Japan, SoKor, Australia to help PH improve defense capability – DFA

By Jerry E. Esplanada

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — Aside from the United States, at least three other countries – Japan, South Korea and Australia – are helping the Philippines establish a minimum credible defense posture to complement its diplomatic capacity in dealing with its territorial disputes with China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario pointed this out over the weekend as he also disclosed that the Tokyo government is likely to provide the country with 12 patrol boats.

“They’re considering 10 forty-meter patrol boats on ODA (Official Development Aid) and two larger ones as grants,” Del Rosario told the Philippine Daily Inquirer

In a text message, he also said: “Regarding South Korea, we have a logistics agreement and we have received equipment, such as vests and helmets (for the Armed Forces of the Philippines).”

“I understand our defense department is looking to possibly purchase aircraft from there,” according to Del Rosario.

In November, President Benigno Aquino III asked visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak for aircraft, patrol boats and other hardware to help boost the country’s military amid then rising tensions with China over the Spratlys Islands.

Lee did not disclose any response to the specific request but said Seoul wanted to help Manila resolve its maritime problems.

From Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs head said the country could expect to get “a number of vessels for search-and-rescue, as well as significant training here and abroad for large numbers of our military (personnel).”

“We expect increased help (from the Australian government) when the Status of the Visiting Forces Agreement (or SOFVA between Manila and Canberra) is ratified, hopefully this week,” said Del Rosario.

The SOFVFA, which covers the “status of visiting forces from each state while in the territory of the other state,” was signed on May 31, 2007 in the Australian capital by then Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and his counterpart Defense Minister Brendan Nelson.

The signing of the bilateral pact was witnessed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Last week, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin confirmed reports that the Philippines would acquire at least 10 patrol boats from Japan. However, he declined to discuss with reporters details of the acquisition still in progress.

Coast Guard head Vice Admiral Edmund Tan said they have been negotiating a loan for the acquisition of the vessels.

Meanwhile, the AFP chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Jessie Dellosa, said the process of building a credible defense for the country has been moving fast, with the Navy’s acquisition of a second Hamilton-class cutter from the US.

The first such acquisition, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, figured in the early part of the standoff between the Philippines and China over the Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, which Manila calls Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag Shoal.

On the other hand, Beijing refers to the rock formation as Huangyan Island.

Del Rosario has repeatedly said “we have committed ourselves to improve our national defense by building a minimum credible defense posture” as he also stressed the need to protect national sovereignty.

“Given the country’s lack of resources, it behooves us to proactively seek the assistance and cooperation of our various international partners to achieve this minimum credible posture, which is a fundamental attribute of any sovereign country,” he also said.

According to Del Rosario, the “defense track” is part of the DFA’s comprehensive overall plan in promoting national security.

This year, the Philippines would be receiving about $144.66 million (about P6.25 billion) in defense assistance from the US, he said.

Aside from the delivery of a second Coast Guard cutter, “negotiations are likewise underway for more defense articles, including newer air assets for the Philippine Air Force. We also successfully secured funding in the amount of $53 million (about P2.3 billion) for radar systems to be used by the Coast Guard Watch Council for enhanced maritime domain awareness.”

He said Manila has been upgrading its defense partnership with Washington under the two allies’ Mutual Defense Treaty, citing changes in the regional and global security environment.

Del Rosario emphasized their focal point for cooperation has been to “increase our capacity for territorial defense and maritime security.”

Aside from the defense track, he also referred to the DFA’s diplomatic or political track, where the country would continue to push for the transformation of the West Philippine Sea into a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship, and Cooperation, or ZoPFFC.

Under the ZoPFFC, Manila would observe a rules-based approach to all disputes in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

For the legal track, the DFA plans to continue coordinating with other concerned government agencies as it resorts to dispute settlement mechanisms under UNCLOS.

According to Del Rosario, “there are five of them and we’re assessing which one is best for us, one that will serve our purpose well.”

Scarborough Shoal lies north of the Spratlys and 124 nautical miles west of Zambales province.

Both asserting their territorial claim to the shoal, Manila and Beijing have refused to recall their vessels from the area.

China has violated the Asean Declaration on the Conduct of Parties “for not allowing us to enforce our laws in the country’s 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone,” according to Del Rosario.

The Philippines earlier filed a protest with the UN, challenging China’s nine-dash claim that encompasses the whole West Philippine Sea.

Last month, Manila asked the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to take a stand on its dispute with China over the Scarborough Shoal.

Del Rosario asserted that “all, not just the Philippines, will ultimately be negatively affected if we do not take a stand.”

