From GMA News (Sep 16): Japan to join US training patrols in South China Sea
Japan will step up its activity in the contested South China Sea through joint training patrols with the United States and bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies, Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said on Thursday.
Inada said in a speech at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank that Japan's increased engagement in the area, where Japan shares U.S. concerns about China's pursuit of extensive territorial claims, would include capacity building for coastal nations.
Inada, whose country has its own dispute with China over territory in the East China Sea, said that if the world condoned attempts to change the rule of law and allowed "rule bending" to succeed, the "consequences could become global."
"In this context, I strongly support the U.S. Navy's freedom-of-navigation operations, which go a long way to upholding the rules-based international maritime order," she said.
"Japan, for its part, will increase its engagement in the South China Sea through, for example, Maritime Self-Defense Force joint training cruises with the U.S. Navy and bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies," she said.
Japan would also help build the capacity of coastal states in the South China Sea, said Inada, before heading for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon.
Japan said this month it was ready to provide Vietnam with new patrol ships, in its latest step to boost the maritime law-enforcement capabilities of countries locked in territorial rows with China.
It also agreed to provide two large patrol ships and lend up to five used surveillance aircraft to the Philippines, another country at odds with China over sovereignty issues in the South China Sea.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/581604/news/world/japan-to-join-us-training-patrols-in-south-china-sea
Friday, September 16, 2016
DND, SoKor firm to sign P16-B ship agreement
From the Philippine Star (Sep 17): DND, SoKor firm to sign P16-B ship agreement
The Department of National Defense (DND) and a South Korean firm are set to sign a multibillion-peso deal for the purchase of two ships for the Navy, the first military contract to be inked under the Duterte administration.
The agency issued a notice of award to Hyundai Heavy Industries Inc. last Aug. 18 and a contract could be signed this month for the two new frigates, DND public affairs chief Arsenio Andolong told The STAR yesterday.
The notice of award is a document that declares a supplier as the winning bidder. It was formally accepted by Hyundai Heavy Industries last Wednesday.
“We were informed though that anytime this week, officials from Hyundai will be arriving in Manila to receive and review the Notice of Award,” Andolong said.
“Ten days after the formal receipt … the notice to proceed and contract for the project will be signed,” he added.
The P16-billion ships acquisition project is one of the biggest items in the military’s modernization program. It aims to enhance the Philippines’ territorial defense and disaster response capabilities.
Four companies submitted bids for the project: Hyundai, Indian firm Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Spanish shipbuilder Navantia S.A. and South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co.
Navantia and Daewoo were disqualified because of their failure to meet some technical requirements.
Garden Reach offered to supply the two frigates for P15.08 billion while Hyundai’s bid was P15.74 billion. Garden Reach was declared the lowest bidder but was disqualified during the post-qualification phase because of its failure to meet some financial requirements.
“Per government procurement law, if it is determined at the outset that the bidder has no financial capacity or it has financial capacity but its resources are thinly spread throughout too many ongoing contracts, it will not be allowed to participate in the bidding process,” Andolong said.
Hyundai, the company that offered the second lowest bid, was considered and was able to meet the post-qualification requirements.
“After the contract has been signed by both parties, DND will issue a notice to proceed for Hyundai to fulfill its contract obligation within the specified period of time,” Andolong said.
A South Korean firm, however, questioned the DND’s decision to divide the frigate acquisition project into two components.
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. said the project, which was originally priced at P18 billion was divided into the bidding for the two vessels and their weapon system and the bidding for ammunition.
STX, one of the companies that expressed interest to join the bidding, said the Philippine government “shall be grossly disadvantaged with the modification in the bid structure, aside from committing a serious violation of the country’s existing procurement laws.”
“Splitting the Authorized Budget of Contract (ABC) and the items to be bid out after the first stage of the bidding, and before the second stage, is tantamount to changing the terms and conditions of the bid in the middle of the game,” the company said in a statement.
According to the company, the bidders were made to believe that the approved budget of contract is P18 billion and the items for bidding are the vessels, weapons system and ammunition.
“It is thus unfair for everyone, especially for those who failed to pass the initial stage, to have the terms substantially changed when the bid has already been submitted,” STX Korea said.
The Korean firm believes that the DND Bids and Awards Committee purposely split the project to make it appear that the winning bidder has offered the lowest price, now at P16 billion for the two vessels alone.
“One major effect of such modification is that there would be limited number of possible bidders for the ammunition considering that launchers are usually tailor fitted for certain kinds of ammunition.”
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/09/17/1624584/dnd-sokor-firm-sign-p16-b-ship-agreement
The Department of National Defense (DND) and a South Korean firm are set to sign a multibillion-peso deal for the purchase of two ships for the Navy, the first military contract to be inked under the Duterte administration.
The agency issued a notice of award to Hyundai Heavy Industries Inc. last Aug. 18 and a contract could be signed this month for the two new frigates, DND public affairs chief Arsenio Andolong told The STAR yesterday.
The notice of award is a document that declares a supplier as the winning bidder. It was formally accepted by Hyundai Heavy Industries last Wednesday.
“We were informed though that anytime this week, officials from Hyundai will be arriving in Manila to receive and review the Notice of Award,” Andolong said.
“Ten days after the formal receipt … the notice to proceed and contract for the project will be signed,” he added.
The P16-billion ships acquisition project is one of the biggest items in the military’s modernization program. It aims to enhance the Philippines’ territorial defense and disaster response capabilities.
Navantia and Daewoo were disqualified because of their failure to meet some technical requirements.
Garden Reach offered to supply the two frigates for P15.08 billion while Hyundai’s bid was P15.74 billion. Garden Reach was declared the lowest bidder but was disqualified during the post-qualification phase because of its failure to meet some financial requirements.
“Per government procurement law, if it is determined at the outset that the bidder has no financial capacity or it has financial capacity but its resources are thinly spread throughout too many ongoing contracts, it will not be allowed to participate in the bidding process,” Andolong said.
Hyundai, the company that offered the second lowest bid, was considered and was able to meet the post-qualification requirements.
“After the contract has been signed by both parties, DND will issue a notice to proceed for Hyundai to fulfill its contract obligation within the specified period of time,” Andolong said.
A South Korean firm, however, questioned the DND’s decision to divide the frigate acquisition project into two components.
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. said the project, which was originally priced at P18 billion was divided into the bidding for the two vessels and their weapon system and the bidding for ammunition.
STX, one of the companies that expressed interest to join the bidding, said the Philippine government “shall be grossly disadvantaged with the modification in the bid structure, aside from committing a serious violation of the country’s existing procurement laws.”
“Splitting the Authorized Budget of Contract (ABC) and the items to be bid out after the first stage of the bidding, and before the second stage, is tantamount to changing the terms and conditions of the bid in the middle of the game,” the company said in a statement.
According to the company, the bidders were made to believe that the approved budget of contract is P18 billion and the items for bidding are the vessels, weapons system and ammunition.
“It is thus unfair for everyone, especially for those who failed to pass the initial stage, to have the terms substantially changed when the bid has already been submitted,” STX Korea said.
The Korean firm believes that the DND Bids and Awards Committee purposely split the project to make it appear that the winning bidder has offered the lowest price, now at P16 billion for the two vessels alone.
“One major effect of such modification is that there would be limited number of possible bidders for the ammunition considering that launchers are usually tailor fitted for certain kinds of ammunition.”
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/09/17/1624584/dnd-sokor-firm-sign-p16-b-ship-agreement
MILF: Brunei IMT contingent renders exit call to the MILF
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Sep 16): Brunei IMT contingent renders exit call to the MILF
The Brunei contingent of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) made its last visit to the MILF leadership in Camp Darapanan on September 15 to bid farewell after their year-long tour of duty comes to an end.
Led by Lieutenant Colonel Azman Bin Haji Bangkol, the Batch 12 of the Brunei Contingent was praised by several members of the MILF Central Committee for their outstanding and satisfactory performance.
Chairman Alhaj Murad Ebrahim expressed the gratitude of MILF and the Bangsamoro people for the services given by the outgoing Brunei contingent. "The Brunei IMT contingent team's undaunted participation in the peace process is already a very historic part of the Bangsamoro story," Ebrahim said.
While he was to give welcoming words, Chairman Ebrahim noted the irony of being "sad that after saying welcome, you will be saying farewell to us."
The Chairman gave an over all updates on the peace process before the outgoing team.
Muhammad Ameen, Secretary of the MILF Central Committee, underscored in his opening remarks that in the twelve years that the IMT has been deployed in the Bangsamoro in the South of the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam has continuously sent its IMT contingent even during the deadlock of talks between the MILF and GPH.
“Throughout their tour of duty, they have been performing their mandate so diligently,” Ameen said.
Toks Ebrahim of the General Staff of the BIAF expressed his admiration for the Brunei IMT Contingent and Brunei government for rendering humanitarian services and support for the peace process.
Lt. Col. Azman bin Haji Bangkol urged the MILF the in the “struggle for peace,” the latter should “never give up, have faith and hope in it.”
He thanked in particular the MILF members who are working in the ceasefire mechanism for their “professionalism in dispensing their obligations as well as their endless support in ensuring our safety and our well-being throughout our stay here in Cotabato City.”
The outgoing Brunei contingent has 10 officers and enlisted personnel.
http://www.luwaran.com/home/index.php/news/20-central-mindanao/891-brunei-imt-contingent-renders-exit-call-to-the-milf
The Brunei contingent of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) made its last visit to the MILF leadership in Camp Darapanan on September 15 to bid farewell after their year-long tour of duty comes to an end.
Chairman Alhaj Murad Ebrahim expressed the gratitude of MILF and the Bangsamoro people for the services given by the outgoing Brunei contingent. "The Brunei IMT contingent team's undaunted participation in the peace process is already a very historic part of the Bangsamoro story," Ebrahim said.
While he was to give welcoming words, Chairman Ebrahim noted the irony of being "sad that after saying welcome, you will be saying farewell to us."
The Chairman gave an over all updates on the peace process before the outgoing team.
Muhammad Ameen, Secretary of the MILF Central Committee, underscored in his opening remarks that in the twelve years that the IMT has been deployed in the Bangsamoro in the South of the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam has continuously sent its IMT contingent even during the deadlock of talks between the MILF and GPH.
“Throughout their tour of duty, they have been performing their mandate so diligently,” Ameen said.
Toks Ebrahim of the General Staff of the BIAF expressed his admiration for the Brunei IMT Contingent and Brunei government for rendering humanitarian services and support for the peace process.
Lt. Col. Azman bin Haji Bangkol urged the MILF the in the “struggle for peace,” the latter should “never give up, have faith and hope in it.”
