PH studies US offer to deploy spy planes
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is considering a US proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft on a temporary, rotating basis to enhance its ability to guard disputed areas in the South China Sea, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said on Friday.
Gazmin said ongoing talks in Washington on security ties between the two allies include plans to deploy more littoral combat ships and spy aircraft.
An expanded US military presence in the region should raise the Philippines' capability to deter border intrusions, he said.
"I would rather look at it from the positive point of view that there would be stability in the region, that we would have enough deterrent," Gazmin told reporters.
"Without a deterrent force, we can be easily pushed around, our territories will be violated. Now that we have a good neighbor on the block, we can no longer be bullied," he said, referring to the United States.
US and Philippine officials are discussing the expansion of military cooperation as the Philippines grapples with the growing assertiveness of China.
The talks with the Philippines, a US ally which voted to remove huge American naval and air bases 20 years ago, follow Washington's announcement of plans to set up a Marine base in northern Australia and possibly station warships in Singapore.
The Obama administration describes the moves as part of a "pivot" toward economically dynamic Asia designed to reassure allies who felt neglected during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
But China sees the deployments as part of a broader US attempt to encircle it as it grows into a major power.
The South China Sea could be a flash point.
China claims the entire sea, while the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan all have claims to parts of the area believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.
Protest
Gazmin confirmed a US offer to deploy surveillance aircraft in the Philippines but he said there was no plan for any new US bases. The Philippines has a constitutional ban on foreign military bases on its soil.
Gazmin said there would be more exercises with US forces and a rotating presence through port visits for exercises, repairs and resupply.
Since 2002, about 600 US commandos have been stationed in the south of the Philippines to help train and advise Philippine troops in fighting a small Islamist militant group with ties to al Qaeda.
A Philippine military source told Reuters the head of the US Pacific Command had proposed last August the deployment of P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft.
More talks are due in Washington in March.
Left-wing Philippine groups are planning to hold protests outside the US embassy in Manila on Saturday to denounce what they describe as the "treacherous" negotiations with the United States.
"They say that they will not bring back the US bases but the proposal aims for virtual basing just the same," Renato Reyes, secretary-general of left-wing Bayan (Nation) group, said in a statement.
The Philippines hosted major US military facilities with tens of thousands of airmen and sailors for nearly a century until 1992 when US forces pulled out after a vote in the Philippine Senate to terminate the bases treaty.
In 1998, the Philippines and the United States signed a Visiting Forces Agreement that allows US troops to visit for exercises and rest and recreation.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also said the talks would not include the creation of any new US bases.
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
Share your views
CHINA ADMINITRATION-BY SUPPORTER OF HACIENDA LUISITA FARMER
KAWAWANG INA KONG BAYAN PILIPINAS.
CORY AQUINO ADMINITRATION- ANG LAHAT NG BILIHIN AY NAGMAHAL- DUMAGSA ANG ILLEGAL SMUGGLING GALING SA BANSANG CHINA,TAIWAN,HONGKONG-NAPATALSIK ANG BASE MILITAR- CHINA CLAIMED ANG SPRATLY ISLAND- DUMAGSA ANG REBELDE- DUMAGSA ANG SHIPPING NG MGA ARMAS- DUMAGSA ANG MAHIHIRAP SA BANSA-DUMAGSA ANG DAMI NG BILANG NG POPULASYON. NGAYON SIGLA NA NAMAN ANG CHINA SA USAPING SPRATLY ISLAND DAHIL ANG PRESIDENTE AY SI NOYNOY AQUINO, ANG MATATAAS NA OPISYAL NG MILITARY AY CHINESE, GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL, PAANO NA ANG BANSANG IPINAGLABAN NG AKING MGA NINUNO.
joeyasar
why only now? use it also against the terrorist like the abu sayaff! mga salot yang mga yan eh!
go
We have better chance of defending our country with US on our side and within our reach. hindi madala sa usapan ang China. They are intruding our country. nakikiusap na nga govt ntn pero paulit ulit nila gngawa.
USA never ratified UNCLOS
The US never ratified the UNCLOS, so how can you expect China to respect it? Republicans like Jim Inhofe keep blocking its ratification, so if the US, which is one of the most influential countries on Earth, doesn't respect it, how can anyone respect it too? It's just like the Kyoto Protocol against global warming, which the US Congress also did not ratify.
Instead, you have to remember what US Senator Albert Beverige said in a speech to convince President McKinley to colonize the Philippines:
"Mr. President, the times call for candor. The Philippines are ours forever. . . . And just beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. We will not retreat from either. . . .
"The Pacific is our ocean. . . . Where shall we turn for consumers of our surplus? Geography answers the question. China is our natural customer. . . . The Philippines give us a base at the door of all the East. . . ."
