If China builds in Scarborough Shoal, it would come ‘after G20 summit’

From the South China Morning Post (Aug 13): If China builds in Scarborough Shoal, it would come ‘after G20 summit’ (By Minnie Chan)

Beijing might begin reclamation in the disputed atoll – 230km west of Manila – after leaders gather in Hangzhou next month but before the US presidential election, source says

China will not carry out any reclamation work in the Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea before hosting the G20 summit next month, but it might begin construction before the US presidential election in November, a source familiar with the matter said.

 

Beijing would also avoid taking any provocative action in the shoal right now given the Philippines had expressed a willingness to explore new ways to resolve their dispute, he said.

 

Special Philippine envoy Fidel Ramos wrapped up his ice-breaking trip in Hong Kong on Friday, after meeting representatives of China. Ramos, acting on behalf of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, said Manila wanted formal discussions to avoid further tensions over the South China Sea, where several nations have competing claims.

Philippines wants formal talks to ease tensions with China, says ex-president Ramos

“Since the G20 will be held in Hangzhou next month, and regional peace will be the main topic among leaders of the great powers, China will refrain from [acting on the] reclamation plan,” said the source, who requested anonymity.

 

But Beijing might seize an opportunity to reclaim land at the atoll in the Spratly Islands before the Americans vote for a new president on November 8, he said.

 

A Chinese coastguard boat sprays a water cannon at Philippine fishermen near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in this photo from September last year provided by one of the fishermen. Photo: AP

The atoll, about 230km west of Manila, is claimed by Beijing, Manila and Taipei. Chinese coastguard ships took control of the area in 2012 after a tense stand-off with Philippine vessels.

 

“US President Barack Obama will focus on domestic issues ahead of the election as he needs to pass down legacies before leaving office. That might make him busy and he might not have time to take care of regional security issues,” he said.

 

China has sent more than a dozen security vessels near the shoal in recent weeks, compared with the usual two or three, news site Washington Free Beacon reported, citing US defence officials.

 

China appears to be sending a flotilla of hundreds of fishing vessels to the shoal in an action similar to what is happening in the East China Sea, according to the Beacon.

Has the South China Sea ruling pushed China closer to a future war with the US?

Japanese coastguard officials said they had spotted seven Chinese government vessels and more than 200 fishing vessels operating around the waters of the Diaoyus by Wednesday. The islands are controlled by Japan, which calls them the Senkakus.

 

China’s seasonal moratorium on fishing ended this month, and the nation needed to send warships to the shoal to protect its fishermen, according to Beijing-based military expert Song Zhongping. The security situation in the waters was not safe for Chinese fishing boats after the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague rejected Beijing’s historical claims to the area on July 12, Song said.

 

“Many Philippine fishermen swarmed into the atoll after the unfair ruling, increasing security uncertainties in the waters, which is why the Chinese military has to increase patrols,” Song said.

 

Ramos told a press conference in Hong Kong he discussed the issue of fishing rights in the South China Sea with Fu Ying, the chairwoman of the foreign affairs committee of the National People’s Congress.

 

Ex-interior secretary Rafael Alunan said talks with the Chinese side included the possibility of setting up a “two-track” system that would allow them to cooperate in some areas while separately handling “contentious issues”.

 

Fishermen clean their vessel at a dock in Sanya, in China’s Hainan province in May. China this month ended its seasonal ban on fishing in the South China Sea. Photo: Xinhua

Last week, PLA Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke confirmed Beijing had sent H-6K bombers and Su-30 fighter jets to conduct patrols in the region, including the Scarborough Shoal.

 

The shoal is “one of Beijing’s key strategic positions in the South China Sea ... China will definitely build up maritime security forces on it if other countries, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, start construction projects in the region,” Song said.

 

Professor Wang Hanling, a maritime expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Beacon’s report was aimed at sowing discord between Beijing and Manila, and blamed Washington and Tokyo.

 

“The US and Japan are unhappy to see Ramos’ meeting with senior Chinese diplomat Fu Ying in Hong Kong, worrying Manila is walking too close to Beijing,” Wang said.

 

The source said it was “ a must for China” to build an outpost in the shoal, which would extend the reach of the air force in the region by at least 1,000km and close a gap in coverage off Luzon, the gateway to the Pacific.

 

The source added that China should build an airstrip on the shoal and establish an early warning system on Macclesfield Bank, just east of the Paracels. Doing so would allow China “to keep an eye” on the US naval base at Guam.

