AFP welcomes sea row hotline

MANILA, Philippines - The military believes the planned emergency hotline between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would help prevent untoward incidents in the West Philippine Sea.

Any mechanism for direct dialogue in times of emergency to prevent escalation of tension is welcome, according to Armed Forces spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla.

The military has not received any feedback about the plan, he added.

On Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said ASEAN and China are considering setting up a hotline in case of an emergency related to the West Philippine Sea dispute.

The setting up of the hotline was tackled during a meeting of senior diplomats from China and ASEAN in Tianjin last week, DFA spokesman Charles Jose told Agence France-Presse. 

The news agency quoted Jose as saying that the plan “was agreed in principle as an early harvest measure but needs thorough discussion.”

The dispute has been testing the unity of ASEAN as members have reacted differently to China’s aggressive expansion and military buildup.

It was evident during the meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Cambodia three years ago.

The ministers ended their meeting without issuing a joint statement because of their failure to reach a consensus on the maritime dispute.

It was the first time in ASEAN’s more than 40 years of existence that foreign ministers failed to issue a joint statement.

Cambodia, the host of the ASEAN 2012 summit and a recipient of Chinese aid, refused to include the territorial dispute in the joint statement.

No South China Sea talk

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said yesterday the disputed South China Sea should not be discussed at the ASEAN meeting.

Liu, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the 48th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, which kicks off in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, said the meetings should avoid all talk on the sensitive issue, adding that countries outside ASEAN should not interfere.

“It should not be discussed,” said Liu. “This is not the right forum. This is a forum for promoting cooperation. If the US raises the issue we shall of course object. We hope they will not.”

The issue was not on the official agenda, but expectations had been high that it would be discussed against a backdrop of increasing tensions and overlapping claims in the potentially energy-rich South China Sea.

No reclamation in Panatag 

The military sees no indication of reclamation activities in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, an area within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone now under Chinese control.

China might reclaim the shoal to control resources in the West Philippine Sea and to beef up its military presence, Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said last week.

China will also construct military facilities on the shoal just like in Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) and Zamora (Subi) Reefs, areas that the Philippines considers part of its territory, he added.

The military has not monitored activities indicating that China is about to start reclamation on the shoal, Padilla said.

“We have not seen activities pointing towards reclamation like what they did to other areas,” he said. “I hope they (China) don’t do it because of the increasing number of voices speaking against it.” 

The Philippines is not seeking trouble and believes in the peaceful resolution of dispute, as it has filed a case against China’s expansive territorial claim before an international arbitral tribunal, Padilla said.

“We are a peace-loving nation, that’s why in our Constitution, it says we renounce war as an instrument of policy and the armed forces being the protector of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country conforms to that principle,” he said.

The country does not have the capability to prevent any kind of construction activities in Panatag, as that would be confrontational, Padilla said.

“But what we are saying here is that as long as we keep watch, as long as we keep on telling the public all these activities that are happening there by means of our monitoring, we promote awareness and encourage others to speak against it,” he said.

Chinese occupation of the shoal began on April 10, 2012 when surveillance vessels prevented the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese fishermen   illegally harvesting endangered marine species.

Chinese ships have since barred Filipino fishermen from entering the shoal.

Ignoring Philippine protests over the presence of Chinese ships, China insisted that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over the shoal.

China preparing second Spratly airstrip?  

A Washington-based think tank said Beijing could be preparing to build a second 3,000-meter airstrip on an artificial island in the disputed ea.

China is already building a 3,000-meter runway on Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef, the longest in the area, which could ultimately be used for combat operations, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Airstrip building in the Spratly islands goes back nearly 40 years and four other claimants have such facilities, according to CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

China has been accused of seeking to advance its sovereignty claims with its land reclamation program and tensions have been rising in the South China Sea.

New Navy chief

The Philippine Navy will have a new Flag Officer-in-Command when Vice Adm. Jose Millan retires next week.

Armed Forces Northern Luzon chief Lt. Gen. Felicito Virgilio Trinidad will also retire next week.

The Board of Generals (BOG) is still deliberating on the successors of Millan and Trinidad, according to Armed Forces spokesman Padilla.

However, deliberations have reportedly been completed and the BOG has submitted a short list of names to Malacañang.

Millan and Trinidad belong to Philippine Military Academy Class of 1982. 

They will reach the military’s mandatory retirement age of 56 on Aug. 10 and Aug. 14, respectively.

Among the Navy officers eyeing Millan’s post are Rear Admiral Caesar Taccad, Navy vice commander and head of the Navy’s modernization program; Wescom chief Vice Adm. Alexander Lopez; and the chief naval staff Rear Adm. Ronald Joseph Mercado.

Eyeing the Nolcoms’ top post are 7th Infantry Division commander Maj.  Gen. Glorioso Miranda,  5th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Lysander Suerte, and Light Armor Division commander Maj. Gen. Mayoralgo de la Cruz.

President Aquino is also expected to designate the new commander of the 10th Infantry Division, a post left vacant when Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año was named Army commander.  – With Jaime Laude