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Category: South China Sea

China takes the offensive


It was short and clear. And combative.

In 10 paragraphs, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian made known last Sunday, April 16, his government’s anger over the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allowing the United States military to preposition and store defense equipment, supplies and materiel in sites “only a stone’s throw away from Taiwan.”

He warned what China, which boasts of the strongest military in Asia and third in the world, might and can do: “… we will not renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures.”

Liar

No, the jet ski boast was not a joke. It was a lie.

Joke is defined by Merriam-Webster as something said or done to provoke laughter while a lie is an untrue statement made with the intention to deceive.

It was a lie, planned with his campaign staff, which he used in almost all of his 2016 campaign rallies, complete with flag-kissing. There was the INTENTION to deceive.

ASEAN unlikely to conclude ‘meaningful’ COC in South China Sea – Vietnamese academic

A slide from the presentation by Dr. Vo Xuan Vinh in a New Delhi conference on South China Sea.

A Vietnamese academic pierced whatever illusion about the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea being worked out between ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and China and being coordinated by the Philippines.

Speaking in aconference on South China Sea in New Delhi, India November 29, 2019, Dr. Vo Xuan Vinh of the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences said, “It is unlikely that ASEAN and China could conclude a COC as scheduled (2021).”

“If they do, “ Vo said, “the COC is not meaningful.”

Most important documents in Duterte’s 5th China visit unlisted

Bilateral meeting between Philippine and Chinese officials led by President Duterte and President Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on August 29, 2019. Malacanang photo by Robinson Ninal.

The most important documents that were exchanged between the Philippines and China during last week’s visit of President Duterte to China were not included in the list of agreements signed that was released by Malacañang to media.

The documents were the list of names that will constitute the Inter-governmental steering committee that would supervise the joint exploration between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.

CNN Philippines was able to get the document submitted by China. CNN PH said “A highly-placed source gave CNN Philippines a document showing seven members from the Chinese side, to be led by Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui as co-chair and Vice Minister Li Fanrong of the National Energy Administration as co-vice chair. The other members are:

Composition of joint exploration working group expected during Xi-Duterte meeting

President Duterte welcomes China’s President Xi Jinping in Malacanang in November 2018.

The PH-China Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development, considered a breakthrough in the jagged relationship of the Philippines and China, is expected to move forward when the two governments submit the names who will compose the Working Group during the bilateral meeting of President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China on Thursday.

The exchange of names of members of the Working Group is provided for in the Terms of Reference (TOR) on Inter-Governmental Joint Steering Committee and Inter-Entrepreneurial Working Group between the Philippines and China which was signed by Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi three weeks ago.

The Working group will negotiate and agree on” inter-entrepreneurial commercial and technical arrangements” that will be conducted in the area of the joint exploration that will be undertaken jointly by the Philippines and China in Philippine waters.

‘Possession’ or ‘position’ controversy turns ludicrous

This is becoming ludicrous.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo’s explanation of the President’s declaration of his helplessness about the situation in the West Philippine Sea because China is “in possession” of disputed geographical features in the area has made the mess messier.

Carpio is now suggesting that the President disown the statement of his spokesman and chief presidential counsel.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio

This all started when the President said in his State-of-the-Nation address last Monday that “You know, I cannot go there even to bring the Coast Guard to drive them away. China also claims the property and he is in possession. ‘Yan ang problema. Sila ‘yung in possession and claiming all the resources there as an owner. We are claiming the same, but we are not in the position because of that fiasco noong dalawang nag-standoff doon during the time of my predecessor si Albert, ambassador.”

Duterte’s SONA speech on West Philippine Sea made matters worse for PH

President Duterte delivers his 4th State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 22, 2019. Malacañang photo by Rey Baniquet.

Riding on an 85 percent approval rating, President Duterte probably thought he could convince Filipinos about the wisdom of his much-criticized policy towards China in the matter of the country’s territorial claim in the South China Sea. He devoted a lot of time on the issue of West Philippine Sea in his State of the Nation address Monday.

Now his top two security officials – Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon are doing damage control- issuing clarification about the President’s explanation. They are now blaming the President’s pronunciation of the word “position.” They said it’s not “possession” as everybody heard the President say last Monday.

Here’s the problematic portion of Duterte’s statement on West Philippine Sea:

Floy Quintos pays tribute to the quiet courage of Junel Insigne

The captain and cook of fishing boat Gem-Ver with Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol in a press conference.

Writer Floy Quintos wrote this poem after he watched Junel Insigne, captain of the fishing boat Gem-Ver, which was rammed by a Chinese fishing boat midnight of June 9, beside Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol in a press conference June 19.

Insigne, who had insisted the ramming by the Chinese vessel was intentional and denounced the Chinese for abandoning them in the high seas near Recto Bank at midnight, became unsure of what happened during the press conference with Piñol.

Insigne also apologized to President Duterte for thinking that the ”invitation” which he declined came from Malacañang.

Some ridiculed Insigne. Some pitied him. Some were enraged.

Quintos sensed something deep in the forlorn demeanor of Insigne which inspired him to write this searing piece:

A test in finding sanity amid Duterte’s incoherence

President Duterte talks about the sinking of Filipino fishing boat by Chinese vessel during during the 121st Philippine Navy Anniversary at the Naval Base Heracleo Alano in Cavite City on June 17, 2019. Malacañang photo by Simeon Celi, Jr.

President Duterte dismissed what happened in Reed Bank on June 9 where a Chinese fishing boat “Yuemaobinyu 42212” rammed a Philippine fishing boat, F/B Gimver 1 which threw the 22 Filipino fishermen into the waters in the darkness of the night until they were rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat, as just a “maritime incident.”

“Banggaan lang ng barko ‘yan,”
Duterte said at the121ST anniversary of the Philippine at Sangley Sangley Point in Cavite City, Monday, finally breaking his eight-day silence that has riled up concerned citizens over what many perceive as his subservience to China.

Yet he also said he does not want to issue a statement “because there is no investigation and there is no result.”

I’m reproducing here portions of his speech about the incident. This is a test in finding sanity amid the incoherence:

Why is there a Chinese military vessel in Reed Bank?

Supreme Court Justice Antonio T. Carpio believes that it was not a collision of fishing vessels that happened on June 9 in Reed Bank (Philippine name: Recto Bank; Chinese name: Liyue Tan), 80 nautical miles off Palawan and within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone.
It was a Chinese militia ship ramming a Philippine fishing vessel.

“China’s maritime militia vessels have reinforced steel hulls purposely for ramming fishing vessels of other coastal states. No other coastal state has fishing vessels purposely designed for ramming other fishing vessels. Captains of ordinary Chinese fishing vessels do not engage in ramming for fear of inflicting damage to their own vessels. It is thus highly likely that a Chinese maritime militia vessel rammed the Filipino fishing vessel F/B Gimver 1,” Carpio said in a statement.

The statement from Chinese Embassy in Manila insisted that it was “a Chinese fishing boat from Guangdong Province, China” and identified it as “Yuemaobinyu 42212.”