 

The Pentagon said last month that it would replace B-52 bombers at the base with the more advanced B-1 bombers, with the deployment slated for last Saturday.

 

China can already land aircraft at Woody Island, and three additional airstrips are believed to have been built at Mischief, Fiery Cross and Subi reefs in the Spratlys.

 

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than US$5 trillion in annual trade passes. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have rival claims.

 

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2003354/if-china-builds-scarborough-shoal-it-would-come-after

Abu Sayyaf terrorists suspected of abducting teacher in Philippines

From United Press International (UPI): Abu Sayyaf terrorists suspected of abducting teacher in Philippines

Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen abducted a public elementary school teacher while she was on her way to work Tuesday in the village of Kanague in Patikul town, in the southern island province of Sulu, police said.

Edrina Manalas Bonsil, 30, was traveling in a Jeep when five gunmen flagged down the vehicle and took her with force around 8 a.m., said Maj. Filemon Tan, Jr., a Western Mindanao Command spokesman. They fled on foot toward the village of Kabbon Takas, also in Patikul.

No one claimed responsibility for the abduction, but police said Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist separatist organization known for violence in the Philippines, may be behind it.

The military official said troops of the Army's 32nd and 10th infantry battalions have launched pursuit operations in a bid to rescue the teacher. A total of 16 people, including Bonsil, are thought to now be in the hands of the jihadist bandits in the Muslim region in Sulu.

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered troops last week to intensify anti-terrorism efforts, including operations against Abu Sayyaf.

Last month, Abu Sayyaf militants abducted at gunpoint three people, including a pregnant woman, from a multi-cab, a light truck used for public transportation, in Timpook.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/08/16/Abu-Sayyaf-terrorists-suspected-of-abducting-teacher-in-Philippines/8541471370618/

Here's How the Philippines can Win in the South China Sea

From Foreign Policy (Aug 16): Here's How the Philippines can Win in the South China Sea (By James Holmes)

A third-century Roman dictator may have the answers.



The Philippine Islands has a problem. It has international law on its side in its quarrel with China over maritime territory, but no policeman walking his beat to enforce the law. That means that, despite an international court’s findings, the dispute over rocks and islands off Philippine shores is far from over. On Aug. 2, China’s defense minister, Chang Wanquan, even said China must prepare for a “people’s war” at sea. That leaves strategy as Manila’s lone recourse; yet China overshadows the Philippines in every imaginable metric of national power.

But as I wrote in 2012, when South China Sea tensions were heating up, while the Philippines has “no chance of winning in combat” with China, “it may win a peacetime confrontation.” The hope for Philippine leaders, then as now, was to conjure the career of Fabius Maximus, the Roman dictator nicknamed “Cunctator,” or “the Delayer.” Fabius advised confounding antagonists through inventive strategy and tactics, constructing alliances to augment strength, and remaining united and resolute at home.

The Delayer spoke from experience. Greek historian Plutarch relates how Fabius envisioned combating Hannibal, who “burst into Italy” across the Alps in 218 B.C. and went on a rampage. Romans, accordingly, granted Fabius emergency powers to repel the threat. Fabius appeared unperturbed despite the menace in Italy’s midst. He reasoned that given time, Rome could amass power sufficient to vanquish the invaders. So he abjured efforts to crush the Carthaginians in an afternoon and postponed a battlefield decision.

The Fabian playbook is essentially this: (1) Exercise self-discipline, subduing your passion for quick victory. Refuse to fight a stronger foe on its own terms. (2) Keep your alliances robust, supplementing your strength. (3) Tend to the home front, sustaining political unity for a prolonged struggle while husbanding the sinews of national power. And (4) be patient. Let the foe exhaust its fervor over time, yielding an acceptable peace.

It’s likely Fabius would have smiled at Manila’s courtroom triumph. It’s precisely the sort of stratagem he would have deployed when confronting a power mismatch.

It’s likely Fabius would have smiled at Manila’s courtroom triumph. It’s precisely the sort of stratagem he would have deployed when confronting a power mismatch. Unable to dissuade a muscle-bound China through diplomatic persuasion or overpower it through economic or military might, Philippine officials took their case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which last month struck down Beijing’s claim to de facto ownership of most of the South China Sea — including much of the Philippine “exclusive economic zone” (EEZ), the offshore belt of sea where coastal states enjoy exclusive rights to harvest natural resources from the water and seafloor. Most strikingly, the jurists pronounced Beijing’s map of Southeast Asia, which bears a “nine-dash line” enclosing most of the South China Sea and delineating waters where China claims “indisputable sovereignty,” as bunk.

