i think c/d variants, still way better for immediate needs but short term deployment and aircraft service life (5years, until we can afford another newer gen MRFs), or the f18s battle tested they can engage simultaneously dog fights and deliver ordinances to the commies naval assets, i think 1 squadron is enough since a short distance inside the WPS they will be covered with the AAM batteries,..

Yes it was the c/d variants. But maintenance costs would be a bitch.

I'm sure there are other countries where we can purchase the same type of aircraft but also the question if the maintenance costs would be the same as well.

But what about the said countries like UK, France, Italy and South Korea?

Will their MRFs would have the same price as the earlier F-16s offered? Like high maintenance costs and lifespan especially with MRFs like The Panavia Tornado, Dassault Mirage 2000 and The Rafale?

As gmear mentioned, the F-15 Slam Eagle and KF-16 that South Korea has are more expensive that what The US is offering.

Best that we strike a deal with Sweden for their JAS Gripens.

Phl-US naval exercises start Monday
By Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star) Updated June 30, 2012 12:00 AM

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=822461&publicationSubCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines - This year’s joint naval exercises between the Philippines and the United States will push through on Monday amid China’s declaration that it will resolutely oppose any military provocation in its territorial waters.

The Philippine Navy said yesterday that the exercise is aimed at enhancing the skills of the naval forces of the two allied states and is not directed towards anybody.

Col. Omar Tonsay, Navy spokesman, said this year’s Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) will be held from July 2 to 10 in Mindanao Sea with a staging point in Sarangani Bay in General Santos City, far from the hotly contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) that China claims is an integral part of its maritime domain.

Tonsay said that the naval exercise will also fine- tune interoperability between the two forces.

“This is an annual naval exercises and is not geared towards anybody but simply to enhance both our sailors and marine soldiers’ skills to operate jointly and to effectively deal with maritime concerns,” Tonsay said.

Aside from the Philippine and US sailors and marines, the Philippine and US Coast Guards are also participating in the joint naval exercises.

This year’s joint naval war game has been reported as a US-sponsored multi-national military exercises dubbed as “Rim of the Pacific” naval exercises, the largest-ever involving 22 nations, including the US, India, Russia, Australia and the Philippines, but without China.

On Thursday, China, through its defense spokesman Geng Yansheng, has declared that it would resolutely oppose any military provocation in its territorial waters, a remark reports said appeared to be directed towards the US, Vietnam and the Philippines.

“We will oppose any military provocation,” Geng declared in a report.

Geng’s remarks came as the United States launched the Rim of the Pacific naval exercises in Hawaii.

Wire reports also said Geng downplayed multi-national military exercises but voiced concern over Washington’s recent announcement that it would deploy more naval forces in the Pacific.

The Philippines, meanwhile, yesterday urged China to refrain from making comments that would escalate the situation in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines is committed to defusing tension in the area.

West Phl Sea base to be fortified
By Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star) Updated June 30, 2012 12:00 AM

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=822462&publicationSubCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines - Apart from repairing their air and sea assets, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official yesterday said a portion of the P1.5-billion fund allocated by the government for the maritime agency would be used to construct a support base at the Western Philippine Sea to immediately respond to sea emergencies in the area.

Coast Guard vice commandant for operations Rear Admiral Luis Tuason Jr. yesterday said they were grateful for the full support being given by President Aquino and Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II to the Coast Guard.

“We are thankful to Secretary Roxas for his full-blast support to the PCG. Improving the capability of the PCG would help us fully implement the projects and programs of the Aquino administration,” Tuason said.

He said a portion of the P1.5 billion to be released to the Coast Guard would be used to set up a support base in Ulugan Bay in Palawan. At the moment, the Coast Guard has a district in Palawan, but it is facing the eastern side of the province. It is also supported by five stations and 17 detachments.

Apart from being the largest province in the country, Palawan also hosts the Malampaya natural gas project.

“It would be quicker for quick response and law enforcement activities in the West coast of Palawan... especially if there is a problem in the Malampaya project or other projects of national government, we would have a faster response time,” Tuason said

He said the support base would also provide immediate shelter for ships during bad weather in the area.

The Coast Guard might also build a hangar for their helicopter and a pier for their ships.

Tuason said the support base would also be useful during inspections and there might also be instances when the growing oil and gas exploration in Palawan would create problems and the maritime agency should be quick to deploy its assets to address situations such as maritime pollution.

“We can easily do that if we are near the western side (of Palawan),” he said.

The government is expected to give the P1.5 billion from its share of the Malampaya fund to upgrade the Coast Guard assets within the year or next year.

Part of the money would be used to repair two of their 56-meter vessel and one 35-meter vessel. They could also have one helicopter and one islander fixed.

It is also part of their plan to purchase M35 trucks that are necessarily during heavy flooding in Metro Manila.

“This would be useful for land rescue, when we need to go to flooded areas. We could use this to transport our divers,” Tuason said.

Should there be more available funds, Tuason said the Coast Guard would hire additional personnel.

Apart from the funds from Malampaya, the Coast Guard under the leadership of its commandant Vice Admiral Edmund Tan is also coordinating with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for the purchase of brand new vessels.

“There is already an ongoing deliberation for 10 units of 40-meter vessels for the PCG. In due time, this would be referred to Japan wherein five vessels might be constructed in Japan while the other five units in Cebu. These vessels would be brand new,” he said.

This is part of the agreement between the government of the Philippines and Japan.

“We are also hoping that we would be able to get a grant. We are requesting them to construct two bigger vessels, measuring 80 to 100 meters, to be constructed in Japan...We would be grateful because they know that we are also in need of those ships,” he said.

Tuason added the 10-meter ship would better ensure the safety of the Coast Guard’s search and rescue personnel during operation.

Hope this works,

AxI37pmbCXM

bakit concern ang Red China sa Pinas. ni wala tayong armas. takot yata sila sa Pinas:lol::lol::lol:

bakit concern ang Red China sa Pinas. ni wala tayong armas. takot yata sila sa Pinas:lol::lol::lol:

They are actually concerned of the US eyeing on them. Palabas lang nila yan.

They are actually concerned of the US eyeing on them. Palabas lang nila yan.

tama ka bro. kahit wala tayong barko sa shoal, nakabantay mga US submarine doon:banana::banana::banana::cheers::cheers::cheers:

^^on a somewhat related note


Home > Opinion > Viewpoints > Columns > How important is our sovereignty, our honor, to us?
Glimpses
How important is our sovereignty, our honor, to us? (http://opinion.inquirer.net/31593/how-important-is-our-sovereignty-our-honor-to-us)
By: Jose Ma. Montelibano
INQUIRER.net
9:08 pm | Thursday, June 28th, 2012
share285 74

When I read that a Chinese vessel rammed a Filipino fishing boat off the shores of Bolinao, Pangasinan, I felt so enraged. Then, I wondered why the incident was not near the Scarborough Shoal, and decided to wait for more information. It did surface a few days later that a HK cargo ship was a primary suspect. The latest report says a number of commercial ships did pass by the area of the incident but there is yet no certainty which ship was responsible. I was immensely relieved that what I suspected at first as a serious provocative incident related to the contentious issue over Scarborough Shoal may, after all, be simply an accident at sea, not normal but not rare either.

At the same time, I spent days reflecting on the moves that Filipinos can take should the incident turn out to be as suspected – a deliberate provocative, bullying act by China. Even though I was upset over a wrong conclusion about the incident, that emotional reaction did soon give way to the more realistic and practical reality confronting Filipinos today. I admit that the general attitude that I perceive over the Scarborough issue falls far short of patriotic requirements. Yes, there has been some level of emotional outpouring – disgust and anger – against China, but nowhere near enough to send a clear, unmistakable message to our giant neighbor that Filipinos will not idly stand by if a part of its territory and the value of its sovereignty are being trampled on.

In contrast, what is emerging is an ambivalent sentiment that is more in keeping of a people with a weak sense of nation-hood. Unity among Filipinos has always been suspect, especially when there is no urgent, unavoidable external cause. It took a few centuries for Filipinos to find relative unity in going against Spain. The Scarborough Shoal conflict has contributed much to awakening some patriotic fervor, but it is scattered and mostly shallow so far. There will be no war that Filipinos will volunteer massively for on the mere threat of an adverse claim over a reef – even if such claim is ridiculously unfair and is an unmitigated act of bullying by a shark over a sardine. China will have to do much more before Filipinos in general from Luzon to Mindanao will feel an outrage capable of turning a peaceful people to become Davids confronting Goliath.

What is doubly frustrating about the unfolding conflict with China is that many of us suspect it has less to do with us than it has to do with the United States. Geopolitics is a good enough reason for China to bully the Philippines. The dynamics of global and superpower competition between the United States and China have placed us, at the moment and for long moments to come, in their exact center. What will China have to gain by claiming a Philippine reef to be theirs? It may seem utterly incomprehensible to many until what Scarborough symbolizes hits home. Scarborough is not just a reef, it is Philippine territory located in the China Sea, a territory stretching from Scarborough to Sulu representing strategic sea lanes for trade or for war, and a territory ascertained to be full of oil and gas beneath its waters with a volume that astounds. Scarborough means security for China. It cannot mean anything less for the United States.

I surmise that if the United States were not so intimately meshed with Philippine interests, meaning that their interests to a large extent in the Asian region are married to Philippine territory, people, resources and politics, China would be seriously in partnership with the Philippines for all sorts of joint development ventures to extract oil, gas and many other minerals found in Philippine land and seas. But China has not been able to have its way for several centuries, afflicted as it had been by its own warring factions, foreign intervention, and the picking up of the pieces when Mao and communism established firm control. Today, though, China has reached superpower status in both trade and armament. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States, and may be an inch or so taller if its greater population and central control over its people and resources are taken into consideration. Today, China is flexing its muscles, not necessarily to bully the Philippines, but to send a message to the United States that Asia belongs to China more than it belongs to the United States. It is a necessary message, but it is a dangerous one for Filipinos who have become married to America in more ways than one.

A weak nation has to surrender some, if not most, of its most precious rights, privileges, or demands – whether to China or the Philippines. Weakness carries a price that is bitter. Yet, that bitterness can become the trigger of a journey to strength. Many times in the history of nations, that bitter pill is not only subservience or submission, it is also war and death. Filipinos cannot forever avoid the bitter part of growing up. Discipline and sacrifice, the bedrock of nation-building, are virtues we must develop in ourselves beyond the natural talents we have in abundance. Let us use the present issues over Scarborough Shoal and China’s warning that we should not build classrooms in an island long occupied by Filipinos as motivation to reflect and resolve these questions I asked in a Facebook Page named “Defending Scarborough, Defending the Philippines” – as followsIt's just an opinion article. But it seems silly to me. Asia does not belong to any "one country". If it is true that the Chicoms are doing that not just because of the isles but Asia itself, then they are no better than Japan.

Yes it was the c/d variants. But maintenance costs would be a bitch.

I'm sure there are other countries where we can purchase the same type of aircraft but also the question if the maintenance costs would be the same as well.

But what about the said countries like UK, France, Italy and South Korea?

Will their MRFs would have the same price as the earlier F-16s offered? Like high maintenance costs and lifespan especially with MRFs like The Panavia Tornado, Dassault Mirage 2000 and The Rafale?

As gmear mentioned, the F-15 Slam Eagle and KF-16 that South Korea has are more expensive that what The US is offering.

Best that we strike a deal with Sweden for their JAS Gripens.

all aircraft needs costly maintenance, it's given, but of course we need to understand the status of the second hand aircraft like say the f16s from the US boneyard is definitely needs reconditioning and massive parts refurbishment to put it into a serviceability, while that from other countries like south korea, i believe what they are offering is more flyable than what the US offered for the f16s. also, we need to get the latest 4.5 gen MRFs and take note we do not need a specialized fighters for air superiority role only like the f15s. panavia is old that swift wing is to compensate the planes aerodynamics when cruising the sound barrier which at that time designing planes stability is important as avionics is not yet as advanced as the later gen fighters in putting the plane to stability at mach speed, thus they have to design that way which is an additional task and cost of maintenance also. it's primarily designed as supersonic fighter bomber, as bomber its primary role like an F one-elevens but only added fighter capability.
All 4.5 gen MRFs cost are within each other's range so i think it's very reasonable to acquire a brand new f18s.i'm talking about new iterations, a derivative of "SUPER" but not carrier-borne probably we give them purchase specs on how the f18s will be fab for our use and maybe ask boeing to put up plant in subic or clark initially for this purpose and later for their outsourcing needs of parts for their fabs in the US and canada.
in my opinion gripen is not at par with the f18s, first it does not have proven combat records and the price is same with f18s, for the typoon, at almost 100MUS$ a pop, it's outrageous for a 4th gen plane as expensive as a 5th gen fighter. the mirage is good as adversary plane but it's nice to check it it here maybe someone will outline mirage2000 vs f18s and post it here then we will dissect, but still f18s is the best MRF we can afford,..

chinese PRC media makes the philippines sound like we're very powerful

first they said "Philippines invaded china"... now theyre concerned about our "Philippine military build up" :lol:

MANILA, Philippines -– Time was when the Philippine Air Force (PAF) was the cutting edge as the country’s first line of defense -- second to none in air superiority in Asia, except Japan.

The PAF was at its peak in 1950 to early 1970s as it had a strong air defense system, complete with air defense alert centers in Basa Air Base in Pampanga and Palawan, guarding the Western Philippine Sea.

During those golden years of the Air Force, an array of sophisticated jetfighter interceptors were standing-by on alert, day and night all-year-round, ready to take off at any moment’s notice to intercept and challenge any foreign aircraft or ship picked up by radar of intruding into Philippine airspace or territorial waters.

The PAF fighter jets were armed to the teeth with air-to-air and air-to-ground guided missiles, .20mm cannons and .50 caliber machine guns scrambled into the air in a matter of minutes.

Regrettably, however, through the years the once formidable PAF has dissipated into thin air and has become a weakling Air Force with not a single jetfighter remaining in its arsenal to challenge unauthorized planes entering the country’s sky.

The sorry state of the Air Force can be traced to the procrastination by the government to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to keep in pace with time, while other military forces in neighboring countries have long modernized their defense capability.

The PAF was left behind. Its vaunted air power superiority was gone.

There is a joke going around that the “Philippine Air Force is all air but no force.” It is hurting to hear but as the saying goes, truth hurts.

Col. Raul L. del Rosario, wing commander of the PAF Air Defense Wing based at Basa Air Base and an F-5 fighter pilot, reminisced the days of old when he flew the supersonic jet during acrobatic maneuver as head of the famed Blue Diamonds.

Like all fighter pilots, del Rosario is a believer of a strong Air Force as “an instrument of national power.” He said that with properly equipped Air Force, Filipino jetfighter pilots are highly proficient flyers comparable to the best in the world.

To further prove PAF pilots proficiency, del Rosario said: “We participated and won air-to-ground gunnery competitions against U.S. pilots” in many occasions in the past when the PAF had jetfighters.

Del Rosario also said that during those glory days, the Philippines sent an expeditionary squadron of F-86 Sabre jets to Congo, Africa many years ago because “we were practically number one in Asia in terms of air power.

“That just proved a point that given the equipment, we got what it takes to be a top caliber Air Force,” he said.



Del Rosario says the time is now for the PAF to regain its lost glory for the government to fast-track the acquisition of new jetfighter interceptors.


http://www.interaksyon.com/article/36185/special-report-air-power-is-vital-to-national-interest

From TIMAWA

http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=27031.1170

Philippines confirms T/A-50 front-runner for LIFT, light attack requirement

The Philippines believes the KAI T/A-50 is the "most promising" candidate to fulfil the Philippine Air Force's (PAF's) requirement for 12 lead-in fighter trainers ...
29-Jun-2012

http://jdw.janes.com/public/jdw/asiapacific.shtml

MANILA, Philippines -– Time was when the Philippine Air Force (PAF) was the cutting edge as the country’s first line of defense -- second to none in air superiority in Asia, except Japan.

