Hamilton icon of AFP’s capability upgrade

By William Depasupil
The Manila Times, Monday, August 22, 2011

THE Philippine Navy’s largest and most modern ship, the Hamilton class US Coast Guard cutter, now known as the BRP (Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas) Gregorio del Pilar, symbolizes the country’s resolve and determination to defend its territorial integrity, according to Navy flag-officer in command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama.

Pama disclosed Sunday that the 3,390-ton warship is now anchored at the Manila Bay after a 45-day journey from Coast Guard island in Alameda, San Francisco, California.

“This will be an icon to the revival of the capability upgrade of our Armed Forces,” he said. “This is the symbol of our resolve and determination to protect what is ours.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff, Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr., earlier said that the cutter would be used for multi-mission operations such as search and rescue, and maritime security patrols, particularly in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) to protect the country’s interests that include the Malampaya Gas Project in the waters of Palawan near the dispute Spratly group of islands.

The ship, even at 46 years old, is now the biggest and most modern in the Philippine Navy’s inventory. It was launched on December 18, 1965, commissioned to the US Coast Guard March 18, 1967 and decom-missioned on March 28, 2011.

It was acquired by the Philippine government at a transfer cost of P450 million, minus the air surface search radar, close-in weapons system and secondary 25-mm gun system.

But Pama said that even if the Hamilton is already old, it is still well-maintained and capable of enduring high weather that can make it sustain longer patrolling at sea.

“It’s not a question of age but the capability of the ship. One of our problems before is our lack of patrol ship that could endure high weather and can sustain longer patrolling at sea,” he said.

“This ship has proven its capability of crossing the Pacific Ocean and I think there’s no other place in the Philippines that has bigger waves [than the Pacific Ocean],” Pama added.

According to him, the ship is now going through the usual customs, immigration and quarantine inspection before it would be dry-docked for at least a month for repainting from white to the Navy’s official gray color. Some minor repairs and fitting of additional facilities and equipment will also be done.

Pama said that the ship has not been formally commissioned yet to the Navy and its name BRP Gregorio del Pilar is not yet final pending approval from the Office of the President.

“The name BRP Gregorio del Pilar is only a provisional name. It still needs to pass through proper procedure until it is approved by the President. It is only then that it can be commissioned and given its final name,” Pama added referring to President Benigno Aquino 3rd.

www.manilatimes.net

On board the BRP Gregorio del Pilar

By Rodel Rodis

Inquirer, Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Philippines has only a WW II vintage frigate, the Rajah Humabon, to use right now to defend the country against an attack from China’s formidable armada which includes an aircraft carrier, 21 destroyers, 68 submarines, 42 modern frigates and 760 ships. But help is on the way. In three weeks, the 378-foot Hamilton-class cutter BRP Gregorio Del Pilar will arrive in the Philippines where it will be dispatched to the Kalayaan Island Group of the Spratly Islands to defend this “Tirad Pass” from foreign invaders.

Imagine the Philippine David with its cutter slingshot against the China Goliath.

The BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the biggest ship ever to be acquired by the Philippine Navy, will be manned by a full complement of 180 officers and crew, 95 of whom were recently trained in the San Francisco Bay Area at Coast Guard Island in Alameda.

Before it was purchased by the Philippine government from the US for $13 million this May, the cutter, which was built in 1968, was largely used by the US Coast Guard for drug and migrant interdiction, law enforcement and defense readiness. As a multi-mission Surface Combatant Ship (SCS), the first gas-turbine jet engine-powered vessel in its fleet, the Philippine Navy plans to deploy it for operations in the West Philippine Sea.

On the eve of the ship’s departure for the Philippines from its Alameda base this July 17, I attended a Mass officiated on the ship by Fr. Mark Reburiano. Before Holy Communion was served, Philippine Navy Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama spoke to thank the members of the Filipino American community.

“You warmly welcomed them in your homes, you fed them and you made them feel at home” he said. “We want you all to be proud of our Philippine Navy which represents not only the Filipino people but Filipinos everywhere.”

“We may face insurmountable odds when we return to the Philippines,” he added, “but at the end of the day, it is people who are the decisive factors in any conflict and I want you all to know that we have people of outstanding quality in our navy.”

