Philippine Military News

China's coastguard said it had taken measures against Philippine vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday, while the Philippines decried the moves, including the use of water cannons, as "irresponsible and provocative".China's actions led to "significant damage" and injury to personnel on a civilian boat hired to resupply troops, the Philippine task force on the South China Sea said in a statement.The incident occurred in the Second Thomas Shoal and Spratly Islands waters, according to the Chinese coastguard.

China again asked the Philippines to tow away a grounded warship - a World War Two-era vessel now used as a military outpost - from a disputed shoal on Tuesday, after Manila rejected Beijing's earlier demand.Tensions have soared between the two neighbours over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China.China's embassy in Manila…

The Philippine Coast Guard has stepped up its presence in the disputed South China Sea by deploying additional vessels and conducting more sorties and overflights to protect maritime territory and the country's fishermen, its chief said on Monday.Beijing's sweeping claims of sovereignty over the waterway have drawn repeated complaints from Manila, which has ramped up its rhetoric against reported Chinese construction activities and the "swarming" of Chinese vessels in the resource-rich waterway."We're making sure that the presence of coast guard vessels is felt by the fishermen in the area…

In a span of 20 minutes, 20 F-18 fighter jets took off and landed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, in a powerful display of military precision and efficiency. The nuclear-powered warship, leading a carrier strike group, was conducting what the U.S. military called routine training in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, headed for a port call in the Philippines, a defence treaty ally. The United States is not alone in carrying out naval patrols in the strategic waterway…

Attacks in waters east of Philippines shift to big ships; ReCAAP, security groups recommend avoiding Sulu and Celebes Seas. Asian pirates are focusing more of their attacks on larger merchant ships near the Philippines, hoping for bigger ransom payments from kidnapping their crew, the head of a regional anti-piracy body said on Friday. The region's pirates have changed tactics since October, to target some of the biggest ships travelling through the Sulu and Celebes Seas, and paying less attention to small tugs and fishing boats. The growing problem has prompted Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to step up air and sea patrols in the waters, through which about $40 billion worth of cargo passes each year.

The Philippines-based Islamist group ASG has conducted tens of attacks against vessels in the Sulu and Celebes seas since March 2016, although since October it has increasingly targeted larger commercial vessels, heightening the risk to global shipping in the region, says a report from Protection Vessels International Ltd. Previously, the group had only been able to abduct seafarers from slower-moving tugs and fishing boats and has kidnapped tens of Indonesian and Malaysian sailors since they first started targeting vessels in March. ASG has not officially claimed the attacks, but the location and violent nature of the kidnappings strongly indicates the group, which is notorious for conducting kidnap for ransom attacks in the region, is responsible.

Peter Modev, Senior Loss Prevention Executive at UK P&I Club, and the Club’s local correspondent (Pandiman Philippines) provide an update on the risks in transporting nickel ore from the Philippines. Nickel ore cargo originates principally in the Southern region of the Philippines, where it is loaded at Mindanao, but loading areas are private enterprises and at present shippers/mines are not allowing any access to these facilities. It is difficult for foreign experts to currently travel to the area, as most Embassies have strict travel warnings about going to the region. There are numerous terrorist groups operating in the area, with bombings and kidnappings and the death of one Canadian mine manager, while Philippine military forces are at war with several factions.

Chinese ships are no longer at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and Philippine boats can resume fishing, the Philippine defence minister said on Friday, calling the Chinese departure a "welcome development". Philippine fishermen can access the shoal unimpeded for the first time in four years, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, capping off a startling turnaround in ties since his country rattled China by challenging its maritime claims at an international tribunal. The departure of the Chinese coast guard ships comes after President Rodrigo Duterte's high-profile visit to Beijing and his repeated requests for China to end its blockade of the shoal, a tranquil lagoon rich in fish stocks.

Unimpeded access for first time in 4 yrs. Ships' departure follows Philippine president's visit to China. Chinese ships are no longer at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and Philippine boats can resume fishing, the Philippine defence minister said on Friday, calling the Chinese departure a "welcome development". Philippine fishermen could access the shoal unimpeded for the first time in four years, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, capping off a startling turnaround in ties since his country rattled China in 2013 by challenging its maritime claims at an international tribunal. The departure of the Chinese coastguard comes after President Rodrigo Duterte's high-profile visit to Beijing and follows his repeated requests for China to end its blockade of the shoal…

Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Thursday accused China of breaking a U.S.-brokered deal between the two nations on the Scarborough Shoal, an uninhabited rocky outcrop in the South China Sea. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim the waterway, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne goods pass every year. Beijing seized control of Scarborough Shoal, near the main Philippine island of Luzon, in June 2012, following a three-month standoff after a Philippine Navy vessel tried to arrest Chinese fishermen found illegally hauling giant clams there.

Ten Indonesian tugboat crewmen held by the Abu Sayyaf terror gang in the southern Philippines were freed unharmed Sunday. The sailors arrived in Jakarta late on Sunday night, hours after they were released from captivity. They arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, East Jakarta, at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday using Jet Victoria News aircraft. Indonesia paid no ransom to free the sailors taken hostage, with efforts relying on negotiations, the lead Indonesian negotiator claimed on Monday. They were welcomed by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and the National Armed Forces Chief General Gatot Nurmantyo. “All crew members will be taken to hospital for medical examination,” Retno said Sunday, May 1, 2016 before adding that the victims would be returned to their family after the examination.

The United States will transfer an observation blimp to the Philippines to help it track maritime activity and guard its borders amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, a U.S. diplomat said on Monday. Philip Goldberg, U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, said Washington would give Manila, its oldest Asia-Pacific security ally, $42 million worth of sensors, radar and communications equipment. The blimp is a balloon-borne radar to collect information and detect movements in the South China Sea, a Philippine military official said. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters, through which about $5 trillion in trade is shipped every year. U.S.