The PAF was at its peak in 1950 to early 1970s as it had a strong air defense system, complete with air defense alert centers in Basa Air Base in Pampanga and Palawan, guarding the Western Philippine Sea.

During those golden years of the Air Force, an array of sophisticated jetfighter interceptors were standing-by on alert, day and night all-year-round, ready to take off at any moment’s notice to intercept and challenge any foreign aircraft or ship picked up by radar of intruding into Philippine airspace or territorial waters.

The PAF fighter jets were armed to the teeth with air-to-air and air-to-ground guided missiles, .20mm cannons and .50 caliber machine guns scrambled into the air in a matter of minutes.

Regrettably, however, through the years the once formidable PAF has dissipated into thin air and has become a weakling Air Force with not a single jetfighter remaining in its arsenal to challenge unauthorized planes entering the country’s sky.

The sorry state of the Air Force can be traced to the procrastination by the government to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to keep in pace with time, while other military forces in neighboring countries have long modernized their defense capability.

The PAF was left behind. Its vaunted air power superiority was gone.

There is a joke going around that the “Philippine Air Force is all air but no force.” It is hurting to hear but as the saying goes, truth hurts.

Col. Raul L. del Rosario, wing commander of the PAF Air Defense Wing based at Basa Air Base and an F-5 fighter pilot, reminisced the days of old when he flew the supersonic jet during acrobatic maneuver as head of the famed Blue Diamonds.

Like all fighter pilots, del Rosario is a believer of a strong Air Force as “an instrument of national power.” He said that with properly equipped Air Force, Filipino jetfighter pilots are highly proficient flyers comparable to the best in the world.

To further prove PAF pilots proficiency, del Rosario said: “We participated and won air-to-ground gunnery competitions against U.S. pilots” in many occasions in the past when the PAF had jetfighters.

Del Rosario also said that during those glory days, the Philippines sent an expeditionary squadron of F-86 Sabre jets to Congo, Africa many years ago because “we were practically number one in Asia in terms of air power.

“That just proved a point that given the equipment, we got what it takes to be a top caliber Air Force,” he said.



Del Rosario says the time is now for the PAF to regain its lost glory for the government to fast-track the acquisition of new jetfighter interceptors.


http://www.interaksyon.com/article/36185/special-report-air-power-is-vital-to-national-interest

from the fighter pilot's perspective, PAF does not need those lowly trainers- cum-fighters, it does not serve its acquisition in asserting our sovereignty over WPS,..:ohno:

^^on a somewhat related note

It's just an opinion article. But it seems silly to me. Asia does not belong to any "one country". If it is true that the Chicoms are doing that not just because of the isles but Asia itself, then they are no better than Japan.

The Japanese had this delusion of them being the master race of Asia during the mid 20th century and to prove it was to create a false propaganda of a United Asia in which reality they want to prove their superiority by invading The Far East.

In the end of WW-II, they suffered the consequences of their actions.

From TIMAWA

http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=27031.1170

Philippines confirms T/A-50 front-runner for LIFT, light attack requirement

The Philippines believes the KAI T/A-50 is the "most promising" candidate to fulfil the Philippine Air Force's (PAF's) requirement for 12 lead-in fighter trainers ...
29-Jun-2012

http://jdw.janes.com/public/jdw/asiapacific.shtml

The best way to confirm about the TA-50 is to wait of the official speech from The DND or in Aquino's SONA.

We may not know if TA-50s were bought for our LIFT aircraft or if any MRFs have been purchased. It may be TOP SECRET.

But if any of these plans are revealed, surely our enemies would know about it or there will be politicians opposing it and saying a bunch of non-sense.

If TA-50s will be acquired, our future inventory of MRFs will most likely head towards American made most likely either F-16 or F-18.

from the fighter pilot's perspective, PAF does not need those lowly trainers- cum-fighters, it does not serve its acquisition in asserting our sovereignty over WPS,..:ohno:

I don't want to argue on this one again, but definitely PAF needs trainers as well as MRFs as well.

I already gave the reason on why and I won't repeat it again.

But every air force around the world has their own trainer jets so they can well prepare their pilots.

^^on a somewhat related note

It's just an opinion article. But it seems silly to me. Asia does not belong to any "one country". If it is true that the Chicoms are doing that not just because of the isles but Asia itself, then they are no better than Japan.

tama ka bro. kahit wala tayong barko sa shoal, nakabantay mga US submarine doon:banana::banana::banana::cheers::cheers::cheers:

It shows na bahag ang buntot ng mga yan. All for show lang. :lol::lol:

They should pull the Japanese stunt to show that they are a superpower. Tingnan mo ang Japan dati, inuna nila ang Pearl Harbor tapos binalikan ang mga bansa sa Pacific.

Ganyan dapat - hindi muna dapat binubully yung mga mahihinang bansa. Insecurity ang labas. :lol::lol:

The best way to confirm about the TA-50 is to wait of the official speech from The DND or in Aquino's SONA.

We may not know if TA-50s were bought for our LIFT aircraft or if any MRFs have been purchased. It may be TOP SECRET.

But if any of these plans are revealed, surely our enemies would know about it or there will be politicians opposing it and saying a bunch of non-sense.

If TA-50s will be acquired, our future inventory of MRFs will most likely head towards American made most likely either F-16 or F-18.

I think it should be a top secret at first. I kinda agree on that one. We don't want the others to know what we are going to have.

I would prefer if AFP would not be so vocal and make too much conflicting announcement to upgrades or future acquisition. Lalo na paiba iban news sa unreliable media natin. My point is lets not let the enemies have a grasp or knowledge of what were up to us much as possible. Mahirap maniwala sa media. Once AFP have signed an actual agreement AND NOT moa(memorandum of agreement). Then I would say It would be more reliable.

since we have the biggest island in kalayaan, why not make it the Corregidor or Kinmen or a new Fort Drum will be a deathly stop-over of the commies before crossing our EEZ, i'm talking about fortifying it and to do it we need the US to station its forces for 5years and we turn it into a billion $ fortress with bunkers, AAM, ASM batteries then our problem with the pirates stupidity will surely be solved,..

http://images.katipunanblues.multiply.multiplycontent.com/attachment/0/RT8gGQoKCsUAAHLIKSE1/027philippines_810x540o.jpg?key=katipunanblues:journal:13&nmid=13519094

We have an air strip and a naval yard in our largest claimed island in the Kalayaan Island Group which is the Pagasa Island base, it was built in 1975.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/global-eye/12811-surviving-the-downturn

Whether if our F-5 are still here or not, why use the budget to upgrade our current fleet when we can get LIFTs plus new generation MRFs?

Our obsolete F-5 fighter jets were mothballed, only 2 units are airworthy. The upgrade cost since these are the older A/B versions can be very expensive. It will also have a very short service life.

but if i had my way, i want to sink the varyag during its maiden voyage towards our territories in the WPS, and MRFs is the best to deliver that punch way beyond the coastal defenses range,..the first missile to hit the ski jump and the second to hit the deck incinerating the j15s, and one punch at each sides as coup de grace,..:cheers:

we need 3BUS$ for the MRFs, naval upgades, coastal mobile defenses, and 3 attack subs,..can we borrow from IMF?:lol:

That will be a very difficult and daring task IMHO for a fighter jet alone because the Chinese Navy aircraft carrier Shi Lang is not a sitting duck, it has an independent air defense system other than its fighter jets. It will also have escort ships that have air defense capability and long range radars.

Here is the weapons lay-out: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PXW58J2Xk8M/Tz2mBx3fMbI/AAAAAAAACg4/mGtc3qWH2gM/s1600/ShiLang-Weapons-01.jpg

Yes it is a good read. But despite having an extensive external defense including missiles, The Philippines still needs MRFs for these.

As with the price range,

Aircraft,

Traditional
F/A-18E/F fighter (36) - $2,924.2

Alternative
F-16C/D fighter (12) -$421.0
MH-60R helicopter (6) - $265.0

I'm for procuring F-16 C/D instead of the F-18 E/F. An alternate would be The JAS Gripen.

Now, it is a question of where are we going to procure such aircraft and from which country?

The ones that we rejected, what type of F-16 were they?

The F/A-18 E/F model is the Super Hornet and the operating cost is about $95,000 per sortie.

Don't know for sure about today, but in 1996, I was invited to lunch with ADM Jay Johnson, the new CNO at the time, and while I don't recall the context, he quoted the cost of a single sortie of an F-18, that's a take off and landing with nothing spectacular in between, at $65,000. In total adjusted dollars that's about $95,000 today.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=92629374&postcount=2026

HOOOOOYAH!!!!! Reminds me of the 2012 movie Battleship set in the RIMPAC. ^^:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

The Chinese will play the role of the Aliens! :lol:

I want our air force or naval air arm to have maritime strike capabilities since the most likely war we will fight is an air/sea war in the WPS and for these the maritime strike Tornadoes or F/A-18F is the most ideal platform.

The Italian AMX and the future LCA version of the M-346 also has maritime strike capabilities.

From TIMAWA

http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=27031.1170

Philippines confirms T/A-50 front-runner for LIFT, light attack requirement

The Philippines believes the KAI T/A-50 is the "most promising" candidate to fulfil the Philippine Air Force's (PAF's) requirement for 12 lead-in fighter trainers ...
29-Jun-2012

http://jdw.janes.com/public/jdw/asiapacific.shtml

Is that the so-called July FINAL report? :cheers:

The best way to confirm about the TA-50 is to wait of the official speech from The DND or in Aquino's SONA.

We may not know if TA-50s were bought for our LIFT aircraft or if any MRFs have been purchased. It may be TOP SECRET.

But if any of these plans are revealed, surely our enemies would know about it or there will be politicians opposing it and saying a bunch of non-sense.

If TA-50s will be acquired, our future inventory of MRFs will most likely head towards American made most likely either F-16 or F-18.

Right! The Chinese might block or slow down the acquisition process since they are tied up with South Korea's rival... North Korea! Indonesia also ordered the KAI T/A-50 ahead of us and their multi-role fighter jets are the F-5 (2 engines), F-16, Su-27 (2 engines) and Su-30 (2 engines).

I don't want to argue on this one again, but definitely PAF needs trainers as well as MRFs as well.

I already gave the reason on why and I won't repeat it again.

But every air force around the world has their own trainer jets so they can well prepare their pilots.

The writer did not even mention that he disliked the idea of acquiring advanced trainer jets with combat capability but he just stressed the great need of acquiring fighter jets. Our PAF has been using trainer jets since the 1950s, our first jet trainer was the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star to introduce former P-51 Mustang pilots to the jet age (F-86 Sabre).

We have an air strip and a naval yard in our largest claimed island in the Kalayaan Island Group which is the Pagasa Island base, it was built in 1975.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/global-eye/12811-surviving-the-downturn

Since it has a short landing strip, it looks like the Gripens should have them. :lol::lol:

Since it has a short landing strip, it looks like the Gripens should have them. :lol::lol:

A C-130 can take-off and land on that air strip. Currently the OV-10 is used for maritime patrol because of its STOL capability.

Indonesia peace monitors arrive in PH

Agence France Presse
Posted at 07/01/2012 2:21 PM | Updated as of 07/01/2012 2:21 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Indonesian peace monitors on Sunday joined an international mission tasked to ensure that a ceasefire between the Philippines and Muslim insurgents be held as both sides aim to sign a peace deal this year.

The Indonesian team consisted of 10 military officials and five civilian experts on conflict prevention, and were deployed upon the request of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government.

The group is the newest foreign contingent to join the mission, which consists of about 40 others from Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, Libya and the European Union.

"Their arrival is an assurance that the ceasefire is seriously in place," the government's chief peace adviser Teresita Deles told reporters.

Deles said the 12,000-strong MILF and the government were aiming to sign a peace deal by the end of the year, following a breakthrough agreement in April in which both sides committed to create a new autonomous political region in the troubled south.

"We are expanding common grounds and we are both looking for ways on how to close distances on the most contentious issues," she said.

"There are certainly signs that the two sides are moving towards addressing each other's concerns."

"We are officially cautiously optimistic," Deles said when asked whether a final peace deal would be signed this year.

The MILF has waged a rebellion for more than three decades, originally for the establishment of an independent state in Mindanao, the southern third of the mainly Catholic Philippines.

It has however in recent years dropped its bid for full independence in favor of autonomous control over large areas in Mindanao, which it claims as Muslims' 'ancestral domain'.

The insurgency has claimed more than 150,000 lives since the Muslim rebellion began in the early 1970s.

The peace effort nearly collapsed in October 2011 after MILF rebels killed 19 soldiers who they claimed entered their area in violation of the truce.

The killings touched off fierce battles on several fronts in Mindanao, during which as many as 40 soldiers, police and civilians were killed and thousands displaced.

Both sides later agreed to forge ahead, and there had not been any fighting since January.

Interesting cab ride to work today from lunch at the city centre.

Vietnamese Cabbie (VC): (Pointing to a Karaoke joint) Beautiful Girls!

Me: SIDA! (AIDS!)

VC: No! No! No! SIDA in Thai lan (Thailand)! Vietnam no SIDA!

Me: (silently... okay....) :lol:

---- moments later ----

VC: Where are you from?

Me: Philippines...

VC: Oh your Vietnamese is very good... Philippines and Truong Quoc (China) fight... (gestures wildly while driving)... Truong Quoc (China) not good, they kill, they are MAFIA.
Philippines and Vietnam are friends...

Me: :D


-------------------------------------------



Cabbies love to talk wherever they are in the world... :lol::lol::lol::lol:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/02/article-1362360-0D71A08D000005DC-131_634x401.jpg

Zimbabwe, the third poorest country in the whole world (http://www.therichest.org/world/poorest-countries-in-the-world/) has 3 MiG-23 Floggers and has placed an order for 12 Chinese JF-17 (FC-1) Thunder fighter jets.

Regarding the Chinese military presence in Africa, China ranked third in weapons sales to the African continent between 2003 and 2006 and continues to supply African countries (notably Namibia, Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt and the Congo) with weapons, according to the Centre for Strategic Leadership (CSL), at the US Army War College. China has supplied Sudan with military equipment in return for oil. It has delivered armoured vehicles (Type 59 and 69 tanks and Type 63 armoured transport vehicles), jet aircraft (FC-1 and J-7 fighters and K-8 trainers) to Zimbabwe in addition to riot control equipment and radio jamming equipment to control the political opposition, the CSL says.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12959:chinas-anti-ship-ballistic-missile-operational&catid=51:Sea&Itemid=106

This is not an isolated development as other neighbouring air forces have also been beefing up their air forces. Zambia had eight of its MiG-21s upgraded by Israel Aircraft Industries to MiG-21-2000 series. Namibia acquired a dozen F-7NMs, one of the most lethal variants of the F-7s to come out of China. Zimbabwe has ex-Libyan MiG-23 'Floggers' and BAe Hawk-60s in storage- operates a squadron of F-7IIs and placed an order for 12 Chengdu FC-1 'Fierce Dragons' from China.

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/articles/37226

In 2000 Zimbabwe took delivery of three MiG-23 'Floggers' from Libya. One trainer, a Mig-23UB, which retains full combat capability and two MiG-23MS fighters. The Floggers are operated by '1 Squadron' of the AFZ based at Thornhill Air Base where they have been in storage for some time now because they are excess to current requirements.

http://www.zimbabwedefence.com/MiG-23a.html

We have an air strip and a naval yard in our largest claimed island in the Kalayaan Island Group which is the Pagasa Island base, it was built in 1975.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/global-eye/12811-surviving-the-downturn



Our obsolete F-5 fighter jets were mothballed, only 2 units are airworthy. The upgrade cost since these are the older A/B versions can be very expensive. It will also have a very short service life.