After the Mass, we joined the officers and crew at the ship’s mess hall for their final dinner in the United States. We watched the video of the May 13, 2011 turnover ceremonies attended by Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia, Jr. and US Coast Guard Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown.

The highlight of the turnover rites was the departure of the US Coast Guard crew from the ship as the US flag was lowered and the raising of the Philippine flag on the ship as 21 members of the Philippine Navy, who had been in training in the US since February 25, 2011, boarded the ship to take command.

On the following day, 74 additional members of the Philippine Navy arrived to undergo training on the Philippine Navy’s newest ship.

The BRP Gregorio Del Pilar crew includes three female officers: Dr. Joanne Cornista, the Chief Medical officer; Ensign Lolit Gonzales; and Lt. Junior Grade Andrelee Mojica, the Damage Control Officer who happens to be the first female valedictorian of the Philippine Military Academy (Class of 2007).

At the helm of the BRP Gregorio del Pilar is Navy Captain Alberto Cruz, (PMA Class of 1988) who along with his Executive Officer, Navy Commander Reynaldo Lopez (PMA Class of 1992) arrived in Alameda on February 25, 2011 together with a specially selected crew of 19 other officers and enlisted men/engineers (the “crème de la crème”) of the Philippine Navy.

They underwent intensive hands-on training on board the USCGC Boutwell, the sister ship of the USCGC Hamilton, for two months traveling to Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador to interdict drug smugglers. With no access to the telephone or the Internet, the crew later told reporter Gemma Nemenzo, they felt like “the lost command”. Worse torture for some of them—the steady diet of potatoes, meat, potatoes and more potatoes. No rice.

At our dinner at the Officers’ Mess Hall on July 17, I sat down with Vice-Admiral Pama who had flown in from Manila just the day before to formally issue the orders to Capt. Cruz. He candidly expressed relief that the Philippine Navy was finally getting attention from the national government after years of neglect.

We recalled Pres. Noynoy Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26, 2010 when he said: “We have 36,000 nautical miles of shoreline, but we only have 32 boats. These boats are as old as the time of (US General Douglas) MacArthur.”

While Pres. PNoy Aquino has been hammered by his critics for lack of accomplishments during his first year in office, PNoy quietly found the government funds to purchase the Hamilton cutter from the US government and is negotiating to acquire even more de-commissioned cutters.

Vice-Admiral Pama shared that the decision to name the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar was no fluke. Philippine Navy officers were keenly aware of the heroic exploits of the “Boy General” who led his Filipino soldiers to victory in the Battle of Quingua on April 23, 1899 against the US forces of Col. John Stotsenburg. With the US forces breathing down on Philippine President Emilo Aguinaldo’s trail, Gen. Del Pilar and 60 Filipino soldiers defended Tirad Pass for five hours against the vastly superior 33rd Infantry Regiment led by Gen. Peyton March before he and his men were killed by the foreign invaders.

On Monday, July 18, we attended the send-off ceremonies at Alameda as Vice Admiral Pama officially issued the order to Capt. Cruz to depart for the Philippines. I then joined the Filipino-American community in shaking the hands of each of the 95 officers and crew of the BRP del Pilar to wish them each Godspeed. As I shook their hands and looked in their eyes, I worried that they may be the first casualties of a war with China over the Spratlys.

The Filipino American community has scheduled a national Day of Prayer for Peace in the Spratlys for Sunday, August 21, the 28th anniversary of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, to pray for the peaceful and just resolution of our territorial conflict with China and for the protection and safety of the brave men and women of the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar.

globalnation.inquirer.net

Philippine Navy acquires biggest warship

By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer,Sunday, July 17, 2011

The biggest ship ever to be acquired by the Philippine Navy, the renamed BRP Gregorio del Pilar, will begin its three-week journey to the Philippines from California on Monday.

The 378-foot Hamilton-class cutter is a decommissioned United States Coast Guard patrol vessel that the Philippines was able to acquire under the United States Excess Defense Act.

(The cutters are called “Hamilton class” after their lead ship, the Hamilton, named after Alexander Hamilton, the first US Secretary of the Treasury.)

Armed Forces Chief Eduardo Oban Jr. earlier said the transfer cost to the government was around P450 million.

