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2012-01-09 Southeast Asia
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Philippines accuses China of maritime intrusions
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MANILA: The Philippines has protested to China over three Chinese vessels that allegedly intruded into its waters last month, in the latest flaring of tensions over disputed South China Sea regions.
| This is part of the dispute over the Spratly islands. They're small enough to be insignificant except for all the oil under them and the sea around them. That and historical hegemony is enough for China to lay claim to the whole South China Sea. |
The Philippine government expressed its serious concerns to the Chinese Embassy after the three vessels, including a Chinese navy ship, were sighted near Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea on Dec. 11 and 12, Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario said Sunday.
Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban said a Philippine navy patrol ship and an air force plane kept watch from a distance until the Chinese vessels left the countrys territorial waters.
The three vessels apparently came from the Chinese-occupied Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands then cruised into Philippine waters on their way back to China as part of a regular shifting of forces, he said.
We were watching them. They did not drop anchor or unload construction materials and appeared to be just passing through, Sabban told The Associated Press.
In Beijing, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told the official Xinhua News Agency that the situation in the South China Sea is peaceful and stable. China will always opt for negotiations to peacefully resolve disputes on some islands ... and the demarcation of parts of the sea, Liu said.
Claimants should set aside the disputes and pursue common development ahead of a solution, Liu said, reiterating that outside forces should not meddle in the conflicts. China has repeatedly warned the US not to intervene in the disputes.
| A strong US president would offer to buy one of the islands from the Philippines or Vietnam. One that is just big enough for an airstrip, a small harbor and a Marine battalion... |
Del Rosario said the new Chinese intrusions violated a 2002 accord between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that discourages claimant countries to the South China Seas disputed Spratly Islands from taking aggressive steps that could ignite tension or confrontations.
China, the Philippines and four other claimants have long been locked in a tense dispute over potentially oil- and gas-rich South China Sea territories, including the Spratlys. Many fear the region could be Asias next flashpoint for conflict.
The Philippines and Vietnam separately accused Chinese vessels of repeatedly intruding into Spratlys areas under their control and sabotaging oil explorations in their regular territorial waters in the first six months of last year. China denied the claims and reiterated its sovereignty over most of the South China Sea.
Amid the disputes, the Philippines turned to the United States, a defense-treaty ally, to strengthen its underfunded military, one of Asias weakest. The Philippine navy relaunched an old US Coast Guard cutter as its biggest warship last month to guard its waters near the Spratlys.
President Benigno Aquino III and other top Philippine officials plan to travel to the United States this year to seek two more ships and a squadron of F-16 jets, according to del Rosario.
| Which we should offer to sell or lease to them. Problem is, the more the Philippines put into this, the less they have to fight the terrorists in the south. |
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Posted by Steve White 2012-01-09 00:00||
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Posted by Super Hose 2012-01-09 19:25||
2012-01-09 19:25||
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Posted by JosephMendiola 2012-01-09 19:37||
2012-01-09 19:37||
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Posted by JosephMendiola 2012-01-09 22:03||
2012-01-09 22:03||
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