by the US under the regime of islands doctrine. So are Marianas and Guam – as cocoy mentioned – and all the other detached island-group territories in the Pacific and Atlantic.
A definition of the baseline, EEZ, continental shelf, slope, rise, contiguous zone, and territorial zone are best interpreted graphically here:
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/marinezones.jpg
It was also good strategy for the Philippines to occupy some eight islets clustered near the Northeast of Spratlys because our presence there alone would send strong signals that we are in possession and control of the activities in the islands. Note that aside from markers and some structures, the Chinese do not physically occupy any of the islands in KIG. They have structures and markers in ten REEFS, not in any of the ISLANDS. The Philippines has five islands, Vietnam three, and Taiwan one (Itu-aba island). Check out the map here:
http://www.spratlys.org/maps/1/SpratlyMap2-1996.jpg
If you want to see the close-up of the island, with its community housing, buildings and the airplane runway strip, Open Google Earth (or download if you don’t have it installed yet) then type the coordinates 11degrees,03minutes,08.17seconds
asiandelight,
Why I called Guam a regime island.Here’s my point.
Guam occurred in 1521, Ferdinand Magellan reached the southernmost Mariana Islands during his circumnavigation of the globe.Guam derived from the clone of “Gaham”-(Thieves) when the native Chamorro stole some of Magellan’s boats in shore but,Guamenian concealed this on there history books.Atin-atin na lang.Hehehe!
General Miguel Legaspi claimed Guam and the other Marianas Islands for Spain in 1565. Spanish colonization commenced in 1668.The Spanish regime ended in 1898 when American forces took Guam during the Spanish-American War. The Treaty of 1898, Article II, negotiated under President McKinley, transferred control of Guam to the United States.
From 1899 to 1941, Guam was under U.S. Naval Administration. At the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese seized Guam and occupied the island for two and a half years.
American forces recaptured Guam in July 1944, and the U.S. Naval Administration resumed responsibility when peace returned.
In 1950, the U.S. Government enacted the Guam Organic Act, conferring U.S. citizenship on the people of Guam and establishing local self-government. Under the Organic Act of 1950, the Secretary of the Interior assumed administrative responsibility for Guam, formerly vested in the Secretary of the Navy.Filipinos invaded Guam,that’s the reason the people now in the Island of Guam become beautiful and slim.
Tongue,although he doesn’t like me because I am more handsome than him presented a good point that connect my dot.Hehehe!
Yuko,
Re: “don’t make too much emphasis on Filipinos not going to war with the Chinese or the idiots will take you up on it. ”
I refuse to put emphasis of any kind about going to “war” with any nation, least of all with China for the simple reason that war, in theory and in practice, does not resolve anything — it is a solution of last resort when everything else fails.
Also, the truth is, I’m being realistic (as most Filipinos should be at this stage): the Philippines is in no position at all to wage war on anyone, least of all on China. We can barely get our acts together, i.e., wage war on corrupt Malacanang, what more with a super power like China! It isn’t an act of cowardice to refuse “war” with China but it certainly will be the height of stupidity to even contemplate it.
What the Philippines and the Filipinos need and should do is to support the Philippines’ claim noisily and vigorously — become united under a common goal — and perhaps, then we shall be successful.
Tongue,
Re: “It was also good strategy for the Philippines to occupy some eight islets clustered near the Northeast of Spratlys because our presence there alone would send strong signals”
As they say, “Occupation is 90% ownership…”
We failed in Sabah because we allowed the Malaysians to occupy the island so I say, we should be more vigorous today, wherever possible, I believe we should occupy the islets!
ok hot guys… ( tongue and cocoy)
when there’s legal dispute about the concept of economic life and the size of the islands , we may have no advantage. Hawaii is a State and Guam is a territory. Both have economic life and are no longer considered a regime of islands in the current legal terms but its history was based from such doctrine. Both Hawaii and Guam became prosperous islands. “regime of islands” is like a rock protruding above water like a “botete” 🙂 we must move to the KIG and open up starbucks so that we can claim 200-350 miles of EEZ and conti shelf starting from where we have our starbucks on the coast of KIG. Or, let’s have Mang Juan and Pedro put some kind of poultry business but pedro and juan must make sure that during high tide, the chicken and the pigs will not float above water. The idea is : economic life must be profitable for mang juan and pedro. For our government, it must be profitable from the collection of taxes and licenses of businesses. Now, are the 350 fishermen in kalayaan have business permit provided by the kalayaan barangay or, all have to go to the mainland palawan?
