By Daniel Ten Kate and Cecilia Yap
Bloomberg
The Philippines announced it will send its biggest warship, a World War II vessel, to a disputed part of the South China Sea after China said it was deploying one of its new coastal patrol vessels in the waters.
The BRP Rajah Humabon, used by the U.S. against German submarines in World War II, will patrol around Scarborough Shoal, within waters claimed by China, the Philippine Star reported on its website. China sent the Haixun 31, a 3,000 ton vessel with a helicopter landing pad, to inspect foreign ships and oil facilities in disputed waters of the South China Sea, Hong Kong’s Ta Kung Pao newspaper reported yesterday.
“The Navy conducts regular offshore patrols and we should not connect the deployment of Rajah Humabon to the deployment of this maritime vessel of China,” Eduardo Batac, spokesman of the Philippines’ department of defense, said in a press briefing today. “It’s part of routine patrols that are being conducted by the Navy.”
Tensions in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes have increased as the Philippines and Vietnam press ahead with oil and gas projects against China’s wishes. Exxon Mobil Corp., Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM), Forum Energy Plc (FEP) and Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, known as PetroVietnam, have operations in areas of the South China Sea claimed by China.
Commander Miguel Jose Rodriguez, the spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the vessel was being deployed off the island of Luzon. Officials on the Chinese ship will discuss anti-piracy and sea rescue issues with Singaporean officials when it arrives, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Defense Treaties
The U.S., which has patrolled Asia-Pacific waters since World War II, has defense treaties with the Philippines and Thailand, and guarantees Taiwan’s security. U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington is “on a routine patrol of waters in the Western Pacific,” U.S. Navy spokesman Commander Jeff Davis said, without providing details of its planned route.
“The South China Sea is international waters and we transit through there routinely,” Davis said by phone today from Jakarta. The carrier “has been through there many times before in the past and it’ll be through there many times in the future.”
The U.S. sold a 378-foot Coast Guard vessel equipped with a helicopter launching pad and missile system to the Philippines earlier this year that will be its largest naval vessel when delivered in August, according to a May 12 statement by the Philippine Navy. Later this month, the U.S. Navy will send three ships to conduct joint exercises off of Palawan island “in a combination of Philippine waters and international waters,” Davis said.
‘What’s Ours is Ours’
The Philippine Navy removed territorial markers placed by China on three reefs in the South China Sea near Palawan island in May, Armed Forces Naval Forces West commander Edgardo Tamayo said yesterday. Two months earlier, Chinese vessels chased away a survey vessel working in the area for Forum Energy, a U.K.- based company majority owned by Philex Mining Corp. (PX)
“We are very concerned about these markers being placed in waters and areas, features that are clearly ours,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario told reporters in Canberra yesterday, where he met with Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd. “What’s ours is ours. We are free to do with that as we please.”
Chinese ships have rammed survey vessels operated by PetroVietnam twice in the past month, according to Vietnam’s foreign ministry, with one incident occurring in an area where Calgary-based Talisman Energy planned a seismic program this year. China has disputed that version of events, saying it’s committed to maintaining peace in the seas.
Beefing Up Forces
China will beef up its maritime surveillance force, increasing the number of personnel from 9,000 to 15,000 by 2020, the China Daily reported today, citing an unidentified official with the China Maritime Surveillance Force. The number of surveillance vessels being operated by the CMS will increase from 260 to 350 by 2015, the report said.
China has bolstered its forces over the past decade, procuring nuclear-powered submarines and developing an aircraft carrier, according to a U.S. Defense Department report in August. Its missile patrol craft, destroyers and frigates in the South Sea fleet “could alter regional balances,” the report said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net
16 comments:
1979 China vs Vietnam:
26 000 chinese soldiers were killed, 34 000 wounded and 450 tanks detroyed by Vietnam army.
30 000 Vietnam solderis were killed, 32 000 wounded and 185 tanks detroyied by China army.
China still can't get a piece from Vietnam.
You obviously don't have even the basic understanding of ASBM's. PRC is the only country that has the ability to launch one (DF-21D, Google it) into space, change courses (rendering counter measures useless), re-enters the atmosphere at 10X speed of sound and hit a MOVING target. This re-entry speed is too fast for current conventional defense measures (no missiles are faster than 4X right now). The USN has already acknowledged this thing as being IOC. The multi-warhead version will soon follow. Brahmos is but a flying sausage when compared to the DF-21D. It's more likely to cause collateral damage than anything else. Again, PRC needs to dominate the SCS as the USA needed to dominate the Caribbean. It's up to USA to curb PRC if they can or want to, not VN or the Philippines. USA & PRC will have to weigh in on all the elements together. Hopefully a peaceful one.
