'West Philippine Sea’ opisyal na - gov't

Ipinag-utos na ngayon ni Pangulong Bengino "Noynoy" Aquino III ang pagsasaayos sa mapa ng Pilipinas matapos opisyal ng tawaging West Philippine Sea ang nakasanayang South China Sea.

Sa inilabas na Administrative Order 29, kabilang sa tinukoy na magiging bahagi ng West Philippine Sea ang Luzon Sea, gayundin ang karagatan sa paligid, sakop at kalapit ng Kalayaan Group of Islands at Bajo de Masinloc na kilala rin sa tawag na Scarborough Shoal.

Nakapaloob sa AO 29 na pirmado ng Pangulo noong Setyembre 5 na walang paglabag ang pagpapangalan sa West Philippine Sea sa alinmang international law hinggil sa pagdetermina ng maritime territory.

Ibinatay din ito sa mga batas tulad ng Presidential Decree 1599 na nagtatakda sa exclusive economic zone o EEZ ng bansa, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea o UNCLOS at Republic Act 9522 o Philippine Baseline Law.

Kaugnay nito, inaatasan ng Pangulo ang National Mapping and Resource Information Authority o NAMRIA na gumawa at maglathala ng mga charts at mapa ng Pilipinas na magpapakita sa West Philippine Sea alinsunod sa AO 29.

Inatasan din ang Department of Foreign Affairs na magsumite ng kopya ng AO 29 at bagong mapa ng Pilipinas sa Secretary General ng United Nations at iparating din ito sa iba pang international organizations gaya ng International Hydrographic Organizations at UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Naatasan din ang Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education at lahat ng state universities and colleges o SUCs na magpalabas ng circular na nagtatakda sa paggamit ng bagong opisyal na mapa ng bansa sa mahahalagang pag-aaral, researches at instructional materials gaya ng text books, instructional materials at audio-visual presentations.

Sa ambush interview, sinabi ng Pangulo na inaasahang mapapalakas ang claim ng Pilipinas sa West Philippine Sea sa pamamagitan ng AO 29.

Bukod sa Pilipinas at China, kasama rin sa umaangkin sa Spratlys ang Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei at Taiwan.

“Section 1. The maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago are hereby named as the West Philippine Sea. These areas include the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal.

"Section 2. The naming of the West Philippine Sea is without prejudice to the determination of the maritime domain over territories which the Republic of the Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction.

"Section 3. The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) shall produce and publish charts and maps of the Philippines reflecting the West Philippine Sea in accordance with this Order,” bahagi ng AO 29.(Bombo Radyo)

China extends cruise route to Spratlys: On your right is Scarborough

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - A city in southern China plans to extend a tourist route to the disputed Spratly Islands in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea), a move that could ease tensions among countries in the region with rival territorial claims in the strategic waterway.

Tourism is globally recognized as a nonpolitical activity, and the World Tourism Organization promotes it to foster friendship and understanding among nations, even between nations quarreling over territory in such important parts of the globe as the West Philippine Sea.

The West Philippine Sea is home to major sea-lanes vital to global trade. Why not tourism, too?

Filipino and Chinese fishermen have for years been exchanging visits to each other's boats, singing together and sharing drinks, in the disputed Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) off Zambales province. Their governments didn't know, until Filipino fishermen began talking about it when Philippine and Chinese ships began facing off with each other after Philippine authorities accosted Chinese fishermen over alleged poaching at the shoal.

Cruise to Spratlys

Chinese state media reported on Saturday that Sanya City, a famed tourist destination in the southern Chinese province of Hainan, is planning to include the island chains of Zhongsha (Macclesfield Bank) and Nansha (Spratlys) in a cruise route under a 10-year tourism development plan.

The report by state news agency Xinhua published in the English edition of the China Daily said the planned route extends the luxury cruise lane being tested out in Xisha Islands (Paracels), one of the major island groups in the West Philippine Sea.

Quoting local officials, Xinhua said the 2012-2022 Sanya City tourism plan "has passed the expert panel's evaluation and is waiting to be endorsed by the provincial authorities" in Hainan.

Earlier this year, Sanya City tourism officials tested out a cruise to Yongxing (Woody Island), the main island in the Paracel chain. The Paracels are expected to be opened to tourists within the year, the report said.

