New laws specifying Manila’s claims have also angered smaller countries such as Malaysia, which could hamper unified resistance to China’s attempts at regional dominance.
Related:
What’s Really Going On In the South China Sea Between the Philippines and China
Read More »What’s Really Going On In the South China Sea Between the Philippines and China
by Tina Antonis
Maritime clashes between the Philippines and China had been mostly over the Philippines’ military outpost, BRP (BRP—Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas, which translates to “Ship of the Republic of the Philippines”—the ship prefix for the Philippines) Sierra Madre, in the Spratly Islands, which is disputed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan (a province of China, as recognized by the United Nations’ Resolution No. 2758), and Vietnam. The BRP Sierra Madre was intentionally run aground on a reef near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands, in 1997, so that the Philippines could stake their territorial claim.
Read More »Has anyone realized that by disclosing the existence of “US Task Force Ayungin,” Biden admin implicitly recognized Philippines’ sovereignty over a disputed SCS feature?
Washington has never taken a position on SCS territories(but it has in ECS). This is a clear signal to China.*
South China Sea: US troop aid may reassure Philippines but will prod China, analysts say (archived)
The Philippines has said the US task force only offered support – in the form of intelligence and surveillance – and did not directly take part in its resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre, the retired warship, but analysts suggested that China’s leadership could see it in a different light.
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Zheng said the revelation about the American task force meant the US was likely to be more engaged in the drawn-out maritime conflicts in the region, even suggesting that Washington would “be the first to take part in the command and planning of Philippine maritime activities”.
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Ding Duo, deputy director of the Centre for Oceans Law and Policy at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan, said the presence of a special task force showed that Washington and Manila had long cooperated on resupply operations to Second Thomas Shoal.
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“Such support emboldens the Philippines and is not conducive to China and the Philippines managing their differences,” Ding said. “The US involvement has also squeezed the political space for internal coordination and decision-making within the Philippines.”
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He said it was also possible that American troops could be on Philippine ships and involved in front-line action “using a covert or concealed identity to participate in Philippine maritime operations” in future.
He said the US could “only intervene [in South China Sea disputes] in a covert manner and so it took the form of a task force”.
Related:
Read More »
Read it at Antiwar.com or here with graphics. FYI, the “Ant” in Antonis is pronounced as 🐜.
Throughout the three-day course, we’ve looked at the strategic, operational and tactical levels. We’ve looked at the operational framework in which both nations work. Some of the considerations that we have to work together with. We’ve looked at media programs and media talent and preparing that talent and facilitating media embed programs. And we also unpacked and looked at photography workshop as well, where we’ve been able to have lots of fun looking at the kits and the tools, and taking some photography and vision in order to amplify key messages into the region.
ADF | Australia-Philippines Military Public Affairs workshop
Related:
Great communication begins with connection
‘The workshop got our nations on one page to deliver the right information and messages that we want to convey across the globe.’
Embedded journalism:
The original purpose of embedding was to control journalists, according to Helen Benedict, a professor at the Columbia Journalism School. Citing award-winning Australian journalist Phillip Knightley’s book “The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero and Myth-Maker from the Crimea to Iraq” which describes how the U.S. government invented embedded journalism in response to critical coverage of the Vietnam War. As civilian casualties in Afghanistan reached 5,000, the Pentagon sought a media strategy that would bring attention back to the military’s role in the war, especially the role played by ordinary American service members. This would require bringing war correspondents on side.
What are Information Operations?
To obtain a competitive edge, information operations and warfare entail obtaining intelligence on opponents and disseminating propaganda.
Definition: Information operations are tactics used to sway people’s opinions and affect how decisions are made.
More information:
Embedded Journalism, Media Manipulation & Apathy
Analysts believe that while Vietnam appreciates the gesture, it is unlikely to influence Hanoi’s strategy in the disputed waters.
Philippines sides with Vietnam in South China Sea dispute, hoping it will ‘return the favour’
Related:
BowerGroupAsia: Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran
Prashanth is concurrently a fellow at the Wilson Center, a senior columnist at The Diplomat magazine and an instructor for institutions including the U.S. State Department. He is the founder of the twice-weekly ASEAN Wonk newsletter, which offers research insights and analysis on the geopolitics and geoeconomics of Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.