The money used for its acquisition came from the Department of Energy’s Malampaya project funds, according to Lieutenant Colonel Omar Tonsay, chief of the Navy’s public affairs office.

While the ship—until recently the largest class of vessel in the US Coast Guard—was designated as a “weather high-endurance cutter” in the USCG, in the Philippine Navy it is classified as a “surface combatant ship” or a warship, said Tonsay.

It will be used for, among other purposes, defending the country’s interests in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), particularly in waters near the disputed Spratly Islands, according to the Navy.

The send-off in San Francisco will be attended by Navy Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama and Philippine Deputy General Consul to San Francisco Wilfredo Santos.

“The send-off will signal the last leg of activities for BRP Gregorio del Pilar in the US and will start the first leg of its journey to the Philippines,” said Pama.

Long trip home

“All preparations have been made for this long trip home as the actual send-off takes place on July 18 at 4 p.m.,” he said in a statement.

The journey will include stopovers in Hawaii and Guam for replenishment.

The Del Pilar, or PF-15, was turned over to the Philippine government on May 13 during turnover rites led by Jose L. Cuisia Jr., the Philippine ambassador to the United States, and Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown, the US Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West Commander.

The vessel, whose two 1,800 horsepower gas turbines can propel it to speeds of up to 28 knots, was renamed the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, or PF-15 (the type code designating it as a patrol frigate).

It is the biggest ship ever to be acquired by the Philippine Navy at 378 feet long, with displacement weight of 3,390 long tons. It can stay at sea for 30 days without refueling, and has a crew capacity of 180.

Powerful facilities

It is powered by combined diesel engines and gas turbines and equipped with a helicopter flight deck, a retractable hangar, and other facilities to support helicopter operations.

The Del Pilar will replace the 306-ft BRP Rajah Humabon, a Cannon-class destroyer-escort built during World War II, as the country’s biggest warship, said Tonsay.

The Hamilton-class cutter was largely used by the US Coast Guard for “drug and migrant interdiction, law enforcement, search and rescue, living marine resources protection, and defense readiness,” Tonsay said.

“The Philippine Navy, on the other hand, intends to use this multimission vessel for operations such as maritime security patrols and search and rescue,” he said.

“But more specifically, it will be deployed to aid in the maritime security of the Malampaya Project west of Palawan,” Tonsay said.

In a forum in May, Oban said the Del Pilar would be deployed to the Palawan area, “purposely to patrol our maritime area there and protect our territorial waters as well.”

Military modernization

The Philippines has sought to modernize its military following a series of incidents with China, particularly in the Spratlys, a reputedly oil- and gas-rice chain of islets claimed wholly or in part by the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The Philippines has accused China of repeated intrusions into Philippine-claimed territories in the West Philippine Sea that lie well within its exclusive economic zone.

On Friday, Oban said the AFP had recorded no new foreign intrusions in the area since June.

“That means we’re doing good in terms of our presence,” he said.

“What I’m saying is there are fewer incidences of intrusion unlike the first four to five months of the year when we have seen increased level of intrusion,” he said.

He said the AFP would maintain “vigilance on all fronts” in protecting Philippine waters.

“Our mandate is to patrol our exclusive economic zone. Whether there is threat or not we have to enforce maritime and environmental laws,” Oban said.

globalnation.inquirer.net

Newly acquired Navy vessel from US arriving

By Jaime Laude
Philippine Star, Sunday, July 17, 2011

Manila, Philippines - The Philippine Navy’s newly acquired cutter from the United States (US) Coast Guard is arriving in the country in three weeks’ time and after some refinements will be immediately deployed to secure the country’s territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea. Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said yesterday.

Pama flew to California yesterday in time for tomorrow’s sendoff of BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) for a long voyage home, with stopovers in Hawaii and Guam for replenishment.

“The sendoff will signal the last activities for BRP Gregorio del Pilar in the US and to start its journey to the Philippines,” Pama said.

He said Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr., US Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West commander Vice Admiral Manson Brown and Philippine defense and Armed Forces attaché to the US Navy Capt. Antonio Habulan Jr. will be around during the official sendoff ceremony.