Honestly it is even pointless to think about refurbishing The F-5 and instead get newer generation of MRFs.

The Chinese will play the role of the Aliens! :lol:



The Italian AMX and the future LCA version of the M-346 also has maritime strike capabilities.



Is that the so-called July FINAL report? :cheers:



Right! The Chinese might block or slow down the acquisition process since they are tied up with South Korea's rival... North Korea! Indonesia also ordered the KAI T/A-50 ahead of us and their multi-role fighter jets are the F-5 (2 engines), F-16, Su-27 (2 engines) and Su-30 (2 engines).



The writer did not even mention that he disliked the idea of acquiring advanced trainer jets with combat capability but he just stressed the great need of acquiring fighter jets. Our PAF has been using trainer jets since the 1950s, our first jet trainer was the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star to introduce former P-51 Mustang pilots to the jet age (F-86 Sabre).

Even if The AMX has maritime strike capabilities, it is not a full-fleged MRF and is more a ground attack aircraft.

Is there an air force that has a fleet of MRFs and no trainers? I'm sure every AF in the world have it's trainers and MRFs.

Even if The AMX has maritime strike capabilities, it is not a full-fleged MRF and is more a ground attack aircraft.

The Italian AMX can fire the Sidewinder and Piranha heat seeking missiles and is also armed with a 20mm Gatling gun giving it some air defense capability.

Taiwan retires 20 fast attack missile boats

http://news.yahoo.com/taiwan-retires-20-fast-attack-missile-boats-091157584.html

Taiwan on Sunday decommissioned the last 20 of a fleet of ageing missile boats as part of ongoing efforts to modernise its military forces against former rival China, officials said.

The navy bid farewell to the 50-tonne Seagull-class missile boats during a ceremony held in the southern Tsoying naval base, more than three decades after they had been put into service.

The Taiwanese navy first built the missile boats, reportedly an imitation of Israel's Dvora-class patrol boats, in the late 1970s and later mass produced them in the early 1980s.

The navy had thought the fleet, numbering around 50, would act as "hit and run" boats should a conflict break out in the Taiwan Strait.

With a maximum speed of 74 kilometres (46 miles) per hour, each of the boats was armed with Hsiungfeng I (Brave Wind I) ship-to-ship missiles.

The Seagull boats have now been replaced by 30 missile boats built under the so-called "Kuang Hwa No 6 Project" launched in 2000.

Each of the 171-tonne vessels is armed with four Hsiungfeng II missiles, an improved version of the Hsiungfeng I.

Ties between Taiwan and China have eased markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008, ramping up trade and allowing in more Chinese tourists.

But Beijing still refuses to renounce the use of force, even though Taiwan has been self-governing since the end of a civil war in 1949, prompting the island to continue to modernise its defence forces.

Perhaps we can get some of these new missile boats from Taiwan?

The Italian AMX can fire the Sidewinder and Piranha heat seeking missiles and is also armed with a 20mm Gatling gun giving it some air defense capability.

It would be nice for The PAF to acquire such aircraft but again should not be the main MRF or fighter jet.

Though it would be good to acquire such boats from Taiwan, our country's armed forces should not heavily rely on donations rather should also purchase our own.

Charter change to address PH weaknesses in view of row with China — Enrile
By Cathy C. Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:07 pm | Sunday, July 1st, 2012

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42453/charter-change-to-address-ph-weaknesses-in-view-of-row-with-china-enrile

MANILA, Philippines — Now that China has sent its own astronauts into space, would it eventually go to the moon and claim it as its territory?

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile raised the question in jest on Sunday, when asked in a radio interview about China’s occupation of Scarborough Shoal off the coast of Zambales province.

Enrile blamed the occupation to the Philippines’ lack of military muscle to defend its own territory.

He said the Philippines’ weakness in the Scarborough Shoal dispute should be seen as a reason for Charter change (Cha-cha) to give priority to military spending in the national budget.

Enrile cited the Philippines’ military weakness as the reason behind the government’s sorry handling of a maritime accident in the West Philippine Sea on June 20 that took the life of a Filipino fisherman, injured three and left four others missing.

In that accident, a Hong Kong-registered cargo vessel struck the Filipinos’ fishing boat, but Enrile said the government appeared to be playing down the incident, apparently so as not to start another row with China.

A rising economic and military power, China has become more aggressive in its territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) that it insists it has
established since ancient times.

Enrile said history would show that the ancient Chinese settled on Batanes and Fuga islands in northern Philippines.

History books also mention that Chinese merchants traded regularly with natives in the archipelago before the Spanish colonizers arrived in the 16th century.

“It is known that (historical figure) Limahong, who was a prince, settled in Fuga at length,” Enrile said. “And the ethnic Chinese also lived in Batanes. This can still be gleaned [from] the features of the people there. Does that make Batanes or Fuga Chinese territory simply because they were there?”

China insists that Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Island, is part of its territory and shows ancient maps to prove it.

Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines calls Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc, is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (ECC) recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Enrile refuses to accept China’s citing ancient maps to bolster its claim to Scarborough Shoal.

“If we stretch this argument further, does that make India the owner of everything in the Indian Ocean?” Enrile asked, speaking in Filipino. “Does the Strait of Magellan near the tip of Argentina and Chile belong to Portugal or Spain?”

In apparent reference to China’s recent launching of the spacecraft Shenzhou 9 that carried three astronauts, Enrile said he would not be surprised if Chinese inscriptions would eventually be found on Mars or Venus or the moon, and if China would claim those planets and the moon, too.

Enrile said it would be unreasonable for China to claim an island or other areas belonging to another country “simply because their migratory birds settled there.”

He said China’s claim to Scarborough Shoal was “legally weak.”

“How would they justify their occupation of the area? Because their birds flew there? That they marked some fish and ordered these to swim there?”

“What if I also drew a map and occupy their islands? Would that be right?” he added.

Enrile pointed to the Philippines’ lack of military resources as reason for the country’s weak defense of its territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea.

“The Coast Guard has a World War II cutter given by the US government,” Enrile said. But one shot would be all it it would take to sink it, he said.

Enrile lamented the government’s seeming dismissal of the report of the survivors of the June 20 accident in the West Philippine Sea that the cargo vessel rammed their boat.

“We have yet to confirm the whole story behind that, and yet there are already parties raising eyebrows over the fishermen’s story,” Enrile said.

The playing down of the fishermen’s report made them look like “fools and liars,” he said.

Enrile also mentioned China’s warning the Philippines over the opening of an elementary school last month on Pag-asa Island, one of five islands claimed by the Philippines in the Spratly archipelago in the West Philippine Sea.

China claims all of the Spratly archipelago, parts of which are also claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. It took the opening of the school on Pag-asa Island as a “provocation.”

“The solution to this problem rests with us,” Enrile said. “We need to beef up our security. That is the only solution. If your neighbor commits acts of aggression, it would be your fault if you refuse to prepare.”

To prepare, the government should spend more for the modernization of the military, which means it may have to review the priority given to education in the Constitution.
Enrile hinted at the need for Congress to make that review.

“If you insist on a bigger budget for education and [we are theatened by war], what will you do, limit yourself to what the Constitution says?” he said. “That’s stupidity.”

“Let us make a Constitution that is flexible,” Enrile said. “Leave it to the representatives of the people to decide what are the priorities at any given time.”

The government has asked China to take their dispute over Scarborough Shoal to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos), but China has refused, insisting on its policy of dealing one on one with its territorial rivals in the West Philippine Sea.

The two countries have yet to resume talks to resolve their dispute over Scarborough Shoal.

Tasked with resuming contact with Beijing is the Philippines’ new ambassador to China, Sonia Brady.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Sunday, that Brady, 70, had been given orders to “continue the consultations in pursuit of a peaceful resolution” of the dispute over Scarborough Shoal.

SPECIAL REPORT: PAF badly needs new supersonic jetfighters
01-Jul-12, 9:07 PM | Ben Cal, Philippines News Agency

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/36186/special-report-paf-badly-needs-new-supersonic-jetfighters

MANILA, Philippines -- From 1947 to date, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) had a total inventory of 1,028 aircraft, composed of 251 fighter planes or equivalent to 20 squadrons, 203 transports, 372 trainer aircraft and 202 helicopters of various types, making the PAF as a force to reckon with.

Over the years, however, the PAF had decommissioned all its jetfighter-interceptors, the last one in 2005 with the retirement of its F-5A/B war jet without any replacement, leaving the country’s airspace virtually defenseless without a single jet interceptor left in its arsenal.

Today, the PAF has less than 200 aircraft of various types, minus the jetfighters “guarding” Philippine airspace at a time when the country needed it most as a deterrent force against foreign intrusion, particularly by China in the case of the Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) ownership, which is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard sent to the area three ships, including the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a 45-year old former US Navy cutter, acquired by the Philippine government recently.

But China, at one point, dispatched 100 vessels, including fishing boats to the disputed shoal that triggered a standoff.

If the PAF had modern jetfighters, it would have prevented Chinese vessels from entering into the Panatag Shoal.

“The once proud and strong Air Force has become an ill-equipped and struggling Air Force,” said Col. Raul L. del Rosario, wing commander of the PAF Air Defense Wing, in a dissertation paper he read at the 2012 PAF Air Symposium at the SMX Amphitheater in Pasay City on June 22, 2012.

From being number one Air Force in Asia in the ‘50s until the ‘70s, the Philippines has been surpassed by Bangladesh which has a much lower gross domestic product (GDP), and which has 77 multi-role fighters.

At its peak as Asia’s number one Air Force, the PAF had various types of aircraft, majority of which were grants from the U.S. such as the P51 F-86, F-5, F-8, T-28, UH1H “Huey” helicopters as payments in return for the use of American bases in the Philippines until 1991 when the bases agreement ended.

Most of these aircraft were hand-me-downs from the US. That means the spare parts were supplied by the U.S.

When the Philippine Senate voted not to extend the RP-US bases, the Americans left so did the U.S. support for the PAF air power suffered a big blow.

There were other factors that stagnated the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly the Air Force and Navy the past four decades.

The most telling problem that caused the snail-paced modernization program of the AFP was the shift of its focus from external defense upgrade to internal security operations -– not one but against two main separate rebel groups -– the Muslim rebellion in southern Philippines and the communist insurgency for over four decades now, and lately against the Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

For the Air Force and Navy with the latter also suffering from decrepit warships, it was disheartening that their defense capability has shrunk the past several years at a time when the nation is faced with an enormous security challenges, del Rosario said.

After 45 years, insurgency is still hounding the country and aggravating the conditions are the natural calamities that plague the Philippines year-in and year-out. In 1995, Congress passed the AFP Modernization Law allocating P331 billion.

But, unfortunately, the modernization was not implemented fully with only P30 billion spent for the procurement of military hardware during the past 15 years.

The modernization program also suffered a blow during the 1997 Asian monetary crisis when the dollar-peso rate ballooned from P25 to a dollar to as much as P56.

Be that as it may, there is an urgent need for the AFP to have a credible air defense capability to preserve the country’s sovereignty.

Del Rosario urged that an aggressive capability upgrade scheme should be laid down and was happy to note that in the present administration under President Benigno S. Aquino III, there is “already a work in progress.”

^^ i sympathize with mr. enrile's position on the issue regarding scarborough shoal dispute

^^ i sympathize with mr. enrile's position on the issue regarding scarborough shoal dispute

:cry::cry::cry:

^^ i sympathize with mr. enrile's position on the issue regarding scarborough shoal dispute

yeah right. the same enrile who booted out the US bases then did nothing to upgrade the military....

yeah right. the same enrile who booted out the US bases then did nothing to upgrade the military....

That's the bigger blunder than booting out the bases. - the big mistake of not seriously upgrading our capabilities.

MANILA, Philippines - Maps dating back to the early Spanish colonial period, which were the standard references for explorers and travelers and acknowledged by governments and regimes, clearly show Panatag Shoal, also called Panacot, just off the Philippine coast.

The maps are among 134 original maps on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibit, “Three Hundred Years of Philippine Maps,” features maps of the archipelago from 1598 to the American colonial era.

The exhibit is part of the celebration of Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day on June 30.

Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde’s 18th century “Mapa de las Islas Filipinas” clearly shows Panatag Shoal lying just across Zambales.


http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=63&articleId=821746

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You can see more maps in Em Esber Blog 2

Three Hundred Years of Philippine Maps 1598-1898

http://jibraelangel2blog.blogspot.com/2012/07/three-hundred-years-of-philippine-maps.html

That's the bigger blunder than booting out the bases. - the big mistake of not seriously upgrading our capabilities.

I don't think Enrile was part of the 12? I know that those 12 minus one who died are silent on this issue.

MANILA, Philippines - Maps dating back to the early Spanish colonial period, which were the standard references for explorers and travelers and acknowledged by governments and regimes, clearly show Panatag Shoal, also called Panacot, just off the Philippine coast.

The maps are among 134 original maps on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibit, “Three Hundred Years of Philippine Maps,” features maps of the archipelago from 1598 to the American colonial era.

The exhibit is part of the celebration of Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day on June 30.

Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde’s 18th century “Mapa de las Islas Filipinas” clearly shows Panatag Shoal lying just across Zambales.


http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=63&articleId=821746
Thanks for the maps. Now these are just about perfect for the ITLOS if anyone from government put their minds to it ... anyone ... anyone? When? Least expensive, least loss of life and limb, most permanent solution, yet they postpone and procrastinate. "Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy" ~ Lao Tzu.

I don't think Enrile was part of the 12? I know that those 12 minus one who died are silent on this issue.

Yes he was... here's the list...

Agapito "Butz" Aquino, Joseph Estrada, Teofisto Guingona Jr, Sotero Laurel II, Ernesto Maceda Jr, Orlando Mercado, Aquilino Pimentel Jr, Rene Saguisag, Jovito Salonga, Wigberto Tañada, Victor Ziga, and Juan Ponce Enrile

laurel is dead, and enrile is the only remaining lawmaker

Charter change to address PH weaknesses in view of row with China — Enrile
By Cathy C. Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:07 pm | Sunday, July 1st, 2012

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42453/charter-change-to-address-ph-weaknesses-in-view-of-row-with-china-enrile

MANILA, Philippines — Now that China has sent its own astronauts into space, would it eventually go to the moon and claim it as its territory?

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile raised the question in jest on Sunday, when asked in a radio interview about China’s occupation of Scarborough Shoal off the coast of Zambales province.

Enrile blamed the occupation to the Philippines’ lack of military muscle to defend its own territory.

He said the Philippines’ weakness in the Scarborough Shoal dispute should be seen as a reason for Charter change (Cha-cha) to give priority to military spending in the national budget.

Enrile cited the Philippines’ military weakness as the reason behind the government’s sorry handling of a maritime accident in the West Philippine Sea on June 20 that took the life of a Filipino fisherman, injured three and left four others missing.

In that accident, a Hong Kong-registered cargo vessel struck the Filipinos’ fishing boat, but Enrile said the government appeared to be playing down the incident, apparently so as not to start another row with China.

A rising economic and military power, China has become more aggressive in its territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) that it insists it has
established since ancient times.

Enrile said history would show that the ancient Chinese settled on Batanes and Fuga islands in northern Philippines.

History books also mention that Chinese merchants traded regularly with natives in the archipelago before the Spanish colonizers arrived in the 16th century.

“It is known that (historical figure) Limahong, who was a prince, settled in Fuga at length,” Enrile said. “And the ethnic Chinese also lived in Batanes. This can still be gleaned [from] the features of the people there. Does that make Batanes or Fuga Chinese territory simply because they were there?”

China insists that Scarborough Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Island, is part of its territory and shows ancient maps to prove it.