He thanked in particular the MILF members who are working in the ceasefire mechanism for their “professionalism in dispensing their obligations as well as their endless support in ensuring our safety and our well-being throughout our stay here in Cotabato City.”
The outgoing Brunei contingent has 10 officers and enlisted personnel.
http://www.luwaran.com/home/index.php/news/20-central-mindanao/891-brunei-imt-contingent-renders-exit-call-to-the-milf
MILF: Editorial -- Independent foreign policy
Editorial posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Sep 16): Editorial -- Independent foreign policy
States should have an independent foreign policy, or they lose the requisite of a free and sovereign entity. They are either like the colonies of olden days or simply client, failing, or failed states.
Until today states’ national – even international -- policy has always been seen as reflective or copy paste of the old norm: “My country right or wrong”. This expression is probably more of a jingoism. But is it really so? Look around the world today, there are more reasons to believe that states continue to conduct both their domestic and international affairs with it as the centerpoint. There may be exceptions, yes, but they are very hard to determine and quantify.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s pursuit of an independent foreign policy is in the right direction. It should be pursued vigorously and consistently. In fact, this is what the 1987 Constitution says: “The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination.”
“We will observe and I must insist – I repeat, I must insist – on the time honored principles of sovereign equality, non-interference and commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes to best serve our people and protect the interests of our country.”
This was what President Duterte stated upon arrival in Davao City from Indonesia where he met President Joko Widodo recently.
Be this as it may, states are not necessarily islands or archipelagic that they can exist alone. Bridges have to be built to connect them with the rest of the world; hence, the need for diplomatic relations, and more importantly, for world bodies such as the League of Nations before and now the United Nations. The Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) can also be appreciated in this light.
The truth is that the current position of the Philippines is very fragile, and thus to design a straight-jacket approach requires extra-ordinary care. A giant neighbor, China, has been very assertive if not aggressive in claiming more islands in the South China Sea. It also built military, naval and air, infrastructures in these islands or islets some of which are very near to us. On other hand, the US has always been the traditional ally of this country and is also trying to ensure that its number one status as superpower remains intact. Moreover, it has security, political, economic, and military interests in this region that it will protect and sustain. Any sudden or spasmodic attempt to change this state of things will not be welcomed naturally. Besides, it is the nature of international politics and power play that once a state is a colony or an ally, the once occupier will always want it secured and intact within the loop.
The US and China are giants or elephants, and the possibility of colliding cannot be ruled out. Suppose they will collide, where will the ant (the Philippines) go? We cannot run away, because we are not ant. The Philippines is immovable.
However, many foreign analysts believe that war between China and the US is not forthcoming. They simply base their view on the fact that these two giants are heavily in trade with each other. Some say that if China will pull-out its investments in the US which amounts to billion to trillion of dollars, the US economy will collapse. The reverse is also probably true, because the US has also invested heavily in China.
This development is probably one of the reasons why this administration is retooling its foreign policy from blurred independent to clear-cut independent, from pro-US to neither pro-US nor pro-China foreign policy. This can also explain why China seems unperturbed with what it is doing now: a creeping occupation of islands in the disputed sea.
http://www.luwaran.com/home/index.php/editorial/25-january-16-23/892-independent-foreign-policy
States should have an independent foreign policy, or they lose the requisite of a free and sovereign entity. They are either like the colonies of olden days or simply client, failing, or failed states.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s pursuit of an independent foreign policy is in the right direction. It should be pursued vigorously and consistently. In fact, this is what the 1987 Constitution says: “The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination.”
“We will observe and I must insist – I repeat, I must insist – on the time honored principles of sovereign equality, non-interference and commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes to best serve our people and protect the interests of our country.”
This was what President Duterte stated upon arrival in Davao City from Indonesia where he met President Joko Widodo recently.
Be this as it may, states are not necessarily islands or archipelagic that they can exist alone. Bridges have to be built to connect them with the rest of the world; hence, the need for diplomatic relations, and more importantly, for world bodies such as the League of Nations before and now the United Nations. The Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) can also be appreciated in this light.
The truth is that the current position of the Philippines is very fragile, and thus to design a straight-jacket approach requires extra-ordinary care. A giant neighbor, China, has been very assertive if not aggressive in claiming more islands in the South China Sea. It also built military, naval and air, infrastructures in these islands or islets some of which are very near to us. On other hand, the US has always been the traditional ally of this country and is also trying to ensure that its number one status as superpower remains intact. Moreover, it has security, political, economic, and military interests in this region that it will protect and sustain. Any sudden or spasmodic attempt to change this state of things will not be welcomed naturally. Besides, it is the nature of international politics and power play that once a state is a colony or an ally, the once occupier will always want it secured and intact within the loop.
The US and China are giants or elephants, and the possibility of colliding cannot be ruled out. Suppose they will collide, where will the ant (the Philippines) go? We cannot run away, because we are not ant. The Philippines is immovable.
However, many foreign analysts believe that war between China and the US is not forthcoming. They simply base their view on the fact that these two giants are heavily in trade with each other. Some say that if China will pull-out its investments in the US which amounts to billion to trillion of dollars, the US economy will collapse. The reverse is also probably true, because the US has also invested heavily in China.
This development is probably one of the reasons why this administration is retooling its foreign policy from blurred independent to clear-cut independent, from pro-US to neither pro-US nor pro-China foreign policy. This can also explain why China seems unperturbed with what it is doing now: a creeping occupation of islands in the disputed sea.
http://www.luwaran.com/home/index.php/editorial/25-january-16-23/892-independent-foreign-policy
Tribal leader shot dead in Maguindanao
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 16): Tribal leader shot dead in Maguindanao
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a tribal leader in South Upi, Maguindanao, police and civilian officials said Friday.
South Upi Mayor Reynalbert Insular identified the victim as Joseph Suenan of Barangay (village) Lamud, South Upi. Insular said Suenan, of the Teduray tribe, was attacked and killed on Thursday.
Police said Suenan was bringing home his water buffalo when unidentified men arrived and opened fire on him around 3 p.m. in Barangay Lamud.
Villagers said Suenan, a respected Teduday leader in South Upi, actively mediated conflicts in the village.
Insular said he has ordered a deeper investigation of the incident.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/815900/tribal-leader-shot-dead-in-maguindanao
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a tribal leader in South Upi, Maguindanao, police and civilian officials said Friday.
South Upi Mayor Reynalbert Insular identified the victim as Joseph Suenan of Barangay (village) Lamud, South Upi. Insular said Suenan, of the Teduray tribe, was attacked and killed on Thursday.
Police said Suenan was bringing home his water buffalo when unidentified men arrived and opened fire on him around 3 p.m. in Barangay Lamud.
Villagers said Suenan, a respected Teduday leader in South Upi, actively mediated conflicts in the village.
Insular said he has ordered a deeper investigation of the incident.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/815900/tribal-leader-shot-dead-in-maguindanao
Bruneian troops complete Mindanao peacekeeping duty
From the Philippine Star (Sep 17): Bruneian troops complete Mindanao peacekeeping duty
The commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division said they are thankful to the group for having served professionally for one year in areas covered by the division. Philstar.com/File photo
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Soldiers from Brunei helping enforce the ceasefire between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will return to their country this month after a 12-month peacekeeping duty in Mindanao.
The Bruneian government replaces its contingent in the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) annually after a year-long stint in potential flashpoint areas in Mindanao.
The commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), Major Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., on Saturday said he and commanders of units under him are thankful to the group for having served professionally for one year in areas covered by 6th ID.
There has not been any single military-MILF encounter in 6th ID’s area since 2010.
For most peace advocacy groups in central Mindanao, the feat was ushered in by close security coordination among stakeholders to the ceasefire accord which government and rebel negotiators crafted in July 1997 in Cagayan de Oro City.
The new Brunei IMT contingent is expected to arrive in Mindanao anytime this month.
The IMT, comprised of soldiers from Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, and non-uniformed conflict resolution and rehabilitation experts from Japan and Norway, has been helping monitor the government-MILF ceasefire since early 2004.
“The presence of the Brunei group in the multinational IMT is a big help to efforts of maintaining the peace we have on the ground. We are as thankful to the other contingents in the IMT,” Galvez said.
The outgoing Brunei contingent, led by Lt. Col. Azman bin Haji Bangkol, has started initiating traditional exit engagements with different foreign and local organizations helping push the Mindanao peace process forward.
Bangkol and his subordinates on Thursday paid the MILF’s figurehead, Al-Haj Murad, a farewell visit at Camp Darapanan in northwest of Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao.
Murad had told Bangkol and his men the MILF is grateful to the government of Brunei for supporting the Mindanao peace process, meant to put a negotiated closure to the nagging, decades-old Moro issue.
"The Brunei IMT contingent’s participation in the peace process is now part of the Bangsamoro history," Ebrahim told The STAR on Saturday via text message.
Senior members of the MILF central committee were also present in Thursday’s meeting between Murad and the outgoing Bruneian IMT members.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/09/17/1624687/bruneian-troops-complete-mindanao-peacekeeping-duty
The commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division said they are thankful to the group for having served professionally for one year in areas covered by the division. Philstar.com/File photo
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Soldiers from Brunei helping enforce the ceasefire between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will return to their country this month after a 12-month peacekeeping duty in Mindanao.
The Bruneian government replaces its contingent in the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) annually after a year-long stint in potential flashpoint areas in Mindanao.
The commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), Major Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., on Saturday said he and commanders of units under him are thankful to the group for having served professionally for one year in areas covered by 6th ID.
There has not been any single military-MILF encounter in 6th ID’s area since 2010.
For most peace advocacy groups in central Mindanao, the feat was ushered in by close security coordination among stakeholders to the ceasefire accord which government and rebel negotiators crafted in July 1997 in Cagayan de Oro City.
The new Brunei IMT contingent is expected to arrive in Mindanao anytime this month.
The IMT, comprised of soldiers from Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, and non-uniformed conflict resolution and rehabilitation experts from Japan and Norway, has been helping monitor the government-MILF ceasefire since early 2004.
“The presence of the Brunei group in the multinational IMT is a big help to efforts of maintaining the peace we have on the ground. We are as thankful to the other contingents in the IMT,” Galvez said.
The outgoing Brunei contingent, led by Lt. Col. Azman bin Haji Bangkol, has started initiating traditional exit engagements with different foreign and local organizations helping push the Mindanao peace process forward.
Bangkol and his subordinates on Thursday paid the MILF’s figurehead, Al-Haj Murad, a farewell visit at Camp Darapanan in northwest of Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao.
Murad had told Bangkol and his men the MILF is grateful to the government of Brunei for supporting the Mindanao peace process, meant to put a negotiated closure to the nagging, decades-old Moro issue.