Under the doctrine of indisputable sovereignty, China would make the rules governing seaborne endeavors in the South China Sea. The logic behind China’s stance was simple: the warrior who does battle on unfamiliar ground fights at a marked disadvantage relative to the warrior fighting on home ground. China wants to keep prospective foes like the U.S. Navy from knowing the theater’s physical terrain and underwater geography, and to keep them from working with Southeast Asian allies before the outbreak of war. If successful, it can cripple its rivals operationally.

But while the UNCLOS tribunal ruled China’s overreach unlawful, the court has no enforcement arm. China refused to take part in the legal proceedings, rejected the ruling, and, for good measure, flew a nuclear-capable bomber over Scarborough Shoal afterward, which the Chinese coast-guard vessels wrested from the Philippine Navy four years ago, precipitating the dispute.

Confronted with Chinese intransigence, Philippine leaders need to go back to Fabius’ playbook.

Having seized control of the narrative, for one thing, Manila must hang onto it. China wages “three warfares” 24/7/365, employing media, psychological, and legal outlets to mold opinion in its favor. The Philippines must reply in kind, telling its story well and telling it often. The UNCLOS tribunal ruling should become a standard talking point.

And spokesmen must fold pictures and video into Philippine public diplomacy. I am a close watcher of South China Sea issues, but I have yet to unearth a slick, visually impressive statement about the problem and how Philippine policy addresses it. For instance, Manila’s initial official account of the Scarborough Shoal standoff, dating from April 2012, shows a few grainy pictures of boats containing contraband coral, clams, and sharks harvested from the waters around the shoal. There is nothing to put the standoff in context — say, by showing the Philippine Navy facing off against Chinese fishing and law-enforcement vessels. Nor does the shoal itself appear. That set an unfortunate pattern for Philippine public diplomacy from then until now. Manila must show people what China is doing and, in the case of fellow Asian powers, remind them they may be next if China gets away with grabbing something just because it can.

Second, Fabius beseeched Rome to nurture its alliances, a major reserve of Roman power. Manila must likewise aim its opinion-shaping efforts at current and prospective partners. It has no military option of its own. After all, the Philippine Navy is centered on three elderly U.S. Coast Guard cutters painted gray and renamed frigates. China’s navy would make short work of them in battle.

In this regard, multinational bodies offer little promise. The UN Security Council could act. But China is a permanent member of the Security Council, wielding veto power over any resolution. ASEAN could act, but it isn’t a military alliance, and its members make decisions by consensus in any event. (Just last month, Cambodia nixed an effort to release a joint statement heralding the UNCLOS tribunal’s decision.)

That leaves formal or informal alliances. A mutual defense treaty has bound the United States to the Philippine Islands since 1951. The pact obliges America to defend not just the main islands but “island territories under [Manila’s] jurisdiction.” Washington has inched closer and closer to declaring that the treaty applies to offshore islands and atolls, as well as underwater features such as Scarborough Shoal. But it hasn’t quite gotten there. Until then, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte should beware of hinting that he might barter away the contested territory, which is one very plausible outcome of one-on-one negotiations. Why would the U.S. bother defending something its ally might give away? Stand firm, Mr. President — and let friendly powers see you do so.
 That will help with Fabius’ third strategic imperative: steadying the home front for a long struggle.

The Philippine electorate, like those anywhere, will come down hard on national leaders who appear to be dickering away sovereign rights and dignity.

The Philippine electorate, like those anywhere, will come down hard on national leaders who appear to be dickering away sovereign rights and dignity. The good news is that Duterte appears to have internalized this lesson since taking office. In the wake of the UNCLOS tribunal’s ruling, Duterte told a visiting U.S. congressional delegation that the court’s decision is “non-negotiable.” That’s a message that will resonate with Philippine constituents as well as abroad.

Lastly, Fabius would counsel Philippine leaders to protract the competition until China’s fervor subsides. How long will that take, and will China abandon its aims at all? It’s hard to see how Beijing could ever formally give them up. Chinese Communist Party leaders staked national dignity and prestige on an empty claim to ownership of the maritime common. They portrayed the common as sacred territory that has belonged to China since antiquity, and made themselves accountable to nationalist sentiment — which they themselves set ablaze.

The best the Philippines and its friends can hope for is that Beijing will mellow out over time. It can never cancel its maritime claims altogether, for fear of fueling popular fury. But it could, perhaps, shelve them quietly for the sake of regional amity — as party potentates like Deng Xiaoping once did. Beijing could stop pressing its claims day in and day out.