Scarborough Shoal, which the Philippines calls Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc, is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (ECC) recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Enrile refuses to accept China’s citing ancient maps to bolster its claim to Scarborough Shoal.

“If we stretch this argument further, does that make India the owner of everything in the Indian Ocean?” Enrile asked, speaking in Filipino. “Does the Strait of Magellan near the tip of Argentina and Chile belong to Portugal or Spain?”

In apparent reference to China’s recent launching of the spacecraft Shenzhou 9 that carried three astronauts, Enrile said he would not be surprised if Chinese inscriptions would eventually be found on Mars or Venus or the moon, and if China would claim those planets and the moon, too.

Enrile said it would be unreasonable for China to claim an island or other areas belonging to another country “simply because their migratory birds settled there.”

He said China’s claim to Scarborough Shoal was “legally weak.”

“How would they justify their occupation of the area? Because their birds flew there? That they marked some fish and ordered these to swim there?”

“What if I also drew a map and occupy their islands? Would that be right?” he added.

Enrile pointed to the Philippines’ lack of military resources as reason for the country’s weak defense of its territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea.

“The Coast Guard has a World War II cutter given by the US government,” Enrile said. But one shot would be all it it would take to sink it, he said.

Enrile lamented the government’s seeming dismissal of the report of the survivors of the June 20 accident in the West Philippine Sea that the cargo vessel rammed their boat.

“We have yet to confirm the whole story behind that, and yet there are already parties raising eyebrows over the fishermen’s story,” Enrile said.

The playing down of the fishermen’s report made them look like “fools and liars,” he said.

Enrile also mentioned China’s warning the Philippines over the opening of an elementary school last month on Pag-asa Island, one of five islands claimed by the Philippines in the Spratly archipelago in the West Philippine Sea.

China claims all of the Spratly archipelago, parts of which are also claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. It took the opening of the school on Pag-asa Island as a “provocation.”

“The solution to this problem rests with us,” Enrile said. “We need to beef up our security. That is the only solution. If your neighbor commits acts of aggression, it would be your fault if you refuse to prepare.”

To prepare, the government should spend more for the modernization of the military, which means it may have to review the priority given to education in the Constitution.
Enrile hinted at the need for Congress to make that review.

“If you insist on a bigger budget for education and [we are theatened by war], what will you do, limit yourself to what the Constitution says?” he said. “That’s stupidity.”

“Let us make a Constitution that is flexible,” Enrile said. “Leave it to the representatives of the people to decide what are the priorities at any given time.”

The government has asked China to take their dispute over Scarborough Shoal to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos), but China has refused, insisting on its policy of dealing one on one with its territorial rivals in the West Philippine Sea.

The two countries have yet to resume talks to resolve their dispute over Scarborough Shoal.

Tasked with resuming contact with Beijing is the Philippines’ new ambassador to China, Sonia Brady.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Sunday, that Brady, 70, had been given orders to “continue the consultations in pursuit of a peaceful resolution” of the dispute over Scarborough Shoal.

as long as they focus on military review to give way for bigger military spending then go for it.

Charter change to address PH weaknesses in view of row with China — Enrile

I agree that the budget needs to be increased but there's no need to go overboard either i say tripling the budget to around 2,5% of GDP would be sufficient and a responsible level of spending .

We are more or less spending about 0,8% of GDP or 1,4 billion $ so 2,5% will roughly translate to about 4,2 billion $ about the same as Thailand ( 4,3 billion $ or 1,9% of GDP ) or slightly less than half Singapores budget ( 7,6 b$ at 4,3% of gdp ) or about half that of Taiwan ( 8,5 b$ at 2,4% of gdp ) .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures

They only need to periodically allocate special funds for procurement of extra equipment .

I agree that the budget needs to be increased but there's no need to go overboard either i say tripling the budget to around 2,5% of GDP would be sufficient .

We are more or less spending about 0,8% of GDP or 1,4 billion $ so 2,5% will roughly translate to about 4,2 billion $ about the same as Thailand or slightly less than half Singapores budget or about half that of Taiwan .

if we increase our military budget to $8B or $10B we can have a credible arm forces. or equivalent to current education budget.

Yeah but that means about 5% of gdp it's a bit much we are not in a state of war or shouldn't desire a militarised economy, 2,4% will be enough for a decent military we will be able to afford 2 to 3 squadrons of mrf's and a decent navy operating at least one or two submarines .

It then is just a case of focusing on developing and growing the economy Japan barely spends 1% of gdp but it translates to about 54 billion $, the EU collectively spends about 1,6% of GDP but translates to about 250 billion $ .

But yeah if Recto bank ressources are developed and the government get's a good deal this time unlike the botched up agreements with Malampaya then why not increase it to 4% of GDP about the same as Singapore ... .

Yeah but that means about 5% of gdp it's a bit much 2,4% will be enough for a decent military we will be able to afford two squadrons of mrf's and a decent navy operating at least one or two submarines .

It then is just a case of focusing on developing and growing the economy Japan barely spends 1% of gdp but it translates to about 54 billion $ .

But yeah if recto bank ressources are developed and the government get's a good deal this time unlike the botched up agreements with Malampaya then why not increase it to 4% of GDP about the same as Singapore ... .

given the situation in WPS. we must invest in military to be able to depend our territory.

It has to be realistic and sustainable defense should not end up bankrupting the country or stunting economic development which has really been the problem all along, Thailands economy grew faster than us which is why 1,9 % of their gdp is enough to afford them a relatively decent military .

There is no imminent threat of war let's not overstate the situation the MDT is still in effect, like i said i agree that the defense budget is too low but 2,5 % is sufficient other than this it's a question of working harder on the economic front which is in the end the true basis of military power .

Imperial Japan had a saying "Rich land strong country" .

Yes he was... here's the list...

Agapito "Butz" Aquino, Joseph Estrada, Teofisto Guingona Jr, Sotero Laurel II, Ernesto Maceda Jr, Orlando Mercado, Aquilino Pimentel Jr, Rene Saguisag, Jovito Salonga, Wigberto Tañada, Victor Ziga, and Juan Ponce Enrile
laurel is dead, and enrile is the only remaining lawmaker

Those 12 Senators who voted to have the US bases out of the country did a very good job! (Of course with some support from mother nature, the mount Pinatubo eruption!)

They should be someday given some kind of recognition for doing a good service to our country!

Those 12 Senators who voted to have the US bases out of the country did a very good job! (Of course with some support from mother nature, the mount Pinatubo eruption!)

They should be someday given some kind of recognition for doing a good service to our country!
Let's wait when China invades the Philippines. We will give them a Yin and Yang medal.

Those 12 Senators who voted to have the US bases out of the country did a very good job! (Of course with some support from mother nature, the mount Pinatubo eruption!)

They should be someday given some kind of recognition for doing a good service to our country!

Yeah, China should do the honor:D

yeah right. the same enrile who booted out the US bases then did nothing to upgrade the military....

PERFECT . . . Enrile and Erap were part of the Senate in 1991 who booted out AMERICAN BASES in CLARK which led to US widrawal of support to our AFp..

haha! daming mga brown americans dito haha!

i just noticed that it is always those pinoys in america who always brought up the topic of us kicking out the US bases before. paulit ulit yan! wala kang maririnig na mga ganitong comment sa ibang lahing americans. hmm bakit kaya?

i like what is happening to Subic and Clark right now, thousands of Filipinos are employed at the former bases compared to when it was still occupied by the US military. way better now!

China? dont worry we will have our own F/A 50Ph fighter planes soon! kaya lagot yang mga communist chinese na yan sa Panatag..bilang na ang araw nila haha!

oh by the way, did your mighty US helped us before with our claim to Sabah? WALA! diba?

so I say mabuhay ang mga dating 12 Senators for doing the right thing! hehe!

AFP to help secure fishermen in shoal
By Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated July 02, 2012 12:00 AM

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=823120&publicationSubCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines will support and coordinate efforts with the Philippine Coast Guard to ensure the safety of fishermen returning to the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said yesterday.

“In coordination with concerned agencies of the government, we will continue to relentlessly pursue all means necessary to ensure that our citizens are well-protected at all times and that they are able to exercise their freedom to include maritime rights within our sovereign territory,” Burgos said.

“The safety and security of our citizens will always be of paramount concern in all our undertakings,” he added.

The fishing ban imposed by the Philippine government in the shoal will be lifted on July 15.

Malacañang, however, has yet to decide whether to send back government ships to the shoal.

When asked if the lifting of the fishing ban would lead to the redeployment of government ships, Burgos said the Coast Guard, not the military, is directly involved in the issue.

A security official said the lifting of the fishing ban in Panatag could pave way for the return of Philippine government vessels to the disputed area.

The official, who requested anonymity, said allowing the fishermen to conduct fishing activities in the area would entail the presence of security forces to ensure their safety.

“The responsibility of authorities in the area is not just to apprehend illegal activities but also to ensure the safety of fishermen,” the official told The STAR.

“If fishermen are allowed to return (to the shoal), there ought to be personnel or vessels that would oversee them,” the official added.

The Philippine government earlier declared a fishing ban in Panatag Shoal last May to replenish the fish stock in the area.

China also declared a fishing ban even if the shoal is part of Philippine territory, as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

However, China seems to have violated its own fishing ban due to the continuous presence of Chinese fishing boats inside the shoal’s lagoon.

Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of think tank Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said China could take advantage of the Philippines’ absence in the shoal.

“It confirms the observation that the Philippines lacks capacity to sustain and enhance our presence in the shoal despite its geographic proximity. China can take advantage of this weakness,” Banlaoi told The STAR.

“But at present, the holding of CARAT (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) will enable the Philippines and its Asian allies to monitor the developments and activities in the shoal,” he added, referring to the joint Philippine-US naval exercises that will start today.

Banlaoi said the participation of some Philippine ships in CARAT is one of the reasons why the government is not yet sending vessels to Panatag Shoal.

“Philippine ships should return to Panatag Shoal to maintain our presence and demonstrate our peaceful control and benign administration of the area with or without fishing ban,” he said.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, on the other hand, called on President Aquino to intensify in the modernization of the AFP if the government wants leverage against China over the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

Enrile noted that the annual budget allocated for the country’s military is not enough.

But he said Malacañang should be given leeway to address this and provide the military its much-needed boost for modernization.

Enrile also welcomed the holding of the CARAT exercises.

Enrile shrugged off reports that the joint military exercise is a move to provoke China.

“Of course, that is what they will say, so what? If you’re provoked, move on… Peace? We always pray for peace but in this world, you always think of worst condition, and prepare for it, not assume a peaceful world, there no such thing, peace all the time,” Enrile said.

He said the people should not always put limitation to the government especially in terms of modernizing the country’s depleted military hardware and equipment.

“The day will come that you will go to war, so you need to spend for that to serve the country. What will you do if your country will be taken away from you and what will you do if countries like China will swallow you alive?” he asked.

Called off

Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles from the nearest base point in Zambales.

It is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone as provided by the UNCLOS, to which China is a signatory.

A standoff ensued on April 10 after Chinese maritime surveillance ships stopped the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese fishermen who had engaged in illegal fishing and harvesting or endangered species in the area.

The Philippines has protested the Chinese vessels’ action but China has insisted that it has sovereignty over the area.

Both countries support peaceful means to resolve the dispute despite reports of bullying by Chinese ships of Filipino vessels and fishermen.

On June 15, President Aquino directed two Philippine ships to pull out of Panatag Shoal allegedly to bad weather.

These ships have been facing off with Chinese vessels and boats that have remained in the area since April.

Five days after, on June 20, an alleged Chinese vessel accidentally rammed a local fishing boat in Bolinao, Pangasinan, north of Panatag Shoal, killing one and leaving four others still missing.

A maritime investigation is still underway to identify the foreign vessel involved in the accident.

The Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy, however, have stopped searching for the four missing fishermen.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Benito Ramos, however, said local responders continue to conduct search operations.

“The Coast Guard and Navy have called off their search operations because the fuel (for their air and naval assets) is very expensive. But our Office of Civil Defense in Region 1, our local responders and fishermen in the area are still searching for the missing persons,” Ramos yesterday told radio dzBB.

He said they are not yet giving up on the missing fishermen, whose fishing boat was reportedly rammed by a Hong Kong-registered vessel.

“We are not losing hope. They have life vests,” he said.

The four missing fishermen were identified as Fred Celino, Arnold Garcia, Domy de los Santos and Amante Resonable.

Authorities are still investigating whether the vessel really came from China and whether the collision was an accident.

haha! daming mga brown americans dito haha!

i just noticed that it is always those pinoys in america who always brought up the topic of us kicking out the US bases before. paulit ulit yan! wala kang maririnig na mga ganitong comment sa ibang lahing americans. hmm bakit kaya?

i like what is happening to Subic and Clark right now, thousands of Filipinos are employed at the former bases compared to when it was still occupied by the US military. way better now!

China? dont worry we will have our own F/A 50Ph fighter planes soon! kaya lagot yang mga communist chinese na yan sa Panatag..bilang na ang araw nila haha!

oh by the way, did your mighty US helped us before with our claim to Sabah? WALA! diba?

so I say mabuhay ang mga dating 12 Senators for doing the right thing! hehe!

Kulang pa ang TA-50 / FA-50. Kailangan talaga ng tunay na MRF.

Ano requirements para makasali sa AFP? Fresh grad lang ako, 22 years old 5'7.

Kulang pa ang TA-50 / FA-50. Kailangan talaga ng tunay na MRF.

really hope philippines just buys FA-50...:lol: that would at least have MRF capabilities.... for true MRF F/A 18s or Gripens or get into a consortium with korea, indonesia and philippines for the next gen fighter

AFP to continue enhancing soldiers' image
By Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated July 02, 2012 12:00 AM

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=823131&publicationSubCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines - The military will tap film and other modern multi-media to enhance the image of soldiers, which has been tainted by allegations of human rights abuses and corruption.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa said films would allow the public to better understand the situation and experiences of soldiers.

“The AFP recognizes the effectiveness of films in this information age. It is a medium (that would allow us) to further our partnerships with the various stakeholders who have been with us in the performance of our constitutional mandate,” Dellosa said.

“It is also a way for the people to understand the context of our own struggles and dilemmas as we navigate the complex operating environments we find ourselves in,” he added.

The move came amid notions that the military is losing the propaganda war against the communist rebels, who have been very aggressive in using modern technology to disseminate their statements.

Accusations of extrajudicial killings, irregularities, and mismanagement of resources have also affected the public’s perception of the AFP.

A basic filmmaking workshop was conducted recently by Filipino Pictures Inc., in cooperation with the AFP Civil-Military Operations School and the AFP Public Affairs Office.

The workshop, held from April 23 to May 3, provided soldiers practical training on film analysis, scriptwriting, directing, production management, cinematography, production design, sound design, and editing.

The activity seeks to enable civil-military operations personnel to use multimedia for their information campaign.

Nineteen military officers who attended the workshop joined the first-ever “AFP Write, Shoot, Cut, Play Film Screening” held last week in Camp Aguinaldo.

Four original films that portrayed the soldier as a son, a friend, a medical practitioner and a parent were shown during the event.

The short films “Tsinelas” (Slippers), “Drawing,” “Pangarap” (Dream) and “Kinse” (15) were viewed by about 1,000 soldiers from various offices and private individuals.

Dellosa has also approved the purchase of P18 million worth of equipment to improve photo coverage of the military’s activities.

The equipment to be acquired -- 198 units of digital single lens reflex cameras and 198 high-end desktop computers -- will be distributed to field units.

Dellosa said the procurement of cameras and computers is long overdue since the field units are lacking in equipment for documentation and administrative tasks.

really hope philippines just buys FA-50...:lol: that would at least have MRF capabilities.... for true MRF F/A 18s or Gripens or get into a consortium with korea, indonesia and philippines for the next gen fighter

Are F-16s really that old?

