US forces return to Philippines

[barryqwalsh]

EDITORIALS

US forces return to Philippines

• THE AUSTRALIAN
• MARCH 22, 2016 12:00AM

Washington’s decision to redeploy military forces to The Philippines carries immense importance for the security of our region. It comes 25 years after the US was forced to leave amid a rancorous and ultimately self-defeating parliamentary battle in Manila over post-Cold War colonialism and national sovereignty.



China would be foolish to overlook the significance of the move which will see the US access five major Philippine military bases, some located close to the disputed islands of the South China Sea that Beijing claims in its aggressive expansionist drive.

One, Antonio Bautista Air Base on the island of Palawan, is particularly well-placed to give US forces rapid access to any crisis that may develop. A US deployment there will significantly improve the ability to fly surveillance missions and provide air cover for US and allied ships mounting right of navigation missions.

No less significant is the boost the US return to The Philippines will give to the “pivot to Asia” President Barack Obama announced in 2011 but which has seen little follow-through beyond agreement with Canberra to base aircraft in Australia and rotate US Marines through Darwin. Far too little has been done to achieve the “rebalancing” of forces Mr Obama promised would support countries like Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as The Philippines, which are in dispute with China. The US deployment will also be targeted at the growing regional menace posed by Islamic State jihadists on the Philippines island of Mindanao.

With the Law of the Sea Tribunal soon to pronounce judgment in the case brought by Manila against Beijing over its claims to sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, the US redeployment to The Philippines could hardly be better timed. In the latest provocation, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel intervened on Sunday to help a Chinese trawler challenged by Indonesian authorities for illegal fishing in Indonesian waters. A rules-based solution to such conflicts is needed and the presence of US military forces in the region can only help such an outcome.



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[Moonglow]

The Philippines felt all bad and pre-pubescent...but finally realized that the US is favorable to China gaining control...

 

[waltky]

Ruling fuels regional tensions rather than tamping them down...

Analysis: South China Sea Ruling Has Fueled Tensions
Jul 23, 2016 | It's a ruling that China cannot accept, and one that the Philippines must. An international arbitration panel's decision on the contested waters of the South China Sea so far is fueling regional tensions rather than tamping them down.

In the ensuing 11 days, China has responded to the sweeping victory for the Philippines by flexing its military might. The Philippines faces pressure both at home and abroad not to cede an inch to China after the July 12 decision by a tribunal at The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration. The South China Sea is dotted with reefs and rocky outcroppings that several governments claim, including China and the Philippines. The arbitration panel didn't take a position on who owns the disputed territories. It did conclude that many of them are legally rocks, even if they've been built into islands, and therefore do not include the rights to develop the surrounding waters. That and other findings invalidated much of what China's called its historic claims to the resource-rich sea.

A Chinese H-6K bomber patrols the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.​

In order to ease tensions, China, the Philippines and possibly other claimants must define what the ruling means for fishing, offshore oil and gas exploration, and military and other activities in the vast body of water that lies between the southern Chinese coast and the Philippine archipelago. A major diplomatic test starts Sunday in Laos at a three-day meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers that will include sessions with their Chinese and U.S. counterparts. Past ASEAN meetings have broken down over disagreements between those taking China's side and those opposing it. The U.S., whose Navy patrols the waters, has called on China to abide by the ruling while also urging calm. Longer-term, there are compelling reasons for China and the Philippines to talk, but also significant obstacles to that happening. Unless the two sides can find a way around their impasse, the ruling may simply prolong the South China Sea's long-running territorial disputes, which also involve Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei in a mesh of overlapping claims.

CHINA

In recent days, the military has staged live-firing exercises in the area and stated it would begin regular aerial patrols over the sea. It also has asserted that it will not be deterred from continuing construction of its man-made islands in the South China Sea. In a veiled threat, a senior government official said that China has a right to declare an air defense identification zone over the area if its security is threatened. Under a so-called ADIZ, countries require that aircraft in the zone identify themselves and their routes and follow Chinese instructions. At least the U.S. and Japan would almost certainly refuse to comply, creating new opportunities for confrontation. While Beijing's initial fury was widely foreseen, the controversy essentially disappeared from Chinese state media on Friday, a possible indication that China is preparing to tone it down.

The approach threatened to tarnish China's global prestige by making it appear unwilling to play by the rules of international law. In particular, China's relations with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations could suffer, further reducing its hopes of regaining its status as Asia's dominant political and economic power. Under such circumstances, Beijing might at least try to give the appearance of engagement on the issue. China is hosting the G20 meeting of major economies in September and doesn't want the summit to turn into a "China-bashing fest," said Yanmei Xie of the International Crisis Group think tank. However, it's far from clear whether its neighbors will see any outreach from China as sincere. The Philippines already has turned down an offer for bilateral talks, saying China first must recognize the panel's ruling.

PHILIPPINES

 

[waltky]

China, Russia gettin' ready to take over the Pacific...