To be sure, students of Roman history would affix a coda to all of this, pointing out that Fabius didn’t win Rome’s war against Hannibal; Cornelius Scipio did. Fabian strategy wasn’t enough. Fabius had to defend himself constantly from hotheads thirsting for decisive victory, and Florentine philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli opined that Fabius proved unable to escape his defensive-minded instincts. Rome needed a Scipio: a brash, offensive-minded, risk-taking commander. Scipio carried the fight across the Mediterranean Sea, marching on Carthage itself. Scipio’s army crushed Hannibal in North Africa, at the Battle of Zama, putting an end to the Second Punic War and earning the honorific Africanus for his exploits.

That endgame hints at the frustrations awaiting Manila. With no Scipio in waiting, Manila must resign itself indefinitely to stalling tactics. It must be more Fabian than Rome was, placing heavy emphasis on its alliances.

Then again, lesser antagonists have used just this strategy many times over the centuries, sometimes with rousing success. Look no farther than American shores. In 1777, Alexander Hamilton — who served on George Washington’s staff and reformed the Continental Army before becoming a star of stage and screen — boasted to Robert Livingston about the army’s “Fabian conduct.” Rather than offer battle, and perhaps lose the Revolutionary War in an afternoon, Hamilton urged American forces to “perplex and fret” the redcoats. In so doing, Washington & Co. would “precipitate” British commanders “into measures” that Americans could “turn to good account.”
“Our business,” concluded Hamilton, “is to avoid a general engagement and waste the enemy away by constantly goading their sides, in a desultory teasing way.” In the meantime, the colonists tapped European help to construct a fighting force capable of facing British redcoats.

Speaking of America: if a Scipio-like commander capable of deterring or vanquishing China appears, it will probably be in the form of an American naval commander. That should concentrate minds in Manila. Staying on good terms with one’s superpower patron is sound strategy. Reassuring Washington of Philippine steadfastness, liberalizing U.S. military access to bases close to likely scenes of action, and widening Manila’s circle of allies represent obvious steps for Duterte and his advisers.

 

Entrusting vital interests to foreigners is less than satisfying for a proud society like the Philippines. The Philippines would surely have preferred to declare victory after years of Fabian strategy yielded a legal ruling starkly in Manila’s favor. But such is life when small powers square off against big ones. It’s time to dust off the Fabian playbook once again.

 

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/08/16/how-the-philippines-can-win-in-the-south-china-sea-fabius-rome-trickery/

BIFF blamed for failed drug raid

From the Manila Times (Aug 15): BIFF blamed for failed drug raid

Authorities are eyeing members of the jihadist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) for sabotaging a drug raid in Cotabato that resulted in the killing of four government forces and the wounding of eight others.

The predawn raid on Sunday on known lairs of the BIFF in Liguasan Marsh, along the border of the provinces of North Cotabato and Maguindanao, was conducted in wake of reports that the jihadists and other radical groups have teamed up with drug syndicates to counter law-enforcement operations.

Combined forces of the police and the military swooped down on Sitio Ipil-Ipil in Barangay Nabalawag, Midsayap town at about 4:30 a.m., supposedly to serve search warrants for illegal drugs against Moks Masgal, alias Commander Mabrook, a former member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The raiding team was met with a volley of gunfire from .50 caliber machine guns, prompting them to fire back.

The team had to request air bombardment support at the height of the firefight.

Killed in the clash were Police Officer 3 Darwin Espallardo of North Cotabato police; Cpl. Jose Miravalles and Private First Class (Pfc) Jaypee Duran, both of Division Reconnaissance Company; and an unidentified military guide.

The military identified only five of the eight wounded in action as Sgt. Arinio Grafil, Cpl. Diocesar Espanola, Pfc. Romnick Clerigo and Privates Normel Grande and Edgar Gegone, all of the 6th Division Reconnaissance Company.

Col. Manolo Samarita, commander of the Philippine Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade based in Cotabato, said the suspects and Mabrook, who were able to escape, are members of the BIFF, not the MILF that has signed an interim peace agreement with the government.

The MILF had said it supports the government’s campaign against proliferation of illegal drugs.

The BIFF, which rejected the Mindanao peace process, is a splinter group of the MILF and among jihadist groups in the country that had pledged allegiance to the international extremist group Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria).

Earlier, Director General Ronald dela Rosa, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, revealed that drug lords have tied up with the local affiliate of the ISIS and the BIFF allegedly to kill him and President Rodrigo Duterte.

