US Navy brass sets visit as RP-China row heats up

From the Daily Tribune (Feb 10): US Navy brass sets visit as RP-China row heats up

In an apparent saber-rattling against China, the United States is sending a ranking military official to the country this week amid the rising tension between the Philippines and China over the disputed South China Sea and a recent commitment of Secretary of State John Kerry that the US would defend its ally Japan against attack, including over islands claimed by China.

Admiral Jonathan Greenert, chief of the naval operations of the US Navy, is scheduled for an official visit on Feb. 12 to 14.

Greenert will be meeting with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista in Camp Aguinaldo, and Philippine Navy flag officer in command Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano at the PN Headquarters.

“The visit aims to strengthen the ties and interoperability between the two navies and further realize peace and stability in the region,” said Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Fabic, spokesman for the Navy.

Alano will tour Greenert to various Navy stations in Manila and Cavite, among these are the Navy Headquarters in Manila, the Naval Base in Ternate, Cavite and the Philippine Fleet and Naval Sea Systems Command in Cavite City.

“The two Navy officials will share their expertise as they tour HPN (headquarters, Philippine Navy) and other PN units around Manila-Cavite area,” said Fabic.

Greenert’s visit to the country came amid the continuing tension between the Philippines and China over the disputed West Philippine Sea.

Since 2011, Manila and Beijing have been entangled in a tense dispute over some islets and reefs in the West Philippine Sea, or the South China Sea.

The Philippine government has accused China of incursions into Manila-claimed and owned territories in the region. In fact, the Department of Foreign Affairs has filed a formal complaint against China before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Seas.

However, China refused to participate in the proceedings.

Recently, President Aquino again drew criticisms from Beijing for his remarks supposedly comparing Chinese leaders to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Kerry, who announced that he would visit China on a trip starting this week, met in Washington with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and reaffirmed the 1960 treaty that commits the United States to protect its ally.

“I... underscored that the United States remains as committed as ever to upholding our treaty obligations with our Japanese allies. That includes with respect to the South China Sea,” he said, before correcting himself to say the East China Sea.

Fears of conflict rose in November when China imposed an Air Defense Identification Zone over much of the East China Sea, requiring planes to report to Beijing when crossing islands administered by Tokyo known in Japanese as the Senkaku and in Chinese as Diaoyu.

“The United States neither recognizes nor accepts China’s declared East China Sea ADIZ and the United States has no intention of changing how we conduct operations in the region,” Kerry said.

The United States and its allies have been increasingly concerned that China will take similar action in the South China Sea, where the Philippines in particular has voiced worries about Beijing’s maritime claims.

Kishida, for his part, extended an invitation for President Barack Obama to make a state visit to Japan. Diplomats say that Obama is likely to visit Japan on an April tour of Asia, although Kerry is not expected to stop in Tokyo on his upcoming trip.

Press Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. also believed the US commitment for military support in case of an attack from China also extends to the Philippines.

“There was no mention of our country in the news report. When Secretary Kerry was here he expressed continued cooperation between the United States and Philippines,”Coloma said.

Kerry visited in the Philippines and went to the ravaged typhoon ‘Yolanda’ Tacloban City last December 17, 2013.

Coloma said like Japan, the United States remains an ally of the Philippines. “From our perspective, the United States is one of two strategic partners, the other is Japan, and we are confident that the United States will stand to its commitment to our country in accordance to existing agreement between the Philippines and the United States,” Coloma said.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/us-navy-brass-sets-visit-as-rp-china-row-heats-up