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| Southeast Asia | ||
| US ready to arm Philippines amid China tension | ||
| 2011-06-26 | ||
WASHINGTON – The United States said it was ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of the Philippines, which vowed to "stand up to any aggressive action" amid rising tension at sea with China.
"We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a joint news conference when asked about the hardware wish-list from the Philippines. Clinton said the two nations were working "to determine what are the additional assets that the Philippines needs and how we can best provide those." She said del Rosario would meet Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other Pentagon officials. Tensions in the strategic and resource-rich South China Sea have escalated in recent weeks, with the Philippines and Vietnam alarmed at what they say are increasingly aggressive actions by Beijing in the disputed waters. "We are concerned that recent incidents in the South China Sea could undermine peace and stability," Clinton told reporters, urging "all sides to exercise self-restraint." Del Rosario, with Clinton at his side, said: "While we are a small country, we are prepared to do what is necessary to stand up to any aggressive action in our backyard." The Philippines has announced the deployment in disputed waters of its navy flagship, the Rajah Humabon. One of the world's oldest warships, the Rajah Humabon was a former US Navy frigate that served during World War II.
Shortly ahead of his talks with Clinton, del Rosario said that the Philippines was asking the United States for "an operational lease so that we can look at fairly new equipment and be able to get our hands on that quickly." "We need to have the resources to be able to stand and defend ourselves and, I think, to the extent that we can do that, we become a stronger ally for you," del Rosario said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The United States has been providing military aid to the Philippines primarily to fight Islamic militants in the wake the September 11, 2001 attacks. The United States gave the Philippines $15 million in military assistance in the 2011 fiscal year, with much larger sums devoted to development, according to official US data. Del Rosario said that Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf has largely been defeated, estimating that only around 200 guerrillas remained. "The Philippines' relative success in counter-insurgency coupled with pressures in the regional environment compel a reorientation of focus and resources," he said. "A reset in our relations has therefore become an imperative to allow the alliance to continue to meet domestic goals while contributing to global stability," he said. China has said that it will not resort to the use of force in the South China Sea but has also warned the United States to stay out of territorial spats. "I believe some countries now are playing with fire. And I hope the US won't be burned by this fire," China's vice foreign minister Cui Tiankai said. Cui will meet Saturday in Hawaii with Kurt Campbell, a US assistant secretary of state, for a first dialogue between the two nations to focus specifically on Asia-Pacific affairs. The United States plans to hold joint exercises with the Philippines next week and the US Navy will visit Vietnam next month, although US officials have described the events as routine. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 ION SCS + REGIONAL ... * PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUMS > JAPAN WARNS CHINA AGZ EXPLORING IN [its] EEZ OFF TOHOKU REGION. China has once again sent a new fleet of PLAN surface warships + subs to the waters between Okinawa + Miyako. Meanwhile, RUSSIA = HAS REJECTED US POSITION, MEDIATION AS PER KURILS [Japan = former "Northern Territories"]. AFAIK the PLAN'S NAVAL FORCE had to enter Tohoku area via passage thru OKINAWA-MIYAKO or OKINAWA-TAIWAN CORRIDOR, NOT VEE THE RUSSIAN KURILS, which IMO is an important point. * SAME > CHINA MUST SPEED UP [resources] EXPLORATION IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. Lest we fergit, China is setting up a "dual-use" large rig platform capable of being used, + IMO perhaps most importantly ARMED, by the PLA. AKA ARMED "SEA FORTS", e.g. WW2 English Channel + also Persian Gulf armed platforms = IRGC-converted oil-gas rigs. * WAFF > INDIA GETS ITS FIRST [dual-use?]NAVAL BASE IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA | [Bharat Rakshak = Deccan Herald]INDIA [Navy] SET TO DROP ANCHOR OFF CHINA. NHA TRANG, in south Vietnam. * CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [Yomiuri Shimbun = Japan] "CHINA'S A THREAT"COMES OUT CLEAR AS A BELL, as per US-Nippon confab. * SAME > CHINA CLAIMS VIETNAM HAS STOLEN US$25.0BILYUHN IN OIL/GAS FROM CHINA. Bilyuhns + Filyuhns + Silyuhns of ... * SAME > VIETNAM SEEKS REVENGE FOR 1979 WAR? | [Asia Times] VIETNAM'S "DR. STRANGELOVE" AT WAR WID MANDARINS. and * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Ifeng Blog] CHINA WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE 12-PLUS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS AS A WORLD POWER. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-06-26 21:51 |
| #4 Pragmatically, "Post-US" happy, ambitious Rising China = Beijing isn't likely to give up any of its claims as it needs both TAIWAN + OVERSEAS PLA BASES FOR STRATEGIC ACCESS [Air-Sea-Space] INTO WESTPAC + OTHER PACOAS. As wid any World State, the PHIL must be able to ROUTINELY MILPOL PROTECT + DEFEND, ETC. ITS TERRITORIAL CLAIMS, + widout having to always rely on Allies. It is facing not only China but the soon-to-be-nuclear general Radical Islamist = MilTerr threat to East Asia includ SE Asia. The "JAPAN" ECON = GEOPOL MODEL was potent for Japan proper during the bipolar US-SOVIET COLD WAR, but its utility ala CHINA in the post-Cold War, post-911, age of "Globalism" + desired "Multipolar" OWG-NWO + Rising Nuclear Caliphate REMAINS DUBIOUS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-06-26 19:56 |
| #3 S, You speak wisdom - but God alone knows what it would cost to build an Asheville today - it would be so gold-plated that a Rockefeller would blush. And sadly, the Pegasus class was something of a bust - hideously expensive and maintenance heavy. We don't want the Perrys or the Spruances, because they work, unlike the new LCS. Give them to the PI. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2011-06-26 13:32 |
| #2 Hell no, we need the Perrys. Finance something for them. As far as the Spruances, I dunno, unless you're running down a state of the art sub, I'm not certain how useful they might be for them, need something like an Asheville class gunboat or a Pegasus creature. Get there fast, shoot, run like hell. |
| Posted by: S 2011-06-26 12:29 |
| #1 ...What the PN needs are a couple of Perry class frigates and Spruance class DDs out of our reserve fleet. The problem is that the ships have not been kept up so they'd need work before a transfer,and then the PN would need to find the money and manpower to run them.. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2011-06-26 10:32 |