Global May 11 protest vs 'China encroachment' on Philippine territory

MANILA, Philippines – Organizers of a multi-country protest against Chinese encroachment on Philippine territory are vowing to gather tens of thousands on May 11 in Manila alone, as they announced a roster of prominent Filipino personalities that they said have already pledged to show up in the rallies.

Among the more well-known personalities who have signified support for the protest - the rallies are planned to be held in front of Chinese embassies worldwide - are former President Fidel Ramos, former civil service commissioner Karina David, civil society leader Leah Navarro, Paolo Delez, and broadway star Lea Salonga, the protest leaders said.

Updating journalists on the earlier call for Filipinos around the world to picket Chinese embassies and consulates on May 11, lead organizer Loida Nicolas Lewis of the US Pinoys for Good Governance watchdog group said the Makati City rally will take place between 12 noon and 1 p.m on that date, in front of the Chinese Embassy.

Former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros and Jackson Gan of the Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce joined Nicolas-Lewis in calling on all patriotic Filipinos here and abroad to join the International Day of Protest against China's intrusions on Philippine territory.

So far, Filipino groups in the United States, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia, Thailand, South Africa, Germany and the United Arab Emirates have committed support for the synchronized protest against Chinese incursions in Panatag, also called Scarborough Shoal, just off Zambales province.

The standoff began April 10 when a Chinese maritime surveillance ship blocked the Philippine Navy warship BRP Gregorio del Pilar from apprehending the crew and seizing cargo of endangered marine species from eight Chinese fishing boats in the lagoon.

As of last count, nine Chinese vessels have been deployed in the area as a show of force, even as Beijing rejected Manila’s invitation to bring the issue to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

The US Pinoys for Good Governance said in the face of such intransigence, Filipinos around the world---estimates vary from 8 to 10 million—should show they will not stand for the brazen incursions in areas clearly within the Philippines’s UN-designated 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

A signature campaign won’t be enough, rally organizers said.

Earlier, President Aquino and Department of Foreign Affairs officials had reached out to other members of ASEAN, warning them that if they don’t speak up against China on this issue, they could be the next victim of such incursions.

Fellow ASEAN member Vietnam, the only one so far strongly in support of Manila’s tack, has had run-ins with China in the past.

Akbayan’s stance

Meanwhile, party-list group Akbayan, which supports the global protest on May 11, welcomed America’s “neutral” stance in the maritime row between Manila and Beijing.

The Aquino administration’s multi-pronged strategy---and its thus far peaceful approach to the controversy, are also correct, according to Akbayan’s Riza Hontiveros.

Akbayan has twice held protests against China since the Panatag stand-off began last month.

http://www.akbayan.org.ph/

Geography: 

Comments

This article is biased in that it ignores the broader regional tensions fuelling this and other regional tensions at the moment, which is of course the rivalry between the U.S. and China for influence and control in the Asia Pacific. The U.S. is aggressively repositioning itself militarily in the Asia Pacific to contain the growing power of China. One of its tactics is to encourage and support allies such as Vietnam and the Philippines to take more aggressive stances over disputed waterways. At stake is the ability of the U.S. to cut off resources to China in the event of a dispute breaking out between the two nations.

Australia is part of this strategic game with the permanent basing of U.S. marines in Darwin, the increased use of our Northern ports by U.S. forces, the use of Cocos Island as a joint military base and for drone testing.

Recent analysis from the WSWS
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/subs-m05.shtml

The U.S. is strengthening its military ties and treaties with India, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam and Australia to encircle China.

This is not to defend everything the Chinese do but to point out these "solidarity" demonstrations are part of the nationalistic drumbeat that could so easily lead to a new world war.

You are BADLY mistaken my friend, which country is ESCALATING the situation by sending war ships to the AREA???? CHINA!!!

Which country is AGAINST a peaceful solution by going to the Sea Tribunal???? CHINA!!!

All your pointing fingers at the U.S. is pointless especially when you look at the facts that CHINA refuses to tell its people.

What is the UNCLOS?

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also known as the Law of the Sea Treaty, is the international agreement that defined the limits of the territorial seas of nations and the areas in which they could exploit marine resources.

