Tag: South China Sea

China’s latest expansion to deny PH access to Ayungin shoal

Published by Ellen on March 15, 2015

By Tessa Jamandre, Vera Files

China has created new artificial islets in two more reefs in the disputed South China Sea, which the Philippine military fears is meant to choke off its access to Ayungin shoal, where a crumbling Philippine Navy ship is beached.

Rep. Ashley Acedillo of the Magdalo Partylist

In an interview, former Air Force officer Rep. Francisco Acedillo, now partylist representative of the Magdalo party, shared the latest maritime surveillance photos showing how China’s land reclamation is expanding to cover all the seven reefs it occupies.

The latest reclamation work is being done on Mischief and Subi reefs, known to the Philippines as Panganiban and Zamora, which are fast catching up with the five other reefs where China had done reclamation work early last year.

Acedillo branded this move as “ graver danger to the country’s national security.”

The photos, taken at an altitude of 5,000 feet, show multi-storey buildings, deep harbors, and airstrips being constructed. Also sighted were cargo and supply vessels steadily hauling construction materials in reclaimed lands.

“I warn my colleagues in Congress and the Filipino people of an impending danger to our national security and it’s right at our doorstep, less than 50-kilometers away from our Ayungin Shoal and roughly 400-km away from Palawan,” Acedillo said.

State Dept official: U.S. takes no position on South China Sea conflict

Published by Ellen on January 23, 2015

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel in a pre-departure interview. With him is U.S. Embassy Press Attache Kurt Hoyer.

China’s activities in the South China Sea, not surprisingly, figured prominently in the fifth Philippines-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue held Tuesday and Wednesday in Manila.

The joint statement on the meeting, co-chaired by Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Evan P. Garcia and Undersecretary of National Defense Pio Lorenzo F. Batino for the Philippines and by Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel and Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear for the United States, stated that “ The two sides expressed concern over developments in the South China Sea that are inconsistent with the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and international law and emphasized the importance of upholding peace and stability, respect for international law, unimpeded lawful commerce, and freedom of navigation and over flight. “

The joint statement further said, “ The two sides reiterated that international disputes in the South China Sea should be settled in accordance with international law, and through diplomatic and other peaceful means, including the use of international arbitration.

Vietnam supports PH position: UN tribunal has jurisdiction on South China Sea dispute

Published by Ellen on December 13, 2014

Water cannon fight in Paracels between China and Vietnam last May.

By Ellen T. Tordesillas, VERA Files

The Philippine case against China’s nine-dash line before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal gained support from Vietnam in a statement it submitted to the court in The Hague on Thursday.

The Vietnam Foreign Ministry said the tribunal has jurisdiction to settle disputes concerning the interpretation of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Magdalo Rep scores neglect of PH-occupied territories in Spratlys

Published by Ellen on August 28, 2014

In the power point presentation Rep. Ashley Acedillo of the Magdalo Party showed last Wednesday, he compared the massive fortification and expansion of the Chinese of their occupied reefs in the disputed Spratlys area in the South China with the miserable state of the islands and reefs occupied by the Philippines.

Acedillo, in a privilege speech titled “Our country is in grave danger,”questioned what seems to be a government policy of benign neglect in our occupied territories in Spratlys.

“With an Air Force that can’t protect our air space and a Navy that can’t protect our maritime interest, claimant countries have accelerated their creeping occupation of our islands,” said Acedillo, formerly an Air Force Officer who was detained for seven years for rebelling against Gloria Arroyo in what was known as “The Oakwood Mutiny.”

Justice Carpio debunks China’s historical claim of South China Sea

Published by Ellen on June 7, 2014

Justice Antonio T. Carpio demolished China’s historical claims on almost the whole of South China Sea by using China’s ancient maps.

In a lecture at De La Salle University “Historical Facts, Historical Lies and Historical Rights in the West Philippine Sea”, Carpio took up China’s invitation to look at the “historical facts” by examining not only Chinese ancient maps but also maps of Philippine authorities and other nationalities.

Carpio said “All these ancient maps show that since the first Chinese maps appeared,the southern most territory of China has always been Hainan Island, with its ancient names being Zhuya, then Qiongya, and thereafter Qiongzhou. ““Hainan Island was for centuries a part of Guangdong Province until 1988 when it became a separate province,” he added.

PH ignores China request to delay filing of Memorial vs 9-dash line

Published by Ellen on March 27, 2014

China's 9-dask line — China’s 9-dash line

By Ellen T. Tordesillas, VERA Files

Despite Chinese requests to delay it, the Philippines is filing on March 30 its memorandum challenging before the United Nations China’s territorial claims over the South China Sea.