Aside from the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the government is also shopping for additional military assets in the US in line with the capability upgrade program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), to be used for its territorial defense amid the increasing tension in the West Philippine Sea brought about overlapping claims over the Spratlys.

A former USCG cutter, the Hamilton Class vessel, which is also classified as Weather High Endurance Cutter (WHEC), will first undergo refinements in its weapon and electronic systems upon its arrival before its deployment for maritime security operations in Palawan.

To accommodate the newly acquired PF-15, Pama said the Navy is putting up a naval base in Hulugan Bay fronting the West Philippine Sea, which will serve at the vessel’s homeport.

The scheduled deployment of PF-15 in the West Philippine Sea is expected to further boost the Navy’s platform in the hotly contested region to include maritime security operations for the Malampaya project west of Palawan.

“The Philippine Navy intends to use this multi-mission vessel for operations such as maritime security patrols and search and rescue. But more importantly, it will be deployed to aid in the maritime security of the Malampaya project,”Pama said.

While PF-15 is classified as a WHEC in the US, the Philippine Navy has refitted and refurbished it as a surface combatant ship with a type code of “P” for patrol and is further classified as a frigate with a type code of “F,” hence the designation of “PF.”

The vessel is powered by combined diesel engines and gas turbines and is equipped with a helicopter flight deck, a retractable hangar, and facilities to support helicopter operations.

With a total length of 378 feet, 42 inches beam, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar will be the Navy’s flagship.

philstar.com

Plane 'buzzes' Philippine boat in South China Sea

By AFP

Asiaone News, Tuesday, July 5, 2011

MANILA - An unidentified foreign plane harassed a group of Philippine fishermen in the South China Sea last month in the latest incident in the disputed waters, the Philippine navy said Tuesday.

The fishermen reported the jet flew low over their boat early last month off the Investigator Northeast Shoal, said navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama.

"An unidentified jet buzzed our fishing boat some 20 to 30 feet (6-9 metres) from the top of the mast of the fishing boat," Pama told reporters.

"They were unable to identify the jet; they just said it was noisy and it made them nervous," he said, adding: "Definitely it's not ours."

Asked about the plane's motive, Pama said it was not usual for an aircraft to fly so low over a boat, "so initially it's some sort of a warning, like, 'What are you doing here?'"

The navy said the incident occurred near a shoal claimed by the Philippines that lies between the major western Philippine island of Palawan and the disputed Spratly islands, which are believed to sit on vast mineral resources.

It was the second report of foreign aircraft activity in Philippine-claimed areas of the South China Sea this year.

In May two Philippine air force turboprop planes on patrol near the Spratlys reported two unidentified jets streaking high above them.

Tensions in the strategic and resource-rich South China Sea have escalated in recent weeks, with the Philippines and Vietnam voicing alarm at what they say are increasingly forceful Chinese actions there.

They include Philippine accusations of Chinese forces opening fire on Filipino fishermen, shadowing an oil exploration vessel employed by a Philippine firm, and putting up structures in areas claimed by the Philippines.

Aside from the Philippines, China and Vietnam, the Spratlys are also wholly or partially claimed by Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Philippine foreign department spokesman Raul Hernandez declined to comment on the navy's allegation, telling AFP he had yet to see the formal report.

asiaone.com

Unidentified foreign jet scares PH fishermen - Navy chief

By Abigail Kwok

Interaksyon, Monday, July 4, 2011

MANILA, Philippines -- An unidentified foreign jet recently scared local

fishermen in the area of the disputed Spratly Islands, according to sketchy reports reaching Philippine Navy chief Rear Admiral Alexander Pama.

The foreign jet "buzzed" a local fishing boat at the Dalagang Bukid Shoal, located some 131 miles from Balabac Island in Palawan.

Pama said on Monday the reported intrusion occurred between June 2 and June 4. The local fishermen reported that the jet flew some 20 to 30 feet above the fishing boat, "buzzing" the fishermen and scaring them away.

"These fishermen they couldn't identify the jet. They just reported loud sound above them, then they got nervous," Pama said, citing sketchy information reaching him.

Pama said the jet "was definitely not ours."

