South China Sea tensions escalating

The Philippines has invited foreign investors to explore 15 petroleum blocks in the disputed South China/Western Phlippine Sea. 38 companies have already lined up to place bids on contracts.
Needless to say, Beijing isn't happy.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday that "it is illegal for any country, government or company, without the Chinese government's permission, to develop oil and natural gas in waters under Chinese jurisdiction," China Daily reports.

But the Philippines maintains that all of the 15 areas are within Philippine territory.
-United Press International

Two of the petroleum blocks to be exploited are near Reed Bank, where Chinese warships threatened to ram a Philippine survey vessel last year, setting off the current round of tension in the resource-rich region.

China claims Asia

The Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily has warned its Asian neighbors to be on guard against the “danger” of feeling they can “do whatever they want” in the region because of the financial support and physical presence of Uncle Sam.

The U.S. set off China’s ire in 2010 when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at a regional summit in Hanoi, called resolving the competing claims to the sea “a leading diplomatic priority.” That drew a rebuke from Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who said internationalizing the incident with U.S. involvement “can only make matters worse and more difficult to solve.”
-Bloomberg

Basically, in response to a US military spending spree in region, the China has claimed Southeast Asia as its bitches.

New Zealand backs Philippines on Spratly issue

About that $30 billion in US military aid to the Philippines...
Money can apparently buy you love.
After 'dialoging' with their counterparts in Manila earlier this month, the New Zealand Department of Defense has publicly backed their new BFFs on the issue of how to deal with territorial disputes in the Spratly region.
On Friday, the New Zealand Department of Defense has said that it is necessary for claimant countries to abide by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and adhere to the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

The New Zealand government also agreed during a recent meeting with Filipino defense officials that the Spratly claimants—the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan—should abide by the code of conduct they had signed in 2002 about settling territorial dispute peacefully, the defense department said in a statement.

The UNCLOS sets a country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ)—an area where it has a right to explore for and exploit natural resources while allowing freedom of navigation and overflight to others— at 200 nautical miles from its coastline.

The Philippines has tussled with China over certain isles and reefs in the vicinity of the Spratly chain that fall within what Manila considers its EEZ as well as Beijing’s “nine-dash-line” claims over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
-Inquirer

Asia settles South China Sea tension

With Hillary Clinton coming to town, ASEAN nations were able to get China to agree to a draft of a "South China Sea" dispute agreement that focuses on bi-lateral dispute resolution.

China's acquiescence to the draft agreement – which ends more than a decade of deadlock and brings the countries closer to a final, legally binding code of conduct – was likely spurred by a desire to get the issue off the table before Clinton's arrival Thursday night at the ASEAN summit in Bali, Reuters reports.
-Christian Science Monitor

Parts of the disputed territory, which sees 1/3 of all global shipping pass through it, are claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, and Malaysia. The area is also rich in oil and natural gas.

China is open to an agreement that excludes US meddling, but still refuses to acknowledge other countries' territorial claims. The Philippines is hesitant to square off against China in a bilateral disagreement without their big brother/bully from across the Pacific.
In essence, nothing has happened other than a promise amongst ASEAN nations to handle things in house, without Hillary being invited into the dialogue.

US to increase military aid to Philippines

As if this coast guard cutter wasn't enough, the US government is set to send over a whole lot more outdated gas-guzzling hand-me-downs.
Although it has not yet officially done so, the US congress is allegedly committed to increasing "defense and security assistance" to the Philippines. Very committed. They're actually offering $30 billion, which is double the amount requested by the White House.

“We welcome US engagement with our country because we share the same values of democracy, freedom and rule of law.”
-Phillipine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo

That's actually a true statement.
This one wasn't though.

“The Philippine government remains fully committed and determined to address issues in relation to the protection and promotion of human rights,” he said.
-Philippine Star

Obama has apparently asked Congress to drop 3 conditions on the $30 billion assistance package. All 3 conditions have to do with human rights:
1)take human rights violations seriously
2)hold the military accountable for human rights violations
3)don't let the military commit human rights violations
Maybe they were a bit redundant, but Obama wants them ALL gone. Clearly, both governments do share the same views on the value of democracy, freedom and rule of law.
Conveniently coincidentally, the Philippines allegedly has beef with China over the Spratly issue, and the Abu Sayyaf have allegedly kidnapped two more Fil-Ams. And now the US Congress is rewarding a military with a horrible human rights track record with $30 billion for next year, but Obama doesn't want them to have to improve that track record. In fact, Philippine government forces violated a ceasefire amidst peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front just last week.
Is the increased aid for focusing on fighting the Abu Sayyaf and China? Well, the Philippine military doesn't stand a chance against China (especially not with old coast guard cutters), and their track record against the Abu Sayaff hasn't been much better either.
However, a lot of excess inventory can be liquidated (i.e. cut from the budget) and a lot of exercises could be exercised with $30 billion.

And btw, Hillary is scheduled to visit Manila in mid-November. Can't wait.

Spratly Islands row heating up

"We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines."
-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

As tensions in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea have risen dramatically over the past few weeks, the US has dangled some shiny new (used) baubles to reassert its commitment to its puppet regime in Manila.
This past week, in response to repeated Chinese incursions into waters claimed by China, Vietnam, the Pilippines, Taiwan, and Malaysia, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario was summoned by his real handlers to come begging in Washington for new lease agreements on equipment to upgrade the Philippine military's largely outdated fleet of post-war hand-me-downs from its neo-colonial patron.

Del Rosario, with Mrs Clinton at his side, said: "While we are a small country, we are prepared to do what is necessary to stand up to any aggressive action in our backyard."

The Philippines has announced the deployment in disputed waters of its navy flagship, the Rajah Humabon. One of the world's oldest warships, the Rajah Humabon was a former US Navy frigate that served during World War II.

The Philippines has historically bought second-hand hardware, but del Rosario said that President Benigno Aquino has allocated 11 billion pesos (£157 million) to upgrade the navy.

Shortly ahead of his talks with Mrs Clinton, Mr del Rosario said that the Philippines was asking the United States for "an operational lease so that we can look at fairly new equipment and be able to get our hands on that quickly."

"We need to have the resources to be able to stand and defend ourselves and, I think, to the extent that we can do that, we become a stronger ally for you," he said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
-The Telegraph

The Philippines claims that over the past four months, there have been nine intrusions by Chinese warships in its territorial waters off Palawan.
Not only has the US puppet regime sent a WWII-era bucket to the area, but the two imperial bedfellows have also scheduled 11 days worth of naval excercises in the disputed waters as well. The excercises, dubbed Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), are scheduled to begin this coming week.

Lieutenant Noel Cadigal of the Philippine navy said two U.S. guided missile destroyers and a salvage ship would join four Philippine gunboats for gunnery, patrol and interdiction drills off the southern tip of Palawan island.

"We will also hold anti-piracy and anti-smuggling exercises and test the interoperability and readiness of the two navies in responding to various scenarios, such as security, disaster and humanitarian assistance," Cadigal said.
-News Daily

Sounds like the US Navy is going to train the Philippine Navy on how to ride shotgun along with US missile frigates as the world's largest exporter of democracy asserts itself into some neighborly drama between other, allegedly-sovereign nations.