The 10-year tourism development plan looks at including two other parts of the West Philippine Sea island chains, Macclesfield Bank and the Spratlys, in the cruise lane.

It should draw no opposition from other claimants in the West Philippine Sea as long as China does not oppose reciprocal plans from countries in the region with tourism industries.

China is claiming almost all of the Spratlys, parts of which are claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Asked about the Chinese announcement, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Raul Hernandez said, "We don't have complete information on that yet."

Earlier this year, China established Sansha City on Woody Island, in the Paracels, to administer the island chain and the Spratlys, drawing protests from the Philippines and Vietnam.

Sanya City's announcement came three days after Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, speaking at a joint news conference with visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said China would ensure "freedom and safety of navigation" in the West Philippine Sea.

Guarded optimism

The DFA said it took Yang's statement "with guarded optimism," and asked China to clarify whether it was asserting ownership of the whole of the Spratlys or expressing respect for international law.

The Philippines also reiterated that China's claim in the Spratlys is "excessive."

"No state can arrogate unto itself the unilateral right to determine or assure the existence or nonexistence of the freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea," the DFA said in a statement issued Thursday night. "Rather the freedom of navigation is an established right that commands respect from everybody as a matter of international obligation."

Apart from conflicting claims to the islands in the Spratlys, the Philippines and China are also disputing ownership of Recto Bank and Panatag Shoal in two other parts of the West Philippine Sea

'China expanding Mischief structures'

MANILA, Philippines – China continues to tighten its grip in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), building new structures on Mischief Reef, one of the areas being claimed by the Philippines.

Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of think tank Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said the latest structures to be spotted in the area were a windmill, solar panels, a concrete platform suitable for use as a helipad and a basketball court.

“Improved facilities bolster PRC’s (People’s Republic of China’s) effective occupation and increased vigilance in the disputed areas,” Banlaoi said in a text message to The STAR yesterday.

Banlaoi said he acquired a photo of the structures last June but believes it was taken months before.

He said he could not release the photo since only the one who provided it has the authority to do so.

“The point is China continues to improve its facilities and I think other claimants too,” Banlaoi said.

Mischief Reef is close to Ayungin Shoal, where the Philippines has a coast watch station. The reef is about 70 nautical miles from Palawan.

Mischief Reef, which the Philippines calls Panganiban Reef, has been occupied by China since 1995.

The Chinese initially constructed structures on stilts at Panganiban Reef, supposedly to provide shelter for fishermen, and later transformed them into a military garrison equipped with powerful radars and other air and maritime monitoring equipment.

 Earlier, China also installed a powerful radar station in Subi Reef, an islet just 12 nautical miles southwest of Pag-asa Island, which is part of Kalayaan Island. The Chinese began building the four-story structure, including a lighthouse, six years ago.

The Philippines, on the other hand, has built a town hall, a health center, a 1.3-kilometer airstrip, a naval station and recently a kindergarten school at Pag-asa Island.

Based on records, Kalayaan Island is a sixth-class municipality in the province of Palawan and is composed of only one barangay, Pag-asa.

The Philippines is claiming several islets, shoals, reefs and sandbars in the Spratly Group of Islands, which is being claimed in whole by China.

China has been boosting its presence in the West Philippine Sea in a move seen as an effort to assert what it described as “indisputable sovereignty” over the area.

Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim part of the islands, which are rich in natural resources.

All Spratly claimant countries have troops in the region, except for Brunei.

Navy joins Coast Watch exercises

Meanwhile, 200 Navy personnel will join the five-day Coast Watch System Capability Exercise 2012, which starts today.

The activity aims to harmonize the coordination of agencies with maritime platforms namely the Navy, Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police’s Maritime Group.

A US spy plane P3C Orion will participate in the activity and will complement the Philippine Navy Islander aircraft during a maritime surveillance exercise.

Participants from law enforcement organizations in Davao and General Santos will also be involved in the exercise. Observers from Australia, Malaysia, and Indonesia were also invited to the event.

Among the local assets that will be used in the exercises are two Navy ships, a Navy islander aircraft, a Navy Reservist ship and two police patrol fast boats.

“The exercise intends to promote inter-agency collaboration in line with the establishment of the National Coast Watch System,” Navy chief Vice Adm. Alexander Pama said.