The claim was, however, denied by the BIFF and other radical groups in southern Mindanao, saying drug addiction is completely haram or prohibited in the Islamic religion.

The radical groups, however, admitted that some of their members have a history of drug addiction but have since been subjected to “ideological reform.”

http://www.manilatimes.net/biff-blamed-for-failed-drug-raid/280160/

Opinion: NPA’s popularity fast declining

From the On Target column by Ramon Tulfo in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Aug 16): NPA’s popularity fast declining

MALACAÑANG has denied the claim of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that the Duterte administration’s war on drugs is “antipeople and antidemocratic.”

The CPP fails to see the beneficial effects of the antidrug campaign on the people in the barrios where members of the New People Army (NPA) hold sway.

Many farmers in remote barrios or barangays have stopped raising chickens, pigs or goats because drug addicts steal them to buy “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride).

Even the carabao, a farm animal used in plowing the field, is not spared by drug-driven thieves.

Many a barrio lass would rather go to the city to find employment as housemaids than marry the barrio swain who has become addicted to shabu.

Worse, these young maidens leave their rural homes to escape being preyed upon by drug addicts.

Most crimes of rape or murder in remote barrios were committed by men who were “high” on shabu.

The NPAs, who used to be the refuge of barrio folk victimized by people who stole their cattle, carabaos, pigs, goats and chickens, are now too busy collecting “revolutionary tax” from big plantations and mine sites to go after village villains.

***
From where I sit, I can see the popularity of the NPA fast declining among the barrio folk.

Its raids on plantations and mining sites which refuse to pay them revolutionary tax are affecting the barrio folk who work in those facilities.

The closure of the Dole-Stanfilco banana plantation in Surigao del Sur because of NPA attacks has rendered 3,000 people jobless.

Multiply Dole-Stanfilco by 100 and you will see the gravity of the problem the NPAs have created among barrio folk.

They are beginning to realize that the NPAs are no longer their saviors but oppressors.

Soon, barrio people will stop hiding the NPAs from government troops and instead report their presence in their locality.

***
Mark my words: Very soon, the same barrio folk will ask the government to arm them so they can shoot down the NPAs who come to their village to forage for food.

Also very soon, the NPAs will seek to talk peace with the government to escape the wrath of the barrio people.

The government will just have to wait for that time to come because it will surely come. Very soon.

***
The Duterte administration will give much more credence to its antidrug campaign if politicians and media or show biz personalities linked to the illicit drug trade are not treated with kid gloves.

If reports of their involvement are found to be reliable, why should they be treated differently from the unshod drug pushers?

In fact, these politicians and showbiz personalities have destroyed more lives than smalltime pushers because they use their power and influence.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/806476/npas-popularity-fast-declining

Army to give full honors to ‘legendary’ officer

From the Manila Times (Aug 15): Army to give full honors to ‘legendary’ officer

FULL military honors will be given to a former Philippine Army commander described by his colleagues as one of the “legendary” artillery officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) who died over the weekend.

The remains of retired Maj. Gen. Rodolfo Canieso are expected to arrive at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) on August 18, said Col. Benjamin Hao, Army spokesman.

Canieso, who gained fame at the height of the government’s campaign against separatist rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), died on August 13 in Bacolod City (Negros Occidental). He was 84.

His remains lie in state at Saint Peter Chapel in Alihis, Bacolod City.

Interment at the Libingan ng mga Bayani is tentatively scheduled for August 21.

Hao said the Army will provide all necessary military honors for the former Army commander such as vigil, bugler and drummer, firing party, military host and pallbearers, escort and transportation, and arrival and departure honors.

Canieso’s remains will be laid to rest in Section 20 of the cemetery where generals and flag officers-in-command are buried.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1956, Canieso was the 28th commanding general of the Philippine Army, who served from February 28, 1986 to July 1, 1987 during the administration of President Cora- zon Aquino.

Credited for liberating Jolo (Sulu) from the MNLF fighters who took over Sulu’s capital town, he was also among the generals cited for his role in crushing mutineers during coup attempts against the Aquino administration.

http://www.manilatimes.net/army-to-give-full-honors-to-legendary-officer/280170/

Army ensures security in Negros Island Region despite pullout of troops

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 16): Army ensures security in Negros Island Region despite pullout of troops

The Philippine Army has assured Negrenses that the scheduled pull out of the 11th Infantry Battalion from Negros Island Region will not affect its internal security operations.

Second Lt. Ma. Revekka Roperos, public information officer of 303rd Infantry Brigade, said about 400 soldiers of the Negros Oriental-based 11th IB will be deployed to Mindanao anytime soon.