The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claim territory in the South China Sea, which Manila recently started referring to as West Philippine Sea, after China insisted it had sovereignty even over areas included in the Philippines's 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

Earlier, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said at least six incursions were made by Chinese troops this year, triggering diplomatic protests from the Philippines.

interaksyon.com

Philippines will not buy second hand naval equipment from the US

By Barbara Mae Dacanay
Gulf News, Monday, July 4,2011

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippine government might not buy but lease the equipment from the United States, adding the aim is to become a strong US allyManila: The Philippines will not buy second hand naval equipment from its ally, the United States, said a senior official who announced the arrival of long range aircraft that will oversee the country's claim on the contested South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) and the Spratly Archipelago.

The government will soon have very long range patrol aircraft and also watercraft on the West Philippine Sea, facing the eastern seaboard of the country, said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

"We have to see if we can afford it," Gazmin also said.

He did not give details about the amount to be spent for the equipment and the manner of payment for the said purchase.

Upgrading the Philippine Navy was estimated to cost P 11 billion ($ 252 million).

Chinese forces opened fire on Filipino fishermen, harassed a Philippine oil exploration and erected structures on six areas on Philippine territory, the Philippines complained earlier.

Philippine President Aquino called for US assistance because of these problems. Then Manila baptized the South China Sea as the West Philippine Sea.

Like Manila, Vietnam also accused China of activities that increased tension in the South China Sea.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippine government might not buy but lease the equipment from the United States, adding the aim is to become a strong US ally.

The list of the Philippine government was already given to the US Navy, he added. The new equipment will supplant the F5 fighter jets which were retired in 2005. The Philippine Navy is still using World War II vintage Rajah Humabon, a former US Navy frigate.

In reaction, militant groups said that the Philippine government might have allowed the United States to stockpile naval equipment at the South China Sea.

They also blamed President Benigno Aquino for drawing the US into the contested claims on the South China Sea and the Spratly Archipelago.

In 1991, the Philippine Senate rejected the US-proposed extension of the now defunct Military Bases Agreement. Since then, the Philippines stopped hosting of the largest two US overseas war facilities in central Luzon. The former US Naval Airbase in Olongapo, Zambales and the Clark Air Base in Angeles, Pampanga were transformed into commercial use.

But soon after, the US has proposed to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the establishment of non-permanent US bases in the Pacific region.

This was not yet acted upon.

China, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim the whole of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei claim some parts of the Spratly Archipelago.

gulfnews.com

Asian war feared over Spratlys row

By Redempto Anda

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Puerto Princesa—Longtime allies the Philippines and the United States launched naval exercises on Tuesday amid warnings that growing incidents at sea involving China could lead to war in Asia.

Two state-of-the-art US missile destroyers sailed into Philippine waters to kick-start the 11 days of training, being held in the wake of regional tensions caused by territorial rivalries in the West Philippine (South China) Sea.

The exercises, called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat), will actually take place in the Sulu Sea.

Both the Philippines and United States emphasized the training was an annual one aimed at strengthening defense ties, and not linked to the rising concern in Manila about allegedly aggressive Chinese actions in the potentially resource-rich Spratly Islands.

“Carat was planned in advance… the issue in the South China Sea started in February,” Philippine Navy vice commander Rear Adm. Orwen Corez said at the opening ceremony. “Carat has nothing to do with the issue.”

Nevertheless, the exercises were portrayed as a show of unity between the Philippines and its former colonial ruler.

‘Enduring commitment’

“The US and the Philippines are allies and that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make,” the commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, said.

“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding US interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines.”

Buskirk stressed the exercise “has nothing to do with the Spratlys.”

He said it was the second such exercise held by the two allies “but this situation is more complex.” He did not elaborate.

Tuesday’s opening ceremony took place at a military base in Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan province, a narrow island that divides the West Philippine Sea and the Sulu Sea.