He observed “if you take a good look, it appears to us that China wants to establish the rules. Obviously, there’s a negative implication for everyone, not just the Philippines.”

Asked if they would ask the US government’s help in resolving the conflict, he said they “would want all nations to make a judgment as to what’s happening there and what the implications are to their own countries.”

He claimed Washington has already taken a “very constructive role” in resolving the Spratlys dispute, when it pushed for the application of international law in solving the problem.

President Mulls Buying Brand New Jets and rejects US Ageing' F16s

MANILA (AFP) — The Philippines is looking at arming itself for the first time with dedicated fighter jets made outside of the United States, President Benigno Aquino said Wednesday amid a territorial dispute with China.

The Philippines last month requested aircraft, patrol boats and radar systems from its US military ally to help it achieve what the government said would be a “minimum credible defense.”

Aquino said that his government had asked to buy secondhand F-16s from the United States, but their maintenance costs could end up being too high because of their age.

"We might end up spending $400 million or $800 million per squadron, and we were thinking of getting two squadrons," he said in an interview with Manila's Bombo Radio.

“We do have an alternative, and — this is a surprise — it seems we have the capacity to buy brand-new, but not from America," Aquino said, without mentioning the aircraft model.

"These are manufactured by another progressive country that I won't name at this point."

Aquino noted that Manila had retired its last fighter jet, a Korean War-vintage F-5, in 2005. It does continue to fly S211 trainer jets made by the Italian firm Marchetti, which are sometimes used as ground attack aircraft against various insurgencies.

But along with the F-5, the Philippines had previously relied on obsoleteUS hand-me-downs including the T-33 and the P-51 Mustang as dedicated attack fighters, and the country now has no effective air defences.

It is engaged in a tense maritime standoff with China over the disputed Scarborough Shoal and surrounding waters in the South China Sea. Both nations have stationed vessels there for over a month to assert their sovereignty.

(Manila Bulletin)

Philippines willing to share Spratlys bounty – Aquino

By Norman Bordadora

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Speaking before a general assembly of alumni of US universities late Wednesday, Aquino said the Philippine government continues to talk with the Chinese for a mutually beneficial solution to their standoff over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal as well as other disputed territories in the area.MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III is willing to share with other countries in the region the benefits of the natural gas deposits in the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea. But he said he will not be a  party to the ceding of portions of the Philippine archipelago to a foreign power like China.

“I am not empowered to give up any of our territory,” the President said in answer to a suggestion that “a win-win solution” might be for the two countries to split the $35 trillion worth of natural gas that another disputed territory, the Recto Bank, is believed to hold.

The Recto Bank (international name: Reed Bank), which lies within the Philippines’ 200 nautical-mile (370 kilometers) economic zone, is located abut 150 km east of the Spratly chain of  islets, which is claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia,

Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as the Philippines and China.

The Recto Bank, which is said to have oil and gas deposits that reach deep into the Cuyo Islands in Palawan, has been the subject of numerous exploration campaigns by the Philippines in the past.

The Philippines last year filed a diplomatic protest against China after two Chinese ships reportedly harassed a vessel that had been contracted by the government to undertake oil exploration activities in the bank.

Aquino acknowledged that the huge benefits from the resources in the disputed territories could free the region from dependence on fossil fuel from Middle Eastern and North African countries.

“If we are able to exploit these resources, that redounds to benefits for the entire region,” he said.

He said the parties to the dispute “should work towards easing the problems and the concerns of our respective peoples in the here and now and not in some future date where, you know, it is not a fair solution.”

“If it’s clear that we have a 200-mile economic zone, exclusive economic zone, designated by the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas, and both of us are parties to it, is it too much to ask that our rights are respected by our neighbors in the same token that we respect their rights?” he said.

The President said the Philippines doesn’t have to be “the sole winner of exploitation of resources” in the disputed areas. He said the country has always been a good neighbor to other countries in the Asia Pacific.

However, it has to draw the line when it should look after its rightful interests, he said.

“Recto Bank is 80 miles from us. There are areas that are even closer… So if we keep on subtracting about 30 percent—and not to be flippant about it—if you don’t draw the line somewhere, will we be having claims against us on the Pasig River or other rivers?” he added.

He stressed that the Philippines was resolved on a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the disputes with China, noting that it cannot afford to engage Beijing militarily.

“So we are exploring ways and means to resolve the conflict. We keep on reemphasizing that we are not for conflict. We do not want to present a threat to them in any shape, manner or form, or whatsoever in terms of military action,” he said.