"My own belief is that there are not 100 men among them who comprehend what Anglo-Saxon self-government even means, and there are over 5,000,000 people to be governed.
"It has been charged that our conduct of the war has been cruel. Senators, it has been the reverse. . . . Senators must remember that we are not dealing with Americans or Europeans. We are dealing with Orientals.
Rudyard Kipling explained how to deal with "Orientals" through his poem "White Man's Burden: The United States and the Philippine Islands" by calling Filipinos "half devil half child." Kipling claimed that it was the white man's burden to civilize "orientals."
In contrast, China possesses ancient maps of South China Sea dating back to the time when the Philippines was mostly occupied by Aetas and indigenous tribes like Mangyans. The Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Butuan in Mindanao was also the most prominent area in the Philippines, having ties with China. Luzon was an outpost for pirates, and Mangyans ruled Palawan.
So if China has proof of their claims, how can you dispute it in an international court? Even European explorers like the Portuguese said in their journals that Chinese Buddhist monks occupied the Spratlys prior to European intervention.
Even the Philippines has a Lina Law which decriminalizes squatters and even rewards them whenever they steal land from others. Aetas, Mangyans and other indigenous people have lost all their land when ancient Indonesians and Borneans, who now compose the majority of Filipinos, invaded and stole their land. Indigenous tribes are even called people "with tails," so if they cannot be respected by Filipinos, how can you expect foreigners to respect Filipino land?
Indeed, if you bring this case to international courts, it's really a losing case, and PH will just end up like the Nigerian Delta, where oil spills occur frequently and where Nigerians have become worse off because of oil.
PH is better off thinking like its neighbors like Indonesia who are positioning and preparing themselves economically with China as the US falls. PH will simply be left behind by its ASEAN neighbors.
syncmyworld
I dont know who you are but what you gonna do if China invade PH and covered with noodles,,,atleast we are trying and i dont see anything wrong w/ that,,,what about you? what can you contribute for the goodness of poor PH ha!
Impossible
It is next to impossible for China to invade the Philippines. China had the strongest navy in the world in the 15th century when Europe was poor and the USA did not exist yet. Yet at that time, China did not colonize the Philippines, the Americas or Africa. China only traded with them.
In fact, at that time, the Philippines was being attacked by the Bornean Empire, which conquered the Kingdom of Tondo and the Visayas. The Sultan of Sulu went to Beijing to ask for assistance. A few years later, Visayas was colonized by the Spaniards.
If China did not colonize the world at that time when it could, how much more today when there are other powers like the US and Europe to balance it?
Dumb people become dumber when they don't know history.
mayweather fighting Pacman
I dont think Mayweather has guts to fight Pacman, he has every alibi's to avoid his first loss,whatever Pacmans decide but Mayweather always opposed...
Chairman Mao - Vs Andres Bonifacio.
The truth is - the whole ASIA pacific, is in dire threat of the commies which have a negative reputation of a bad neighbor. This isn't so much about the Philippines -it's the U.S of A needing to show a presence in the West Philippine Sea again before China gets too cocky. It just happens Philippines has been the best ally since ww2. Vietnam and the surrounding areas have stake in this but don't have any ties with the U.S. Get it ??
Since the ex fake pres.Gma sold out the PHL to the commies, now they feel entitled to claim a stake to the whole areas inside the Philippines. But alas Pnoy is here to save the PHL.
Look at how they treat the Tibetans now ??? they have been gobbling their natural resources for control of water.
Next PLA plan is the whole ASIA with their illogical nine dash line and from the think tank perspective it's really serious as we speak.
The entire USA was land taken away from American Indians
The entire USA was land taken away from Native Americans and Mexicans. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other territories were also invaded by the English to take away the land of the aboriginals.
You never hear the Americans talk about their invasion of America and territories like Puerto Rica, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, etc.
But the only American chess grandmaster Bobby Fisher says, "The United States is evil. There's this axis of evil. What about the allies of evil - the United States, England, Japan, Australia? These are the evildoers."
If China is worse than the US, why didn't he include China?
The truth is, the only "Filipino" saint is Lorenzo Ruiz who is a Binondo Chinese.
China built the Great Wall in the East Coast to protect themselves against Mongolian invasion hundreds of years ago. They can't do that in the West Coast today to protect themselves against Muslim or European invaders, so they occupied the areas surrounding China as a defensive posture. The Uygher region, for instance borders Pakistan, and it's a buffer or wall against Muslim invaders.