About 800 US sailors are involved, as well as the two guided missile destroyers and a salvage ship. They will join a Philippine fleet of mainly World War II-era ships.

newsinfo.inquirer.net

Nakabantay ang isang Philippine naval personnel sa missile destroyer USS Chung Hoon (DDG-93)

Photo by AFP

Abante, Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Nakabantay ang isang Philippine naval personnel sa missile destroyer USS Chung Hoon (DDG-93) na dumating sa bansa para sa US-Philippines joint naval military exercise na ‘C­ooperation Afloat Readiness Training’ (CARAT). Idadaos ang pagsasanay sa katubigan ng Puerto Princesa, Palawan, malapit sa tensyunadong Spratly Islands.

abante.com.ph

US Senate hits China action in territorial row

By AFP Photo

Manila Times, Wednesday, June 29, 2011

A Philippine Navy personnel stands guard during the arrival of missile destroyer USS Chung Hoon ahead of the Philippine-US joint naval military exercises near the disputed Spratly Islands on Tuesday.

manilatimes.net

On sending Philippine Navy’s biggest warship to Spratlys

By Amando Doronila

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Monday, June 20, 2011

The Philippines deployed on Friday its biggest warship, the BRP Rajah Humabon, to patrol the West Philippine Sea, also known as the South China Sea, raising its naval profile in the escalating dispute over several islands in the Spratlys group with China and four Asian countries—Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia.

The deployment of the Philippine Navy’s flagship and oldest warship, of World War II vintage, followed recent incursions by Chinese naval vessels into islands claimed by the Philippines in the Spratlys.

It also came amid the rise of encounters between Philippine and Chinese vessels trying to stop oil exploration by the Philippines and Vietnam in waters claimed by China as part of its territory for the past 2,000 years. Our claims as well as those of Vietnam are anchored on international covenants on the law of the sea.

The dispute is over access to reportedly rich oil and marine resources underneath the disputed islands, as well as control of strategic shipping lanes in the region.

This flare-up of incidents among China, the Philippines and Vietnam over competing territorial claims has fueled a naval show of force and has made the West Philippine Sea the flash point of the dispute in the region.

Live-fire exercises

The Philippine naval deployment came in the face of at least three tension fueling events.

The start last week of the live-fire exercises in the South China Sea by Vietnam, which warned vessels to stay out of the live ammunition drill area off Quang Nam province. The drill followed a verbal clash with China over sovereignty in the area.

The clash also occurred after an angry Chinese reaction to Vietnam’s charge that a Chinese fishing boat rammed cables from an oil exploration vessel inside its exclusive economic zone. China claimed Chinese fishing boats were chased away by Vietnamese ships. Beijing accused Vietnam of “gravely violating” its sovereignty, saying that Vietnam’s actions endangered Chinese sailors’ lives and warned Vietnam to stop all “invasive activities.”

Vietnam said the “premeditated and carefully calculated” action was part of China’s attempts to control disputed waters. Rather than be cowed by China’s warnings, Vietnam responded with holding the live-fire exercises.

Humabon deployment

Showing defiance to Chinese incursions into the Philippine areas in the West Philippine Sea, Manila announced the deployment of the Humabon on the eve of annual joint exercises of Philippine and US forces under their mutual defense treaty.

Philippine defense officials believe that the exercises would act as a signal to China that the United States would come to the aid of the Philippines if an armed conflict with China breaks out over the Spratlys.

Arms shopping

Following the increasing encounters with Chinese vessels intruding into territories it has made claims and interfering in explorations for resources in the West Philippine Sea, Manila started an arms shopping in the United States for weapons to build up its naval facilities, including a Hamilton-class vessel to patrol its territory.

The Philippines has a relatively weak Navy to prevent sneak construction on its claimed territories. Despite claims and pledges by China at the recent Asian security summit in Singapore to pursue a peaceful solution of territorial disputes, rival claimants are not reassured.

Rules-based deals

Chinese Defense Minister Lian Guanglie told the worried Asians at the summit, “China is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea. At present, the general situation in the South China Sea remains stable,” adding that freedom of navigation had never been impeded.

Filipino officials have claimed that the Philippines is pursuing diplomatic means, or “rules-based” arrangements, in concert with its Asean allies, but Manila does not trust China’s soothing pledges. The Philippines is suspicious and nervous over China’s hegemonic ambitions in the region in the light of the rise of Beijing’s economic power.

These apprehensions are expressed in some ways by the Philippines decision to build up its naval muscle and to deploy the Humabon as a show of force of its determination not to be bullied by Chinese threats.