in legal dispute, we must prove our claims beyond reasonable doubt. it must be there visually that people are enjoying the island with a way of life. a mere presence of 350 people but not permanent may belong to the definition of ” regime of islands” . My interpretation is leaning towards our safety. We don’t want to claim further. It can backfire to us that we are the one who are trespassing. Establishing a community in these “regime of islands” is the safest route to extend our shelf. This will take and political will. Now, you guys can interpret your own community but i will reserve my own definition just for safety.
right now, it won’t matter if the KIG and shoal has no continental shelf and has limited EEZ rights because it is already within the continental shelf of our Philippine archipelago. don’t you worry, we will own the china sea once our starbucks will multiply and the chicken and pigs becomes profitable. we have the proximity. No one can dispute that. Meaning the ball is our side.
so cocoy is better looking than tongue?
Sorry, I premature clicked the “Submit Comment” button. Here’s the whole comment:
If you want to see the close-up of the Philippine-occupied island, with its community housing, buildings and the airplane runway strip, Open Google Earth (or download if you don’t have it installed yet) then type the coordinates 11degrees,03minutes,08.17seconds North; 114degrees,17minutes,00.30seconds East; Eye Alt 1km and see for yourself the proof of Philippine occupation.
To see the Google Map markers of Pinoy Google Map enthusiast Tyrel Mora or “esterapapax”, click here: http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=113494108246941820054&hl=en
AD: “so cocoy is better looking than tongue?”
That’s what he thinks. Heheh. My mom’s Spanish and my dad is Kano-German, I am a natural blonde. cocoy is Kano also, courtesy of Subic Naval Base. He also has native Ita ancestors.
Ooops, Italian, I mean! His picture in his blog was illegally claimed by Leonardo Di Caprio as his. Look at the resemblance. Leo is a plagiarist.
Our claim will be based from proximity. One of the most important part of UNCLOS is Part VI, which justifies our legal claim based on proximity. Historical claims by China and Taiwan would not likely win in arbitrated cases.
But we cannot take it for granted. nakakapagod pala ang “regime of islands” 🙂 LOL
tongue , thanks for the link
AdB says, “Also, the truth is, I’m being realistic (as most Filipinos should be at this stage): the Philippines is in no position at all to wage war on anyone, least of all on China. We can barely get our acts together, i.e., wage war on corrupt Malacanang, what more with a super power like China! It isn’t an act of cowardice to refuse “war” with China but it certainly will be the height of stupidity to even contemplate it.”
I echo ferocious Anna’s pacifist words. This has been my stand all along. I do concede the existence of stupidity in our midst, but I don’t resent their being sinister (left-handed) at all.
Naughty, naughty AsianDelight, egging on a mock quarrel about vanity between two of my favorite antagonists, TT and CC.
Anna: What the Philippines and the Filipinos need and should do is to support the Philippines’ claim noisily and vigorously — become united under a common goal — and perhaps, then we shall be successful.
*****
Sinabi mo pa, but how do you unite a people when majority are even willing to sell body and soul just to survive. I bet you, if the Chinese offers Nograles, et al, a big sum of money to surrender any Philippine claim on the Spratlys, they will! No doubt about that!
Worse, Anna, is when the chickenshits take you up on your stand of not going to war with the Chinese.
Truth is I have just watched an old movie that I have downloaded. It is a John Wayne movie called “Back to Bataan” where Filipinos, who were willing to defend their country and people even with just the usual bolos, etc. crude weapons, were kind of edified. That in fact is what should be emphasized—that Filipinos should be willing to fight and die for their country and what are theirs by right regardless of whether or not they have modern weapons like the ones the Chinese have in their arsenal. Sabi nga patay kung patay!
Don’t tell me, Anna, that those breeds of Filipinos are totally gone. Baka naman may natira pa!
From Philstar
US support on Spratlys claim vital
Lohman said in his policy research dated Feb. 26 that the US should unequivocally support the right of the Philippines to stake its claims in the South China Sea and it cannot remain neutral in this territorial dispute that is a bigger problem for Washington and all who rely on American leadership in the Asia-Pacific.
Read more on
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=448626&publicationSubCategoryId=63
Re: “Lohman said in his policy research dated Feb. 26 that the US should unequivocally support the right of the Philippines to stake its claims in the South China Sea”
I doubt America will show outright unequivocal support for the right of the Philippines to stake its claims. Why? Because of Gloria!
Her beso-beso relationship with China is highly dubious, smacks of moral and financial corruption and the Americans will factor this in before they do something as dramatic as that.