The troops, headed by Lt. Col. Eugene Badua, are based in Guihulngan City.

They will beef up forces in the Western Mindanao Command headquartered in Zamboanga City, Roperos said.

She added that the transfer of the 11th IB will not affect the security operations in the region as remaining troops will continue to conduct Bayanihan activities in the communities.

The army detachment will remain in Guihulngan City, which will be manned by combined forces of the 62nd IB and 79th IB.

The other remaining battalion under the 303rd Battalion is the 47th IB based in Negros Occidental.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=914434

AFP, PNP to meet with Cebu City this week to discuss 'joint patrols'

From Rappler (Aug 16): AFP, PNP to meet with Cebu City this week to discuss 'joint patrols'

The joint meeting will set guidelines for joint patrols between PNP and the military   



SECURITY MEETING. Vice Mayor Edgar Labella (2nd bfrom left) speaks with PNP officials on the anti-drug campaign in Cebu City. The council is set to meet with AFP officials on conducting joint patrols in the city. Photo from Vice Mayor Edgar Labella's Facebook page

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Representatives from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Cebu City Council will meet this week to discuss plans on joint patrols in the city. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 17.

On August 2, the council passed a resolution requesting help from the AFP to 'increase visibility in Cebu City.'

The resolution was authored by Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak. He said that the AFP and PNP both were open to the idea. Specifics of how many troops can be deployed, when they can be deployed, as well as other details will be discussed during the meeting.

"The purpose is to increase visibility of police patrols and ensure the safety of Cebu City residents," Tumulak said.

The resolution asked that more military be present in public places like "markets, land and sea ports, terminals, wharfs, ferries, public parks, beaches, squares, malls, and barangays."

Tumulak said the patrols would be in "close coordination with the Cebu City government."

The resolution read: "Recent events in the city reported in the media indicate a high level of prohibited drugs to the commission of other crimes against persons and properties. The number of drug users and psuhers who surrendered to the authorities and the number of those killed due to drug-related crimes are too telling to be ignored."

The resolution has some residents worried of Cebu City becoming a militarized area despite no insurgencies nor acts of terrorism having occurred in the city in recent history. But Tumulak said that these issues would "be addressed" during the planning meeting.

"The purpose is just to increase visibility and assist the police," he said.

According to the regional police office in the Central Visayas, at least 54 drug suspects have been killed in legitimate anti-drug operations in the region, while over 45 have been killed by "unknown assailants"

He also clarified that the resolution is unrelated to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña's recent conflicts with the PNP. "The resolution was passed before that incident," Tumulak said.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/143275-afp-patrol-pnp-cebu-city

Pinay officer named best student at UK naval college

From InterAksyon (Aug 16): Pinay officer named best student at UK naval college

A Filipina navy officer, the only female in a batch of 131, has been recognized as the best international student during their passing-out parade at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, United Kingdom.

Of the 20 foreign cadets admitted to the BRNC this year, only 10, including Ensign Maycee Angga, made it to graduation, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The other officers in this year’s batch, who graduated August 11, are from Albania, the Bahamas, Egypt, Libya, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine and the UK.

Angga was also the first Filipino to attend and complete the 30-week training course at BRNC with the support of the Philippine Navy and the UK government, the DFA said.

The intensive training included a study visit to France, and a three-week ship acquaint where Angga was assigned to HMS Bulwark, an amphibious assault ship operating in UK waters.

Consul Rommel Romato, who represented the Philippine embassy at the passing-out, relayed Ambassador to the UK Evan Garcia’s congratulations to Angga.

The BRNC was established in 1863 as the initial officer training establishment of the British Royal Navy.

http://interaksyon.com/article/131469/pinay-officer-named-best-student-at-uk-naval-college

Indonesia actively involved in resolving South China Sea disputes - Widodo

From InterAksyon (Aug 16): Indonesia actively involved in resolving South China Sea disputes - Widodo



Indonesia is actively involved in resolving territorial disputes in the South China Sea, President Joko Widodo said in a prepared state address on Tuesday.

An arbitration court in The Hague last month ruled that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court's authority.

"Indonesia continues to be actively involved in conflict resolution in the South China Sea through peaceful negotiations after," Widodo said, referring directly to the ruling.

"We continue to push for peaceful resolutions to international conflicts," he said in a speech marking Indonesia's independence day, which falls on Wednesday.