China attacked Vietnam in 1979 and we gave them an extremely humiliating defeat. Till this day Chinese are ashamed to recall how only 70000 regular forces plus 100000 militia defeated 4 times in size Chinese army of 400000 soldiers (many say 600000 chinese army). They are still trying to get over the shameful defeat by pathetic threats on our land. We will defeat China again if they attack us. Our cause is just and our intent is pure
5:16 PM + 5:42 PM
You con cho will not be that lucky this time. The Chinese were very poor, now it is their payback time.
Vietnam is scared shitless and begs for every nation for help.
FUCK BACK STABING VIETCONG LAST TIME THEY'RE KICKED THE USA OUT FROM SOUTH VIETNAM,BECAUSE,GOT HELPED FROM CAMBODIA...THAT'S WHY SIHANOUK CALLED THEM A CROCODILE...
LONG LIVE KHMER PEOPLE...
LONG LIVE HUN SEN...
5:16 PM
This is the 21st century show. This time will not be the same as the 1979's show.
Yeah, front-row seat with CNN and Fox news.
I'd love to see the Chinese destroyed the Vietcong.
Victory is yours--my brother Chinese.
AH SHITCONG & THE PHILIPINE IS THE VICTIM IN THIS CASE. THE US & IT'S ALLIES SHOULD NO LONGER ALLOW AH COMMUNIST CHINA TO BULLY AROUND. TAKE ACTIONS NOW. FUCK AH YOUN HUN XEN. LONG LIVE THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE DEMOCRACY. FUCK AH 6:32PM AH PAKACH VIETCONG
6:32 PM
Yes, brother!
This time is much different than the one occurred in 1979.
The Chinese will give the Vietcong shock and awe when the initial attack starts.
Again, front-row seat with CNN. Yeah, we want the Chinese to destroy the Vietcong.
This is China, Vietnam and Philippines problem but PUOK AH KHMER FIGHTING EACH OTHER ONLINE ALREADY...PATHETIC!
to: 8:57 PM
You have no clue about geopolitics!!!Go hit the books again!!!
Doomsday for ah Vietcongs!!!Today superpower China needs to control Vietcongs' bad behavior once and for all.
the thing with the philipines is that they totally rely on america for military, etc... didn't the philipines used to be an american colony, the last i read in history! go figure!
if you know anything about the philipines, their country is made of more than 7,000 islands, and out of this large number, only a handful of the islands are useful or productive or inhabited, etc; the rest are just volcanic islands, uninhabited islands, hurricane proned islands, desolated islands, earthquake proned islands, etc, etc, really! so why is the philipines act like they didn't already have enough tiny islands to call them the philipines? go figure, really!
china, stop wasting soldiers's lives with viet/youn, just nuke hanoi and other populated center in vietnam, that's will shut viet/youn whore up for sure, you know! don't waste troops like the american did during the vietnam war, really! use your nuke weapons to protect china from foreign viet/youn invasion of china lands, territories, etc, really! flex your military muscle, china! that's what nuke weapons are for, to protect china from evil foreign invasion of china, really! it's time to use your nuke on vietnam to teach them a historical lesson not to steal from china, not to steal from cambodia again, you know! remember cambodia's koh tral island, viet/youn stole from cambodia, if you ask khmer people, really! khmer people can never forget that, you know! cambodia have always own koh tral for thousands of years until viet/youn came and stole it from cambodia during cambodia's dark ages era, you know! so, what make viet/youn think they can do the same to china islands, etc, really!
The Sino-Viet war of 79's was a political dilemma of China view of ending Russia-Vietnam treaty. And albeit the Russian not physically involvement in the war, it did help the viet army technically by jamming the chinese' communication systems. If the chinese intent to actually take over vietnam, it was not that difficult; too elaborate such claim, look at the korean war of the 50's where the chinese volunteers army pushed the American and its UN ally to the edged of korean's peninsula. The viet are not grateful people: After the chinese assistant to help the north to unified the country the hanoi regime never thankful but credit only general diep who victories the war by chinese advisors. Eventually, vietnam (annam) will annex back to its motherland, CHINA, soon. Viet's a CROC.
Philippines should let the US base there. that why this crap happen. You are on your own Pina!
THE WORLD WAR III WILL BEGIN IN ASIA.
WHAT COUNTRIES WILL BE LOST?
STAND UP,RISE UP HMONG,MONTAGNARDS,
CHAMPA,LAO,AND KHMER KROM.
KHMER MUST WATCH OUT THAI;THAI WILL
SNEAK AROUND TO GAIN SOME PIECES OF
CAMBODIA LAND.
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