Carter says U.S. promoting Asian peace and security. The chief U.S. defense official visited an American aircraft carrier transiting the disputed South China Sea on Friday, as China said one of its top military officers had visited islands and reefs in the region to oversee building work. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter flew to the nuclear-powered USS John C. Stennis for a two-hour visit as it sailed 60 to 70 miles west of the Philippines island of Luzon. While there, he dismissed China's characterization of a more robust U.S. military presence in the region as being the cause of heightened tensions. "What's new is not an American carrier in this region," Carter said aboard the Stennis, where he met U.S. troops and observed flight operations.

The United States has seen Chinese activity around a reef China seized from the Philippines nearly four years ago that could be a precursor to more land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Navy chief said on Thursday. The head of U.S. naval operations, Admiral John Richardson, expressed concern that an international court ruling expected in coming weeks on a case brought by the Philippines against China over its South China Sea claims could be a trigger for Beijing to declare an exclusion zone in the busy trade route. Richardson told Reuters the United States was weighing responses to such a move. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year.

A Japanese submarine will visit the Philippines for the first time in 15 years, along with two warships that will then sail on to Vietnam, in a show of support for nations opposed to Beijing's ambitions in the South China Sea, a person familiar with the matter said. The Japanese submarine, which is used for training, and the destroyers will arrive in the Philippines in April. The escort vessels will later sail to Vietnam's strategic Cam Ranh Bay base on the South China Sea, the source said. "It sends a message. It is important for Japan to show its presence," the person with knowledge of the plan said on Monday. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The United States will increase the number of drills it conducts in the Asia-Pacific as part of its new strategy to counter to China’s expansion in the South China Sea, Reuters quoted the Philippine military as saying. Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, discussed the Pentagon’s recently drafted Asia Pacific Maritime Security Strategy with his Filipino counterpart, General Hernando Iriberri, during a visit to Manila, Reuters reported. The talks outlined Washington’s actions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea, focusing on the protection of “freedom of seas,” deterring conflict and coercion, and promoting adherence to international law, according to Colonel Restituto Padilla, a military spokesman. China claims most of the South China Sea.

The United States plans to increase the number of military and humanitarian drills it conducts in the Asia-Pacific as part of a new strategy to counter China's rapid expansion in the South China Sea, the Philippine military said on Wednesday. Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, highlighted key aspects of the Pentagon's freshly drafted Asia Pacific Maritime Security Strategy during talks with his Filipino counterpart, General Hernando Iriberri, during a visit to Manila. Colonel Restituto Padilla, a military spokesman, told journalists that the report outlined Washington's set of actions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea, focusing on the protection of "freedom of seas", deterring conflict and coercion, and promoting adherence to international law.

China Government has struck back at the United States criticism that it restricts navigation and overflights in the South China Sea amid a festering marine territorial dispute with some of its neighbors, reports Reuters. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims. Last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry told a meeting of regional leaders in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that China's construction of facilities on man-made islands for "military purposes" was raising tension and risked "militarization" by other nations in the region, says Sputnik.

Buoys stretched "as far as eye could see" - Philippine sailor. The Philippine navy recently found a large steel marker bearing Chinese inscriptions and hundreds of yellow buoys in waters near the Reed Bank, an area of the South China Sea where Manila has long explored for oil and gas, Philippine naval sources said. One source, a sailor, told Reuters he was on a fishing boat being used by the navy that discovered the rubber buoys and the floating steel marker at the end of May. The buoys stretched "as far as the eye could see", the sailor said. He said there was no evidence Chinese ships had placed them near the Reed Bank, which is also claimed by Beijing.

China warned it can take "further actions" after the Philippines confirmed it is fortifying the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded ship on Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the South China Sea. Beijing has hit out at Manila for repairing a crumbling ship serving as its outpost in the disputed South China Sea, branding the Philippines as a "hypocritical troublemaker and rule breaker". The Philippines said Tuesday it would repair the Sierra Madre which is at a shoal also claimed by China. A Reuters report said the Philippines also plans to revive a former US naval base in Subic Bay. The Philippines officially announced that it was repairing a crumbling ship serving as its lonely outpost in the disputed South China Sea as China deploys more vessels and builds new islands nearby.

China's Defence Ministry on Thursday accused the United States of "militarising" the South China Sea by staging patrols and joint military drills there, ramping up the rhetoric ahead of a key regional security meeting in Malaysia next week. China has repeatedly urged Washington not to take sides in the escalating maritime dispute over the area, where the Asian giant last year stepped up its creation of artificial islands, alarming neighbours and provoking U.S. criticism. Washington has demanded China halt land reclamation and militarisation of the disputed area and pursue a peaceful resolution according to international law. China has been angered by U.S. navy and air force forays through waters it claims as its own, especially this month, when U.S.

Japan may give planes to the Philippines that Manila could use for patrols in the South China Sea, as part of its increasing involvement in the area. This would deepen Tokyo’s security ties with the Southeast Asian nation most at odds with China over the disputed waterway. While the talks are still in the preliminary phases, Reuters cited four anonymous sources as saying that Tokyo wants to provide three Beechcraft TC-90 King Air planes equipped with surface and air surveillance radar to the Philippines, though Manila reportedly preferred a more advanced aircraft, the Lockheed Martin P3-C, which may have the capability to track China's submarine activity.

China hit back on Monday at U.S. criticism that it restricts navigation and overflights in the South China Sea amid a festering marine territorial dispute with some of its neighbours. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.. Freedom of overflights and navigation doesn't mean allowing foreign warships and military jets to violate other countries' sovereignty and security, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement to Reuters on Monday, after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused China of restricting such movements in the region last week.