Category: Foreign Affairs

China makes sure Jackson Atoll won’t be another Ayungin

Published by Ellen on March 6, 2016

Jackson Atoll, five coral islets surrounding a lagoon

The Chinese have not occupied Jackson Atoll (Philippine name is Quirino and Wufang Jiao in Chinese) in the Spratlys, as erroneously reported in Philippines media.

Not yet.

But the Chinese were there last December as related by the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hong Lei in his regular press briefing last March 2.

Hong said “At the end of the year 2015, a foreign vessel was grounded near Wufang Jiao of China’s Nansha islands. The owner of the vessel tried many times to tow it away but failed. He then decided to abandon the ship and dismantled and took away its main equipment. If the vessel was left aground for a long time, it might cause possible impediment to navigation safety and damage to the marine environment. Therefore, China Rescue and Salvage of Ministry of Transport recently sent salvage ships to tug the grounded vessel out of the shallow water for proper disposal. During the operation, the Chinese side advised fishing boats near the waters to stay away for navigation security and operation safety. The Chinese ships have returned after the operation.”

Lacierda may yet get his dream of becoming foreign secretary

Published by Ellen on February 9, 2016

The resignation of Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, four months before the end of the Aquino administration, may yet pave the way for Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda to realize his dream of becoming foreign secretary.

Not many know Lacierda’s desire to be head of the much-coveted cabinet position. It was Mar Roxas, the presidential candidate of President Aquino and the Liberal party, who told an ambassador that Lacierda would be his foreign secretary.

Roxas, the envoy recalled, presented Lacierda to him: “Here’s your future boss.”

The envoy was taken aback, he replied, “I won’t be with the DFA anymore by that time.”

Funny. The envoy’s reply sounded like “I’m thankful I won’t be there when that disaster happens in the DFA.”

The envoy was thinking that it would happen after 2016 and assuming that Roxas would succeed Aquino.But that possibility doesn’t seem very likely because in the many surveys conducted of the presidential race for the May 2016 elections, Roxas has never topped one.

Water source crucial in determining status of Itu Aba (2)

Published by Ellen on February 8, 2016

Personnel measure the girth of trees on Taiping Island. Photo from Taiwan's Foreign ministry. — Personnel measure the girth of trees on Taiping Island. Photo from Taiwan’s Foreign ministry.

(Conclusion)

The issue of whether Itu Aba (also known by its Chinese name “Taiping” and Philippine name “Ligaw”) is an island or a rock has become a battle of experts.

In the hearing at The Hague last Nov 30 on the Philippine suit against China’s nine-dash-line and constructions in submerged maritime features in the Spratlys, the American lawyer of the Philippines, Paul Reichler, presented a 1994 study which was the result of a botanical expedition funded by the Republic of China (Taiwan)’s Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan.

Reichler quoted from the study which stated: “The underground water is salty and unusable for drinking.”

Water source crucial in determining status of Itu Aba (1)

Published by Ellen on February 5, 2016

Is the water coming from the grounds of Itu Aba (Chinese name: Taiping; Philippine name: Ligaw) suitable for drinking?
The answer to this question is crucial in determining whether Itu Aba is an island or a rock.

The determination of Itu Aba’s feature- whether a rock or an island- is important in establishing the extent of the Philippine’s territory and coverage of its sovereignty.

Itu Aba, occupied by Taiwan, is the biggest feature in the Spratlys in South China Sea which is being claimed wholly by China and Taiwan and partly by Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS defines an island as “a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide.”

PH should re-assess relations with Iran

Published by Ellen on January 22, 2016

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini address a news conference at the United Nations building in Vienna, Austria, January 16, 2016. © Leonhard Foeger / Reuters. Photo https://www.rt.com.

After more than two- and- half decades of suffering and enduring United States-led sanctions, Iran, one of the world’s top oil producers, is poised to rejuvenate its economy now that they can access an estimated 100 billion dollars of assets frozen since 1979 when students stormed and occupied the American Embassy in Teheran and held hostage American diplomats for 444 days following the fall of the U.S. supported Shah of Iran.

In a visit to Iran in 1989 to attend a conference on the Persian Gulf, I attended a press event where an American delegate asked an Iranian official if he could go inside the former U.S. Embassy compound which was already occupied by the Revolutionary Guards.
The Iranian official offered a deal: “We will let you visit the former U.S. Embassy compound if your government allowed us to have access to our assets in the United States.”