On the more mundane side of things, they are also fully aware that Gloria is someone they cannot trust — the woman will sell them to the next highest bidder to save her yellow skin.
America also knows that corruption is so ingrained in every single government political and bureacratic layer and they are aware that given this state of Philippine affairs, it is risky to show such vote of confidence for a nation whose government and political leaders are daringly volatile.
But I do believe that there will be “haggling” at the very least (let’s hope it’s in favour of the Philippines) at the UN between the Chinese and the Americans when Philippine claim is up for discussion, but I doubt that it will be outright unequivocal support.
Let’s face it, we have an enormous liability in geo-political power play: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo!
The way I look at it, the US is using RP against China like she did to other third world countries. Take note that during the recent decades, the US did not directly engage into wars with other nations (except Iraq and Afghanistan). One thing we should commend about the US is that she does not want to sacrifice the lives of the American soldiers. She prefers using other countries as pawns.
Re: “That in fact is what should be emphasized—that Filipinos should be willing to fight and die for their country and what are theirs by right regardless of whether or not they have modern weapons like the ones the Chinese have in their arsenal. Sabi nga patay kung patay!”
But Yuko, why on earth do you want Filipinos to engage the Chinese into an armed fight? What do we gain? We haven’t even submitted our claim officially at the UN… They haven’t formally declared hostility, have they?
The notion that by refusing war with China is to turn yellow is utterly wrong. Firstly, you go to war as a last or ultimate resort/solution, i.e., when all else fail.
Secondly, in today’s world, to go to war, particularly when there’s no immediate threat to your lives and property, couple that with the distinct knowledge that if you wage war agains the Chinese, you will be massacred and all this simply for the sake of showing that you are not yellow is not a sign of bravery or an act of courage, it is, unfortunately a sign of mental vacuity!
You prepare for war, you get your gears right, you train your soldiers, you rally the nation behind you and when you know the odds are not so much against you or you think that there is a chance you might win (it’s impossible to predict the outcome of a war, history will show you that), then you can wage battle and provoke that war. Until then, it is the height of arrogance to think that you can wage war and win on the basis of some dubious notion that bravery calls for it.
We defeated the Soviets without the much vaunted nuclear holocaust that was in store… We won the Berlin Airlift (against the Soviet blockade of Berlin) without a single shot being fired!
I say, we fight them by supporting our claim noisily and vigorously but not by raising the spectre of war — they’d laugh at us and think we’ve all become demented.
Let’s be more intelligent than them (hopefully we can be) and think of the tricky lil ways to make the other world powers come to our way of thinking. Defeat the Chinese by using their own Chinese Checkers mentality… But war with the Chinese? C’mon… you gotta be kidding!
Re: “Wayne movie called “Back to Bataan” where Filipinos, who were willing to defend their country and people even with just the usual bolos, etc. crude weapons, were kind of edified.”
An armed invasion of the Philippines by a foreign power is another matter — if ever the Chinese attempt to do that, fighting to the death is not only a duty but also every Filipino man and woman’s deep moral obligation to perform! Until then, there is a chance we might beat the Chinese at their own game if we all unite behind our claim!
I don’t think the Chinese would attack any country these days.
Although she has already invaded the world economically, getting into an armed conflict would be disadvantageous to them. China is enjoying tremendously the trades and her economy keeps growing despite the global crisis. So, why should she get into war? Besides, China knows how painful it is to fight a more superior nation as proven by the “Boxer Rebellion” where the Chinese were only armed with swords against the foreigners’ guns. However, China today is very different from China of yesterday. That’s also quite a concern.
Re: “I don’t think the Chinese would attack any country these days.”
Agree! It will be more of a wargame of Chinese checkers if anything…
neonate,
Right you are! We can holler at the Chinese, use our keyboards to attack them, call them names, taunt them, challenge them to a ping pong match, or whatever… bottom line is I do believe that you don’t go to war (particularly when there is no need) unless you are prepared to lose or to win either way.
Grizzy,Leave your political agenda behind.I am merely analyzing some of the political methods used for going to war. Put on your thinking cap and avoid your personal opinion (example: I am glad USA is in with us and I am proud to have them as our allies, but I think it may not be the right thing to have done when it comes to US personal agenda. In essence, Philippines are a tool indirectly used by the United States against China).
There’s no shortage of wisdom in the world. There’s just a shortage of people interested in hearing it.And there’s a good reason: wisdom counsels caution, but the world loves action, drama and bold ideas.