“If it were just a boxing match, they’re 1.3 billion and we’re 93 million. We will not prevail. That is not the route and our Constitution actually prohibits it,” he said.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said there is an upside to the tension between the Philippines and China over the Panatag Shoal dispute.

He said the Philippines’ refusal to bow down to China has united many Filipinos against a common enemy and earned the country respect from other groups and nations.

“This extended standoff, with the Philippines not buckling down against the world’s second most powerful country, is gaining for us international respect and moral support,” Golez said in a statement.

“It is a unifying and rallying force. Even Filipino groups outside the country have mobilized themselves in support of our cause,” he said.

It also shows the world that the Philippines has a strong and steadfast foreign policy that does not crumble under economic pressure and veiled military threats, Golez said. With Leila Salaverria

Japan eyes maritime aid for Philippine defense

By DJ Yap, Inquirer Southern Luzon, Redempto D. Anda

The Philippine Navy said it welcomed any form of assistance from any nation but could not confirm whether Japan had made such a commitment to the Philippine government.MANILA, Philippines – Japan is planning to provide maritime vessels, including 1,000-ton patrol ships, to the Philippines to “support the island country in its territorial dispute against China,” a Japanese newspaper reported in March, weeks before tensions erupted over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

In a March 22 report carried by KBS World Radio, a Korean English-language news website, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a Japanese-language newspaper, was quoted as saying that Japan “has decided to provide the

Philippines with patrol ships” by year’s end.

“The newspaper said that Japan has decided to provide vessels, including 1,000-ton patrol ships, to the Philippines by the end of the year,” KBS World Radio said.

Not official yet

But the Japanese Embassy here Thursday said Japan “has not yet officially decided” if it would provide the Philippines with the maritime patrol vessels.

“The government of Japan is still considering whether to include them under its official development aid” to the Philippines, the embassy’s information and press center told the Inquirer.

KBS World Radio said the move to supply the Philippines with patrol vessels came after the government last year eased the “Three Principles of Arms Export,” a law which proscribes Japanese export of arms.

It quoted the Japanese paper as saying “this is a move to raise the Philippines’ maritime safety capabilities in the South China Sea, where it is clashing with China over sovereignty rights.”

“The United States and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are said to be keeping China in check as part of their efforts to maintain maritime security, which Japan also supports,” KBS World Radio said.

Added boost

Navy spokesperson Lt. Col. Omar Tonsay said the Navy would appreciate the added boost to its capability, considering recent circumstances, but he said he could not confirm whether such plans were really in place.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said the military was not part of the discussions, but that information reaching him indicated that the ships in discussion would be smaller than the reported 1,000-ton vessels.

Meanwhile, Armed Forces Chief Lt. Gen. Jessie Dellosa Thursday said the process of building “a credible defense” for the

Philippines was moving fast, with a new warship arriving on May 22, as well as eight new combat helicopters and radar facilities.

During a visit to Puerto Princesa City in Palawan Thursday, Dellosa said the purchase of new hardware would help the armed forces build a “modest deterrent capability.”

The AFP chief met with Western Command  Commander Juancho Sabban and key officers to assess the situation at the disputed Panatag Shoal just 200 kilometers off Masinloc in Zambales province.

On April 10, tensions rose between China and the Philippines over disputed fishing grounds in Panatag, known as Scarborough internationally and as Huangyan island to the Chinese.

2nd ship from US

Dellosa said the government would “formally receive” its second Hamilton-class naval vessel from the United States on May 22. The first such acquisition, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, figured in the early part of the Scarborough standoff with Chinese vessels when its crew tried to arrest a group of Chinese poachers caught red-handed inside the disputed shoal. With Jerry E. Esplanada

Newest Warship Needs P247M For Fuel

BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15), the Philippine’s frigates (photo : Philipiines Navy)

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of National Defense (DND) is procuring P247 million worth of additional diesel and lubricants for the use of the country's newest warship, BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15).

The DND is also bidding out P133 million worth of aviation fuel and diesel requirement for its QRF (Quick Response Fund).

An invitation to bid for was posted at the DND website for additional petroleum, oil, and lubricants for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with P381,384,101.14 approved budget for the contract (ABC).

Of the total approved budget,  P247,596,691.50 will be for the additional diesel and lube oil requirement for the Del Pilar; P88,245,591.81 for diesel requirement for QRF; and P42,541,817.83 for aviation fuel requirement for QRF.

As stated in the invitation to bid signed by defense assistant secretary Patrick M. Velez, chairman of the DND Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), "the bidding will be conducted through an open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criteria as specified in the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act."

