Senate panel OKs P120-billion defense budget

The Senate Committee on Finance, after one hearing, on Tuesday endorsed early plenary approval of the P120-billion proposed defense budget for 2013, including additional allocations to upgrade the Armed Forces’s capability to protect and defend the country’s borders against foreign intrusions in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) territories.

Sen. Frank Drilon, committee chairman, told reporters that the authorized defense department budget for next year assured the availability of an initial P5-billion fund for the AFP modernization program with provisions for an additional P10-billion for the acquisition of equipment to improve border-defense capabilities.

Briefing reporters after presiding over the defense-budget hearing, the senator conceded that the national budget “has its limitations” but gave assurance that the P10-billion supplemental fund for the AFP modernization program could come from the current year’s savings.

Apart from proposals to earmark a portion of royalties earned from the Malampaya gas field for the AFP modernization, Drilon suggested that Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin also put in effect earlier suggestions to sell or at least put to “productive use” large tracts of idle land in military camps to raise more money for the upgrade program.

“We really have to look for funds for the AFP modernization program,” Gazmin said.

Drilon and Gazmin confirmed that at least P75 billion would be needed to fully upgrade and modernize the AFP in order to build a credible degree of defense at par with other neighboring countries.

Still, Drilon prodded defense officials to “think out of the box” in looking for other sources for the huge amount needed to complete the modernization plan other than the annual national budget, also known as the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The senator voiced concern that the defense department is likely to face budgetary problems since the GAA has limitations, citing the recurrent budget deficit which prevents the government from providing the full amount of P75 billion required for the AFP upgrade to balance internal security and territorial security concerns.

It was pointed out at the hearing that under the 2013 budget, only P5 billion was initially earmarked for the AFP Modernization Program, while the other P10 billion was lodged under the Unprogrammed-Fund portion in the budget in which the release is subject to the availability of funds, as noted by Drilon.

“The release of this P10 billion will depend upon the level of deficit we will be incurring. If there is enough fiscal space, that can be funded, but if not, we have to look for other means to fund this equally important endeavor,” the senator said.

Drilon said this was why he was prodding Gazmin and the rest of the AFP top brass to “look for funds similar to the system in the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, where the sales of military lands were used to fund the modernization program.”

“We are looking at how the excess lands in the military camp can be made more productive to fund the modernization program in order that we can strengthen our defense system,” said Drilon. “It is not only the sale of the military assets that can be the source of funds. Military assets are vast of lands which can be made productive and be the source of modernization program,” he added.

-BusinessMirror-

Another PHL-US military exercise next month

JOINT United States and Philippine Marines are set to conduct early next month an amphibious landing exercise to improve interoperability, increase combat readiness and continue to build professional relationships between the two countries.

Lt. Cheryl Tindog, Philippine Marines spokesman, said the target venues of the exercise are Crow Valley in Tarlac, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Subic in Zambales, Camp O’Donnel also in Tarlac and in Ternate, Cavite. Tindog said while there will be no kinetic exercises in Palawan, humanitarian and civic action will be conducted there and in Zambales.

The opening ceremony will kick-off on October 8. The exercise will be concluded on October 18. The USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, will arrive in Subic where the opening ceremony will be held, Tindog said. She said bulk of the exercises will be undertaken in Crow Valley.

“Sa Crow Valley, doon gagawin ang crewmanship, amphibious assault… usually mga tanks natin and gagamitin... focus ng training objective natin ay sa HADR or humanitarian assistance disaster response dahil alam naman natin na ang Marines natin nade-deploy sa disaster response,” Tindog said.

In Fort Magsaysay, Tindog said artillery exercises will be undertaken, while boat raid, boat handling and jungle survival will be conducted in Ternate. Asked what’s new with the incoming exercise, Tindog said there will be Air Force components on both sides.

“Mayroon din tayong Army [participation] sa Camp O’Donnel, ang mga logistics natin doon, very holistic ang training objective, we want to maximize ang magbe-benefit from the exercise itself, halos lahat ng component may subject matter exchanges,” Tindog said.

The exercise will be participated in by some 1,200 Filipino soldiers and around 2,000 to 2,500 US troops.

-business mirror-

South China Sea Renamed

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is set to bring to the United Nations (UN) an official map of the country that reflects the West Philippine Sea, after President Benigno Aquino III signed Administrative Order (AO) No. 29 officially renaming South China Sea to the “West Philippine Sea of the Republic of the Philippines.”

“The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs in consultation with Namria [National Mapping and Resource Information Authority], their appropriate government agencies, shall deposit, at the appropriate time, a copy of this order enclosing the official map reflecting the West Philippine Sea with the secretary general of the United Nations and notify accordingly relevant international organizations, such as the International Hydrographic Organization and the UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names,” according to Section 4 of the AO.

Aquino signed the AO last September 5 and details the claim of the country over the seas west of the archipelago. “These areas include the Luzon Sea as well as the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo De Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal,” it said.

But despite this, Aquino said in an ambush interview Wednesday that a dialogue with Chinese President Hu Jintao was still “the way to move forward” with the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

Aquino said that he was supposed to meet President Hu at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Vladivostok, Russia recently but due to the earthquake in China, Hu was not able to attend.

He however said that their relationship was “a little less cold” than what it was before and that the Chinese President was receptive to the idea of holding a dialogue.

“There seems to be a – I can’t say warmed up relations already, but a little less cold than what it was. So that seems to be the way forward,” Aquino told reporters in an ambush interview.

When asked if the AO would help the Philppines’ claim in the region, Aquino said that he wanted to clarify the territory being claimed as opposed to the entire South China Sea.

He said that because of the many nations claiming the area, it was important for the country to clearly part claimed for the Philippines.

“I am still hoping that we can have a dialogue where we can have a heart-to-heart talk and there will be sharing of all of our thoughts in total honesty and openness. So that seems to be the way forward to settle all of these things,” Aquino added.

When asked if there were efforts to have the dialogue push through, Aquino said that the Vladivostok meeting was one of those efforts. “They seem receptive to the idea of moving forward,” Aquino said.

China, which claims the entire region as the South China Sea, has been aggressively asserting its claim despite protests from the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

Tensions have risen between the Philippines and China when several Chinese fishing vessels were caught by the Philippine Navy poaching in the Scarborough shoal.

The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest before the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS), but China insisted on bilateral talks.

Taiwan criticizes Manila for renaming disputed waters

TAIPEI—Taiwan on Thursday criticized the Philippines for naming South China Sea waters off its west coast the “West Philippine Sea” despite rival sovereignty claims.

Taiwan “does not recognize this unilateral move that will provoke disputes and sternly reaffirms its territorial claim” to the South China Sea, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“We urge neighboring countries to exercise self-restraint and avoid any unilateral moves that will affect peace and stability in the region, instead replacing confrontation with dialogue,” it said.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Wednesday his government would register the new name with the United Nations as part of efforts to delineate its sovereign territory, a move that could further raise tensions with China.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of other countries.

Ships from China and the Philippines engaged in a stand-off at Scarborough Shoal, a tiny group of islands in the sea, earlier this year, and the Philippines says Chinese vessels remain there.

Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also claim all or part of the Spratlys Islands – an area in the South China Sea thought to contain large oil reserves.

The rival claims have long made the South China Sea one of Asia’s potential military flashpoints, and tensions have escalated over the past year.