Tibet had strategic importance for Hitler and the Nazis. If you remember Hitler's swastika, people today don't know that the symbol is Hindu-Buddhist and he got it from Tibet because new age Hindu groups in Nazi Germany believed that Germans were descended from the Aryan race in Tibet. Aryan is Sanskrit for "Noble." For example, Buddhists believe in the 4 Noble Truths or the 4 Aryan Truths.
The crazy Germans at that time twisted it the way some Americans twist Mayan prophecy for 2012. It was because of their strong belief in Aryan supremacy that they sent Jews to concentration camps in the same way that Filipinos were sent to concentration camps by the Americans during Aguinaldo's time. 3 million Jews died, just as 1.5 million Filipinos died under the Americans.
Nazi allegiance with Japan led to the invasion and occupation of China, where the Chinese in Nanjing also experience a holocaust under the Japanese. And of course, the reason why Japan attacked other Asian countries was because US forces already occupied the Philippines and Japan was next in line unless Japan attacked them first. Japan needed resources in the war effort against the US, so Japan had to get it from China, the Philippines and other countries.
After England, America, France and others invaded and occupied Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, etc, China became really scared. The Nationalist gov't was a failure in protecting China. Because of the Nationalist government's lack of control, which also allowed Japan to attack China, the communists became more favorable for the Chinese.
Thus, the CCP became more powerful and promised that China would never be humiliated and conquered by foreign powers. Consequently, they created a buffer zone in Tibet, and now they are creating a buffer zone in the South China Sea to defend themselves against US threats from US bases in Korea, Japan, Guam and the Philippines.
Even Germany attacked other countries because of the abuses against them by the United States. So the actions of China is defensive not offensive. Even Japan's actions were defensive, and even Germany too. It was really the USA who invaded everybody.
Just like Pakistan with spy planes
The Philippines will become just like Pakistan.
Uncle Sam is like a drug pusher who uses naive or "female" countries like the Philippines as a market for his "drugs"--junk movies, music, concerts, military equipment, nuclear power plants, etc.
Just recently, PNoy was awarded by Shell with ! billion dollars for the Malampaya Project, 80 kilometers off El Nido, Palawan. But PNoy used half a billion to buy a junk World-War-II ship from Uncle Sam's used-junk dealership, and he ordered another one plus a squadron of F-16s. All for display purposes just like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant that is now fully paid but useless, thanks to Uncle Sam's salesmen. You have to say "No" to "special offers."
In John Perkin's book, Confessions of an Economic Hitman, Perkins narrates his guilty feelings about his life as a US spy, convincing governments to act on policies that will impoverish them for the benefit of Uncle Sam. He later turns back and renounces the US, just like the Bourne Legacy series. He also discloses leaked classified World Bank documents in the book "A Game as Old as Empire" about how the Philippines was swindled by Uncle Sam.
In a few years from now, El Nido will look like the Niger Delta, which Shell trashed through offshore drilling and is now a black sea. Chevron trashed the Amazon too, and they are being ordered to pay 6 billion dollars for trashing it. Only politicians, uncle Sam and his Western goons benefit from such deals. It's like selling your priceless kidneys to corrupt doctors for 5,000 pesos.
That 1 billion dollars could buy 100,000 electric jeepneys to replace rotten smoke-belching jeepneys. Or it could buy 100,000 low-cost homes for 100,000 poor families. Or it could provide education for 500,000 kids. There's so many things PNoy could buy but the money just went to Shell, Chevron and Uncle Sam.
The Philippine gov't even claims that Malampaya doesn't belong to Palawan because it is 80 kms away or it is too far from Palawan, which is why the nat'l gov't received most of the money. The Spratlys are much further away. Using that policy, to whom does it belong to?
It's just like the time when the British forced Opium into China and made them addicts. Then the French and Americans were able to drug them further and drugged South East Asia too. When the French did that to Vietnam, the US aided them in the Vietnam war and killed 3.5 million Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians. It's just like the Philippines when the US had to kill 1.5 million Filipinos during President Aguinaldo's time in order to make the Philippines its "drug" market.
That's why in China, even little things such as American movies are controlled. They only allow 12 foreign films a year to be broadcasted so that the local industry can thrive and the money doesn't leak out to Uncle Sam. That means only the best Hollywood films are shown in China, and the junk is left for the Philippines to pay for. Filipinos pay also for junk US concerts instead of patronizing local artists, so all the money goes to Uncle Sam.
In China, they also have an internal visa system. They don't allow people from the province to just migrate to the city unless they have a place to stay there. Squatting is a criminal act.
Many poor immigrants don't have the intelligence to foresee that they will be worse off in the city if they are just squatters. Living in a nipa hut in the province with fresh air and a quiet life is much better than a cockroach life in Manila, but provincial people don't know that.