EDCA may have spurred China’s expansion in SCS

Published by Ellen on January 14, 2016

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and U.S. Ambassador Phillip Goldberg after signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

In their ecstasy over the Supreme Court decision declaring the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement constitutional and need not be ratified by the Senate, government officials are telling the Filipino people that the country is now in a better position to take on China in the territorial conflict in the Spratlys in the South China Sea.

The military’s spokesman even said from where the American troops would be based in the Philippines, it would take a shorter distance to the South China Sea where China has done massive reclamations around the reefs and rocks they occupy.

As if the American troops based in the Philippines would simply and quickly rush to the Spratlys and battle with Chinese Navy if China clash with the Philippine Navy in the disputed waters.

It would be good to refer to the Senate hearing in on EDCA in December 2014 when Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin was compelled to tell the public what EDCA is really about upon incisive questioning by Sen. Miriam Santiago, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

China not ruling out South China Sea ADIZ

Published by Ellen on January 10, 2016

Crew members of the two aircraft that landed in Fiery Cross Reef pose for a souvenir photo.From Xinhua.

The reply of China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying to the question whether China plans to declare an air defense identification zone over parts of the South China Sea, after commercial aircrafts conducted two test flights in Fiery Cross Reef, was most unsettling.

She didn’t confirm nor did she deny the plan.

She said: “As for whether or not China will set up an air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the decision will be made based on a full assessment of the security situation and our needs. We believe that the overall situation in the South China Sea is stable.”

What then if the situation in the South China Sea, whole or parts of it are being claimed by China, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, becomes unstable?

Fisheries agreement upgrades PH, Taiwan political relations

Published by Ellen on November 30, 2015

Remember the Balintang Channel incident two years ago that briefly strained relations between the Philippines and Taiwan?

It was triggered by the shooting by members of the Philippine Coast Guard of a Taiwanese fishing vessel in the overlapping maritime borders between the Philippines and Taiwan in the Balintang Channel off Batanes on May 9, 2013. A Taiwanese fisherman, 65-year-old Hung Shih-cheng, was killed.

The Aquino government took the defensive position right away insisting that the Taiwanese vessel intruded into Philippine waters.

It was established that the incident happened 21.6 nautical miles from Batanes, not within the Philippine 12 nautical miles territorial waters but within the 200 NM economic exclusive zone. But at the same time it is 170 nautical miles from the southernmost point of Taiwan and still considered within its 200 EEZ.

International law provides the rules of engagement in overlapping EEZs. Shooting is never one of them.

Obama and Xi talk about jet lag at APEC reception

Published by Ellen on November 23, 2015

Do powerful persons ever engage in small talk? And what do they talk about?

Former Vice President of Taiwan Vincent C. Siew shared with members of media some tidbits about the Leaders Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation held in Manila last week.

Chinese Presifent Xi Jinping and U.S. President Obama talk about jet lag at pre-dinner conversation Mall of Asia arena. Beside Obama, hidden from the camera, is Taiwan's Vincent Siew. — Chinese Presifent Xi Jinping and U.S. President Obama talk about jet lag at pre-dinner conversation Mall of Asia arena. Beside Obama, hidden from the camera, is Taiwan’s Vincent Siew.

Siew, who represented Taiwan in the 21-Economy grouping, said during the pre-dinner reception at the Mall of Asia Arena on the evening of Nov. 18 (Wednesday), U.S. President Obama joined him and China’s President Xi Jinping.

The great divide in an ‘inclusive’ APEC

Published by Ellen on November 18, 2015

Thanks to GMA News for this photo by Danny Pata.

The monstrous traffic jam last Monday that caused thousands of people to walk to their destinations under the sweltering heat of the noonday sun shows the disastrous gap between noble intentions and miserable realities on the ground.

That’s what makes many people resist embracing the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation which is holding its 23rd summit today and tomorrow at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

This week is an opportunity for the Philippines to shine in the world stage. (This is the second time that the Philippines hosted APEC Leaders Meeting. The first was in 1996 under Pres. Fidel Ramos. It was held in Subic.) Twenty-one leaders of the Asia Pacific Economies or their representatives are in Manila to discuss how to realize the vision they laid down in 1989 which is to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.