China, Russia Plan Joint Military Drills in South China Sea
Jul 28, 2016 — China's military said Thursday it will hold joint exercises with Russian forces in the South China Sea, following a recent arbitration ruling that rejected Beijing's claim to almost the entire strategic body of water.

The air and sea drills will be held sometime in September and were aimed at deepening relations between the two militaries and boosting their capacity to respond to maritime threats, ministry spokesman Col. Yang Yujun said at a monthly news briefing. Yang said the exercises weren't targeted at any third parties. He didn't disclose the specific location, and some areas of the South China Sea are not disputed.

Chinese ships have challenged vessels from the U.S., the Philippines and other nations in disputed waters, and China considers the tribunal's ruling earlier this month to be invalid. Russia and China have held numerous joint drills in recent years, united in a desire to stem American power in the Asia-Pacific region, despite their own lingering mistrust over territory and influence in Central Asia.

Sailors conduct flight operations aboard a Navy P-8A Poseidon over the South China Sea​

Russia has also spoken in support of China's rejection of the move by the Philippines to bring the South China Sea case before the international arbitration body in the Hague, the Netherlands, and argued that countries without a direct claim to territory should stay impartial, in a reference to the U.S., which has called on China to accept the ruling as binding. In the wake of the ruling, China held live-firing exercises and said it would launch regular air patrols over the South China Sea while continuing with the construction of man-made islands equipped with harbors, airstrips and other infrastructure with military uses.

It has also launched a diplomatic campaign to denigrate the ruling that has so far persuaded other Southeast Asian countries that have similar disputes with it to back away. China kept any mention of the judgment from appearing in a joint communique from issued at the conclusion Tuesday of a meeting between it and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Six governments in all claim territory in the South China Sea. China says all disputes should be settled bilaterally through negotiations.

China, Russia Plan Joint Military Drills in South China Sea | Military.com

See also:

Analysts Recommend Second US Aircraft Carrier for Far East
Jul 29, 2016 | The Navy should double the number aircraft carrier strike groups operating in the Western Pacific to counter China, analysts say.

Despite the challenges, the Navy should double the number of American aircraft carrier strike groups operating in the Western Pacific, in part to counter China's aggressive expansionism, analysts say. Forward-stationing another carrier west of the international dateline was recommended in a Defense Department-commissioned report, "Asia Pacific Rebalance 2025: Capabilities, Presence and Partnerships," published this year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

China's growing assertiveness and increasingly capable air, naval and missile forces reinforce the need for more U.S. Naval forces in the region, especially carrier strike groups, the report said. "A larger demonstration of U.S. will and capability is necessary for deterrence and reassurance purposes," said the report, which added the Navy should examine the steps needed to move a second carrier strike group to the Far East. One possible location would be Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. "There is a unique political opportunity to shift a carrier forward in 2019 because the U.S. fleet is scheduled to add the USS Gerald R. Ford, which will deploy to California and would therefore permit movement of an older carrier forward without decrementing home-ported U.S. carriers," the report said.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS John C. Stennis, left, and USS Ronald Reagan conduct carrier strike group operations in the Philippine Sea​

Tetsuo Kotani, a research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, addressed issues -- particularly logistical and political concerns -- that would be at play if a second U.S. carrier were brought to Japan. For example, there's a lack of airport capacity in Japan to accommodate planes from a second carrier, he said during a lecture Tuesday just outside Yokosuka, headquarters of the U.S. 7th Fleet. "We are now transferring a carrier air wing from [Naval Air Facility] Atsugi to [Marine Corps Air Station] Iwakuni. These airports are busy. Misawa [Air Base in northern Japan] is also busy," Kotani said.

The Philippines recently signed a new basing agreement with the U.S., but it doesn't allow for permanent stationing of U.S. forces there. Australia lacks the maintenance facilities required by a carrier strike group. Guam's infrastructure is outdated and would require massive investment to accommodate a carrier, Kotani said. "That doesn't mean the U.S. can't maintain a two-carrier posture in the Western Pacific," he said.

MORE

 

[whitehall]

The Hussein administration has failed in such a spectacular way in Mid East foreign policy that reactivating Philippine military bases with U.S. Troops as a threat to China seems like a freaking ludicrous and typically idiotic and obviously political move by the administration. Americans are still coming home in body bags in Afghanistan and the freaking administration wants to threaten freaking China? How freaking absurd.

 

[Vikrant]

US needs to gradually shift her focus from meaningless wars in the middle east to Asia where China has been encroaching on US influence for at least two decades now. This move is a welcoming step as it furthers US national security. It surprises me that so many countries do not learn lesson from history. All Philippines had to do was look at Tibet and that should have been enough for her to reconsider her decision of closing US bases. Tibet used to have small Indian army contingent but Tibet asked India to withdraw that protective army contingent. After Indians left, Tibet was brutally Invaded by China. Rest is a sad tale of Chinese sponsored genocide of Tibetans.

 

[RoshanNair]

Filipinos continue to be American bitches. What else is new?