Stratbase ADR Institute Non-Resident Fellow: Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran
Dr. Parameswaran has held various roles across think tanks, governments, media and companies, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Associated Press. In those capacities, he worked on various issues including geopolitical and geoeconomic statecraft, Southeast Asia foreign and security policy, regional institutions, major power engagement in the Indo-Pacific as well as alliances and partnerships.
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Dr. Parameswaran holds a Ph.D. and MA focused on international business, international relations, Asian affairs, and U.S. foreign policy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He earned a BA from the University of Virginia, where he studied foreign affairs and peace and conflict studies with a focus on Asia. He regularly advises groups and individuals seeking to advance conversations on Indo-Pacific affairs and serves on the board of several institutions.
MANILA, Philippines — The spokesperson of the country’s security council said a replacement vessel is now actively patrolling Sabina (Escoda) Shoal, the latest flashpoint of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
Replacement ship for Sabina Shoal now on patrol — Security Council
Related:
Collin Koh is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies which is a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, based in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has research interests on naval affairs in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on Southeast Asia.
Surprisingly, I didn’t see Powell there. /s
PH gov’t encourages youth participation in WPS sovereignty campaign (Translation by Google Translate)
The Philippine government anchors transparency* efforts in its vision to make the West Philippine Sea (WPS) an “intergenerational concern.”
Commodore Jay Tristan Tarriela of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said that the main objective of the government’s efforts is to ensure that the fight for the WPS will be continued by future generations.
Tarriela joined the third episode of the PN Conversations organized by Palawan News on September 13.
“The national government’s responsibility now for the younger generation is for us to hold the line so that the next generation of Filipinos can still be able to fight for our rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
The transparency effort implemented under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., is part of the government’s obligation to provide the right information to Filipinos, he added.
Tarriela believes that the right information will also awaken Filipinos’ sense of patriotism, particularly among the youth.
The government’s transparency could also raise awareness among the international community about the situation in the WPS.
The limited information given during the previous administration under former president Rodrigo Duterte made it easy for China to spread disinformation, Tarriela said. In contrast, the current administration supported the concept of having “many voices with one message.”
“We recognize that our fight in the West Philippine Sea cannot be met by us alone,” he said.
National Youth Commission (NYC) Commissioner-at-Large Karl Josef Legazpi, a Palaweño himself, shares the view on the need to emphasize that the future of younger generations is at stake in the fight for sovereignty.
“But the waters that belong to us are gradually being taken from us—we want to convey to you what is happening. Our future is at stake,” he said.
NTF-WPS is actively working with various partner agencies, including the state information arm, Philippine Information Agency** (PIA). Director General Jose Torres, Jr.***, also joined Tarriela in the forum, believing in the role of the youth in the fight over the WPS.
Torres emphasized that the youth’s use of technology plays a significant role in fighting misinformation and disinformation about WPS.
“The young people play a great role and challenge when it comes to the West Philippine Sea. As young people, we need to stand up for our country and truth,” he said.
The PN Conversations is a Palawan News initiative that provides a platform for in-depth discussions on pressing issues faced by the community, such as WPS.
Notes on page 2:
While one side of the split personality of PBBM worked out with China a deesclation scheme for the Ayungin Shoal Rotation and Resupply (RORE) missions to the unrealizable U.S. Forward Operating Base (US-FOB) BRP Sierra Madre frustrating its “assertive transparency” strategy, the other lobotomized side of BBM’s brain taken over by the Americans thought up the Sabina Shoal BRP Sierra Teresa Magbanua US-FOB as a new locus for tension to propagandize.
Sabina shoal new US tension spot
The incident, the first time in decades that Beijing and Manila have clashed over the Sabina Shoal, may derail efforts to lower tensions in the South China Sea.
Chinese and Philippine ships collide at Sabina Shoal, a new flash point (archived)
Related:
CCG restricts repeated Philippine vessel intrusions near South China Sea reefs
Chen Xiangmiao, director of the World Navy Research Center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Monday that the Philippines sees Xianbin Jiao as a transfer station for its resupply missions to Ren’ai Jiao, as Xianbin Jiao is located between Ren’ai Jiao and the Philippines’ Palawan Province.
Philippine media have hyped the China Coast Guard’s (CCG) presence in the Xianbin Jiao, but it is the Philippines that has sent the MRRV-9701 to the area in the first place. The Philippine ship anchored in the lagoon of the Xianbin Jiao in April, with a CCG ship arriving later in July.
Updated on 07-27-2024: SeaLight, formerly Project Myoushu
Powell’s storytelling:
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Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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