Widodo also called for police and judicial reform to boost legal certainty in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

http://interaksyon.com/article/131473/indonesia-actively-involved-in-resolving-south-china-sea-disputes---widodo

Sayyafs seize teacher in Philippines

From the Mindanao Examiner (Aug 16): Sayyafs seize teacher in Philippines
  

Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen abducted a public school teacher on Tuesday while one her way to work in the town of Patikul in the southern province of Sulu in the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, police said.

It said Edrina Manalas Bonsil, who teaches at the Tuup Elementary School, was travelling on a jeep when 5 gunmen flagged down the vehicle in Kanague village and forcibly dragged her out and taken by the gang.

No individual claimed responsibility for the abduction, but police said the Abu Sayyaf may be behind it.

There was no immediate statement from the Department of Education in the autonomous region, but the military said the operation against the Abu Sayyaf is continuing in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under Muslim region, where the jihadist group is still holding over a dozen foreign hostages kidnapped off Sabah.

Just last month, Abu Sayyaf militants also seized 3 people, including a pregnant woman, on a village in Patikul town. The victims Shariff Julhasan Abirin, Levi Gonzales and his pregnant wife Daniela Taruc, were onboard a multi-cab when gunmen flagged down the vehicle on the village of Timpook and seized them.

The gunmen threatened to behead Gonzales – who works as a technician for Globe Telecom – if their demand for P1 million ransoms is not paid by the company. His wife was only accompanying him when gunmen seized them. There was no immediate statement from the telecom giant, but it is unlikely to pay ransom to the Abu Sayyaf for Gonzales’ life.

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered troops last week to intensify their anti-terrorism campaign, including operations against the Abu Sayyaf which is still holding more than a dozen mostly Asian hostages in the restive Muslim region.

http://mindanaoexaminer.com/sayyafs-seize-teacher-in-philippines/

Military trumpets anti-Sayyaf ops in Basilan

From the Mindanao Examiner (Aug 16): Military trumpets anti-Sayyaf ops in Basilan







Special Forces’ soldiers during their operation in Basilan province in the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines in these undated photos released by the Western Mindanao Command.

The Philippine military on Tuesday trumpeted the capture of several Abu Sayyaf hideouts in the continuing operations against the ISIS-affiliate jihadist group, blamed for the spate of ransom kidnappings in the troubled Muslim region in the South.

The Western Mindanao Command, a key military base in the port city of Zamboanga, claimed at least 45 Abu Sayyaf fighters had been slain in fierce clashes in Basilan, but its officials provided no proofs that such a huge number of jihadist were killed in the battle except for unverified intelligence reports.

Security officials said the hideout in Tipo-Tipo town had been captured by the army’s Special Forces and Light Armor Cavalry under the Joint Task Force Basilan where the elite troops recovered improvised explosives.

Soldiers also discovered bunkers, tunnels and foxholes in the village called Silangkum which can accommodate dozens of Abu Sayyaf fighters.

The jihadists managed to escape even before security forces could reach the area, according to officials, who said the number of casualties was killed over a month-long assault in the towns of Tipo-Tipo, Al-Barka, Tuburan, Maluso, Lantawan and Hadji Mutamad.

http://mindanaoexaminer.com/military-trumpets-anti-sayyaf-ops-in-basilan/

ASG stronghold captured in Basilan operations

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 16): ASG stronghold captured in Basilan operations

Units of Joint Task Group Basilan have successfully captured a known Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) stronghold in Hill 355, Barangay Silangkum, Tipo-Tipo town in Basilan province Monday.

Western Mindanao Command (WMC) spokesperson Major Filemon Tan said the captured bandit lair was fortified with bunkers, tunnels, and foxholes.

Seized by troops of the 4th Special Forces Battalion were two improvised explosive devices with the following components: a 60mm mortar container, a plastic bottle with ANFO, sharp nails, coins, one 9-volts battery, one small plastic box, wires, switch, and an improvised electric blasting cap.

The seized camp has 10 bunkers measuring 4x4x5 feet that can be occupied by more or less seven people; four tunnels that can be occupied by 20 people; several foxholes that can be occupied by eight people; a kitchen hut; and one exit post.

Tan said the camp was declared clear by the explosive ordnance disposal team.

At around 2:21p.m. of the same day, operating troops displaced the area and established defensive position in Barangay Baguindan, Tipo-Tipo.

Operating troops on Sunday simultaneously seized and controlled strategic strongholds of the ASG in Barangay Baguindan Proper and at Hill 440 (Kawilan Hill).

The terrain served to secure Abu Sayyaf’s vital mobility and to intimidate nearby communities.