In Manila on Friday, President Aquino expressed his strongest statement yet against Chinese incursions into territories claimed by the Philippines. He said in an interview with The Associated Press that in the deployment of Humabon, the Philippines reserved the right to explore its waters, despite Chinese rival claims.

No pushover

“We will not be pushed around because we are a tiny state compared with others,” Mr. Aquino said. “We think we have very solid grounds to say ‘do not intrude into our territory’ and that it is not a source of dispute or should not be a source of dispute,” the President said.

“We will continue with dialogues, but I think for our internal affairs, we don’t have to ask anybody else’s permission.”

He added, “We are not going to escalate the tensions here, but we do have to protect our rights.”

Cmdr. Celestino Abalayan, captain of the Humabon, explained his mission. “Our objectives are to establish naval presence in the area and to test the readiness of our vessel in terms of territorial defense operations. We are conducting defensive naval patrol to safeguard the waters of the country.”

All right, we have told the Chinese that we don’t want to be bullied by them. With all this tough talk, Abalayan has a big job.

He must be sure that the guns of Humabon don’t jam—when they are needed to sink Chinese ships.

newsinfo.inquirer.net

Rajah Humabon to stay within Philippine borders

By AFP

Manila Times, Monday, June 20,2011

The chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday assured that the country’s naval flagship would not go beyond the country’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, as it prepares to deploy near disputed islands and surrounding waters in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Despite apparent muscle-flexing by claimant-countries to the contested areas, Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said that he remained optimistic that the territorial dispute would be solved peacefully and avoid a potential armed confrontation.

“We hope it will not reach that point,” Oban told reporters when asked if sending the Philippine Navy flagship Rajah Humabon to the West Philippine Sea could stoke clashes.

He said that the flagship would be confined to its maritime boundaries and would not stray into international waters.

“I am optimistic that whatever conflicts may arise there will be settled peacefully and diplomatically, although what I am saying is that we will have to [also] enforce maritime laws within our 200-nautical mile [exclusive economic] zone,” Oban added.

Manila said that it would deploy the Rajah Humabon to the West Philippine Sea on Friday, a day after China announced that one of its maritime patrol vessels was also scheduled to pass through the area.

Both countries, as well as Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam have competing claims to potentially resource-rich areas in the disputed territories and surrounding waters, particularly Spratly Islands.

China claims the entire South China Sea as its historical fishing grounds, but the Philippines argues that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that a country has exclusive economic rights over waters that fall within 200 nautical miles of its continental shelf.

The Philippines’ zone overlaps in some places with those of claims by the other claimants to the Spratlys.

Commissioned in the Philippine Navy in 1980, the Rajah Humabon was a former US Navy frigate that served during World War II and is one of the world’s oldest warships.

Tensions in the long-running dispute over the area flared in recent months on allegations by the Philippines and Vietnam that China has become increasingly aggressive in staking its territorial claims.

The Philippines accused China this month of sending naval vessels to intimidate rival claimants around the Spratly Islands, as well as of installing buoys and posts in nearby areas.

Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario met with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) also on Sunday and called on them to have a common stand against China over the overlapping claims.

Asean groups the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar., Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Hanoi’s cause was pushed further forward also on Sunday by up to 100 Vietnamese who rallied outside the Chinese Embassy in the Vietnamese capital for the third weekend in a row over the escalating maritime row with Beijing in the West Philippine Sea.

The group sang patriotic songs, chanted and carried signs such as “China stop violating the territorial waters of Vietnam,” referring to the dispute over the sovereignty of two archipelagos—Paracel and Spratlys—in the South China Sea.

“The East Sea is not the village pond of China. I come here to show my patriotism,” said one protester, who asked not to be named, using the Vietnamese name for the sea.

Demonstrations are not common in authoritarian Vietnam, where small land-rights rallies are tolerated but advocates of other political causes risk arrest, yet anti-China sentiment recently brought people to the streets.

Police at Sunday’s rally, who outnumbered the crowd, noted their patriotism but told them through loudhailers, “Your gathering here may complicate the situation, influencing diplomatic relations between the two countries.”

The United States and Vietnam also on Friday jointly called for freedom of navigation and rejected the use of force in the sea.

After talks in Washington, the former war foes said that “the maintenance of peace, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is in the common interests of the international community.”

manilatimes.net