On the international stage, in particular, our country suffers deeply whenever wisdom and experience are ignored in favor of big, bold ideas.
Woodrow Wilson sent American troops to die in a war to “make the world safe for democracy.” Bold idea. But in reality, World War I was one of the least wise, most insane human endeavors to date. Millions died to make the world safe for the tyrants who would make necessary World War III.
People forget that USA waded into the Vietnam conflict in the 1960s only after the experienced experts on Indochina were purged from the State Department in the 1950s for allegedly “losing China” to the communists in the late 1940s.
USA went into Vietnam unprepared for what they faced, and they paid a dear price in blood and honor.
One doesn’t need to question the motives of the leaders who set out on these issue. They articulated big ideas, high hopes and noble aims in a justification for which convinced a majority.
Nor do I question the competence, dedication and professionalism of the grunts on the ground. Fact is, our present military is probably the most unprofessional armed force we’ve ever have
But I do question our leaders’ refusal to seek and take seriously the advice of those who had been down the same path before. Had they done so, we might have avoided putting the armed forces in another pickle.
This is a diplomatic problem. The possibility that this dispute could escalate to a point where the U.S. could be called to invoke its treaty obligations to the Philippines is remote. It did not reach that point in the mid-1990s–a much more contentious environment than today. But the risk of serious conflict only increases with time.
Am I being extremely cynical? Yes. It’s like the old saying: “Any nail that sticks up but a little get hammered down with all the others.Any nation that is a divided people is going to feel the hammer one way or another.But I do believe that while that hammer is used for many evil things, it has also been used for many good things as well – and more than the bad.
Cocoy, I beg to disagree with you this time. Not that I’m siding with grizzy…but I also think the US is using RP as a tool against China. History tells us how the US used other countries, the third world, in her desires to control her interests. That’s not even an opinion. That’s a fact.
Adebrux,
I agree, and this perhaps is one reason why the US has recently published lots of bad news about GMA’s regime, they want her out.
China is silently crippling our country and it is easy for them to do it with our very corrupt government. Some of the ways China does it are,
1- offered a yearly loan of $2B for 3 years. When half of our budget goes to debt servicing, our govt. collapses.
2- supplying the destructive Hybrid Rice seeds to kill our rice farming.
3- direct and indirect supply of illegal drugs, an industry worth P600B per annum.
4- exploiting our rich natural resources.
5- exporting cheap vegetables to kill our major agri products.
6- exporting substandard farm inputs.
When our govt. is financially crippled, it will give in to their demands, that is, the exploitation of our remaining natural resources and surrendering the KIG and Scarborough Shoal.
There has been a war within our country. It has not gone away. It’s been there for so long. Poor Pinoys getting shot in the head without a bullet. The real War is our illegitimate debts.
Ang ganda ng mga opinyon sa itaas.
Ang sa akin lang, i-revive ang cold war, alam na ni Condee Rice kung papaano ididiskarte yan, Soviet expert yan.
Papasukin ang Soviet/Russian influence sa area of conflict and then “bet on both sides”.
Ang Filipinism ni Marcos ay decoded na. Ang kailangan dyan ay i-revisit.
Inter-marriages of north and south counters the claim of our forefathers – magiging probinsya ng China ang Pilipinas.
Mas gugustuhin ng mga Pinoy/Pinoy na makasama sa habangbuhay ang mga makikinis, mapuputi ang kutis at malalalim o makapal ang bulsa.
Look at the former Ottoman empire. Ito yung envy ng western powers(Anglo-American-European identity).
This is not about the Christianity versus the Sinic culture of Samuel Huntington.
France has just re-joined the most powerful military block in the globe, and they are now in Central Asia. Their influence are even stretches here in South Eastasia.
Look at Japan, Aguinaldo and Ricarte admired this country so much. Japanese democracy is different from the American inspired and media driven democracy. And I prefer European nobility.
Yung mga bugok nag-iisip pa rin kung ano ang Vision 2020, eh samantalang naka-abante na sa speculation ng 2021.
This is a very dangerous confrontation. RP will become a proxy was between China and US:
China ship off to Spratlys
Palace orders DFAto confirm reports,holds off response
China has dispatched its most modern patrol ship to the South China Sea, state press said Sunday, after an incident with a US naval vessel and a fresh claim by the Philippines to disputed territory.
The Beijing News said the vessel would conduct patrols on what it called China’s exclusive maritime zone in the disputed waters surrounding the Paracel and Spratly Islands.