The combined assault from the Special Forces, other elite counter terrorism units, and light armor cavalry troops, with support from massive artillery fire, forced the enemy to abandon their stronghold which is fortified with seven foxholes, 12 bunkers capable of accommodating at least 80 ASG kidnap-for-ransom terrorists.

Military troops also recovered three unexploded ordnances and several IEDs.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=914304

PNP chief expected CPP would no longer join govt’s anti-drug war

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 16): PNP chief expected CPP would no longer join govt’s anti-drug war

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Dir. Gen. Ronaldo “Bato” dela Rosa, said Tuesday he has already expected that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) would no longer participate in the government’s all-out war on illegal drugs.

The national police chief was commenting on the statement of the CPP that they will no longer join the anti-drug campaign, alleging that what the PNP is doing is “anti-people”.

”Expected ko naman yan na ganun ang magiging reaction nila (I have already expected that it would be their [CPP] reaction),” dela Rosa said.

”They have to maintain their relevance, dahil kapag sige lang sila sabay sabay sa amin, mawala yung kanilang relevance (because if they [CPP] simultaneously wage the war against illegal drugs, their relevance would be lost),” he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=914331

Dureza eyes end-August deadline for recomposition of GPH members in Bangsamoro commission

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 16): Dureza eyes end-August deadline for recomposition of GPH members in Bangsamoro commission

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said he is optimistic that the government would be able to compose its 10-man team for the expanded Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) by end of August.

"By the end of the month, we'll compose the BTC on our side," he told reporters in a briefing Tuesday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after his arrival from the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Saturday.

It was agreed during the meeting over the weekend that members of the BTC would be increased from 15 to 21, 11 of whom would come from the MILF and 10 from the government of the Phlippines (GPH). Previously, the GPH had seven slots in the BTC while the MILF had eight.

Dureza said he does not know when the MILF would determine the composition of its BTC members because this has to be decided after consultations.

He however expressed optimism that this would be soon so that both parties could immediately start working on the reformulation of an enabling law that would be used in lieu of the failed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

He said he is positive on the pace of the current peace talks with the MILF, citing that lots have been achieved because negotiations started even before the Duterte administration took office last June 30.

He said lawmakers are also supportive of the current process but declined to give a timeline on when the new enabling law would be approved, pointing out that issues need to be threshed out first between the parties.

"That depends really on the kind of enabling law that will be presented to them. That's why we'd like to really do a lot of due diligence before we submit, for the BTC to submit the new version (of the enabling law to Congress)," he said.

Dureza said he agrees with the suggestion of MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad that a Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the petition questioning the constitutionality of the signing in March 2014 of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) be released before the BTC starts reformulating another proposed enabling law to determine where to start.

"We cannot support the old BBL... We are now working on a new enabling law but much of that will come from the failed BBL," he said.

Dureza said the government also wants the eventual establishment of an All-Bangsamoro Assembly.

"But may I tell you that government will only be supportive on all of these if the Bangsamoro people themselves will come together and resolve this exclusivity," he said.

After last weekend's meeting, which paved the way for the implementation phase of the peace process, all succeeding meetings will be held in the Philippines, next of which is on Aug. 30 in Davao City.

Dureza said Malaysia is still welcome to help in any way in the implementation phase, especialy since the Malaysian government recognizes President Rodrigo R. Duterte's bid to achieve peace in Mindanao.

He emphasized that addressing any conflict cannot be done by force alone.

"You need to win the hearts and minds of the environment that feeds into that kind of mentality, of extremism," he added.

Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Martin Andanar, during the same briefing, said President Duterte is scheduled to visit Malaysia between Aug. 23 and 30 but clarified that nothing is final yet.

Other countries suggested to be visited by the President before going to Laos for the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Sept. 6-8 are Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore.

Andanar also said the government will continue to improve state media facilities as part of the bid to ensure peace in Mindanao, noting that people in the southern Philippines feel left out and one solution to address this is to improve state media facilities that would be used to inform people about government programs.

He said an emergency transmitter was already sent to Tawi-Tawi to be used by the Radyo ng Bayan while another set will be sent to a military camp in Sulu for the state television station, PTV4.

"We're prioritizing areas that we have problems in terms of security... The solution to the problems in those areas would be comprehensive," he said.

Andanar said the government will spend millions for this year alone to improve state media equipment but said more will be allocated under the proposed 2017 national budget.

He also disclosed that Malaysia's state media Bernama offered to extend a one-week training for state media personnel to improve delivery of news services.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=914386