The memorandum, called a Memorial in international law, will be filed with the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) at The Hague in the Netherlands, contesting China’s 9-dash line territorial rule.

Under the 9-dash line rule, China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea as part of its territory, but the Philippines and three other Southeast Asian nations are staking various claims to parts of the area.

Sources said the Chinese government had asked President Aquino through back channels to wait a little longer before filing the Memorial.

Survey questions the DFA did not ask

Published by Ellen on February 11, 2014

Does Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario have a problem with the case filed with the United Nations Arbitral Court against China’s nine-dash line map that prompted him to commission Social Weather Stations to do a survey which focused on the case and the problem with China in the West Philippine Sea?

SWS conducted a nationwide survey among 1,550 respondents on Dec. 11 through 16.

Foreign Affairs Spokesman Raul Hernandez said they wanted to know the sentiments of the public on specific issues and the results showed that the Filipino people “overwhelmingly” support the case filed by the Philippines at the UN Arbitral Tribunal January last year.

The results could not be less than “overwhelming” what with questions like “Dahil ang Tsina ay malakas sa aspetong military at ekonomiya, sinampahan natin ng kaso ang Tsina sa United nation sa paniniwalang pantay-pantay ang labanan sa ilalim ng batas internasyunal. Sang-ayon ba kayo o hindi?” (Opinion on whether the international law is a great equalizer against countries that are stronger militarily and economically.) Answer: 77% Yes; 15 % No; 8% Don’t know.

Gazmin makes the Philippines look pathetic

Published by Ellen on June 30, 2013

Never have I felt so kawawa reading the statements of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin justifying his plan to allow American and Japanese military access to military facilities in the Philippines to deter China’s aggressive moves in the South China Sea .

Newspaper reports quoted Gazmin as saying: “We cannot stand alone. We need allies. If we do not (seek allies), we will be bullied by bigger forces and that is what is happening now. China is already there, staying in our territory.”

Gazmin must be referring to the situation in Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal or Panatag, off Zambales which is no longer accessible to Filipino fishermen since April 2012 and Mischief Reef in the Spratlys , which was China occupied in 1995.

It is feared that China would take over Ayungin Shoal, some 25 miles away from Mischief Reef.

Taiwanese fisherman killed after fired upon by PH Navy, Chinese media report

Published by Ellen on May 9, 2013

By VERA Files

A crew member of a Taiwanese trawler was killed Thursday morning after being fired upon by a Philippine Navy ship in the disputed area of the South China Sea, media reports in Taipei and Beijing said.

The online Taiwan News said the incident took place at 10 a.m. “about halfway between the southern tip of Taiwan and the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, in an area where territorial rights overlap.”

The report identified the fatality as Hung Shih-cheng, 65, father of the captain of the vessel Kuang Ta Hsing 28 registered in Pingtung County.

Philippines alone in ASEAN vs China

Published by Ellen on July 10, 2012

DFA explains why there was no ASEAN communique: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/44771/why-there%E2%80%99s-no-asean-joint-communique

Update:Southeast Asian summit breaks up in acrimony
Agence France-Presse
Posted at 07/13/2012 2:52 PM | Updated as of 07/13/2012 3:02 PM

PHNOM PENH – Days of heated diplomacy ended in failure Friday as splits over territorial disputes with China prevented Southeast Asian nations from issuing their customary joint statement at a summit Friday.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/07/13/12/southeast-asian-summit-breaks-acrimony

As of late afternoon Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who were meeting in Pnom Penh, Cambodia, had not released the joint communiqué which usually concludes the meeting.

Reporters covering the 45th ASEAN FMM said the discussion Monday was contentious between the Philippines and the chair, Cambodia over the subject of Scarborough Shoal.

The Philippines, represented by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, introduced the following paragraph in the draft communiqué. The capitalized phrases were taken out by Cambodia, apparently in consideration of China, but the Philippines insisted on its restoration: “ In this context,we discussed in depth the recent developments in the South China Sea INCLUDING THE SITUATION IN THE SCARBOROUGH SHOAL, and expressed serious concern over such development in the area PARTICULARLY THOSE CONTRARY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE 1982 UNCLOS RELATED TO THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE AND CONTINENTAL SHELVES OF COASTAL STATES. In this connection we called on all parties to respect THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE AND CONTINENTAL SHELVES OF COASTAL STATES as well as the freedom of navigation in and overflight over the South China Sea as provided for by the universally recognized principles of international law,inclusing the 1982 UNCLOS. “