Philippines rejects calls to end U.S. military pact

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-42015820090827

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine government has rejected calls by some lawmakers to abrogate a treaty with Washington allowing U.S. troops to train local soldiers in their fight against Muslim militants, officials said on Thursday.

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"It is in the interest of the Philippines that we have the VFA, an agreement under the Mutual Defence Treaty since 1951. It provides proper security balance and stability in the Philippines."

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Recently, Philippine government denies direct involvement of US soldiers in combat in Mindanao.

End military surveillance missions, China tells US

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_re_as/as_china_us_military

BEIJING – China demanded Thursday that the U.S. military cease its surveillance missions off the Chinese coast, reviving a dispute that continues to upset relations between the sides.

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"China believes the constant U.S. military air and sea surveillance and survey operations in China's exclusive economic zone had led to military confrontations between the two sides," the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Defense Ministry statement.
"The way to resolve China-U.S. maritime incidents is for the U.S. to change its surveillance and survey operations policies against China, decrease and eventually stop such operations," the statement said.

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No immediate information was available on how the U.S. side responded to China's demand.

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As its power grows, China has also pressed claims to the entire South China Sea and coastal waters and asserted that surveillance by the U.S. military there was illegal.

Indonesia faces illegal fishing from its neighbours

http://balita.ph/2009/08/25/neighboring-countries-poach-indonesias-fish/

An official has warned that Indonesia`s marine wealth might disappear in the next five years if the country is not committed to stopping poaching mostly carried out by neighboring countries' fishermen.

The largest number of poachers in Indonesia's waters were from Vietnam, followed by Thailand, China and Malaysia, Aji Sularso, director general of marine resources and fisheries supervision and control, said when when speaking at the Coordinating Forum on the handling of Fishery crimes, organized by the West Kalimantan authorities in Pontianak, on August 21, 2009.

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Last year, the ministry detained 246 foreign fishing boats, and from January to July 2009, some 80 foreign fishing boats from Vietnam, Thailand, China and Malaysia were captured for poaching in Indonesian waters.

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West Kalimantan authorities have jailed a total of 1,762 foreign fishermen and seized 148 foreign fishing boats for poaching in Indonesian waters from 2001 up to July 2009. "The income rate of West Kalimantan's fishermen has fallen over the past ten years (due to illegal fishing by foreign fishermen)," Syakirman, secretary of the West Kalimantan administration, said in Pontianak recently.

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Indonesia has offered Vietnam cooperation in fishing. Vietnam fishing vessels will be allowed to operate in Indonesian water as long as they carry Indonesian flag and sell fish to Indonesia's market.

China's critism of ASEAN countries' policy

On the road to develpoment with ASEAN
By Zhai Kun (China Daily)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2009-08/21/content_8597615.htm

ASEAN held foreign minister-level meetings in Phuket, Thailand, from July 20 to 23 as a preparatory move for this year's ASEAN+3 and East Asian summit scheduled for Oct 23-25. The event grabbed global attention when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended a concurrent ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia with ASEAN members. The move is seen as the return of the superpower to the "critically important" region.

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The economic model long advocated by ASEAN members, which has seriously harmed the region's ecology, has put the Mekong River valley's environmental issues under global spotlight.

ASEAN members have clinched a series of TAC agreements with major powers beyond the region, but the group's dilemma over security has grown in recent years. The frenzy that the US, Japan, India and Australia have kicked up by trumpeting their "China military threat" theory has caused unnecessary security concern within the bloc.

The rise in tensions over the South China Sea indicates ASEAN members have a wrong impression about a rising China. Some Southeast Asian scholars have even warned that if the situation in the South China Sea worsened it could damage the mutually beneficial environment between the two sides that took decades to build.

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Meanwhile, there were concerns among ASEAN members regarding USNS Impeccable incident, the appearance of a nuclear submarine base in South China Sea and China's plan to build 7 dams on the upstream of Mekong river.

Second Phase of CARAT Indonesia Underway

http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2009/08-august/38.htm

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- U.S. and Indonesian Sailors joined together Aug. 24 at the Indonesian Western Fleet Headquarters to kick off the second half of Cooperation Afloat Readiness Training (CARAT) Indonesia 2009

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This year, the Indonesian phase of CARAT was divided into two parts due to operational commitments with both navies. Approximately 600 Sailors from USS Russell (DDG 59) and USS Crommelin (FFG 37) will engage in various symposia including aviation, legal and military operations. Hundreds of Indonesian Sailors will also participate in at-sea exercises, which include surface, anti-submarine warfare and tactical freeplay scenarios.