I still prefer lightweight MRFs that packs a punch!

US Navy Task Group to conduct annual maritime drill in PH
MANILA, Philippines – A US Navy Task Group has arrived in the Philippines to conduct an annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise that aims to “enhance maritime security skills and operational cohesiveness among participating forces,” the US Embassy in Manila said Monday.

In a statement, the US Embassy said CARAT Task Group 73.1, headed by Captain Dave Welch, has arrived in General Santos City. Read more (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42513/us-navy-task-group-to-conduct-annual-maritime-drill-in-ph)

Are F-16s really that old?

I still prefer lightweight MRFs that packs a punch!
IMO, it's the need that dictates what type of aircraft the country wants.
If you need strike-ability, you'll choose those bombers with lethal load; if you need to guard a long perimeter, you'll specify an interceptor with a longer range and a good targeting system; and if you wanted to have an instant close-in support to units on the ground or sea, you will need attack gunships with higher than usual pinpoint-firing guns, etc.

You can't get an edge of all possible threats if you choose just one type of aircraft. If you do, your units will fail flat on all three aspects! Which threat is more real the the others? Let's focus on a single threat that is plaguing the country's defenses for now.:cheers::cheers::cheers:

Ano requirements para makasali sa AFP? Fresh grad lang ako, 22 years old 5'7.

Go to this site,
http://www.pma.ph/

on the left column it says Join the PMA and download the form.

Two of my cousins (brothers) PMA grads & one was sent by PMA to the US Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut. Both where assigned at "The Pangulo".

Good Luck

Perhaps we can get some of these new missile boats from Taiwan?

Our country still follows the One China Policy which prohibits us from buying Taiwanese military equipment even if we have territorial disputes and ongoing tensions with China.

Kulang pa ang TA-50 / FA-50. Kailangan talaga ng tunay na MRF.

The F/A-50 is the lightweight MRF variant in the KAI Golden Eagle Family.

Are F-16s really that old?

I still prefer lightweight MRFs that packs a punch!

The F-16 was introduced in 1978. The last production line was in South Korea.

Go to this site,
http://www.pma.ph/

on the left column it says Join the PMA and download the form.

Two of my cousins (brothers) PMA grads & one was sent by PMA to the US Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut. Both where assigned at "The Pangulo".

Good Luck

22 ang age limit sa PMA. Nakapag-ROTC ba kamo sya?

We have an air strip and a naval yard in our largest claimed island in the Kalayaan Island Group which is the Pagasa Island base, it was built in 1975.


What i mean is "FORTIFY",..

SPECIAL REPORT: Air power is vital to national interest
30-Jun-12, 11:03 PM | Ben Cal, Philippines News Agency

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/36185/special-report-air-power-is-vital-to-national-interest

http://www.interaksyon.com/assets/images/articles/interphoto_1340165278.jpg

MANILA, Philippines -– Time was when the Philippine Air Force (PAF) was the cutting edge as the country’s first line of defense -- second to none in air superiority in Asia, except Japan.

The PAF was at its peak in 1950 to early 1970s as it had a strong air defense system, complete with air defense alert centers in Basa Air Base in Pampanga and Palawan, guarding the Western Philippine Sea.

During those golden years of the Air Force, an array of sophisticated jetfighter interceptors were standing-by on alert, day and night all-year-round, ready to take off at any moment’s notice to intercept and challenge any foreign aircraft or ship picked up by radar of intruding into Philippine airspace or territorial waters.

The PAF fighter jets were armed to the teeth with air-to-air and air-to-ground guided missiles, .20mm cannons and .50 caliber machine guns scrambled into the air in a matter of minutes.

Regrettably, however, through the years the once formidable PAF has dissipated into thin air and has become a weakling Air Force with not a single jetfighter remaining in its arsenal to challenge unauthorized planes entering the country’s sky.

The sorry state of the Air Force can be traced to the procrastination by the government to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to keep in pace with time, while other military forces in neighboring countries have long modernized their defense capability.

The PAF was left behind. Its vaunted air power superiority was gone.

There is a joke going around that the “Philippine Air Force is all air but no force.” It is hurting to hear but as the saying goes, truth hurts.

Col. Raul L. del Rosario, wing commander of the PAF Air Defense Wing based at Basa Air Base and an F-5 fighter pilot, reminisced the days of old when he flew the supersonic jet during acrobatic maneuver as head of the famed Blue Diamonds.

Like all fighter pilots, del Rosario is a believer of a strong Air Force as “an instrument of national power.” He said that with properly equipped Air Force, Filipino jetfighter pilots are highly proficient flyers comparable to the best in the world.

To further prove PAF pilots proficiency, del Rosario said: “We participated and won air-to-ground gunnery competitions against U.S. pilots” in many occasions in the past when the PAF had jetfighters.

Del Rosario also said that during those glory days, the Philippines sent an expeditionary squadron of F-86 Sabre jets to Congo, Africa many years ago because “we were practically number one in Asia in terms of air power.

“That just proved a point that given the equipment, we got what it takes to be a top caliber Air Force,” he said.

SPECIAL REPORT: 26 intrusions into PH airspace and territorial waters unchecked
02-Jul-12, 12:14 AM | Ben Cal, Philippines News Agency

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/36187/special-report-26-intrusions-into-ph-airspace-and-territorial-waters-unchecked

MANILA, Philippines – With practically zero air defense capability, unauthorized foreign aircraft and ships intruding into Philippine airspace and exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are left unchecked, so much that for the first quarter of 2012 alone, there were 26 intrusions, according to records of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

This is does not even count the intrusion by Chinese vessels at the Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) which has resulted in a standoff between Manila and Beijing that hogged news headlines around the world for several weeks now.

The Philippines is the second largest archipelagic country in the world with 7,107 islands and a coastline of 35,289 kilometers, twice as long as that of the United States.

With no jetfighter left in the arsenal of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) since 2005, there is no way the Air Force can intercept any foreign aircraft intruding into Philippine airspace.

The Philippines' limited radar capability adds to its security problem.

The once mighty Philippine Navy (PN) is also suffering an acute shortage of ships.

As a consequence, border crossing violations in southern Philippines remain rampant. “It is common knowledge that foreign vessels are barely challenged coming in and out of our EEZ,” said Col. Raul L. del Rosario, wing commander of the Air Defense Wing based in Pampanga, in a paper presentation at the recently-concluded Air Power Symposium at SMX Amphitheater in Pasay City.

“Based on statistics from the Department of Energy, we are losing P7.1 billion per year through poaching, P19.4 billion per year from destruction of the corals and illegal fishing a staggering P26.5 billion per year,” del Rosario said.

“Worse is the development situation in the West Philippine Sea and Scarborough Shoal where our resources and sovereignty as a nation are threatened,” he said.

Another area of contention is the Spratly islands or the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), where an enormous amount of untapped hydrocarbon deposits are found, estimated at US$ 26.3 trillion and 16.7 billion cubic feet of gas worth US$ 46 billion.

Aside from the Philippines, Spratly islands are also claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

With the Philippines lagging far behind in defense modernization, there is a need for the PAF to jump-start its air defense system.

“We start with a vision of a credible air power. We capitalize on the support of President Aquino and fast-track the project within his term (June 30, 2016).

Considering the billions of pesos needed to modernize the AFP, it is easier said than done but “ultimately, at the end of the day, all this efforts will go to waste without the support of all stakeholders, particularly the executive and legislative body.

The big challenge is rebuilding the much needed air power capability of the PAF now, not later to regain its glorious days of old truly as the country’s first line of defense that can be depended upon.

Our country still follows the One China Policy which prohibits us from buying Taiwanese military equipment even if we have territorial disputes and ongoing tensions with China.



The F/A-50 is the lightweight MRF variant in the KAI Golden Eagle Family.



The F-16 was introduced in 1978. The last production line was in South Korea.

If The FA-50 is considered an MRF, then it would be lightweight but it has full attack capabilities unlike the light attack version of the TA-50.

Only time will tell if The FA-50 can match those of China's MRFs particularly The J-10 and J-11.

haha! daming mga brown americans dito haha!

i just noticed that it is always those pinoys in america who always brought up the topic of us kicking out the US bases before. paulit ulit yan! wala kang maririnig na mga ganitong comment sa ibang lahing americans. hmm bakit kaya?

i like what is happening to Subic and Clark right now, thousands of Filipinos are employed at the former bases compared to when it was still occupied by the US military. way better now!

China? dont worry we will have our own F/A 50Ph fighter planes soon! kaya lagot yang mga communist chinese na yan sa Panatag..bilang na ang araw nila haha!

oh by the way, did your mighty US helped us before with our claim to Sabah? WALA! diba?

so I say mabuhay ang mga dating 12 Senators for doing the right thing! hehe!

you are missing the point. Subic and Clark is way better off being an economic hub rather than a military base, but that is not the point here - contextually, the point is that those senators did not leave in place a mechanism that ensures we maintain an 'externally defense capable' military when US left.

(and please, don't resort to name-calling - that's uncalled for)

PNoy wants US spy planes in China dispute

Reuters
Posted at 07/02/2012 6:51 PM | Updated as of 07/02/2012 7:22 PM

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) - President Benigno Aquino said on Monday he may ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the South China Sea to help monitor the disputed waters, a move that could worsen tensions with its giant neighbor China.

The two countries only recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, a horseshoe shaped reef near the Philippines in waters they both claim. The United States has said it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute and China has warned that "external forces" should not get involved in the dispute.

"We might be requesting overflights on that," Aquino told Reuters in an interview, referring to U.S. P3C Orion spy planes. "We don't have aircraft with those capabilities."

Last month, Aquino pulled out a lightly armed coast guard ship and a fisheries boat due to bad weather around the Scarborough Shoal, a group of rock formations about 140 miles (225 km) w es t of the main Philippine island of Luzon.

The South China Sea is potentially the biggest military flashpoint in Asia, and tensions have risen since the United States adopted a policy last year to reinforce its influence in the region. At stake is control over what are believed to be significant reserves of oil and gas.

China said last week it had begun "combat-ready" patrols in waters it said were under its control in the South China Sea, after saying it "vehemently opposed" a Vietnamese law asserting sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands.

'We have a lot of needs'

Aquino said he had not decided whether to send Philippine ships back to the disputed shoal and had called a cabinet meeting for Thursday to discuss the issue and overall relations with China.

"We'll discuss the whole issue of the relationship with China and I would like to get the advice of my advisors," Aquino told Reuters in a wood-panelled reception room in the Malacanang presidential palace.

Manila has been looking to its old ally Washington for ships, aircraft and surveillance and equipment as the United States refocuses its military attention on Asia. Manila has offered Washington greater access to airfields and its military facilities in exchange for more equipment and frequent training.

Aquino met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington in early June. In August last year, the U.S. Pacific Command made an initial offer to deploy the P3C Orion spy planes to the Philippines and help monitor disputed areas in the South China Sea after China increased its presence and activities near Reed Bank. The Pentagon offered to share real-time surveillance data with the Philippines while seeking wider access to airfields in its former colony in Southeast Asia.

"We have a lot of needs," Aquino said. "For instance the coast watch system - we have 36,000 km (22,000 miles) of coastline. We don't have radar coverage for all of this."

Aquino also said he would not object to an increased "rotational tempo" for U.S. military forces in the country to help train their Filipino counterparts.

Aquino said China should not be alarmed by Philippines efforts to improve its monitoring capability.

"Does the Philippines have the capacity to become an aggressor," he asked. "By any stretch of the imagination, the Philippines does not have. So why should it upset a superpower if we're all reasonable?"

US-Philippines naval exercises start

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Hundreds of Filipino and American sailors will conduct minesweeping and night sea insertion operations in this year's joint Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), which will also put to test the effectiveness of the multi-million dollar US and Australian-funded Coast Watch South project in Mindanao Sea.

Lt. Gen. Jorge Segovia, chief the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom), and Philippine Navy Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao commander Philip Cacayan said that mine counter measures and night insertion operations are new naval techniques that are being introduced into this year’s joint naval and coast guard drills, which is being held for the first time in the sea of Mindanao.

“This year’s naval exercise will involve mine counter-measures and the use of Navy special units in naval insertion operations during night time,” Cacayan said as the exercises opened Monday.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=823312

Segovia, after officially declaring the exercises open, said the joint naval and coast activities will also put to test the effectivity of the Coast Watch South, a sea and land-based and real-time monitoring system of all naval activities in the country’s southern backdoor.

The main objective of the Coast Watch South project is to get real-time movements of local and foreign terrorists within the country’s porous maritime border with Indonesia and Malaysia.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas, who graced the official opening of the nine-day naval event, said US sailors and Coast Guard personnel will be interacting with their Filipino counterparts on the high seas to further hone their interoperability skills.

Thomas, meanwhile, avoided answering questions involving the current territorial standoff between the Philippines and China in Panatag Shoal, particularly on China's warning that it will resolutely oppose any provocative actions in its maritime territory.

China claims almost all of South China Sea.

The US ambassador said that the decades-old alliance of the Philippines and the US remains strong while reiterating the stand of his government that all territorial disputes in the South China Sea must be resolved peacefully.

Singapore-based Rear Admiral Thomas Carney Jr, logistic commander of the Western Pacific Command’s 7th Fleet and this year’s US CARAT commander, on the other hand, said that the naval exercises has nothing to do with any territorial disputes in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

“We’re long way from South China Sea. Nothing in this (joint) exercise would be provocative. We are here because the Philippines is a treaty ally,” assured Carney.

The Philippines and China is locked in a tense maritime territorial dispute in Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), which started when two Chinese maritime vessels prevented the Philippine Navy from apprehending Chinese fishermen caught fishing illegally in the lagoon of Panatag Shoal last April.

What i mean is "FORTIFY",..

Pag-asa island is also home to a large civilian population.

If The FA-50 is considered an MRF, then it would be lightweight but it has full attack capabilities unlike the light attack version of the TA-50.

Only time will tell if The FA-50 can match those of China's MRFs particularly The J-10 and J-11.

The F/A-50 has 9 hard points or pylons for weapons and drop tanks (2 more than the T/A-50), a more powerful engine thrust, and slightly larger airframe than the T/A-50.

The F/A-50 has BVR capability and ECM pods which can compensate for its lack of speed in surviving a dogfight with faster fighter jets. It can shoot down those Chinese fighter jets using its old school radar beyond visual range, without engaging them in a physical chase.

I thought those large cylinders were bombs at first.

Anyway, if PAF purchase the TA-50s for our LIFT, there is a big chance that one of our MRFs would be The FA-50

Pag-asa island is also home to a large civilian population.


The F/A-50 has 9 hard points or pylons for weapons and drop tanks (2 more than the T/A-50), a more powerful engine thrust, and slightly larger airframe than the T/A-50.

The F/A-50 has BVR capability and ECM pods which can compensate for its lack of speed in surviving a dogfight with faster fighter jets. It can shoot down those Chinese fighter jets using its old school radar beyond visual range, without engaging them in a physical chase.

so it cannot be fortified? they should have trained those 100+ inhabitants to prepare for eventualities, including the women, we cannot tell the way the commies think they are like berserk and rabid dog,..

For that F/A-50 although it's a fighter derivative, the first batches are like prototypes and they will try the functionality of the plane in real world not in theory so every negative aspects of the plane will become a growing pain in the ass for the PAF,..

Pag-asa island is also home to a large civilian population.



The F/A-50 has 9 hard points or pylons for weapons and drop tanks (2 more than the T/A-50), a more powerful engine thrust, and slightly larger airframe than the T/A-50.