It also established the rules for the use of the high seas for international navigation, and outlined the rights and responsibilities of nations in the protection of the marine environment.

What was the rationale for UNCLOS?

In the past, the three-mile rule was traditionally used by coastal states to determine the limits of their territorial waters. After World War II, however, states began extending their control beyond previous limits.

In 1945, due to domestic oil demands, the United States claimed the right to harvest the natural resources in its continental shelf. Chile, Peru, and Ecuador asserted sovereign rights over a 200-mile zone, hoping to limit the access of foreign fishing fleets and prevent the depletion of fish stocks in their adjacent seas.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Venezuela, and some Eastern European countries claimed 12 miles as part of their territorial seas. Meanwhile, archipelagic nations such as Indonesia and the Philippines asserted the right to dominion over the waters that separated their islands.

Because of this multitude of claims and counterclaims, the UNCLOS became necessary to resolve conflicts among countries over the seas adjacent to their coasts.
When did the agreement come into force?

After eight years of negotiations, the convention concluded in 1982 and came into force as a binding treaty in 1994.

Who are the members of UNCLOS?

As of June 2011, the Convention had 162 signatories. The Philippines signed it on May 8, 1984, while China signed it on June 7, 1996.

What are the main provisions of the treaty?

The UNCLOS provides for the following:

Baseline – Determined by connecting points on the coastline from a large map, this is the starting point for measuring the maritime territory of a coastal state.

Territorial sea – This is the belt of sea 12 nautical miles from the baseline. In this area, the coastal state exercises sovereign rights and may arrest foreign ships.

Contiguous Zone – This is the maritime area not exceeding 24 nautical miles from the baselines. The coastal state exercises authority over this area to the extent necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration, or sanitation authority over its territorial waters. This is a response to the practice of foreign ships lingering beyond a state’s territorial sea, and thus beyond its criminal jurisdiction, where they commit acts inimical to the coastal state.

Exclusive Economic Zone or EEZ – This is the maritime area within 200 nautical miles from a country’s baseline. Within the EEZ, the coastal state has rights over the economic resources of the sea, seabed, and subsoil to the exclusion of other states. However, other nations have the right of navigation and overflight over this area, subject to the regulation of the coastal state.

Continental Shelf – This is the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coastal state but outside the territorial sea. The continental shelf extends 200 nautical miles, and in some cases may extend up to 350 miles, following the natural prolongation of the soil. The coastal state has the right to explore and exploit the natural resources in this area, but this right does not extend to other materials such as shipwrecks.

What are the penalties for failure to comply with the provisions of UNCLOS?

In case of disputes, states are mandated to settle their dispute by peaceful means. This may be done through an arbitration procedure of their choice. If no settlement is reached through an arbiter, they can bring the case to the ITLOS, the International Court of Justice (the tribunal of the United Nations), or a special tribunal. These tribunals mete out the penalties, which may be in the form of payment of reparations.
China waived all claims after defeat in Opium wars. Prior to that during the Tang Dynasty when all exploration and settlements were banned by emperors advisers and its fleet burned.

These islands were mostly ignored up to WW2 the area was mostly occupied by Imperial
Japan which waived all claims in 1946.

The Philippines base their claim on its proximity, its being in the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone, and the principle of terra nullius, which holds that it was previously unclaimed by a sovereign state.

The US Government already declared that they are neutral in regards to claims and counterclaims of ownership of islands in Southeast Asian Sea (South China Sea, West Philippine Sea or whatever names you want call that sea).

Philippine protests further escalate tensions with China
By Joseph Santolan
11 May 2012

Tensions between the Philippines and China have increased significantly in the past few days. Various political groups, under the leadership of Philippine ex-left party Akbayan, will be staging protests of China’s claim to the South China Sea today in front of Chinese consulates in the Philippines and around the world. Beijing has responded with economic pressure, issuing travel warnings against the Philippines and imposing tighter restrictions on the import of Philippine agricultural produce. Chinese travel agencies have indefinitely suspended tours to the Philippines.