"The Brunei IMT contingent’s participation in the peace process is now part of the Bangsamoro history," Ebrahim told The STAR on Saturday via text message.
Senior members of the MILF central committee were also present in Thursday’s meeting between Murad and the outgoing Bruneian IMT members.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/09/17/1624687/bruneian-troops-complete-mindanao-peacekeeping-duty
PRRD: Diplomacy to counteract terrorism, insurgency
From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 17): PRRD: Diplomacy to counteract terrorism, insurgency
President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that terrorism in Mindanao could escalate into a full-blown civil war if diplomacy is not employed to counteract insurgency in the countryside.
“From terrorism in Mindanao, it could degenerate into a full-blown civil war,” the President warned in his speech delivered before members of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) during the 48th anniversary of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing at Villamor Airbase on Tuesday.
“That’s why we are trying to talk. Do not be dismayed about the fact that we are talking to the Left,” he said. As much as he would like to be strict in dealing with the insurgents, PRRD stressed that as the President of the Republic, “my job is to seek the peace of the land.”
He said, “We cannot be forever killing our own citizens. So they have agreed to talk, we can use the extra force now, we can focus them in Mindanao."
“But the most important thing here is you have to change paradigm. Hindi na ito gyera na harap-harapan. So it’s always a matter of detection. Meaning to say, something is afoot and you have to detect to find out what it is,” he said.
The President compared the situation to a James Bond movie where the war strategy or game plan does not display so much of might.
“So ibahin na ninyo because we are dealing with terrorists and there will be explosions after explosions until we find peace,” he said.
While saying that terrorism and insurgency are still two of the country’s main concerns that have to be addressed in Mindanao, he clarified that there is no issue of discrimination against the Islamic community just because the secessionist groups are composed of Muslims.
“I’m not saying that for the Moro people. Of course, I am a half-Moro or one-fourth. My mama is a mestiza Maranao, my lola is a Maranao, my lolo is Chinese,” he said.
“So kayong mga Moro diyan, do not be offended kasi what we’re talking about is the Republic against the enemies of the state. It has nothing to do with bigotry or discrimination. Far from it, far from it,” he said.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2131474042143/prrd-diplomacy-to-counteract-terrorism-insurgency
President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that terrorism in Mindanao could escalate into a full-blown civil war if diplomacy is not employed to counteract insurgency in the countryside.
“From terrorism in Mindanao, it could degenerate into a full-blown civil war,” the President warned in his speech delivered before members of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) during the 48th anniversary of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing at Villamor Airbase on Tuesday.
“That’s why we are trying to talk. Do not be dismayed about the fact that we are talking to the Left,” he said. As much as he would like to be strict in dealing with the insurgents, PRRD stressed that as the President of the Republic, “my job is to seek the peace of the land.”
He said, “We cannot be forever killing our own citizens. So they have agreed to talk, we can use the extra force now, we can focus them in Mindanao."
“But the most important thing here is you have to change paradigm. Hindi na ito gyera na harap-harapan. So it’s always a matter of detection. Meaning to say, something is afoot and you have to detect to find out what it is,” he said.
The President compared the situation to a James Bond movie where the war strategy or game plan does not display so much of might.
“So ibahin na ninyo because we are dealing with terrorists and there will be explosions after explosions until we find peace,” he said.
While saying that terrorism and insurgency are still two of the country’s main concerns that have to be addressed in Mindanao, he clarified that there is no issue of discrimination against the Islamic community just because the secessionist groups are composed of Muslims.
“I’m not saying that for the Moro people. Of course, I am a half-Moro or one-fourth. My mama is a mestiza Maranao, my lola is a Maranao, my lolo is Chinese,” he said.
“So kayong mga Moro diyan, do not be offended kasi what we’re talking about is the Republic against the enemies of the state. It has nothing to do with bigotry or discrimination. Far from it, far from it,” he said.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2131474042143/prrd-diplomacy-to-counteract-terrorism-insurgency
Abu Sayyaf bandit falls in Basilan
From the Sun Star-Zamboanga (Sep 16): Abu Sayyaf bandit falls in Basilan
JOINT police and military operatives have arrested a suspected Abu Sayyaf bandit involved in a raid 15 years ago of a plantation in the province of Basilan.
Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula Director Billy Beltran identified the arrested suspect as Abdul Munab Maani, alias Tanong Handos, 43, a native of Jolo, Sulu.
Beltran said Maani was arrested at a private wharf around 3 p.m., Thursday, September 15, in the village of Baliwasan, west of Zamboanga City.
Maani is facing seven-count charges for kidnapping and serious illegal detention in a court in Isabela City, Basilan.
The case against Maani stemmed on his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of workers at the Golden Harvest Plantation in the village Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan in June 2001.
Beltran said Maani, who is presently residing in Tigtabon Island, has standing warrant of arrest for seven-count kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
Maani denied that he is a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2016/09/16/abu-sayyaf-bandit-falls-basilan-498060
JOINT police and military operatives have arrested a suspected Abu Sayyaf bandit involved in a raid 15 years ago of a plantation in the province of Basilan.
Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula Director Billy Beltran identified the arrested suspect as Abdul Munab Maani, alias Tanong Handos, 43, a native of Jolo, Sulu.
Beltran said Maani was arrested at a private wharf around 3 p.m., Thursday, September 15, in the village of Baliwasan, west of Zamboanga City.
Maani is facing seven-count charges for kidnapping and serious illegal detention in a court in Isabela City, Basilan.
The case against Maani stemmed on his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of workers at the Golden Harvest Plantation in the village Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan in June 2001.
Beltran said Maani, who is presently residing in Tigtabon Island, has standing warrant of arrest for seven-count kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
Maani denied that he is a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2016/09/16/abu-sayyaf-bandit-falls-basilan-498060
Philippine President’s Shift on U.S. Alliance Worries Military
From the Wall Street Journal (Sep 16): Philippine President’s Shift on U.S. Alliance Worries Military
His willingness to upend alliance with U.S. has dumbfounded even those in his inner circle
President Rodrigo Duterte’s drive to upend the Philippine’s decades-old security alliance with the U.S. is prompting concerns within the military, the one institution he most needs to keep on side.
In a country prone to coups and palace intrigue, Mr. Duterte is fully aware that past presidents have crossed the military at their peril. The populist leader has spent much of the first 11 weeks of his six-year term touring bases to muster support among the rank and file, repeating a campaign pledge to double soldiers’ salaries.
Visiting the base of the elite Scout Rangers on Thursday, he promised every man a new Glock pistol within a month “because you are good boys.”
Mr. Duterte has explained to troops that he is crossing an “ideological border” to seek peace with onetime foes at home and abroad. Convincing army leaders to cross it with him will be a challenge, according to people familiar with Philippine military affairs.
Even some old military hands in the president’s inner circle have appeared dumbfounded. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, a former general and military attaché in Washington, told a congressional committee Wednesday that Mr. Duterte was wrong to want American military advisers to leave the island of Mindanao, where they are supporting counterterrorism operations against the extremist Abu Sayyaf group. Its affiliates bombed Davao earlier this month, killing 14 people.
“We still need them there because they have the surveillance capabilities that our armed forces don’t have,” Mr. Lorenzana said.
Clarita Carlos, a former president of the Philippines’ National Defense College, said Mr. Duterte should have been advised more thoroughly about the alliance’s importance.
“I know how deep and wide the relationship is,” she said. “If Duterte had been properly briefed, he wouldn’t have made those statements.”
Since last week, Mr. Duterte has insulted President Barack Obama , announced that Manila would quit joint patrols of the South China Sea—organized in part to protect Philippine waters from Chinese incursions—and said Manila may start buying Chinese and Russian arms.
Officers who have spent their careers working hand in glove with the U.S. military fighting communist and Islamic rebels are “aghast,” said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. The officers fear Mr. Duterte is throwing away “the one card the Philippines has to play”—the U.S. security umbrella—in its lopsided confrontation with China, he said.
Though Mr. Duterte has faulted the U.S. for failing to halt Beijing’s expansion in the South China Sea, military officers say the Philippines would have suffered far worse at the hands of China without American support, pointing to deliveries of U.S. equipment, regular joint exercises, and U.S. surveillance flights.
A Philippine defense expert said officers feared Mr. Duterte was trying to cause a rupture with the U.S. to save face ahead of an anticipated backlash from Washington over his so-called war on drugs, in which more than 3,000 people have been killed by police and vigilantes.
The two countries’ alliance was recently bolstered by Mr. Duterte’s predecessor in response to a shared wariness of China’s rise. In 2014, the two countries signed a defense pact that paved the way for American troop deployments to Philippine bases for the first time since the early 1990s, when a nationalist upsurge spurred the U.S. to leave its bases in the country.
A U.S. Embassy official in Manila said the alliance was a “cornerstone of stability” and stressed that there had so far been no official communication from Philippine officials that would affect bilateral cooperation.
The dangers of antagonizing the military were raised during the election campaign by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who as a naval officer led an abortive coup in 2003.
“It is going to be very easy to recruit people” to topple Duterte,” said Mr. Trillanes, citing the military’s allergic reaction to communist guerrillas whom Mr. Duterte is courting in a peace initiative. Mr. Duterte, in turn, vowed to jail the senator after Mr. Trillanes accused him of corruption.
Mr. Trillanes last week warned that Mr. Duterte’s attack on Mr. Obama as a “son of a whore” was “wrong on so many levels” and was detrimental to both the U.S.-Philippine alliance and the country’s security. “You don’t just slap the face of the most powerful country in the world and expect to get away with it,” he said.
Army support is crucial to Philippine presidents. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo overcame a 2003 coup attempt thanks to backing in the wider military. But her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, was ousted by a mass uprising in 2001 after the generals turned their backs.
Former dictator Ferdinand Marcos was driven out 15 years earlier after military leaders joined a mass revolt against him. Corazon Aquino fought off numerous coup attempts between 1986 and 1992 thanks to loyal commanders.
Publicly, the military has been openly supportive of Mr. Duterte. Ms. Carlos said the still-popular Mr. Duterte has time to win over the generals, advising him to keep one fundamental point in mind: “The Americans are our allies, not our enemies.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/philippine-presidents-shift-on-u-s-alliance-worries-military-1474058666
His willingness to upend alliance with U.S. has dumbfounded even those in his inner circle
President Rodrigo Duterte’s drive to upend the Philippine’s decades-old security alliance with the U.S. is prompting concerns within the military, the one institution he most needs to keep on side.
In a country prone to coups and palace intrigue, Mr. Duterte is fully aware that past presidents have crossed the military at their peril. The populist leader has spent much of the first 11 weeks of his six-year term touring bases to muster support among the rank and file, repeating a campaign pledge to double soldiers’ salaries.