Correction: Proxy War.
The military conflict among the claimants particularly China and her small neighboring countries is inevitable. It’s a bomb about to explode with the US playing a major role.
China has $1 Trillion in US treasury holdings. Now, who’s afraid of whom?
Hindi proxy war ang tawag diyan. Duruan lang iyan. Dinuduro ng China ang US nung Impeccable incident. Dinuro ng US ang China nung padalhan ng frigates matapos ang ilang araw lang. Dinuduro naman ng US si Pandak sa pamamagitan WB, State Dept, ngayon, si Obama na ang naninindak tungkol sa VFA. Dinuduro naman tayo ng China sa pagpapatrulya ng buong Spratlys. “Them pests in the high seas” is the more appropriate title of the thread.
Sa China, US, at Pinas, sino ang nasindak?
Who’s afraid of whom
China siguro ang mas ninenerbiyos. Paano kung hindi iredeem ng Amerika yung treasury notes?
On a conventional war (not nuke), who do you think would win between the US and China?
BE,
Sepends on where the war takes place… if it took place in Asia, China would win — they could immediately call on several million conscripts without batting an eyelash.
As things stand today, America may have a ‘professional’ 1,000,000 man/woman armed forces but they are stretched thin. Their 170,000 troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined are already causing them huge problems in both manpower and materiel. America would be hard put to win a conventional warfare v China if it happened today.
Even if, for the sake of argument NATO allies came to the aid of America (and this – NATO allies coming to the aid of America – could only happen if America were attacked by China under the NATO doctrine “an attack on one is an attack on all”), a conventional warfare v China in Asia would be a losing proposition.
America’s official strategy for the last two decades is focused on their 2-war readiness/preparedness! They are now re-thinking that official strategy, and rightly so!
Right now, with the two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan, America will find it difficult to carry on a similar operation elsewhere, eg., if they have to face a hostile front (3rd front) say from Russia, China, Iran, N Korea, etc. America will find itself in deep shit…
Ooops, “Depends…“
china is bluffing but the ball is on their side. Any attempt from their side is their liability against our people. it is normal for China to react that way.
China is only a push button away. Every war requires OIL to operate. Whoever is closest to the reserve and oil field will be able to refill. The number of troops are necessary after the button is pushed. Who do you think has the best button, with undetected fighter plane carrying missiles in the world?
uy… gyera na talaga? OMG.. take cover mga pinoys. find a cave and bring you chiken and pigs. 🙂
correction: china is bluffing but the ball is NOT on their side.
Ang hina naman ng China. If they threatened an exposè about some kurakots, I’m sure some woman would move heaven and earth to appease the Chinese.
Ellen, check your email.
The US will avoid war with China to protect its business interest. And before it does think about war, it will have to weigh in its dominance of the South China Sea, its interest in oil exploration and its neoliberal policies in the Asia Pacific region. Below are several common perceptions about US companies operating in China:
1- Eighty-one percent of companies said that their China operations are profitable. In addition, more than half said that profitability rates for their China operations meet or exceed their company’s global profit margins.
2- Most are wholly foreign- owned enterprises, not joint ventures with Chinese partners.
3- Primarily serve the Chinese domestic market, not export back to the United States. 57% of the respondents said that their main investment objective was to access the China market. Only 18% invest in China as an export platform to the US market. The remainder export to other countries.
atty, hindi gagawin ng tsina ang pagbubulgar ng mabahong suhol kay GMA kasi para na rin nilang inamin na mabaho rin sila.
Wala sa patakaran ng China Exim Bank ang magimbestiga ng corruption di gaya ng WB kanya gustong gusto ni GMA ito.
“Sa China, US, at Pinas, sino ang nasindak?”
bah, tongue! ‘wag mo kaming tingnan nang ganyan, ha?
wala kaming utang na dapat bayaran kahit kanino sa kanila. si gloria, sigurado pa!
syria, kahit hindi aminin. bistado na sa talsik lamang ng laway nila!
Kapag natuto ng inglisan ang mga chinaman malamang babagsak ang call center dito sa Pinas.
Nakikita ko ang mga naka-pull back position, at naka-abang lang Australia at Pacific bilang panibagong play ground.
Anna,
There is a difference between provoking/engaging a war, and defending what is rightfully theirs from the Chinese invaders. Thus, my statement that Filipinos should unite and protect what is rightfully theirs regardless of whether or not they have the weapons to do so. By all means, they should not allow the puta to give the Spratlys to the Chinese the way her father did to Sabah.