The mounting tensions occur as a naval stand-off between Philippine and Chinese vessels enters its second month. On April 10, a Philippine gunboat accosted Chinese fishing vessels in the disputed waters of the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Chinese maritime police vessels intervened and a stand-off ensued. There are currently eleven Chinese ships and an uncertain number of Philippine vessels in an ongoing confrontation at Scarborough.

The protests being headed by Akbayan today are deliberately provocative. During past protests the Chinese flag has been burned, and expensive placards have denounced China for “bullying” and “imperialism”.

China’s embassy in the Philippines issued a warning to Chinese citizens that “massive anti-China protests” were going to occur, and urging them to stay away from protests and, as much as possible, to stay indoors.

China is the fourth largest source of Philippine tourism. Chinese tourists make up 9 percent of all arrivals to the country, and 250,000 tourists arrived from China last year. Philippine undersecretary for Tourism Regulation told the press, “We have taken note that there are indeed cancelations from China and the number is quite alarming because China is a very important market for the Philippines.”

China’s tightened regulation of agricultural products particularly threatens the banana trade, the Philippines fifth largest export. Last year, the Philippines exported $US360 million worth of bananas to China.

On Wednesday, an offshore platform belonging to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) initiated drilling in the South China Sea in waters contested by China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Wang Yilin, CNOOC’s chairman, told Xinhua, “Large deep-water drilling rigs are our mobile national territory and strategic weapon for promoting the development of the country’s offshore oil industry.”

The People’s Liberation Army Daily, the official paper of the Chinese military, issued an editorial yesterday stating, “For anyone who tries to snatch the sovereignty over Huangyan Islands [Scarborough Shoal], not only will the Chinese government not agree; the Chinese people will not agree; and the Chinese army will not agree.”

An editorial in the state-owned English-language China Daily read: “No matter how willing we are to discuss the issue, the current Philippine leadership is intent on pressing us into a corner where there is no other option left but the use of arms … Manila is living in a fantasy world if it mistakes our forbearance for timidity. This is a dangerous delusion. We have never been a trigger-happy nation. But nor have we ever been afraid to fight when necessary … the Philippines should stop being a troublemaker and drop its ridiculous claim. Otherwise they will learn to their cost how serious we are about our land and sea.”

Behind all of the escalating tensions are the machinations of Washington. As part of its “pivot” to Asia, the Obama administration has deliberately and provocatively encircled China militarily and has sharply increased the rhetoric of confrontation throughout the region. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced during joint meetings with their Philippine counterparts in the first week of May that the US would be tripling military aid to the Philippines. Panetta confirmed on Wednesday that Washington will be deploying Littoral Combat Ships to Singapore.

The protests being conducted against China today figure in Washington’s plan to increase pressure on China. In January, the prominent US think tank Center for a New American Security issued a book outlining what it saw as the US agenda in the South China Sea. It stated that “Nationalism in South China Sea countries … may be the best basis for stitching together common interests in a loose, almost invisible network of like-minded and increasingly capable maritime states that are willing to help deflect Chinese hegemony.” It concluded enthusiastically, “Nationalism is on the rise.”

The protests being led by Akbayan, the ex-left group allied with Philippine President Aquino, have been funded by Loida Nicolas-Lewis. Lewis is an American billionaire, originally from the Philippines. She was married to Reginald Lewis, food industry tycoon and the wealthiest African-American in the 1980s. Upon her husband’s death she assumed control of the business. She was a prominent backer for Obama, and met with him on several occasions.

She formed the political group US Pinoys for Good Government (USP4GG) to financially support Aquino’s campaign for the Philippine presidency, with the expressed intention of using Aquino’s administration to assert Philippine sovereignty in the South China Sea. Lewis funded the war-mongering trip made by Walden Bello and other Akbayan representatives to islands in the South China Sea in July of last year when they denounced China and asserted Philippine ownership of the Spratly islands. In August 2011, Lewis met with Ben Bernanke, head of the US federal reserve, to discuss opposition to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s (ICBC) acquisition of the Bank of East Asia which had 26 branches in the United States.

The provocative and well-funded protests against China today are part of a calculated campaign of escalating tensions in the region and undermining Chinese influence. This campaign has its origins in Washington.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/phch-m11.shtml