The F/A-50 has BVR capability and ECM pods which can compensate for its lack of speed in surviving a dogfight with faster fighter jets. It can shoot down those Chinese fighter jets using its old school radar beyond visual range, without engaging them in a physical chase.

i read before that the strike/interdiction radius of F/A-50 is limited and insufficient to cover the entire KIG area, that is, go to a dogfight in WPS and will not be able to come back - just fall off to the sea.

another issue is that it cannot be fitted with non-US technology including hardware/weapons, not even AESA radar. this is a limitation imposed by lockheed martin on KAI for T-50 variants, to ensure that any T-50 variants will not be a direct competitor to Lockheed Martin's F-16

PNoy wants US spy planes in China dispute

US P3 Orions recently visited the Phillippines we should basically propose landing and supply bases for the US P3 Orions so they could do surveillance flight's from Japan to the Phillippines straddling the entire region .

The P3's can then share whatever information they gather while overflying our airspace and vice versa, later on when we have better radar coverage and a full coastwatch system in place we would need to integrate closer with the US, Japan and South Korea and perhaps covertly with Taiwan to share information on all Chinese military traffic or movements in the region, the first island chain alliance all countries with MDT with the US should have full awareness of every Chinese move .


http://www.vp4association.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/P3_photo_C4_ASW_IOC_article_24_Oct_2011-300x235.jpg

Patrol Squadron Four’s Philippine Detachment; a Huge Success.

Beginning in January, 32 aircrew and maintenance personnel departed
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa to take part in a Maritime Surveillance Exercise
(MARSURVEX), the first of its kind, in the Philippines. Among the personnel
detached was VP-4’s Executive Officer, CDR Kevin Long, the Detachment
Officer in Charge, LCDR Joe Brunson, and Combat Air Crew Eleven lead by
Mission Commander, LTJG Matthew Derks.

Flown out of Clark Air Base on Luzon Island, this exercise was held to
enhance U.S. and Philippine maritime interoperability using the surface
surveillance capabilities of the U.S. Navy’s P-3 Orion. The detachment was
also an opportunity for Patrol Squadron Four to enhance foreign relations and
provide crews with excellent, real-world experience.

Once in country, the crew provided guided tours of the P-3 to 20
members of the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard. Guided by CAC-11 Mission
Commander, Matthew Derks, the guests learned basics about buoy loading,
crew member responsibilities, and aircraft limitations. With qualified operators
at each tactical station, the guests moved about the aircraft and were
provided positional capabilities briefs from the crew.

The tactical phase of MARSURVEX began on January 18 and ran
through the 21st of January. It consisted of four Maritime Domain Awareness
missions south of Jolo Island. In order to demonstrate the P-3 Orion’s over
water, surface-search capabilities, the squadron invited five Filipino riders,
each mission, to fly with the crew and experience Maritime Patrol and
Reconnaissance operations. Working in tandem with eight Filipino Coastal
Watch Stations, the crew was able to detect and identify over 400 radar
contacts in the Sulu Sea. Additionally, the Filipino riders were provided aerial
photography of selected radar contacts as the crew demonstrated low altitude
passes referred to as RIGS.

Both the crew and the riders truly enjoyed
working with each other, making the exercise a very rewarding experience.
Following the conclusion of MARSURVEX, through their own initiative,
the 32 VP-4 detachment personnel took the opportunity to contribute to the
Philippine community by visiting the Duyan Ni Maria Children’s Home in
Mabalanias, during their off duty hours. The orphanage provides shelter and
education to abandoned, neglected, and maltreated children. Personally
donating over a thousand dollars, the detachment purchased desperately
needed supplies for the Children’s Home, to include; rice, canned foods,
cooking oil, diapers, infant formula, and medicine. By delivering the supplies
themselves, VP-4 personnel were able to interact with the children and
directly see the impact their contributions made. LTJG Ever Garay stated, “I’m
really glad I was able to see the looks on the children’s faces. I haven’t felt
this good in a while.” The trip to the orphanage made a huge impact on both
the children and the members of the detachment.

As VP-4’s first detachment of deployment MARSURVEX was a vast
success; demonstrating the value of maritime patrol in the region and
enhancing international relations between the Philippines and the United
States. Equally important, the outreach to the Philippines community
impacted CAC-11 and VP-4’s maintenance personnel to a degree that will not
soon be forgotten.

http://www.vp4.navy.mil/photogallery/PhilippinesDet.pdf

Is the PLA a Paper Dragon?

China's boasts about its military may soon be put to the test, as new tension with Vietnam in the South China Sea comes on the heels of a months-long standoff with the Philippines. How confident Chinese leaders are in the strength of their armed forces will play a big role in how far they push their territorial claims. It also will indicate whether Beijing is trying to bluff America into staying out of these controversies roiling Asia.

read here;

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304211804577502292120905750.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

PNoy wants US spy planes in China dispute

Reuters
Posted at 07/02/2012 6:51 PM | Updated as of 07/02/2012 7:22 PM

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) - President Benigno Aquino said on Monday he may ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the South China Sea to help monitor the disputed waters, a move that could worsen tensions with its giant neighbor China.

The two countries only recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, a horseshoe shaped reef near the Philippines in waters they both claim. The United States has said it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute and China has warned that "external forces" should not get involved in the dispute.

"We might be requesting overflights on that," Aquino told Reuters in an interview, referring to U.S. P3C Orion spy planes. "We don't have aircraft with those capabilities."

Last month, Aquino pulled out a lightly armed coast guard ship and a fisheries boat due to bad weather around the Scarborough Shoal, a group of rock formations about 140 miles (225 km) w es t of the main Philippine island of Luzon.

The South China Sea is potentially the biggest military flashpoint in Asia, and tensions have risen since the United States adopted a policy last year to reinforce its influence in the region. At stake is control over what are believed to be significant reserves of oil and gas.

China said last week it had begun "combat-ready" patrols in waters it said were under its control in the South China Sea, after saying it "vehemently opposed" a Vietnamese law asserting sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands.

'We have a lot of needs'

Aquino said he had not decided whether to send Philippine ships back to the disputed shoal and had called a cabinet meeting for Thursday to discuss the issue and overall relations with China.

"We'll discuss the whole issue of the relationship with China and I would like to get the advice of my advisors," Aquino told Reuters in a wood-panelled reception room in the Malacanang presidential palace.

Manila has been looking to its old ally Washington for ships, aircraft and surveillance and equipment as the United States refocuses its military attention on Asia. Manila has offered Washington greater access to airfields and its military facilities in exchange for more equipment and frequent training.

Aquino met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington in early June. In August last year, the U.S. Pacific Command made an initial offer to deploy the P3C Orion spy planes to the Philippines and help monitor disputed areas in the South China Sea after China increased its presence and activities near Reed Bank. The Pentagon offered to share real-time surveillance data with the Philippines while seeking wider access to airfields in its former colony in Southeast Asia.

"We have a lot of needs," Aquino said. "For instance the coast watch system - we have 36,000 km (22,000 miles) of coastline. We don't have radar coverage for all of this."

Aquino also said he would not object to an increased "rotational tempo" for U.S. military forces in the country to help train their Filipino counterparts.

Aquino said China should not be alarmed by Philippines efforts to improve its monitoring capability.

"Does the Philippines have the capacity to become an aggressor," he asked. "By any stretch of the imagination, the Philippines does not have. So why should it upset a superpower if we're all reasonable?"

O, magprotesta ka na sa US Embassy BeaverQube, kasama ng mga kapatid mong pro-Tsina! Kung bakit kasi padalos-dalos ang mga desisyon na paalisin ang mga amerikano, hayan tuloy babalik na naman ang mga yan dahil kailangan ng tulong. At nasaan na ang 11 senators na idol mo? Bakit tahimik ang mga yan sa Scarborough issue?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/USNS_Mercy_off_Jolo.jpg
USNS MERCY OFF JOLO SULU

Today July 3 2012, USNS Mercy off to Subic Bay for Replenishment and Recreation

Originally Posted by gmaer
Pag-asa island is also home to a large civilian population.

The F/A-50 has 9 hard points or pylons for weapons and drop tanks (2 more than the T/A-50), a more powerful engine thrust, and slightly larger airframe than the T/A-50.

The F/A-50 has BVR capability and ECM pods which can compensate for its lack of speed in surviving a dogfight with faster fighter jets. It can shoot down those Chinese fighter jets using its old school radar beyond visual range, without engaging them in a physical chase.



i read before that the strike/interdiction radius of F/A-50 is limited and insufficient to cover the entire KIG area, that is, go to a dogfight in WPS and will not be able to come back - just fall off to the sea.

another issue is that it cannot be fitted with non-US technology including hardware/weapons, not even AESA radar. this is a limitation imposed by lockheed martin on KAI for T-50 variants, to ensure that any T-50 variants will not be a direct competitor to Lockheed Martin's F-16

Sounds like a Battle of Britain. The British air commander chose the tactics to fight inside the territory instead at the sea. This will make British pilots safely parachute at the surface ground and return to the airfield and fly again.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/USNS_Mercy_off_Jolo.jpg
USNS MERCY OFF JOLO SULU

Today July 3 2012, USNS Mercy off to Subic Bay for Replenishment and Recreation

Pre, pwede next time i-resize mo naman yung mga photos mo. That one took up the entire widescreen of my browser window.
Anyway, nakikinig ako sa TV Patrol kanina. Bakit ba parati na lang ng media pinipilit i-relate lahat ng isyu sa Spartlys/Skarburo? Eh ang tagal nang bumibisita ng USNS Mercy na yan now and then basta may humanitarian missions.

i read before that the strike/interdiction radius of F/A-50 is limited and insufficient to cover the entire KIG area, that is, go to a dogfight in WPS and will not be able to come back - just fall off to the sea.

another issue is that it cannot be fitted with non-US technology including hardware/weapons, not even AESA radar. this is a limitation imposed by lockheed martin on KAI for T-50 variants, to ensure that any T-50 variants will not be a direct competitor to Lockheed Martin's F-16

That's why the Koreans put BVR capability (AMRAAM missile) on the F/A-50 so it can shoot down enemy aircraft without engaging them in a dogfight.

Once the pilot detects the enemy aircraft on his 150km range radar, he will launch the BVR missile that will do the "dog-fighting" for him.

That's why the Koreans put BVR capability (AMRAAM missile) on the F/A-50 so it can shoot down enemy aircraft without engaging them in a dogfight.

Once the pilot detects the enemy aircraft on his 150km range radar, he will launch the BVR missile that will do the "dog-fighting" for him.

correct! :okay:

That's why the Koreans put BVR capability (AMRAAM missile) on the F/A-50 so it can shoot down enemy aircraft without engaging them in a dogfight.

Once the pilot detects the enemy aircraft on his 150km range radar, he will launch the BVR missile that will do the "dog-fighting" for him.

But despite of that, our pilots should still be trained in the aerial art of dogfighting.

you are missing the point. Subic and Clark is way better off being an economic hub rather than a military base, but that is not the point here - contextually, the point is that those senators did not leave in place a mechanism that ensures we maintain an 'externally defense capable' military when US left.



Since Im bored I will reply..:smug:

Really? so, you are ok then that we kicked out the US military from Subic and Clark. :okay:

What makes you think that it was only the magnificent 12 senators who should have been responsible for ensuring that our AFP should maintain a credible external defense?. Isn't it that it should have been the the entire government of the previous administrations who should have been making that a priority? Fidel Ramos is one of them!!!

Now who is missing the point?.:hahaha:

Since Im bored I will reply..:smug:

Really? so, you are ok then that we kicked out the US military from Subic and Clark. :okay:

What makes you think that it was only the magnificent 12 senators who should have been responsible for ensuring that our AFP should maintain a credible external defense?. Isn't it that it should have been the the entire government of the previous administrations who should have been making that a priority? Fidel Ramos is one of them!!!

Now who is missing the point?.:hahaha:

Hehehe. Kung hindi ka pala bored, di mo na pansinin!:banana::banana:
Yep, you're right about pointing to the whole institution which dumped us down again and again.

There is this review discussing existing problems, which in my opinion is very similar to what is happening to our country. LINK
(http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2012/06/22/why-our-leaders-are-always-failing-us/)

'China's claims in Spratlys groundless'
by Jojo Malig, ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 07/02/2012 11:31 PM | Updated as of 07/02/2012 11:31 PM

MANILA, Philippines - China's claims in the South China Sea are groundless, an Australian defense expert said at a recent Washington DC forum organized by a US think-tank.

Professor Carlyle Thayer from the Australian Defense Force Academy said at the June 27-28 gathering sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that China's so-called U-shaped line in the South China Sea is not legal.

He said the line, which China created in 1948, was drawn before the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was signed in 1982.

The 2-day forum, entitled “The East Sea and Asia Pacific in Transition: Exploring Options for Managing Disputes” focused on maritime security concerns in the region.

The gathering took take place a week before US Secretary of State Clinton attends the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Doubts over China's claim

US Senator Joseph Lieberman, in a keynote speech during the forum, also expressed doubts over China's 9-dash line.

"The lack of clarity... over the rationale for China's nine-dash line, has been especially unsettling," he said.

Lieberman said he is concerned about China’s behavior in region.

"I believe it’s pushing the region in the wrong direction and sending a message that is discouraging about what kind of great power China will be and how it will relate to its closest neighbors," he said.

"The overly broad scope, nature and basis of China’s claims are quite naturally fostering a climate of anxiety and driving other parties, most recently Vietnam and the Philippines, to fortify their own claims," he added.

Lieberman said, while the US is not a claimant in the disputes over the Spratlys, Washington has a keen interest in the area.

He said more than $1.2 trillion worth of US trade flows through the South China Sea every year.

He added that what happens in the region matters to the US because it "is a test of whether the geopolitics of a rising Asia are going to be defined by win-win cooperation or zero-sum competition."

"China’s conduct in the South China Sea will inevitably affect its relations with the U.S. and just about everyone else in the world. And in this respect, what happens in the South China Sea really is everyone’s business," Lieberman said.

China will be isolated

"When China pursues policies in the South China Sea that are heavy-handed or lack a clear basis in international law, it naturally creates distrust, increases the danger of miscalculation and leaves China, I’m afraid, more isolated in the region and in the world. That’s not an outcome that any of us should want, least of all the United States," he added.

During the forum, Lieberman praised President Benigno Aquino for his handling of the Scarborough shoal dispute.

"The de-escalation of the conflict in the Scarborough Shoal was very important. And I appreciate that President Aquino actually reacted – I think he handled it in a very balanced and sensitive way," he told Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.

The US senator said the Mutual Defense Treaty between the the US and Manila "is a matter of national obligation" for Americans.

"It’s real," he said.

He added, however, that the US should "strengthen the Philippines defensively so that no one runs the risk of trying to take advantage" of the country.

Lieberman said Washington and Manila are holding discussion "the US Senate Armed Services Committee is interested in, which are aimed particularly to give (the Philippines) some greater defensive capabilities."

Kurt Campbell, US Assistant State Secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, said Clinton will take the lead on high-level diplomacy in the region.

"The secretary will be rolling out some specific initiatives when she visits Southeast Asia in the next few weeks," he said.

Praise for Aquino

He also praised the Philippines and President Benigno Aquino's handling of the South China Sea issues.

"I must commend our colleagues in the Philippines who, I think, are working hard to ensure that peace and stability prevails," Campbell said.

"This is one of the best governments we’ve seen in decades. We want to support that government," he said.

He described Aquino recent visit to the US as a success.

"He is tackling corruption in his country in a way that we have not seen in over a generation," Campbell said.

:banana::banana::banana:

But despite of that, our pilots should still be trained in the aerial art of dogfighting.

Who will teach them? We haven't had a fighter jet since 2005, all PAF F-5 pilots are gone and much of our air combat experience is with COIN warfare.