Visiting the base of the elite Scout Rangers on Thursday, he promised every man a new Glock pistol within a month “because you are good boys.”
Mr. Duterte has explained to troops that he is crossing an “ideological border” to seek peace with onetime foes at home and abroad. Convincing army leaders to cross it with him will be a challenge, according to people familiar with Philippine military affairs.
Even some old military hands in the president’s inner circle have appeared dumbfounded. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, a former general and military attaché in Washington, told a congressional committee Wednesday that Mr. Duterte was wrong to want American military advisers to leave the island of Mindanao, where they are supporting counterterrorism operations against the extremist Abu Sayyaf group. Its affiliates bombed Davao earlier this month, killing 14 people.
“We still need them there because they have the surveillance capabilities that our armed forces don’t have,” Mr. Lorenzana said.
Clarita Carlos, a former president of the Philippines’ National Defense College, said Mr. Duterte should have been advised more thoroughly about the alliance’s importance.
“I know how deep and wide the relationship is,” she said. “If Duterte had been properly briefed, he wouldn’t have made those statements.”
Since last week, Mr. Duterte has insulted President Barack Obama , announced that Manila would quit joint patrols of the South China Sea—organized in part to protect Philippine waters from Chinese incursions—and said Manila may start buying Chinese and Russian arms.
Officers who have spent their careers working hand in glove with the U.S. military fighting communist and Islamic rebels are “aghast,” said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. The officers fear Mr. Duterte is throwing away “the one card the Philippines has to play”—the U.S. security umbrella—in its lopsided confrontation with China, he said.
Though Mr. Duterte has faulted the U.S. for failing to halt Beijing’s expansion in the South China Sea, military officers say the Philippines would have suffered far worse at the hands of China without American support, pointing to deliveries of U.S. equipment, regular joint exercises, and U.S. surveillance flights.
A Philippine defense expert said officers feared Mr. Duterte was trying to cause a rupture with the U.S. to save face ahead of an anticipated backlash from Washington over his so-called war on drugs, in which more than 3,000 people have been killed by police and vigilantes.
The two countries’ alliance was recently bolstered by Mr. Duterte’s predecessor in response to a shared wariness of China’s rise. In 2014, the two countries signed a defense pact that paved the way for American troop deployments to Philippine bases for the first time since the early 1990s, when a nationalist upsurge spurred the U.S. to leave its bases in the country.
A U.S. Embassy official in Manila said the alliance was a “cornerstone of stability” and stressed that there had so far been no official communication from Philippine officials that would affect bilateral cooperation.
The dangers of antagonizing the military were raised during the election campaign by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who as a naval officer led an abortive coup in 2003.
“It is going to be very easy to recruit people” to topple Duterte,” said Mr. Trillanes, citing the military’s allergic reaction to communist guerrillas whom Mr. Duterte is courting in a peace initiative. Mr. Duterte, in turn, vowed to jail the senator after Mr. Trillanes accused him of corruption.
Mr. Trillanes last week warned that Mr. Duterte’s attack on Mr. Obama as a “son of a whore” was “wrong on so many levels” and was detrimental to both the U.S.-Philippine alliance and the country’s security. “You don’t just slap the face of the most powerful country in the world and expect to get away with it,” he said.
Army support is crucial to Philippine presidents. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo overcame a 2003 coup attempt thanks to backing in the wider military. But her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, was ousted by a mass uprising in 2001 after the generals turned their backs.
Former dictator Ferdinand Marcos was driven out 15 years earlier after military leaders joined a mass revolt against him. Corazon Aquino fought off numerous coup attempts between 1986 and 1992 thanks to loyal commanders.
Publicly, the military has been openly supportive of Mr. Duterte. Ms. Carlos said the still-popular Mr. Duterte has time to win over the generals, advising him to keep one fundamental point in mind: “The Americans are our allies, not our enemies.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/philippine-presidents-shift-on-u-s-alliance-worries-military-1474058666
Kidnapped Filipino fishermen taken to Abu Sayyaf hideout
From the Straits Times (Sep 17): Kidnapped Filipino fishermen taken to Abu Sayyaf hideout
The three fishermen who were abducted off Sabah's east coast last weekend have been taken to the Abu Sayyaf lair of Jolo island in southern Philippines, amid an ongoing military offensive against the terrorist group there.
The Star newspaper reported yesterday that the three fishermen were being held at gunpoint under the command of notorious Abu Sayyaf leader Majan Sahidjuan, also known as Apo Mike.
Apo Mike reportedly also holds five Malaysian tugboat crewmen taken on July 8 in waters off Dent Haven in Lahad Datu.
The Philippine military has been on the hunt for Abu Sayyaf militants.
Sabah Police Commissioner Abdul Rashid Harun said a call from a foreign number was received not long after the three fishermen were abducted.
Datuk Abdul Rashid, who was speaking after the Malaysia Day gathering at the Likas Sports Complex in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, said the three fishermen - Mr Masurin Jamalan, Mr Sami Ghani and Mr Loloi Alpin, who are in their 30s to 50s - were unharmed.
All three men are from the Philippine Bajau ethnic group. They were taken by seven masked gunmen who raided their Malaysia-registered trawler while it was anchored off Pom Pom Island on Saturday night.
The gunmen, armed with M-16 rifles and pistols, pulled up in a boat alongside the vessel.
According to the police, the gunmen ordered the crew to lie down before robbing them of their money, cellphones and other valuables.
The gunmen also assaulted the three men and another crew member, before kidnapping the Filipinos.
The remaining crew members returned to Semporna in Sabah after the ordeal, and the vessel owner lodged a police report early on Sunday.
It was unclear how the gunmen slipped through the security cordon off Sabah's east coast, where Malaysian security forces have been maintaining their defence since a series of kidnappings.
At least 25 Indonesians have also been taken by the group this year.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/kidnapped-filipino-fishermen-taken-to-abu-sayyaf-hideout
The three fishermen who were abducted off Sabah's east coast last weekend have been taken to the Abu Sayyaf lair of Jolo island in southern Philippines, amid an ongoing military offensive against the terrorist group there.
The Star newspaper reported yesterday that the three fishermen were being held at gunpoint under the command of notorious Abu Sayyaf leader Majan Sahidjuan, also known as Apo Mike.
Apo Mike reportedly also holds five Malaysian tugboat crewmen taken on July 8 in waters off Dent Haven in Lahad Datu.
The Philippine military has been on the hunt for Abu Sayyaf militants.
Sabah Police Commissioner Abdul Rashid Harun said a call from a foreign number was received not long after the three fishermen were abducted.
He declined to reveal the contents of the conversation but said police were trying to verify the call.
All three men are from the Philippine Bajau ethnic group. They were taken by seven masked gunmen who raided their Malaysia-registered trawler while it was anchored off Pom Pom Island on Saturday night.
The gunmen, armed with M-16 rifles and pistols, pulled up in a boat alongside the vessel.
According to the police, the gunmen ordered the crew to lie down before robbing them of their money, cellphones and other valuables.
The gunmen also assaulted the three men and another crew member, before kidnapping the Filipinos.
The remaining crew members returned to Semporna in Sabah after the ordeal, and the vessel owner lodged a police report early on Sunday.
It was unclear how the gunmen slipped through the security cordon off Sabah's east coast, where Malaysian security forces have been maintaining their defence since a series of kidnappings.
At least 25 Indonesians have also been taken by the group this year.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/kidnapped-filipino-fishermen-taken-to-abu-sayyaf-hideout
Police: Abu Sayyaf Kidnapping Victims Unharmed
From the Maritime Executive (Sep 16): Police: Abu Sayyaf Kidnapping Victims Unharmed
The three Filipino crewmembers kidnapped from a Malaysian fishing vessel off Semporna last Saturday are still being held captive, but they are safe, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun told reporters Friday.
“Contact has been established with regard to the recent kidnapping last week," he said.
“The phone call was made to inform us that the kidnapped victims are safe, among others details which I will not divulge." Rashid said that the police are still working to verify the authenticity of the phone call, and that the authorities are in contant with Philippine government counterparts regarding the situation.
Media reports suggest that the three are being held in Jolo by a group under Abu Sayyaf commander Majan Sahidjuan, known as "Apo Mike."
Five Malaysians are also being held by the same group, and these captives are also believed to be safe.
In the attack last Saturday, masked men carrying M16 assault rifles boarded a trawler near Pulau Pom Pom, Sabah. They captured three Filipino members of the 16-person crew, including the captain and an engineer, and departed.
The Abu Sayyaf terrorist organization has been involved with a months-long string of maritime boardings and abductions. The kidnappers have targeted slow-moving tugs and fishing vessels, taking crew and demanding ransoms from their employers.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to eliminate Abu Sayyaf and has initiated a full-scale military campaign in the Sulu archipelago to disrupt its operations. The group claimed responsibility for a retaliatory bombing in Duterte's home city of Davao early this month, which claimed the lives of 14 citizens and injured dozens more.
http://maritime-executive.com/article/police-abu-sayyaf-kidnapping-victims-unharmed
The three Filipino crewmembers kidnapped from a Malaysian fishing vessel off Semporna last Saturday are still being held captive, but they are safe, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun told reporters Friday.
“Contact has been established with regard to the recent kidnapping last week," he said.
“The phone call was made to inform us that the kidnapped victims are safe, among others details which I will not divulge." Rashid said that the police are still working to verify the authenticity of the phone call, and that the authorities are in contant with Philippine government counterparts regarding the situation.
Media reports suggest that the three are being held in Jolo by a group under Abu Sayyaf commander Majan Sahidjuan, known as "Apo Mike."
Five Malaysians are also being held by the same group, and these captives are also believed to be safe.
In the attack last Saturday, masked men carrying M16 assault rifles boarded a trawler near Pulau Pom Pom, Sabah. They captured three Filipino members of the 16-person crew, including the captain and an engineer, and departed.
The Abu Sayyaf terrorist organization has been involved with a months-long string of maritime boardings and abductions. The kidnappers have targeted slow-moving tugs and fishing vessels, taking crew and demanding ransoms from their employers.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to eliminate Abu Sayyaf and has initiated a full-scale military campaign in the Sulu archipelago to disrupt its operations. The group claimed responsibility for a retaliatory bombing in Duterte's home city of Davao early this month, which claimed the lives of 14 citizens and injured dozens more.
http://maritime-executive.com/article/police-abu-sayyaf-kidnapping-victims-unharmed
Suspected Abu Sayyaf member nabbed
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 17): Suspected Abu Sayyaf member nabbed
A suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group, an alleged drug lord and 83 other drug suspects were arrested by the Quezon City police in an antidrug operation on Friday in Barangay Culiat.
The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) arrested Juraid Sahibbun for allegedly being a member of the ASG, which earlier claimed responsibility for the Davao night market blast that killed 15 people.
Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, head of the National Capital Region Police Office, however said that Sahibbun denied being affiliated with the bandit group. Senior Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, head of the QCPD, said that Sahibbun will be detained at Camp Karingal and charged for using his house as a drug den.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/816135/suspected-abu-sayyaf-member-nabbed
A suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group, an alleged drug lord and 83 other drug suspects were arrested by the Quezon City police in an antidrug operation on Friday in Barangay Culiat.
The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) arrested Juraid Sahibbun for allegedly being a member of the ASG, which earlier claimed responsibility for the Davao night market blast that killed 15 people.
Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, head of the National Capital Region Police Office, however said that Sahibbun denied being affiliated with the bandit group. Senior Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, head of the QCPD, said that Sahibbun will be detained at Camp Karingal and charged for using his house as a drug den.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/816135/suspected-abu-sayyaf-member-nabbed
GI Go Home, Again: The Philippines-US Alliance Weakens – Analysis
From the Eurasia Review (Sep 17): GI Go Home, Again: The Philippines-US Alliance Weakens – Analysis (By Felix K. Chang)
The Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte. Photo by Keith Kristoffer Bacongco, Wikipedia Commons
On Tuesday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte abruptly demanded that American military advisors on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao “have to go.” His stated concern was that the presence of American troops on Mindanao antagonized local Muslims and that the troops could become targets of Abu Sayyaf, an extremist Islamic group, for kidnapping and ransom.
The American military advisors were once part of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines operating under the authorities of Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines, headquartered at an airbase near Zamboanga. The task force had been deployed there for a decade as part of a program to train and support elements of the Philippine military in its efforts to combat Islamic militants throughout the region. Last year, that program was wound down and most of the American troops left. But a small detachment of military advisors remained behind.
Precisely why Duterte chose to make his remarks is unclear. They might have been intended to strengthen his hand in peace talks that he reopened with the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), in August. Those talks had been stalled for over a year after a botched anti-terror raid against Islamic militants, including the MILF, resulted in the deaths of 44 Philippine police commandos. The raid derailed his predecessor’s attempt to fulfill an accord reached in 2014 under which the rebels agreed to lay down their arms in return for the passage of a law turning a large part of Mindanao into an autonomous region. How successful Duterte’s peace talks will be remains to be seen. In early September, Islamic militants bombed a night market in Davao City, where Duterte was once mayor. The blast killed 14 people and wounded 70 more.
Back in Manila, Philippine Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay, Jr. downplayed the impact of Duterte’s remarks. According to Yasay, the larger defense relationship between the Philippines and the United States remained “rock solid.” The removal of a “token” number of American military advisors from Mindanao would not affect that relationship or the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that the two countries signed in 2014.
But Duterte’s remarks come at an awkward time in relations between the Philippines and the United States. Only a week ago, at the ASEAN summit in Laos, a meeting between Duterte and President Barack Obama was cancelled after Duterte chided Obama for his criticism of Duterte’s anti-drug campaign in the Philippines. While the two men eventually met, the incident amplified doubts over how Duterte’s administration would work with Washington.
More broadly, Duterte’s remarks reflected the deep ambivalence many Filipinos on the political left feel about the United States. They would prefer it if the Philippines distanced itself from its one-time colonial ruler. Indeed, Duterte already put a halt to the joint Philippine-American naval patrols in the South China Sea. And, recently, he stated that he would favor buying weapons from China and Russia, rather than the United States.
Unfortunately, the Philippines needs the United States, at least until the Philippine armed forces can build up a credible external deterrent. The last time Manila ordered American forces to leave the Philippines was in the early 1990s. Soon thereafter, China took advantage of the weakened alliance to seize Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef. Today China has not only fortified the reef, but also reclaimed enough land there to build an airfield on it. Duterte’s remarks give China another opportunity. Duterte may believe he can reach an accommodation with China without the United States. But that accommodation will likely be on Chinese terms.
[About the author: Felix K. Chang is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is also the Chief Strategy Officer of DecisionQ, a predictive analytics company in the national security and healthcare industries. He has worked with a number of digital, consumer services, and renewable energy entrepreneurs for years. He was previously a consultant in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Strategy and Organization practice; among his clients were the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and other agencies. Earlier, he served as a senior planner and an intelligence officer in the U.S. Department of Defense and a business advisor at Mobil Oil Corporation, where he dealt with strategic planning for upstream and midstream investments throughout Asia and Africa.]
The Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte. Photo by Keith Kristoffer Bacongco, Wikipedia Commons
On Tuesday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte abruptly demanded that American military advisors on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao “have to go.” His stated concern was that the presence of American troops on Mindanao antagonized local Muslims and that the troops could become targets of Abu Sayyaf, an extremist Islamic group, for kidnapping and ransom.
The American military advisors were once part of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines operating under the authorities of Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines, headquartered at an airbase near Zamboanga. The task force had been deployed there for a decade as part of a program to train and support elements of the Philippine military in its efforts to combat Islamic militants throughout the region. Last year, that program was wound down and most of the American troops left. But a small detachment of military advisors remained behind.
Precisely why Duterte chose to make his remarks is unclear. They might have been intended to strengthen his hand in peace talks that he reopened with the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), in August. Those talks had been stalled for over a year after a botched anti-terror raid against Islamic militants, including the MILF, resulted in the deaths of 44 Philippine police commandos. The raid derailed his predecessor’s attempt to fulfill an accord reached in 2014 under which the rebels agreed to lay down their arms in return for the passage of a law turning a large part of Mindanao into an autonomous region. How successful Duterte’s peace talks will be remains to be seen. In early September, Islamic militants bombed a night market in Davao City, where Duterte was once mayor. The blast killed 14 people and wounded 70 more.
Back in Manila, Philippine Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay, Jr. downplayed the impact of Duterte’s remarks. According to Yasay, the larger defense relationship between the Philippines and the United States remained “rock solid.” The removal of a “token” number of American military advisors from Mindanao would not affect that relationship or the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that the two countries signed in 2014.
But Duterte’s remarks come at an awkward time in relations between the Philippines and the United States. Only a week ago, at the ASEAN summit in Laos, a meeting between Duterte and President Barack Obama was cancelled after Duterte chided Obama for his criticism of Duterte’s anti-drug campaign in the Philippines. While the two men eventually met, the incident amplified doubts over how Duterte’s administration would work with Washington.
More broadly, Duterte’s remarks reflected the deep ambivalence many Filipinos on the political left feel about the United States. They would prefer it if the Philippines distanced itself from its one-time colonial ruler. Indeed, Duterte already put a halt to the joint Philippine-American naval patrols in the South China Sea. And, recently, he stated that he would favor buying weapons from China and Russia, rather than the United States.
Unfortunately, the Philippines needs the United States, at least until the Philippine armed forces can build up a credible external deterrent. The last time Manila ordered American forces to leave the Philippines was in the early 1990s. Soon thereafter, China took advantage of the weakened alliance to seize Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef. Today China has not only fortified the reef, but also reclaimed enough land there to build an airfield on it. Duterte’s remarks give China another opportunity. Duterte may believe he can reach an accommodation with China without the United States. But that accommodation will likely be on Chinese terms.
[About the author: Felix K. Chang is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is also the Chief Strategy Officer of DecisionQ, a predictive analytics company in the national security and healthcare industries. He has worked with a number of digital, consumer services, and renewable energy entrepreneurs for years. He was previously a consultant in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Strategy and Organization practice; among his clients were the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and other agencies. Earlier, he served as a senior planner and an intelligence officer in the U.S. Department of Defense and a business advisor at Mobil Oil Corporation, where he dealt with strategic planning for upstream and midstream investments throughout Asia and Africa.]
No Abu Sayyaf presence yet in Metro Manila, says military
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 17): No Abu Sayyaf presence yet in Metro Manila, says military
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=923787
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it still has
to detect any presence of the Abu Sayyaf in Metro Manila, despite threats from
the terrorist group that is now the target of unrelenting military pressure in
Basilan and Sulu.
"So far, based on our (intelligence) and monitoring,
there is still no ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) presence in Metro Manila and we hope
to keep it that way," AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo
said Friday.
He also reiterated his message to the public to immediately
report to authorities suspicious-looking persons and baggage in their areas so
that proper action could be taken.
The AFP offensive against the ASG started last Aug. 25
shortly after the bandits beheaded 18-year-old Patrick Almodavar in Sulu after
his family failed to pay their PHP1 million ransom demand.
Some 32 bandits have been killed in the ongoing operations
in Sulu while scores have been wounded, as casualties among government troopers
number 15 dead and 10 wounded.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=923787
1,000 housing units in Tacloban City for uniformed personnel still unoccupied
From InterAksyon (Sep 15): 1,000 housing units in Tacloban City for uniformed personnel still unoccupied
More three years after: Still unoccupied NHA housing units intended for 1,000 uniformed personnel located at Brgy Tagpuro, Tacloban City. Photographed by Lottie Salarda, InterAksyon
Tacloban City - Housing at Sangyaw Village constructed by the National Housing Authority located at Brgy Tagpuro, Tacloban City are deteriorating and remain unoccupied since they were launched in more than three years ago, in April 2013.
The 1,000 housing units were intended for 450 members of the Philippine National Police; another 450 for personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Bureau of Correction, 50; and Bureau of Fire Protection, 50.
The housing project was undertaken by Solana Land Development Corporation and Golden Build Corporation.
According to NHA Estate Management Specialist Dorcas T. Secreto, the NHA was waiting for the completion of the project by the land developer even though, usually, the construction of the housing units was not expected to last beyond 18 months.
Last June, a team from NHA National Office conducted an inspection, and they observed some defects.
Each housing unit costs PhP240,000 pesos (P205,000 payable; P35,000 subsidized). The beneficiaries of the low-cost housing of the NHA were to pay P200 a month for 30 years.
"Kung sino ang developer, siya ang mag-aaward (The award to the beneficiaries is to be made by the respective developers)," said Secreto.
Today, at least four families are living in the village even without a certificate of occupancy from the National Housing Authority.
The completion of the housing units was stopped after typhoon Yolanda. The housing project gave priority to families survived the monster storm, but no one has formally transferred there.
According to the security guard in the village who declined to be named, the beneficiary families couldn't move in because there is no running water and no electricity connection.
http://interaksyon.com/article/132470/1000-housing-units-in-tacloban-city-for-uniformed-personnel-still-unoccupied
More three years after: Still unoccupied NHA housing units intended for 1,000 uniformed personnel located at Brgy Tagpuro, Tacloban City. Photographed by Lottie Salarda, InterAksyon
Tacloban City - Housing at Sangyaw Village constructed by the National Housing Authority located at Brgy Tagpuro, Tacloban City are deteriorating and remain unoccupied since they were launched in more than three years ago, in April 2013.