The bidding is "restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, and organizations with at least 60 percent interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens  of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws and regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to Republic Act 5183 and subject to Commonwealth 138."

As the DND called on eligible bidders to send in their sealed bids, it also said that only bids from bidders who pass the eligibility check will be opened.

Velez said interested bidders may obtain further information from his office.

Pre-bid conference is scheduled May 17, while formal bid opening will be on May 29.

(ManillaBulletin)

Obama cites Asian, Filipino contributions

By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – US President Barack Obama recently cited the achievements of the more than 17.3 million Asian-Americans in all facets of American life, including 3.2 million Filipinos “whose talents and contributions strengthen our economy, protect our security and enliven our country every day.”

A report posted on the website of the US Embassy in Manila quoted Obama as praising the “wide-ranging group (of Asian-Americans) that includes athletes and public servants, entrepreneurs and artists and also proud members of the US Armed Forces.”

“From our earliest days, intrepid men and women from the Asia-Pacific region have forged enduring links between America and other nations as they moved across the Pacific,” the US leader said in an April 29 statement on the observance this May of Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Obama called on all Americans to “visit www.AsianPacificHeritage.gov to learn more about the history of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.”

“Throughout the US, Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is celebrated with community festivals, traditional food, parades and cultural performances. Many schools and government offices hold educational and cultural events,” the report said.

Recognition

The US Congress officially recognized the contributions of Asian-Americans in 1978 by passing a joint resolution establishing Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week. In 1992, Congress made it official by passing a law that designated May as Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month.

According to the embassy report, “the Library of Congress states that the month of May was chosen because the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the US on May 7, 1843.”

“May also marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.”

Citing US Census Bureau records, the report said that at 3.8 million, “Chinese-Americans were the largest Asian group, followed by Filipinos (3.2 million), Indians (2.8 million), Vietnamese (1.7 million), Koreans (1.6 million) and Japanese (1.3 million).”

Of the 17.3 million US residents of Asian descent, “14.7 million were considered Asians alone while another 2.6 million were Asians in combination with one or more additional races.”

The report noted that “Asians are the third-largest minority group and the second-fastest growing group in the US.”

The Census Bureau has projected a 161-percent increase in the Asian-American population between 2008 and 2050.

“This compares with a 44-percent increase in the US population as a whole over the same period,” it said.

According to the report, $68,780 was the “median household income for single-race Asians in 2009.”

More data

Other Asian-Americans-related data:

In 2010, the largest population of Asian-Americans was found in California, with 5.6 million, followed by New York  (1.6 million) and Texas (1.4 million).

The poverty rate for single-race Asians in 2008 and 2009 was 12.5 percent. On the other hand, the rate increase for non-Hispanic whites was 8.6 percent to 9.4 percent; for blacks, 24.7 percent to 25.8 percent; and for Hispanics, 23.2 percent to 25.3 percent.

“Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean were each spoken at home by more than one million people,” the report said.

Eighty percent of Asians lived in a household with Internet use, “the highest rate among race and ethnic groups” in the entire United States, the report said.

MRT-7 construction on track

By: Doris C. Dumlao

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippine – The construction of the $1.6-billion Metro Railway Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) linking North Edsa to Bulacan is set to begin as its proponent, the San Miguel group, has awarded the contract to build the elevated railway to a consortium led by Marubeni-DMCI.

FOR BIDDING The government said it will bid out the contract to operate and maintain the Metro Rail Transit 3, which runs the length of EDSA from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Tuesday, DMCI Holdings announced that the Marubeni-DMCI consortium—an unincorporated joint venture between itself and Japanese trading giant Marubeni Corp.—had signed the contract for the MRT-7 project.

The engineering, procurement and construction contract was signed with Universal LRT Corp. Ltd., a corporation controlled by San Miguel Holdings Corp.

The MRT-7 project involves the construction of a 22-km train line with 14 stations from San Jose del Monte in Bulacan to the corner of North Avenue and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Quezon City.

It also comprises a 22-km six-lane road from the MRT depot in Bulacan.

The San Miguel group took over a majority stake in the project in late 2010.

ASEAN South-East Asia 10th World Largest Economy - tigers prove far from extinct

In a lot of minds, the ''Asian Century'' we may now be facing is conflated with a ''Chinese Century'' - such is China's size and growth pathway despite its building demographic, environmental and perhaps political headwinds.

With Europe falling apart under its ''internal contradictions'', a Western cheer squad is hoping India can be the tortoise that crawls ahead of the Chinese hare, though India's politicians seem to be doing their best to prevent this happening.