That's why in China, the government guides all the dumb people. In contrast, all the dumb people in the Philippines are allowed to become victims by the government, and it's called it demo-crazy.
They become victims of corrupt officials like Corona who extort money from them because Filipino corrupt officials don't fear the death penalty. In contrast, in China, corrupt officials are immediately sentenced to death. Likewise with drug pushers and traffickers due to their horrifying experience with British opium pushers.
Poverty is easy to solve if you know how to say "no" to drugs and "drugs." Just look at the Chinese. Uncle Sam hates them because they are unyielding. The problem is, PNoy's Chinese side can say "no," but his Benigno Aquino, Jr. side says "yes" to Uncle Sam. You can't go anywhere when you are split like a schizophrenic or bipolar.
The corruption of Marcos and Arroyo is nothing compared to PNoy's incompetence. Arroyo and Marcos combined only stole a few billion pesos. PNoy lost 44 billion pesos. He is ten times more "corrupt" than both of them.
The Philippines, just like Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, which were raped by the US, will all have to learn how to say "no" in order to move out of poverty.
American chess grandmaster Bobby Fisher warned the Philippines about the US in Bombo Radyo on September 11, 2001, during the 911 attacks. He said, "I say death to the United States. Fuck the United States...Cry, you crybabies! Whine, you bastards! Now your time is coming! The US is getting what is coming to it. This is just the beginning."
What the US government really thinks is obvious. All they want to do is to sell their junk to the Philippines and use it like a whore:
"Our troops in the Philippines...look upon all Filipinos as of one race and condition, and being dark men, they are therefore 'niggers,' and entitled to all the contempt and harsh treatment administered by white overlords to the most inferior races."
-- Boston Herald correspondent in the Philippines
"It may be necessary to kill half the Filipinos in order that the remaining half of the population may be advanced to a higher plane of life than their present semi-barbarous state affords."
-- US General William Shafter
"I personally strung up thirty-five Filipinos without trial, so what was all the fuss over Waller's 'dispatching' a few 'treacherous savages'? If there had been more Smiths and Wallers,the war would have been over long ago. Impromptu domestic hanging might also hasten the end of the war. For starters, all Americans who had recently petitioned Congress to sue for peace in the Philippines should be dragged out of their homes and lynched."
-- US Colonel Frederick Funston.
"The Philippines are ours forever...And just beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. We will not retreat from either...The Pacific is our ocean...Where shall we turn for consumers of our surplus? Geography answers the question. China is our natural customer...The Philippines give us a base at the door of all the East...It has been charged that our conduct of the war has been cruel. Senators, it has been the reverse...Senators must remember that we are not dealing with Americans or Europeans. We are dealing with Orientals."
-- US Senator Albert Beverige, Republican
"Hold a moment longer! Not quite yet, gentlemen! Before you go I would like to say just a word about the Philippine business. I have been criticized a good deal about the Philippines, but don’t deserve it. The truth is I didn’t want the Philippines, and when they came to us, as a
gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them."
-- US President McKinley, Republican
"In one hand the (Republican) party in power held aloft before our people the dazzling and misleading promise of commercial advantage (by conquering the Philippines) and the glory of rivaling monarchical expansion, while with the other it slaughtered thousands of the abject possessors of the soil it coveted, and sent messages of death and disease to thousands of American homes."
-- US President Grover Cleveland, Democrat
"You seem to have about finished your work of civilizing the Filipinos. About 8,000 of them have been civilized and sent to Heaven. I hope you like it.”
-- Andrew Carnegie, American Industrialist, To the US Republican government under McKinley, referring to the assassination of Filipino civilians by US troops
"Take up the White Man's burden--
Send forth the best ye breed--
Go, bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait, in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild--
Your new-caught sullen (Filipino) peoples,
Half devil and half child."
-- Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden: The United States and the Philippine Islands
"The White Man's Burden has been sung. Who will sing the Brown Man's?"
-- Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
"For back then, Pinoys like [Carlos] Bulosan couldn’t even venture into parts of San Francisco without being harassed or beaten. In some California cities, they would have encountered signs saying, 'No Dogs and Filipinos allowed.'
"There’s even that more infamous one in Stockton:
'Positively No Filipinos Allowed.'
"A photo of that sign has been reproduced in posters, books andt-shirts. It’s such a powerful image. I can imagine the Pinoys of Bulosan’s time seething with rage every time they saw such signs"
-- Benjamin Pimentel, Inquirer Global Nation
"The United States is evil. There's this axis of evil. What about the allies of evil - the United States, England, Japan, Australia? These are the evildoers."
-- Bobby Fisher, the only American chess grandmaster who renounced his citizenship in favor of Iceland