Chinese General fails to give US General a lecture

During a visit of U.S. Chief of Staff of the Army, George Casey in the PLA headquarters in Beijing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/world/asia/21briefs-Chinabrf.html?_r=1

A meeting on Thursday in Beijing between a Chinese military leader and a visiting American army general turned rancorous as the Chinese leader gave a sharp lecture on the failure of the United States to respect China's interests, according to a witness at the meeting and a report by Xinhua, the state news agency. The argument took place when Gen. Ge Zhenfeng, deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, met with Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the chief of staff of the US Army. General Ge urged the United States to “remove obstacles” to military ties between the countries, Xinhua reported. General Casey, who once commanded American-led forces in Iraq, quickly interrupted the Chinese general and rebutted his criticism, the witness said. American officials have said military ties with China are weak compared with political ties.

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Content of the "lecture"

China urges U.S. to remove obstacles to military ties

english.chinamil.com.cn 2009-08-21

　　BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday urged the United States to "remove obstacles" to military ties, and asked the United States to respect China's core interests so as to create conditions for further military cooperation.
　　"We hope the U.S. side can treat and deal with military ties between the two countries from strategic and long-term perspectives, and take concrete measures to remove obstacles to push forward the military relationship," said Ge Zhenfeng, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA).
　　Ge made the remarks in talks with visiting U.S. Chief of Staff of the Army George Casey in the PLA headquarters in Beijing.

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　　U.S. arms sales to Taiwan had harmed China's core interests and affected the healthy development of bilateral military ties, said Chen Bingde, PLA Chief of the General Staff, who met Casey later Thursday.
　　The United States should respect China's core interests and properly handle differences and sensitive issues to create conditions for deepening military cooperation, said Chen.

China to build more gas field in "deep water" of South China Sea

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6738973.html

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is planning to "construct three marine Daqing Oilfields," comprising a crude oil production base in the Bohai Sea with an annual output of 50 million tons, a natural gas production base in the deep water area of the South China Sea with an annual output of between 40 billion and 50 billion cubic meters, and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station in the offshore area with an annual capacity of 50 million tons.

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The question is where?

Energy 'as vital' as China for new global power

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/asiapac/stories/200908/s2665510.htm

A senior Australian international relations specialist says the changing economics and politics of energy will be as important as the rise of China in reshaping global power and that it could be more important than climate change. Emeritus professor Stuart Harris says energy issues have the potential to spark conflict over existing disputes in areas like the South China Sea.

Sail Bunaken 2009 in Indonesia

64th Anniversary of Indonesian Independence from the Dutch was celebrated on August 17. As part of the celebrations, Sail Bunaken 2009, was held at Bitung and Manado City, North Sulawesi, Indonesia from August 12 to 20.

http://www.marinebuzz.com/2009/08/20/sail-bunaken-2009-of-indonesia/

http://thetension.blogspot.com/2009/08/combat-camera-aboard-uss-george.html

Number of warships from different countries in the event:

- USA (5): aircraft carrier George Washington (CVN 73), guided missile cruiser Cowpens (CG 63), guided missile destroyers Fitzgerald (DDG 62), Mustin (DDG 89), McCampbell (DDG 85)
- Japan (3): JDS Kashima, JDS Shimayuki, JDS Yuugiri
- South Korea (2): ROKS Choi Young DDH, Dae Cheong
- Malaysia (2): KD Kedah, KD Tunas Samudera
- Singapore (2): RSS Tenacious, RSS Darling
- Thailand (2): Phuttaloetia Naphalai, Rattanakosin
- India (2): INS Khukri, INS Airavat

The other countries including China (DDG Guangzhou) send one. US Navy proves itself still the unchallengeable naval power in the region.

Malaysia Defence and Security Report Q3 2009

http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Market-Report/malaysia-defence-and-security-report-q3-2009-154359.asp

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Major defence procurements at the start of 2009 included two contracts totalling MYR603mn with two companies supplying parts and components to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) for five years. It was also announced at the start of 2009 that the country’s first submarine, a French-made Scorpene-class KD Abdul Rahman, is scheduled for delivery in July 2009. The Sepanggar Naval base, a 190ha naval base project costing MYR636mn, is also scheduled to be completed in July. The submarine will be housed at the new naval base. A second submarine KD Tun Abdul Razak, is expected to arrive at the end of the year.