The 1,000 housing units were intended for 450 members of the Philippine National Police; another 450 for personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Bureau of Correction, 50; and Bureau of Fire Protection, 50.
The housing project was undertaken by Solana Land Development Corporation and Golden Build Corporation.
According to NHA Estate Management Specialist Dorcas T. Secreto, the NHA was waiting for the completion of the project by the land developer even though, usually, the construction of the housing units was not expected to last beyond 18 months.
Last June, a team from NHA National Office conducted an inspection, and they observed some defects.
Each housing unit costs PhP240,000 pesos (P205,000 payable; P35,000 subsidized). The beneficiaries of the low-cost housing of the NHA were to pay P200 a month for 30 years.
"Kung sino ang developer, siya ang mag-aaward (The award to the beneficiaries is to be made by the respective developers)," said Secreto.
Today, at least four families are living in the village even without a certificate of occupancy from the National Housing Authority.
The completion of the housing units was stopped after typhoon Yolanda. The housing project gave priority to families survived the monster storm, but no one has formally transferred there.
According to the security guard in the village who declined to be named, the beneficiary families couldn't move in because there is no running water and no electricity connection.
http://interaksyon.com/article/132470/1000-housing-units-in-tacloban-city-for-uniformed-personnel-still-unoccupied
Ormoc eyed as Balikatan venue
From the Manila Bulletin (Sep 15): Ormoc eyed as Balikatan venue
http://www.mb.com.ph/ormoc-eyed-as-balikatan-venue/
Ormoc City, Leyte — A group of American and Filipino soldiers visited this city on Wednesday to talk about bringing the Balikatan military exercises in the city next year.
Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez is supporting the proposal.
The Balikatan is designed to the relationship between the Philippines and the US armed forces through crisis-action planning, humanitarian assistance, enhanced training to counter terrorism and promote inter-operability of the forces.
Capt. Louis Kalmar, humanitarian and civic assistance planner of the Balikatan program, said aside from the enhanced military training, the exercises will have a medical mission and humanitarian assistance as a civic component.
The participants will build or repair new school buildings and toilets in classrooms, provide books and learning materials to the students.
Asked if the move of President Rodrigo Duterte to pull out the US Armed Forces in Mindanao will affect the planned Balikatan, Gomez said that “since the move to pull them out is not yet final, it is best to push through with the initial talks to do Balikatan here.”
“What will benefit most the people of Ormoc, will always be my priority,” he said.
Kalmar said they will return to Ormoc in December to finalize the Balikatan 2017 plans.
Balikatan is a Tagalog word meaning “shoulder-to-shoulder.” The exercises have been the cornerstone of Philippines–US military relations since the US bases in the Philippines closed.
http://www.mb.com.ph/ormoc-eyed-as-balikatan-venue/
MILF peace panel turns into `implementing panel'
From the Philippine Star (Sep 16): MILF peace panel turns into `implementing panel'
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front reaffirmed its readiness to continue with their diplomatic engagements with the government under the Duterte administration. Philstar.com/File photo
Stakeholders are optimistic of better days soon for the Mindanao peace process with the sustained zeal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to pursue its now 19-year diplomatic overture with Malacañang under a new president.
The optimism, though tempered and guarded yet for some, was fanned by Wednesday’s change by the MILF’s figurehead, Al-Haj Murad, of their negotiating panel to an “implementing panel” in keeping with a consensus with President Rodrigo Duterte to focus the peace process now on the implementation of all of their compacts with Malacañang.
Murad on Wednesday announced the change in the format of their peace panel and reaffirmed MILF's readiness to continue with their diplomatic engagements with the government under the Duterte administration.
Murad revealed the move essential to the peace process during a gathering on Wednesday in Camp Darapanan, their main enclave in northwest of Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao.
Muslimin Sema, chairman of the largest group in the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), on Friday said they were elated with Murad’s reassurance, on MILF’s behalf, to continue addressing the decades-old Moro issue via diplomatic and political initiatives.
Unlike the group of MNLF founder Nur Misuari, Sema, former mayor of Cotabato City, and the leaders of their more than 20 revolutionary states in southern Philippines are not hostile to the MILF.
“We are confident of very `promising days' soon for the Mindanao peace process because of the cordiality between the MILF and the Duterte administration,” Sema said.
Sema’s group had earlier forged a “convergence pact” with the MILF that bound both to cooperate in charting a common Mindanao peace roadmap despite having separate accords with the national government.
The MNLF forged a peace agreement with Malacañang on Sept. 2, 1996, during the time of President Fidel Ramos.
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said he has given the MILF full imprimatur, with clearance from Malacañang and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, for the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) hold office in one of the buildings in the old provincial capitol in Sultan Kudarat town for its officials to become accessible to the public.
Mangudadatu, Sema and many other peace activists in Central Mindanao supports the planned expansion of the membership of the MILF-led BTC with the inclusion of representatives from non-aligned sectors, the MNLF, the local government units and other peace-oriented blocs.
“We in the provincial government are happy to see the MILF and the administration of President Duterte move forward in addressing the nagging Mindanao Moro problem after a lull in the process as a consequence of the recent election period,” Mangudadatu said on Friday.
He also welcomed as a “positive development” the change in the structure and objectives of the MILF’s peace panel, now called "implementing panel."
Mangudadatu said his office is ready to embark on more peace and development projects needed to hasten the attainment of the socio-economic and political goals of the March 27, 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro between Malacañang and the MILF.
Duterte had said, while in Buluan town in Maguindanao last July 22, he can flex his authority and influence for the MILF to have a Bangsamoro government, to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as long as all unconstitutional provisions in its proposed charter, the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), are taken out.
Congress balked from approving the BBL, the enabling measure for the creation of an MILF-led Bangsamoro government, during the time of President Benigno Aquino III due constitutional restraints.
The new commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), Major Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., earlier said he will embark on peace programs needed to sustain the fragile peace now in many areas in Maguindanao, where the MILF has dozens of government-recognized enclaves.
“It is very important to sustain the initial gains of the MILF and the new administration, the Duterte administration, in upholding, in continuing with the peace process, by ensuring there is peace on the ground,” Galvez said.
Galvez, who had served as chairman of the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities that deals with a counterpart in the MILF, assumed as 6th ID commander only last Monday.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/09/16/1624377/milf-peace-panel-turns-implementing-panel
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front reaffirmed its readiness to continue with their diplomatic engagements with the government under the Duterte administration. Philstar.com/File photo
Stakeholders are optimistic of better days soon for the Mindanao peace process with the sustained zeal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to pursue its now 19-year diplomatic overture with Malacañang under a new president.
The optimism, though tempered and guarded yet for some, was fanned by Wednesday’s change by the MILF’s figurehead, Al-Haj Murad, of their negotiating panel to an “implementing panel” in keeping with a consensus with President Rodrigo Duterte to focus the peace process now on the implementation of all of their compacts with Malacañang.
Murad on Wednesday announced the change in the format of their peace panel and reaffirmed MILF's readiness to continue with their diplomatic engagements with the government under the Duterte administration.
Murad revealed the move essential to the peace process during a gathering on Wednesday in Camp Darapanan, their main enclave in northwest of Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao.
Muslimin Sema, chairman of the largest group in the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), on Friday said they were elated with Murad’s reassurance, on MILF’s behalf, to continue addressing the decades-old Moro issue via diplomatic and political initiatives.
Unlike the group of MNLF founder Nur Misuari, Sema, former mayor of Cotabato City, and the leaders of their more than 20 revolutionary states in southern Philippines are not hostile to the MILF.
Sema’s group had earlier forged a “convergence pact” with the MILF that bound both to cooperate in charting a common Mindanao peace roadmap despite having separate accords with the national government.
The MNLF forged a peace agreement with Malacañang on Sept. 2, 1996, during the time of President Fidel Ramos.
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said he has given the MILF full imprimatur, with clearance from Malacañang and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, for the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) hold office in one of the buildings in the old provincial capitol in Sultan Kudarat town for its officials to become accessible to the public.
Mangudadatu, Sema and many other peace activists in Central Mindanao supports the planned expansion of the membership of the MILF-led BTC with the inclusion of representatives from non-aligned sectors, the MNLF, the local government units and other peace-oriented blocs.
“We in the provincial government are happy to see the MILF and the administration of President Duterte move forward in addressing the nagging Mindanao Moro problem after a lull in the process as a consequence of the recent election period,” Mangudadatu said on Friday.
He also welcomed as a “positive development” the change in the structure and objectives of the MILF’s peace panel, now called "implementing panel."
Mangudadatu said his office is ready to embark on more peace and development projects needed to hasten the attainment of the socio-economic and political goals of the March 27, 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro between Malacañang and the MILF.
Duterte had said, while in Buluan town in Maguindanao last July 22, he can flex his authority and influence for the MILF to have a Bangsamoro government, to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as long as all unconstitutional provisions in its proposed charter, the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), are taken out.
Congress balked from approving the BBL, the enabling measure for the creation of an MILF-led Bangsamoro government, during the time of President Benigno Aquino III due constitutional restraints.
The new commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), Major Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., earlier said he will embark on peace programs needed to sustain the fragile peace now in many areas in Maguindanao, where the MILF has dozens of government-recognized enclaves.
“It is very important to sustain the initial gains of the MILF and the new administration, the Duterte administration, in upholding, in continuing with the peace process, by ensuring there is peace on the ground,” Galvez said.
Galvez, who had served as chairman of the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities that deals with a counterpart in the MILF, assumed as 6th ID commander only last Monday.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/09/16/1624377/milf-peace-panel-turns-implementing-panel
Yasay: No bilateral talks yet with China over West PH Sea
From Rappler (Sep 16): Yasay: No bilateral talks yet with China over West PH Sea
Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr tells a forum in Washington DC that the Philippines and China have different standpoints on the context of such bilateral discussions
Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr said late Thursday, September 15, that the Philippines is not prepared to have bilateral discussions with China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute.
Yasay, who is in the United States primarily for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, made the statement at a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC.
Amy Searight, CSIS Senior Adviser and Director for the Southeast Asia Program, asked Yasay about the Philippines' next steps on its sea row with the regional giant following President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to tap former president Fidel Ramos as a special envoy to break the ice with China.
Yasay responded, "We are not, at this point in time, prepared to sit down with China on bilateral engagements with respect to our dispute in the South China Sea until and unless both parties are prepared to sit down and discuss this matter."
He explained that the Philippines and China have different standpoints on the context of such bilateral discussions.
"To begin with, we cannot proceed on engaging China in bilateral talks where China says that it can only talk outside of the framework of the arbitral tribunal's decision, in the same way that the Philippines is insisting that if we talk, we should only talk within the framework of the arbitral tribunal's decision," Yasay said.