But quite remarkably, a third big centre of power is coming to the fore in the region, one that could truly make this an Asian century, not just a China story. South-east Asia is back, after a 15-year retirement to the benches following the pricking of its many bubbles in the 1997 regional financial crisis.

It may be time to bring out those old batik shirts and send them down to the laundry for a wash and press.

The 1997 crisis ended talk of the Asian ''tiger'' economies, and attention soon focused on the sustained high growth of China, and the rising tempo of the Indian economy. South-east Asia seemed destined to prosper as slave economies feeding materials and components to China.

But that is now changing as south-east Asia's potential as a self-sustaining market is more widely appreciated. With 600 million people and combined gross domestic products totalling $US1.8 trillion, it would rank as the ninth or 10th biggest economy in the world.

It's not a combined economy of course, though it works away at making itself into a free trade area. But Indonesia alone, with a population of 240 million likely to stabilise around 400 million later this century, and an economy edging close in size to Australia's (already larger by the purchasing power parity yardstick), will be a very big market on its own.

The region is also coming out of the strategic torpor that resulted from digesting so many varied political systems into its main grouping, the Association of South-east Asian Nations.

At a recent gathering in Rangoon, an official from one of its 10 member countries bemoaned the fact that ASEAN membership involved officials attending ''600 meetings a year''. Bound by a code of ''non-interference'' in each other's affairs, the group was notable for its ineffectuality on the region's disputes and conflicts.

That is swiftly changing as a new generation of better-educated, more worldly politicians and officials takes over from older figures hiding their uncertainties behind protocols and ''cultural norms''. As before, the largest member, Indonesia, is still setting the pace. But instead of that being a comfort to the group's authoritarian member nations, it's an unsettling example of transition to contested elections and open debate.

As noted over recent months, several of the other countries are moving into political transitions. Malaysia and Singapore are seeing a weakening of the one-party dominance of their politics and media that's prevailed for the last 60 years. Thailand is approaching the passing of its revered king. Burma has just made a big step towards democracy.

Even the Philippines, the joker in the pack, may at last be finding a proper role for its many educated, talented and English-speaking people, instead of sending them abroad for menial jobs in rich countries. It has recently overtaken India as the biggest call-centre host. Australian banks and companies are now sending hundreds of back office jobs to Manila.

As well as these internal dynamics, the big external factor encouraging the south-east Asians to step up to the plate in strategic issues is the rise of China and the pressure this is putting on its neighbours to the south.

Oil exploration and fishing in the overlapping claimed economic zones of the South China Sea, damming of the rivers flowing into south-east Asia, cross-border migration, people trafficking, weight of investment and trade money, and projected military capability are all making the south-east Asians fearful of being turned into vassal states (as some were in past eras).

The re-emergence of south-east Asia is something that could work well for Australia.

We are already deeply connected on the economic side, with $64 billion in two-way merchandise trade in 2010-11 and $17 billion in services. Our diplomats would argue we haven't ever dropped the ball, and remain closely informed and influential in the region's affairs.

But the region has lost the central importance we gave it two or three decades back. As bilateral frictions with south-east Asia have diminished, strategic and business focus has shifted to the two Asian giants. Foreign correspondent friends don't say, as they used to, they always go to the Australian embassy first to find out what's really going on. Interest in learning the Indonesian, Thai, or Vietnamese languages has fallen away. A friend in Canberra who wants to learn Burmese is struggling to find a teacher.

Still, Australian business and institutions have a substantial bank of expertise and familiarity with south-east Asia, that could be turned towards profitable partnerships in addressing the region's urbanisation, infrastructure and environmental challenges.

On our political front, it looks like the Coalition will make a supposed ''neglect'' of Indonesia and other ''old friends'' in the region a theme of its pitch for government. We've had similar rediscoveries of neglected relationships before, notably every few years with India, that soon lapse once in office.

The Coalition, a bit more than Labor, walks into south-east Asia with two bits of baggage: a closeness to the US, which makes us look a satellite, and an obsession about Muslim asylum seekers, which to Asians looks like we still haven't completely shaken off White Australia.

Conservatives often dismiss this kind of criticism, pointing to the region's own racial antipathies and claiming our influence with Washington is a plus in Asia. They'd be well advised to slip back into the bipartisan narrative of an Australia steadily becoming a normal partner in in the region. Even John Howard found signing the ASEAN treaty of friendship and non-aggression not so bad after all.

On second thoughts, about those batik shirts … like flares, they can be so 1970s, if not chosen well.

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