We continue to expect the Malaysian government to increase defence spending by 4% annually, in real terms, over the coming years. Absolute increases will depend in part on how the country’s economy fares in the face of the global financial crisis.

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Malaysia and Brunei cooperate to exploit oil and gas

Petronas to tap South China Sea oil, gas fields?

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/2jon/Article/index_html

MALAYSIA has proposed that Brunei consider the possibility of Petronas playing a role in the disputed territories in the South China Sea, which are known to have large deposits of oil and gas.

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The dispute arose in 2003 when Brunei and Malaysia awarded petroleum production-sharing contracts for four overlapping deepwater exploration blocks in the South China Sea, close to where a discovery of reportedly 440 million barrels of oil was made in 2002.

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Malaysia and Brunei signed on March 16, 2009 an Exchange of Letters towards a milestone settlement of the disputed territories. The letters contain several principles of cooperation to be implemented in the surveying and demarcation of the land and maritime borders. Following the signing of the Exchange of Letters, a joint Brunei-Malaysia technical committee was set up to translate to the ground the territorial dispute settlement. The responsibility of the committee is to settle technical issues related to surveying, delimiting and demarcating both land and maritime boundaries between the two countries.

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Najib said he believed that with the existing close and friendly ties between Malaysia and Brunei, both countries would be able to finalise the land and maritime border demarcation without any problem.

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He said Brunei investments were also welcome in the Sabah Development Corridor, Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy and Iskandar Malaysia in Johor.

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Malaysia has dispute with Philippine over sovereignty of Sabah.

8th Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism (SEACAT) exercise

From Aug. 13-20, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard teamed up with armed forces representatives from the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia for a command post exercise at Changi Naval Base, followed by a field training exercise in the South China Sea.

http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2009/08-August/34.htm

Philippine to explore oil and gas in South China Sea

According to the Philippine Commercial News August15, the Philippine government has an agreement with Forum Energy, a UK oil company to explore the oil and gas field near Reed Tablemount in the China South Sea. In response, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao warned, "This will be treated as an infringement of China's sovereignty and will lead to regional tensions."

http://china.globaltimes.cn/diplomacy/2009-08/460087.html

Reed Tablemount (including Nares Bank and Marie Louise Bank) has Shallowest natural depth is 9 m. About 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2) in area. The Philippines occupied this feature in 1971 and a Philippine-Sweden joint oil-exploration followed afterwards. However, China protested this act of the Philippines saying that this tablemount which center lies 100 miles (160 km) from the Philippines is part of China's territories. After that, the Philippines tried asking China for a joint effort but China declined arguing that the Philippines has no right in this feature. Presently, this feature is largely controlled by the Philippines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratly_Islands

Obama's first visit to China

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1076702/Obama-s-first-visit-to-China

Jon Huntsman told reporters Obama "is going to be visiting in the middle of November". "By the end of the year, after the president has been able to sit down with many of the good leaders here in China, I am hopeful, I am confident, that by the end of the year the US-China relationship will be stronger than ever before," he said after arriving in the Chinese capital late Friday.

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Huntsman, unanimously approved by the US Senate earlier this month as Obama's ambassador to Beijing, called the US-China relationship "the most important in the world".

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China briefly cut off military exchanges with the United States in October 2008 over a 6.5-billion-dollar US arms sale to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims, with its military calling such deals "the greatest obstacle to Sino-American relations". And in March this year two tense standoffs between US and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea triggered accusations by the United States that China was behaving in an "aggressive" manner.

"We all know from time to time we may disagree but the world today, more than ever before, relies too much on a healthy and stable US-China relationship," Huntsman said.

Huntsman added that Beijing and Washington needed to work together on the nuclear issues of Iran and North Korea, while the United States would also seek China's cooperation in the war in Afghanistan.

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Huntsman, once floated as a possible 2012 Republican challenger to Obama, also said he would seek to broaden the scope of America's human rights dialogue with China.

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Huntsman, who mastered Mandarin living in Taiwan as a Mormon missionary, is the former Republican governor of Utah and ambassador to Singapore.