In July, an arbitral tribunal in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands, ruled in favor of the Philippines in its historic case against China over the West Philippine Sea. China, which refused to recognize the proceedings, rejected the ruling.
Engage all stakeholders
Echoing the position taken by the previous administration, which was at odds with China over its decision to bring that country to court, Yasay said the sea row was just "a small portion" of the Philippines' overall relationship with China.
The Philippine official explained that the best route would be to engage all stakeholders, "including China, our neighbors in pursuing other interests that include trade, investment, infrastructure development, cultural exchanges, people-to-people contact."
Yasay "said a natural effect of engaging China in other areas of concern will precisely open the door, open unconditional discussions into this dispute with the view of resolving the dispute peacefully."
Linking this to Ramos' mission, Yasay said: "This is the kind of job and special authority on the part of President Ramos to pursue. It has nothing to do with engaging China in these bilateral talks with respect to the South China Sea disputes. "
Upon Duterte's instructions, Ramos went to Hong Kong in early August to meet with his "old Chinese friends." The former president described the meeting as just an "icebreaker." (READ: When the Philippines sang, danced with China on a Manila Bay cruise)
At the CSIS forum, Yasay expressed hope that Ramos will be named the country's official special envoy "with respect to the areas of concern that relate to what we should promote as our relationship with China."
"We would hope that this would open the doors for more openness to talk without any conditions about how we will resolve our dispute with respect to the South China Sea," he said.
Apparently alluding to the Philippines' long-standing ties with the United States, which seemed to be taking a different route under the Duterte administration, Yasay stressed that forging stronger ties with China, among others, did not mean that the Philippines was "alienating the other." (READ: Duterte attacks US, praises China)
"I'd like to just emphasize that even as we would like to forge closer relationships with our neighbors with China, with the rest of ASEAN…it does not necessarily mean that forging a closer relationship with one is alienating the other," he said.
"This is precisely what he (Duterte) means in the context of saying that we must pursue an independent foreign policy. That is what our Constitution mandates, and to pursue amity with all nations," he added.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/146392-yasay-china-no-bilateral-talks-south-china-sea
Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr tells a forum in Washington DC that the Philippines and China have different standpoints on the context of such bilateral discussions
ABOUT CHINA AND THE PHILIPPINES. Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, Jr discusses bilateral talks with China at a forum in Washington DC on September 15, 2016. Screen shot from YouTube.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr said late Thursday, September 15, that the Philippines is not prepared to have bilateral discussions with China over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute.
Yasay, who is in the United States primarily for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, made the statement at a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC.
Amy Searight, CSIS Senior Adviser and Director for the Southeast Asia Program, asked Yasay about the Philippines' next steps on its sea row with the regional giant following President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to tap former president Fidel Ramos as a special envoy to break the ice with China.
Yasay responded, "We are not, at this point in time, prepared to sit down with China on bilateral engagements with respect to our dispute in the South China Sea until and unless both parties are prepared to sit down and discuss this matter."
He explained that the Philippines and China have different standpoints on the context of such bilateral discussions.
"To begin with, we cannot proceed on engaging China in bilateral talks where China says that it can only talk outside of the framework of the arbitral tribunal's decision, in the same way that the Philippines is insisting that if we talk, we should only talk within the framework of the arbitral tribunal's decision," Yasay said.
In July, an arbitral tribunal in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands, ruled in favor of the Philippines in its historic case against China over the West Philippine Sea. China, which refused to recognize the proceedings, rejected the ruling.
Engage all stakeholders
Echoing the position taken by the previous administration, which was at odds with China over its decision to bring that country to court, Yasay said the sea row was just "a small portion" of the Philippines' overall relationship with China.
The Philippine official explained that the best route would be to engage all stakeholders, "including China, our neighbors in pursuing other interests that include trade, investment, infrastructure development, cultural exchanges, people-to-people contact."
Yasay "said a natural effect of engaging China in other areas of concern will precisely open the door, open unconditional discussions into this dispute with the view of resolving the dispute peacefully."
Linking this to Ramos' mission, Yasay said: "This is the kind of job and special authority on the part of President Ramos to pursue. It has nothing to do with engaging China in these bilateral talks with respect to the South China Sea disputes. "
Upon Duterte's instructions, Ramos went to Hong Kong in early August to meet with his "old Chinese friends." The former president described the meeting as just an "icebreaker." (READ: When the Philippines sang, danced with China on a Manila Bay cruise)
At the CSIS forum, Yasay expressed hope that Ramos will be named the country's official special envoy "with respect to the areas of concern that relate to what we should promote as our relationship with China."
"We would hope that this would open the doors for more openness to talk without any conditions about how we will resolve our dispute with respect to the South China Sea," he said.
Apparently alluding to the Philippines' long-standing ties with the United States, which seemed to be taking a different route under the Duterte administration, Yasay stressed that forging stronger ties with China, among others, did not mean that the Philippines was "alienating the other." (READ: Duterte attacks US, praises China)
"I'd like to just emphasize that even as we would like to forge closer relationships with our neighbors with China, with the rest of ASEAN…it does not necessarily mean that forging a closer relationship with one is alienating the other," he said.
"This is precisely what he (Duterte) means in the context of saying that we must pursue an independent foreign policy. That is what our Constitution mandates, and to pursue amity with all nations," he added.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/146392-yasay-china-no-bilateral-talks-south-china-sea
Left protests at US embassy to mark kickout of US bases
From InterAksyon (Sep 16): Left protests at US embassy to mark kickout of US bases
Activists face off with police before managing to slip through for a protest in front of the US embassy to mark the 25th anniversary when the Senate voted to oust American military bases from the country. (photo courtesy of Obet de Castro)
Leftist groups led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan protested at the US embassy in Manila to mark the 25th anniversary of the Senate’s historic rejection of a new military bases treaty and voice support for Rodrigo Duterte’s plans to pursue an independent foreign policy.
"It is only fitting that 25 years after the historic bases treaty rejection, a Philippine president has sought to implement an independent foreign policy. It's about time,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement.
“The Philippines must break free from neo-colonial relations with the US. All unequal agreements should be terminated. All forms of intervention should stop. Only then can we truly develop as a nation," he said.
In 1991, 12 senators voted to reject a new bases agreement, ending more than four decades of US military presence in its former colony.
However, American troops have since returned through the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement and have been allowed increased presence and the use of local military facilities through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Recently, Duterte, piqued over criticism of the extrajudicial killings that have accompanied his administration’s war on drugs, has lashed out at the Americans for atrocities committed when they ruled the country, and has said he wants US troops out of Mindanao.
However, his spokesmen say he intends to honor treaties and has no intentions of breaking ties with the US.
Nationalists have called on Duterte to abrogate what they call the unequal defense pacts with the US.
"If Duterte would be serious and thoroughgoing in his assertion of national sovereignty, he will solidify the support of millions of Filipinos who have long demanded genuine freedom from foreign domination,” Reyes said.
“We join Duterte in holding the US to account for atrocities committed during its colonization of the Philippines. We support his call for the withdrawal of US troops from Mindanao. However, he must go further if he truly wants to pursue an independent foreign policy," he added.
To make good his intentions to pursue an independent foreign policy, Bayan said Duterte must, among others, scrap all military agreements and end joint military exercises with the US; probe the alleged abuses of US troops, including their supposed participation in the January 2015 Mamasapano incident; assert the country’s rights in the West Philippine Sea without American intervention; and “denouncing wars of intervention led by the US.”
http://interaksyon.com/article/132491/left-protests-at-us-embassy-to-mark-kickout-of-us-bases
Activists face off with police before managing to slip through for a protest in front of the US embassy to mark the 25th anniversary when the Senate voted to oust American military bases from the country. (photo courtesy of Obet de Castro)
Leftist groups led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan protested at the US embassy in Manila to mark the 25th anniversary of the Senate’s historic rejection of a new military bases treaty and voice support for Rodrigo Duterte’s plans to pursue an independent foreign policy.
"It is only fitting that 25 years after the historic bases treaty rejection, a Philippine president has sought to implement an independent foreign policy. It's about time,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement.
“The Philippines must break free from neo-colonial relations with the US. All unequal agreements should be terminated. All forms of intervention should stop. Only then can we truly develop as a nation," he said.
In 1991, 12 senators voted to reject a new bases agreement, ending more than four decades of US military presence in its former colony.
However, American troops have since returned through the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement and have been allowed increased presence and the use of local military facilities through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Recently, Duterte, piqued over criticism of the extrajudicial killings that have accompanied his administration’s war on drugs, has lashed out at the Americans for atrocities committed when they ruled the country, and has said he wants US troops out of Mindanao.
However, his spokesmen say he intends to honor treaties and has no intentions of breaking ties with the US.
Nationalists have called on Duterte to abrogate what they call the unequal defense pacts with the US.
"If Duterte would be serious and thoroughgoing in his assertion of national sovereignty, he will solidify the support of millions of Filipinos who have long demanded genuine freedom from foreign domination,” Reyes said.
“We join Duterte in holding the US to account for atrocities committed during its colonization of the Philippines. We support his call for the withdrawal of US troops from Mindanao. However, he must go further if he truly wants to pursue an independent foreign policy," he added.
To make good his intentions to pursue an independent foreign policy, Bayan said Duterte must, among others, scrap all military agreements and end joint military exercises with the US; probe the alleged abuses of US troops, including their supposed participation in the January 2015 Mamasapano incident; assert the country’s rights in the West Philippine Sea without American intervention; and “denouncing wars of intervention led by the US.”
http://interaksyon.com/article/132491/left-protests-at-us-embassy-to-mark-kickout-of-us-bases
Army violated ceasefire with arrest of elderly ex-guerrilla - Kalinga NPA
From InterAksyon (Sep 16): Army violated ceasefire with arrest of elderly ex-guerrilla - Kalinga NPA
Communist rebels in Kalinga province accused the Army of violating the government’s unilateral ceasefire with the arrest of a 73-year old former guerrilla during “law enforcement operation” last weekend.
Ka Tipon Gil-ayab, spokesman of the Lejo Cawilan Command of the New People’s Army, said troops of the 50th Infantry Battalion illegally arrested 73-year old Marcos Aggalao, who was known as “Ka Munroe” in the revolutionary movement but retired in 2012 because of old age.
Aggalao was arrested in Sitio Dalyagan, Barangay Gawaan in Balbalan town the afternoon of September 11.
Aside from his age, he suffers from hypertension and ulcers, Gil-ayab said.
The old man’s arrest, said the rebel spokesman, violated the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law because his age and ailments, and the fact that he is no longer a combatant, classified him as “hors de combat.”
He also accused the Army of fabricating criminal charges against Aggalao and said this was tantamount to sabotaging the recently resumed peace negotiations between the government and National Democratic Front of the Philippines, which represents the rebels.
Both sides have declared indefinite unilateral ceasefires and have committed to working towards a bilateral ceasefire during the next round of talks resume next month.
Gil-ayab urged authorities to release Aggalao in the spirt of the peace talks and on the Army and government militias to suspend all armed operations.
http://interaksyon.com/article/132494/army-violated-ceasefire-with-arrest-of-elderly-ex-guerrilla---kalinga-npa
Communist rebels in Kalinga province accused the Army of violating the government’s unilateral ceasefire with the arrest of a 73-year old former guerrilla during “law enforcement operation” last weekend.
Ka Tipon Gil-ayab, spokesman of the Lejo Cawilan Command of the New People’s Army, said troops of the 50th Infantry Battalion illegally arrested 73-year old Marcos Aggalao, who was known as “Ka Munroe” in the revolutionary movement but retired in 2012 because of old age.
Aggalao was arrested in Sitio Dalyagan, Barangay Gawaan in Balbalan town the afternoon of September 11.
Aside from his age, he suffers from hypertension and ulcers, Gil-ayab said.
The old man’s arrest, said the rebel spokesman, violated the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law because his age and ailments, and the fact that he is no longer a combatant, classified him as “hors de combat.”
He also accused the Army of fabricating criminal charges against Aggalao and said this was tantamount to sabotaging the recently resumed peace negotiations between the government and National Democratic Front of the Philippines, which represents the rebels.
Both sides have declared indefinite unilateral ceasefires and have committed to working towards a bilateral ceasefire during the next round of talks resume next month.
Gil-ayab urged authorities to release Aggalao in the spirt of the peace talks and on the Army and government militias to suspend all armed operations.
http://interaksyon.com/article/132494/army-violated-ceasefire-with-arrest-of-elderly-ex-guerrilla---kalinga-npa
Troops arrest Abu Sayyaf bandit in Zamboanga City
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 16): Troops arrest Abu Sayyaf bandit in Zamboanga City
ZAMBOANGA
CITY --
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=923573
Chief Supt. Billy Beltran, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9)
director, identified the arrested bandit as Abdul Munab Maani alias Tanong
Handos, 43, a native of Jolo, Sulu.
Beltran said Maani was arrested at a private wharf around 3
p.m. Thursday in Barangay Baliwasan, this city.
Beltran said Maani, who is presently residing in Tigtabon Island ,
this city, is facing seven-count charges for kidnapping and serious illegal
detention in a court in Isabela
City
He said the case against Maani stemmed from his alleged
involvement in the kidnapping of workers at the Golden Harvest Plantation in
Barangay Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan in June 2001.
He said Maani has standing warrant of arrest for seven-count
kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=923573
DND in the market for FA-50PH countermeasures munition
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 16): DND in the market for FA-50PH countermeasures munition
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=923528
The Department of National Defense (DND) is allocating the
sum of PHP33,702,286 for the acquisition of countermeasures munition for its
FA-50PH jet fighters to protect it from hostile radar tracking and fire.
Money will be sourced from the AFP Modernization Trust Act
Fund.
To be acquired are 17,280 RR-170 Chaffs and 8,640 MJU-7 IR
Flares (with impulse cartridges) for the Countermeasure Dispenser System (Elbit
Elisra SPS-45v5EX) installed in the FA-50PH with the corresponding initial
integrated logistics support for the Philippine Air Force.
Delivery of the goods shall be in two batches. The first
batch shall be delivered within 180 calendar days period from the receipt of
Notice to Proceed and the second batch shall be delivered within 360 calendar
days.
Bidders should have completed, within the last 10 years from
the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the project.
Pre-bid conference is scheduled for Sept. 25, 9: 30 a.m. at
the DND Bids and Awards Committee Conference Room, Right Wing Basement, DND Building ,
Camp Aguinaldo ,
Quezon City
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=923528
AFP: No info on terrorist allegedly killed by Matobato
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 16): AFP: No info on terrorist allegedly killed by Matobato
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Friday it has no records nor information on the existence of a certain Sali Mukham, an alleged international terrorist executed by controversial witness Edgar Matobato and other purported members of the "Davao Death Squad" in 2002.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=923599
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Friday it has no records nor information on the existence of a certain Sali Mukham, an alleged international terrorist executed by controversial witness Edgar Matobato and other purported members of the "Davao Death Squad" in 2002.
"With regards to one Sali Makdum, we have verified our
records, I have just consulted with our personnel and office in charge of files
like these and based on their records, there is no Sali Makdum in their list of
terrorists," AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said in
Filipino.
Matobato earlier said he and other members of the
"Davao Death Squad" abducted Makdum in Samal Island
"You can make your own conclusion, but what the AFP can
say is that, we have no terrorist by that name in our list," Arevalo
stressed.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=923599
Troops told to maintain, clean weapons even during operations
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 16): Troops told to maintain, clean weapons even during operations
The Philippine Army (PA) has reminded its troops to always
clean and maintain their weapons and equipment properly, even during military
operations.
The Army issued the reminder after it was found out that
accumulated dirt in its R4A3 carbine rifles prevented the weapon from firing
efficiently during the Aug. 29 encounter with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Patikul,
Sulu, causing 15 deaths and 10 wounded among government troops.
“We have already directed our operating troops to follow
strictly the maintenance procedures of all our firearms and ammunition,” Army
spokesperson Col. Benjamin Hao explained.
He noted that even quality equipment need cleaning and maintenance
to function properly.
"Most of the rifles inspected by our firearms experts
were full of dirt. After applying proper maintenance procedures, all rifles
functioned well except for one M-14 rifle that has a destroyed barrel part,”
Hao said.
He said the Army has sent a team of rifle experts to check
the veracity of the alleged stoppages of the R4A3 carbine rifles, a K-3 squad
automatic weapon, and an M-14 rifle during the encounter of the 35th Infantry
Battalion with the bandits.
The team collected eight R4A3s, the K-3 squad automatic
rifle and an M-14 rifle which allegedly malfunctioned, as reported by the unit
using them during the encounter.
Initial tests made by the team showed that indeed, rifles
that were not cleaned did not function when used.
However, after proper maintenance procedures were applied,
all rifles functioned well.
“Our conclusion is that the problem is not about the rifles.
The prevailing weather and sustained ongoing operations against the Abu Sayyaf
partly affected the proper maintenance and care of the soldiers’ rifles,” Hao
said.
There was also an alleged problem with old ammunition used
in R4A3 rifles.
When presented to the firearms experts, the old ammunition
all fired when used in clean rifles.
To remove the apprehension of the soldiers on the ground
about the old bullets despite the test results, the Army decided to issue the
troops new ammunition.
The Army also reminded its troops to return firearms with
broken parts so they could be replaced.
Defense dept approves transfer of high-profile inmates to military facilities
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 16): Defense dept approves transfer of high-profile inmates to military facilities
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=923683
The Department of National Defense (DND) has given the green
light for the transfer of high-profile inmates of the Bureau of Corrections
(BUCOR) to military facilities.
"Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana has favorably
acted on the request of Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II to provide
space for inmates who will be transferred from BUCOR facilities to facilities
under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)," DND public affairs
office chief Arsenio Andolong said in a statement issued Friday.
"BUCOR will be responsible for the transportation,
logistics and resources involved in the transfer of the inmates. BUCOR
personnel will have custody over them while in detention," Andolong said.
Aquirre earlier announced plans to transfer prisoners from
the BUCOR to stop rampant corruption and illegal drugs in its prison facilities.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=923683
Japan to boost South China Sea role with training patrols with U.S. - minister
From ABS-CBN (Sep 16): Japan to boost South China Sea role with training patrols with U.S. - minister
Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada speaks during a news conference after National Security Council (NSC) meeting with prime minister Shinzo Abe and other ministers on a suspected nuclear test by North Korea, at Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Japan, September 9, 2016. Issei Kato, Reuters
Japan will step up its activity in the contested South China Sea through joint training patrols with the United States and bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies, Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said on Thursday.
Inada said in a speech at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank that Japan's increased engagement in the area, where Japan shares U.S. concerns about China's pursuit of extensive territorial claims, would include capacity building for coastal nations.
Inada, whose country has its own dispute with China over territory in the East China Sea, said that if the world condoned attempts to change the rule of law and allowed "rule bending" to succeed, the "consequences could become global."
"In this context, I strongly support the U.S. Navy's freedom-of-navigation operations, which go a long way to upholding the rules-based international maritime order," she said.
"Japan, for its part, will increase its engagement in the South China Sea through, for example, Maritime Self-Defense Force joint training cruises with the U.S. Navy and bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies," she said.
Japan would also help build the capacity of coastal states in the South China Sea, said Inada, before heading for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon.
Japan said this month it was ready to provide Vietnam with new patrol ships, in its latest step to boost the maritime law-enforcement capabilities of countries locked in territorial rows with China.
It also agreed to provide two large patrol ships and lend up to five used surveillance aircraft to the Philippines, another country at odds with China over sovereignty issues in the South China Sea.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/15/16/japan-to-boost-south-china-sea-role-with-training-patrols-with-us-minister
Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada speaks during a news conference after National Security Council (NSC) meeting with prime minister Shinzo Abe and other ministers on a suspected nuclear test by North Korea, at Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Japan, September 9, 2016. Issei Kato, Reuters
Japan will step up its activity in the contested South China Sea through joint training patrols with the United States and bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies, Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said on Thursday.
Inada said in a speech at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank that Japan's increased engagement in the area, where Japan shares U.S. concerns about China's pursuit of extensive territorial claims, would include capacity building for coastal nations.
Inada, whose country has its own dispute with China over territory in the East China Sea, said that if the world condoned attempts to change the rule of law and allowed "rule bending" to succeed, the "consequences could become global."
"In this context, I strongly support the U.S. Navy's freedom-of-navigation operations, which go a long way to upholding the rules-based international maritime order," she said.
"Japan, for its part, will increase its engagement in the South China Sea through, for example, Maritime Self-Defense Force joint training cruises with the U.S. Navy and bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies," she said.
Japan would also help build the capacity of coastal states in the South China Sea, said Inada, before heading for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon.
Japan said this month it was ready to provide Vietnam with new patrol ships, in its latest step to boost the maritime law-enforcement capabilities of countries locked in territorial rows with China.
It also agreed to provide two large patrol ships and lend up to five used surveillance aircraft to the Philippines, another country at odds with China over sovereignty issues in the South China Sea.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/09/15/16/japan-to-boost-south-china-sea-role-with-training-patrols-with-us-minister
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