Philippine Armed Forces Spratly Defence - REMIX (HD) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVIqOdr90iI)
Published on Jun 28, 2012 by RemixN007 (http://www.youtube.com/user/RemixN007)

zVIqOdr90iI

i Love the intensity with the Music,
Me as well hoping that Philippines' Armed Forces will stood once more!

Philippines eyes purchase of third warship, plus three naval helicopters (http://www.interaksyon.com/article/35502/philippines-eyes-purchase-of-third-warship-plus-three-naval-helicopters)
22-Jun-12, 2:25 PM | Abigail Kwok, Interaksyon.com

http://www.interaksyon.com/assets/images/articles/interphoto_1314092531.jpg

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is planning to purchase a third warship and three naval helicopters to bolster its maritime defense capabilities in a region increasingly wary of China's looming presence.

The Philippines currently has one warship in its possession, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar. Another warship, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, is expected to arrive in the country later this year.

Apart from a third warship, the Philippine Navy said it was planning to purchase three "marinized" naval helicopters to complement its available warships.

No definite date has been set, but Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama told reporters Friday the plan is to buy these using funds generated from the Energy department's Malampaya project.

Pama, in an interview with reporters at the Air Power Symposium in Pasay City, said the three will eventually be attached to the Hamilton-class cutters purchased from the United States.

"Our budget is set for three [helicopters] since domain awareness calls for helicopters on board; that’s why in our program there are three helicopters [for] three Hamilton Class [ships]. One is to one," Pama explained.

At the moment, officials are busy preparing for the arrival of the second warship, BRP Alcaraz. A 90-man crew from the Navy has been in Charleston, South Carolina since April for training and repairing of the ship.

i Love the intensity with the Music

The video contains flaws including claims that the US deployed 60% of it's fleet in 2012 which isn't the case it is yet to be done and gradually so in the coming years, these types of video's on youtube with over the top music and overuse of images of big ticket items we supposedly have or will acquire also make us look rather ridiculous to be honest and actually exposes our weaknesses more than showcase or project a sense of power .

There are ways of editing video's that would come over as more mature and serious rather than childish and absurd .

When i see the multitude of these types of video's on youtube it makes me go :doh::doh::doh: .

----


Sweden Offers Second-Hand Fighter Jets


Sweden has offered to loan Switzerland a squadron of used Gripen fighter jets – model C/D – until the new Gripen planes, chosen by Bern at the end of last year, can be delivered.

Based on the recommendation of Defence Minister Ueli Maurer, Switzerland decided to purchase a fleet of Gripen, manufactured by Sweden’s Saab group, to replace the air force’s fleet of US-made F5 Tigers.

Swedish Defence Minister Karin Enström told Maurer during a visit to Switzerland on Friday that a dozen or so C/D jets could be made available to fill gap before Saab supplies the latest model of the Gripen fighters.

“It seems to be quite an attractive offer for Switzerland,” she told public radio.

For his part, Maurer said he would study the offer carefully. “It has undeniable advantages and would allow us to withdraw the F5 planes earlier. It would allow us to prepare for the Gripen, to train the pilots, ground staff, mechanics and set up the necessary infrastructure at the airports,” he said.

“It is an idea we had discussed earlier and has now been refined by Sweden.”

Switzerland would not buy the planes, he added, but details of a deal still had to be clarified – “it’s clear we wouldn’t get them for free”.

Voters are most likely going to have a say in the plan, once parliament decides on the purchase of the fighters.

“Most suitable”

The decision to buy the Gripen was controversial and triggered heated debate in the Swiss parliament and the media.

The Swedish plane was in competition with the Rafale, made by the French Dassault company and the Eurofighter of the EADS group – a European consortium headquartered in Paris and Munich.

Maurer defended the choice, saying the Gripen had been picked not because it was the “latest and most up to date fighter” but because it was the one “most suitable” for Switzerland.

He put the total cost of the fleet of 22 aircraft at about SFr3.1 billion ($3.27 billion). (ends)

(Source: swissinfo; published June 29, 2012)


This could be an interesting deal for the PAF aswell if it could conclude something similar as Thailand had to wait something like 4 years from signing the contract to the time it's planes were delivered and flying in service, such a deal could see the PAF with mrf's whitin a shorter period of time let's say if a deal is concluded by the end of 2012 we could then quickly send pilots to train in Sweden and have a small fleet of maybe 6 mrf's by 4th quarter 2013 .

Who will teach them? We haven't had a fighter jet since 2005, all PAF F-5 pilots are gone and much of our air combat experience is with COIN warfare.

The DND will send it chosen cadets and regular officers from its junior ranks from different branches for training in different military branches and bases in the U.S.

As I mentioned before, my cousin from PMA, was sent to the US coast Guard Academy to finish his training. In the US coast Guard he has 20 hours flying lesson on Helicopter and other actual ship coast guard duty trainings.

An uncle who was a Lieutinant in PN was sent for 8 months orientation and training at Groton, connecticut submarine yard, Portsmouth naval shipyard, Virginia, and at the old Hunters Point navy shipyard, San Francisco.

I have seen a lot of foreign pilots training with the PJ's in Kirkland AFB, New Mexico a MAC Base (Military Airlift Command) and at Abilene, Texas, a SAC Base (Strategic Air Command) bombers and fighter planes when I was in service. These pilots where mostly Arabs. They were using US planes.

The DND will send it chosen cadets and regular officers from its junior ranks from different branches for training in different military branches and bases in the U.S.

Why the United States? The KAI T/A-50 nor M-346 Master are not from them so how can the Americans help train our pilots if they don't even use these jets (yet; I used the word "yet" because the T-50 and M-346 are potential candidates for the USAF T-38 Talon replacement in the future)?


As I mentioned before, my cousin from PMA, was sent to the US coast Guard Academy to finish his training. In the US coast Guard he has 20 hours flying lesson on Helicopter and other actual ship coast guard duty trainings.

The PMA trains future officers for the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and Philippine Navy so how come your cousin was sent to the US Coast Guard Academy? The Philippine Coast Guard is a maritime law enforcement agency operating under the DOTC.


An uncle who was a Lieutinant in PN was sent for 8 months orientation and training at Groton, connecticut submarine yard, Portsmouth naval shipyard, Virginia, and at the old Hunters Point navy shipyard, San Francisco.

The Philippine Navy doesn't have a Lieutenant rank unless your uncle is from the PMC (1st or 2nd Lieutenant) which is under the PN or he is a Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant Senior Grade, or Lieutenant Junior Grade or he is actually an Ensign which is the equivalent of the 2nd Lieutenant in the PA/PAF/PMC?

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/rank.htm


I have seen a lot of foreign pilots training with the PJ's in Kirkland AFB, New Mexico a MAC Base (Military Airlift Command) and at Abilene, Texas, a SAC Base (Strategic Air Command) bombers and fighter planes when I was in service. These pilots where mostly Arabs. They were using US planes.

That's my point! We will be using non-US made lead-in fighter trainer jets.

I wonder if KAI offers clear, understandable English-based training and realistic simulation is using Philippine terrain?

TVhfMxyB1fE

I would prefer much if it will be a Filipino-based training like what Aerotech Philippines does for the Alenia Aermacchi SF-260 pilots and technicians of the Philippine Air Force!

BFAR: Time to maximize Benham Rise
BY PATERNO ESMAQUEL II
Posted on 07/03/2012 7:37 PM | Updated 07/03/2012 7:50 PM

http://static.rappler.com/images/050112%20Benham%20Rise%201.png

MANILA, Philippines — For the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), it's time to maximize Benham Rise, the Philippines' new 13-million hectare territory that is potentially rich in oil and other marine resources.

The Philippines is thus planning to explore Benham Rise, as well as the largely unexplored Pacific seaboard, said BFAR director Asis Perez in a phone interview with Rappler.

The Philippines wants to eventually build port facilities in the area, he said. “Ilalagay ho natin para mapakinabangan natin ang ating pangisdaan sa lugar na 'yon,” Perez said. (We will install these so we can maximize the area's fisheries.)

BFAR is set to survey the area in August, Perez said, to determine its potential contribution to Philippine fisheries. “We know that there are so many fish in the area,” he said.

The Pacific seaboard has been a fishing site for other nationalities, such as the Taiwanese, whom Philippine officials have apprehended for territorial incursions.

http://static.rappler.com/images/050112%20Benham%20Rise%202.png

Bigger than Luzon, Benham Rise became part of Philippine territory based on a certification issued by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf earlier this year. (Read: Benham Rise: PH's new territory off Aurora.)

It is the first territory that the Philippines won under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), the same convention the Philippines invokes in its two-month standoff with China over Scarborough Shoal.

Information on Benham Rise, however, remains limited due to the extent of the studies conducted in the area. The Palace, too, has yet to make an official announcement on the Philippines' new territory.

i bet may pangalan ang china jan,tapos angkinin, kasi may oil

The PMA trains future officers for the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and Philippine Navy so how come your cousin was sent to the US Coast Guard Academy? The Philippine Coast Guard is a maritime law enforcement agency operating under the DOTC.

Vice Admiral Edmund Tan of Philippine Coast Guard is a member of PMA Class of 1980.

If the pilot fully master the basic training and maneuvering skills should they train to fire a live or dummy ammunition or missile? Looks to me they will reserve the missiles for cost savings.

Philippine Armed Forces Spratly Defence - REMIX (HD) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVIqOdr90iI)
Published on Jun 28, 2012 by RemixN007 (http://www.youtube.com/user/RemixN007)

zVIqOdr90iI

i Love the intensity with the Music,
Me as well hoping that Philippines' Armed Forces will stood once more!

karamihan future tense ang mga kagamitan ng AFP, subject to change,..:ohno:
parang nag-hahalucinate nalang para makabawi sa mga kahinaan at kainutilan ng sandatahang lakas,..:ohno:

US spy plane flyover in disputed sea not provocative

MANILA, Philippines - Allowing US spy planes to fly over the Philippine-claimed territories in the West Philippine Sea should not viewed as provocative by China, a Malacañang official said Tuesday.

“There’s no offensive capability here. So this should not be viewed as a provocative statement,” said Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) in a press briefing at Malacañang.

Carandang made the statement as Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin urged the Philippine government form "making provocative comments."

President Benigno Aquino III had said that the Philippine is contemplating on asking the US to deploy spy planes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) to monitor the disputed waters.

“We might be requesting overflights on that,” Aquino said, referring to US P3C Orion spy planes. “We don’t have aircraft with those capabilities.”

Carandang clarified that allowing the US spy planes to fly over the West Philippine Sea is only "one of the options" being considered to closely monitor "Philippine territories."

"Remember that we have a responsibility to monitor our territory to make sure that there are no incursions for one reason or another and our capabilities are rather limited,” Carandang told reporters at Malacañang.

He added: “The President was responding in the context of saying that it’s one of the options being considered to enable us to enhance our ability to monitor our territory. Now, he reiterated that there have been no decisions and that the primary responsibility belongs to the Philippine government.”

Carandang also explained that any US spy plane flyover in the West Philippine Sea wouldn’t require a treaty or agreement with the US because there are existing military agreements with the American government.

He said that he is also hoping that the recent spat between China and the Philippines will be resolved soon as the two countries continue to talk through diplomatic channels.

Coast guard ships ready to return

The Phillipine Coast Guard (PCG), meanwhile, said that its ships are prepared to return to Panatag Shoal, which is being claimed by China.

Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena, PCG Fleet commander said that all their vessels are now on standby and ready to perform maritime duties in the shoal, a rock formation 124 miles from mainland Zambales which China continuously claim as an integral part of its maritime domain in the West Philippine Sea.

“Any time we are prepared to go back (to Pantag). We are just waiting for orders,” Isorena said at the sideline of the official launching of this year’s joint naval and maritime drills between the Philippines and the United States in General Santos City the other day.

The PCG is participating in this year’s Phl-US naval joint drill dubbed Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training 2012 (CARAT-2012), by deploying one of its search and rescue vessels, BRP Pampanga.

The naval exercises are being conducted in the Mindanao Sea. One US ship has sailed to Manila Bay to look for a missing Philippine Air Force plane.

BRP Pampanga was the first PCG vessel to be dispatched to Panatag Shoal, a rich Filipino fishing ground, to deescalate tension in the area last April 10 between the Philippines and the Chinese ships.

Maritime tension between the Philippines and Beijing started when two Chinese maritime surveillance ships blocked the Philippine Navy’s flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar from arresting Chinese fishermen who were caught conducting poaching inside the shoal.

“After these joint exercises, BRP Pampanga will return to Panatag if so ordered by higher authorities,” said PCG spokesman, Commander Armand Balilo.

PCG vessels have been alternately maintaining their presence in the hotly-contested region since until President Aquino ordered the pull-out of all government vessels from the shoal last June 15.

The Philippine government said that the pull out was prompted by bad weather. -- Jaime Laude

http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=63&articleid=823695

Japan, Philippines sign defence pact

http://jdw.janes.com/public/jdw/asiapacific.shtml

The defence ministers of Japan and the Philippines agreed on 2 July to closer military co-operation with an emphasis on maritime security. Japanese Defence...
02-Jul-2012

The PMA trains future officers for the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and Philippine Navy so how come your cousin was sent to the US Coast Guard Academy? The Philippine Coast Guard is a maritime law enforcement agency operating under the DOTC.



The Philippine Navy doesn't have a Lieutenant rank unless your uncle is from the PMC (1st or 2nd Lieutenant) which is under the PN or he is a Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant Senior Grade, or Lieutenant Junior Grade or he is actually an Ensign which is the equivalent of the 2nd Lieutenant in the PA/PAF/PMC?


the trainings and seminars with civilian agencies are very normal in the military, we need to be an interoperative force thats why we train with them... although generally our knowledge in warfare is more superior compared to them (specifically in the infantry role: even surpassing the US SF/Rangers in mockup trainings and seminars we conducted in Mindanao) mas astig talaga ang Philippine Army... share ko lng from my tour of duty and field experience here and abroad... :)

China rushes surveillance ships to islands claimed by Vietnam

BEIJING: Amid rising tensions between China and its neighbours over the disputed territories in the South China Sea, Beijing today sent four surveillance ships to the area also claimed by Vietnam after spotting a foreign fishing vessel there.

The ships reached the Nansha islands, at the centre of the disputed areas, this morning when radar suggested the presence of a foreign fishing vessel nearby.

According to the team, Chinese patrol staff immediately broadcast a statement in Chinese, English and Vietnamese to proclaim sovereignty of the Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands also claimed by Vietnam, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Yesterday, the team conducted a formation practice near Yongshu Reef in the South China Sea. The two-hour practice session was fulfilled smoothly but a helicopter scheduled to take part did not do so, due to adverse weather.

The ships reached Huayang Reef, a coral reef in the Nansha Islands, on Sunday and anchored northeast of Yongshu Reef on Sunday evening.

Since taking off from south China's coastal city of Sanya on June 26, the team has sailed more than 2,000 nautical miles.

China rushed the ships to the islands after Vietnam passed a new law in its parliament asserting the islands are part of its Exclusive Economic Zone, (EEZ).

China immediately protested and summoned Vietnamese Ambassador here and conveyed its resentment over the move by Hanoi.

Vietnam referred to the islands Spratly islands and sent two Russian-made Su-27 fighters to conduct a "patrol flight" over the disputed islands.

China has a similar dispute going with Philippines on another island.

The scores of islands in the South China Sea over which Beijing lays claim were also claimed by other countries.

Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan assert many of them formed part of their Exclusive Economic Zone. Whereas China asserts that they were all inherent part of its maritime waters.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-rushes-surveillance-ships-to-islands-claimed-by-Vietnam/articleshow/14648932.cms

karamihan future tense ang mga kagamitan ng AFP, subject to change,..:ohno:
parang nag-hahalucinate nalang para makabawi sa mga kahinaan at kainutilan ng sandatahang lakas,..:ohno:

Maybe, but you can't blame the Present Government..
Hirap ng iniwan ng magagaling na pangulo naten dati,
nasanay masyado sa donations.. :nuts:

The video contains flaws including claims that the US deployed 60% of it's fleet in 2012 which isn't the case it is yet to be done and gradually so in the coming years, these types of video's on youtube with over the top music and overuse of images of big ticket items we supposedly have or will acquire also make us look rather ridiculous to be honest and actually exposes our weaknesses more than showcase or project a sense of power .

There are ways of editing video's that would come over as more mature and serious rather than childish and absurd .

When i see the multitude of these types of video's on youtube it makes me go :doh::doh::doh: .

----


Perhaps you can make one :smug:

China rushes surveillance ships to islands claimed by Vietnam

BEIJING: Amid rising tensions between China and its neighbours over the disputed territories in the South China Sea, Beijing today sent four surveillance ships to the area also claimed by Vietnam after spotting a foreign fishing vessel there.

The ships reached the Nansha islands, at the centre of the disputed areas, this morning when radar suggested the presence of a foreign fishing vessel nearby.

According to the team, Chinese patrol staff immediately broadcast a statement in Chinese, English and Vietnamese to proclaim sovereignty of the Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands also claimed by Vietnam, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Yesterday, the team conducted a formation practice near Yongshu Reef in the South China Sea. The two-hour practice session was fulfilled smoothly but a helicopter scheduled to take part did not do so, due to adverse weather.

The ships reached Huayang Reef, a coral reef in the Nansha Islands, on Sunday and anchored northeast of Yongshu Reef on Sunday evening.

Since taking off from south China's coastal city of Sanya on June 26, the team has sailed more than 2,000 nautical miles.

China rushed the ships to the islands after Vietnam passed a new law in its parliament asserting the islands are part of its Exclusive Economic Zone, (EEZ).

China immediately protested and summoned Vietnamese Ambassador here and conveyed its resentment over the move by Hanoi.

Vietnam referred to the islands Spratly islands and sent two Russian-made Su-27 fighters to conduct a "patrol flight" over the disputed islands.

China has a similar dispute going with Philippines on another island.

The scores of islands in the South China Sea over which Beijing lays claim were also claimed by other countries.

Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan assert many of them formed part of their Exclusive Economic Zone. Whereas China asserts that they were all inherent part of its maritime waters.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-rushes-surveillance-ships-to-islands-claimed-by-Vietnam/articleshow/14648932.cms
Rather than filing a complain against VN in the UN, they prefer show of force

This further makes China's image worse.

Japan, Philippines sign defence pact

http://jdw.janes.com/public/jdw/asiapacific.shtml

The defence ministers of Japan and the Philippines agreed on 2 July to closer military co-operation with an emphasis on maritime security. Japanese Defence...
02-Jul-2012

Good news! :cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:


S. Korea, next? :D

oh by the way, did your mighty US helped us before with our claim to Sabah? WALA! diba?



Uhm, why would the US help in our claims in Sabah when:

Marcos decided to invade it by force
The Phil gov't despite having claims, never seriously pursued bringing in to international courts? Never pursued it seriously through actions except for the failed bloody invasion. All talk only. Do we even know what ethnic groups is
Sila ba nakikipag tug-of-war with Malaysia?
If the US will try to help, hypocritical 'nationalists' would cry "pakialamero"

(problem with short self righteous Pinoys is that when country X does not meddle, they complain that country does not meddle; when that country meddles, they complain that country meddles....ano ba talaga? )

Sounds eerily familiar? The DFA has been yakking about bringing it to the ITLOS yet it hasn't done so until now? W almost don't have control of the shoal now because Chian duped the DFA and the DFA is still NOT filing a complaint officially. Only complaining during "press releases"


And now the US has a subtle approach toward the issue, the living magic 12 are complaining that the US is not doing it's part on the MDT (when China has NOT even attacked the Philippines or Philippine assets DIRECTLY)....:lol:

I bet it the US is bolder with their interest in the issue, the same people will complain that the US is meddling

----

The problem with Filipino mentality is that we have oozing empty machismo and tend to overestimate our importance.

Charter change to address PH weaknesses in view of row with China — Enrile
By Cathy C. Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:07 pm | Sunday, July 1st, 2012

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42453/charter-change-to-address-ph-weaknesses-in-view-of-row-with-china-enrile



Enrile blamed the occupation to the Philippines’ lack of military muscle to defend its own territory.

He said the Philippines’ weakness in the Scarborough Shoal dispute should be seen as a reason for Charter change (Cha-cha) to give priority to military spending in the national budget.

Enrile cited the Philippines’ military weakness as the reason behind the government’s sorry handling of a maritime accident in the West Philippine Sea on June 20 that took the life of a Filipino fisherman, injured three and left four others missing.

.

This is the right way to go but I am afraid that 20 years is too long stalled.

In the first place, when he and the other magic 12 decided to kick out the bases by did they not increase the AFP budget? Inasa lang sa pagbebenta ng military assets na bigla ding nawala and they did not even seem enthusiastic enough to investigate what happened with those funds...:nuts:

Yeah but that means about 5% of gdp it's a bit much we are not in a state of war or shouldn't desire a militarised economy, 2,4% will be enough for a decent military we will be able to afford 2 to 3 squadrons of mrf's and a decent navy operating at least one or two submarines .

It then is just a case of focusing on developing and growing the economy Japan barely spends 1% of gdp but it translates to about 54 billion $, the EU collectively spends about 1,6% of GDP but translates to about 250 billion $ .

But yeah if Recto bank ressources are developed and the government get's a good deal this time unlike the botched up agreements with Malampaya then why not increase it to 4% of GDP about the same as Singapore ... .

How about "temporary increase" in % of GDP and when we have acquired what we need, we can bring it down again, for maintenance purposes.

I think we need to really speed up our acquisition right now to protect our territory and EEZ and have the capability to arrest who violate our laws. Maybe, if we have the necessary equipment, we can lower the %GDP again

Hope this works,

AxI37pmbCXM

Why the concern? :lol:

Are they scared of the baby damulag country? :lol::lol::lol:


http://www.gothamist.com/attachments/Jen%20Chung/2006_02_babyboh.jpg

VERSUS

http://pictures.linkmesh.com/dragons/images/spirited_away.jpg

oh by the way, did your mighty US helped us before with our claim to Sabah? WALA! diba?

Uhm, why would the US help in our claims in Sabah when:

Marcos decided to invade it by force
The Phil gov't despite having claims, never seriously pursued bringing in to international courts? Never pursued it seriously through actions except for the failed bloody invasion. All talk only. Do we even know what ethnic groups is
Sila ba nakikipag tug-of-war with Malaysia?
If the US will try to help, hypocritical 'nationalists' would cry "pakialamero"

(problem with short self righteous Pinoys is that when country X does not meddle, they complain that country does not meddle; when that country meddles, they complain that country meddles....ano ba talaga? )

Sounds eerily familiar? The DFA has been yakking about bringing it to the ITLOS yet it hasn't done so until now? W almost don't have control of the shoal now because Chian duped the DFA and the DFA is still NOT filing a complaint officially. Only complaining during "press releases"

...

US didn't exactly take sides during the Falklands War either. They were also "neutral". But covertly they did give a lot of support to the Brits such as intelligence etc. and recently declassified news states that they did offer a replacement should one of the HMSs get damaged during the crisis.

I think Papa Sugar is playing the same ambigous strategy here in the Spratlys/Skarburo issue. They can't afford to antagonise China further given that before the recent flare-ups, Papa Chang and Papa Sugar's relationship weren't always rosy and lest they be accused of war-mongering (also by their own citizens as well), meddling and using PH/Asia as a pawn against China.
But look at some of Papa Sugs actions lately and I think you'll be able to predict what position he'll eventually take if ever, worse comes worst.
But let's hope it doesn't come to that.

US didn't exactly take sides during the Falklands War either. They were also "neutral". But covertly they did give a lot of support to the Brits such as intelligence etc. and recently declassified news states that they did offer a replacement should one of the HMSs get damaged during the crisis.

I think Papa Sugar is playing the same ambigous strategy here in the Spratlys/Skarburo issue. They can't afford to antagonise China further given that before the recent flare-ups, Papa Chang and Papa Sugar's relationship weren't always rosy and lest they be accused of war-mongering (also by their own citizens as well), meddling and using PH/Asia as a pawn against China.
But look at some of Papa Sugs actions lately and I think you'll be able to predict what position he'll eventually take if ever, worse comes worst.
But let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Papa Sugs overtly supporting the PH will not give a good image either.

We will look like a country either being used by the US or using the US to pursue our own interest. :lol: It doesn't look good in any way

Besides, how can you expect another country to help you against another country when you are not doing your best? The DFA has not filed any complaints yet and the stand off is almost 3 months

Papa Sugs overtly supporting the PH will not give a good image either.

We will look like a country either being used by the US or using the US to pursue our own interest. :lol: It doesn't look good in any way

Besides, how can you expect another country to help you against another country when you are not doing your best? The DFA has not filed any complaints yet and the stand off is almost 3 months

I think Penoy is, unknowingly or knowingly, giving off that image right now.
Anyhow, It's Papa Sugs bday! What has the Baby Damulag in store, requests for more "allowance" or more whining?

Update: The Queen of Spain is here till the 6th! For the time being, we are no longer "orphans":lol: :lol:

I think Penoy is, unknowingly or knowingly, giving off that image right now.
Anyhow, It's Papa Sugs bday! What has the Baby Damulag in store, requests for more "allowance" or more whining?


Yah you know that constantly ranting about the MDT...
It used to be we celebrate the same birthday with Papa :lol::lol::lol:

China paper accuses Manila over S.China Sea "plot" (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/china-paper-accuses-manila-over-china-sea-plot-022327992.html)

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top newspaper accused the Philippines of orchestrating a plot to deliberately stir up tensions over the disputed South China Sea, and warned that Beijing's patience should not be mistaken for weakness.

The Philippines may ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the area to help monitor its waters, President Benigno Aquino told Reuters on Monday, a move that could worsen tensions with its giant neighbour China.

China and the Philippines only recently stepped back from a months-long standoff at the Scarborough Shoal, a horseshoe-shaped reef near the Philippines in waters they both claim - the latest round of naval brinkmanship over the resource-rich sea.

China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia all have competing claims in the South China Sea, but China's claims encompass almost all its waters.

A commentary in Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily on Tuesday said the Philippines was once more planning to stoke tensions over the issue at a key regional security summit starting later this week in Cambodia.

"On the cusp of the ASEAN foreign ministers meetings, the Philippines is sparing no effort to stir up the South China Sea issue through all sorts of means, and we should be on guard against its plots," the newspaper wrote.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) meeting will be attended in its latter stages by China and the United States, who have repeatedly clashed over the South China Sea. China has warned that "external forces" should not get involved.

The United States has stressed it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute, despite offering to help boost the Philippines' decrepit military forces.

The People's Daily said ASEAN was not the right forum to discuss the South China Sea, repeating the government's stance that talks should only happen on a bilateral basis between the countries directly involved.

The Cambodia summit should instead focus on other issues, it suggested, like an ASEAN nuclear weapons-free zone.

All countries, including the Philippines, would also do well to remember the economic benefits they have gained from China's boom, it added.

"What the Philippines wants to do runs counter to the common interest of ASEAN, and will not be echoed by many other countries," the paper said.

"China's cherishing of regional peace and stability and ... good intentions should not be seen as weakness nor as yielding."

The commentary was published under the pen name "Zhong Sheng", meaning "Voice of China", which is often used to give the paper's view on foreign policy issues. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Paul Tait)


Noticed something with Chinese op-eds? Rather than proving themselves, they concentrate disproving their rivals without trying to prove theirs solidly.

Bad strategy :lol::lol::lol:

Exclude China from oil exploration – ex-AFP chief (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/06/28/12/exclude-china-oil-exploration-%E2%80%93-ex-afp-chief)

MANILA, Philippines - Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, said China should be excluded from any plans for a joint exploration of disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea.

He said the country should go into joint ventures with countries who are not claiming ownership, like the United States, Japan, the European Union and Australia.

Biazon is also urging the government to assign just one spokesperson on foreign affairs to avoid confusion.

Biazon cited the recent different statements on the incident at the Scarborough Shoal.

^^ Just the right thing to do.

Issues of sovereignty is the main problem of the issue. Who has the sovereignty over Scarborough?

U.N cannot force either PHL or China because as states these two are inherently sovereign on their own where no higher entity has the authority over them.

yeah, Biazon is right.

Uhm, why would the US help in our claims in Sabah when:

Marcos decided to invade it by force
The Phil gov't despite having claims, never seriously pursued bringing in to international courts? Never pursued it seriously through actions except for the failed bloody invasion. All talk only. Do we even know what ethnic groups is
Sila ba nakikipag tug-of-war with Malaysia?
If the US will try to help, hypocritical 'nationalists' would cry "pakialamero"

(problem with short self righteous Pinoys is that when country X does not meddle, they complain that country does not meddle; when that country meddles, they complain that country meddles....ano ba talaga? )

Sounds eerily familiar? The DFA has been yakking about bringing it to the ITLOS yet it hasn't done so until now? W almost don't have control of the shoal now because Chian duped the DFA and the DFA is still NOT filing a complaint officially. Only complaining during "press releases"


And now the US has a subtle approach toward the issue, the living magic 12 are complaining that the US is not doing it's part on the MDT (when China has NOT even attacked the Philippines or Philippine assets DIRECTLY)....:lol:

I bet it the US is bolder with their interest in the issue, the same people will complain that the US is meddling

----

The problem with Filipino mentality is that we have oozing empty machismo and tend to overestimate our importance.



Your argument is incomprehensible! you should be the official spokesman of our embassy in China!:lol::lol: Para matuliro ang mga intsik doon kung paano ka intindihin kasi ganoon din ang strategy nila sa atin..

Vice Admiral Edmund Tan of Philippine Coast Guard is a member of PMA Class of 1980.

That was when the Philippine Coast Guard was still under the Philippine Navy (and the DND) not by the DOTC. :cheers:

Papa Sugs overtly supporting the PH will not give a good image either.

We will look like a country either being used by the US or using the US to pursue our own interest. :lol: It doesn't look good in any way

Besides, how can you expect another country to help you against another country when you are not doing your best? The DFA has not filed any complaints yet and the stand off is almost 3 months

What can you expect from our half-Chinese president? :nuts:

yeah, Biazon is right.

Not all the time... :ohno:

Biazon oppose fighter jets acquisition

Manila, Philippines – Instead of submitting a wish list that would include acquisition of fighter jets and modern military hardware, the Philippines should ask the US government to supply it with cargo aircraft, choppers, and sea transport to beef up its relief operations and defense against natural calamities.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the House Committee on National Defense, backed this proposal by saying that confrontation with typhoons, earthquakes, and other natural disasters are more imminent compared to a threat of war over the dispute for West Philippine Sea (also known as the South China Sea) territories against China.

http://www.tempo.com.ph/2012/rp-jet-fighter-purchase-nixed/

China paper accuses Manila over S.China Sea "plot" (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/china-paper-accuses-manila-over-china-sea-plot-022327992.html)



Noticed something with Chinese op-eds? Rather than proving themselves, they concentrate disproving their rivals without trying to prove theirs solidly.

Bad strategy :lol::lol::lol:

Hindi sila basta makapwesto dyan. They're scared if US gets involved,because they will get nothing and that's exactly what Philippines is doing. :lol:

Knowing too na wala tayong kwenta sa kanila.:lol:

China paper accuses Manila over S.China Sea "plot" (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/china-paper-accuses-manila-over-china-sea-plot-022327992.html)



Noticed something with Chinese op-eds? Rather than proving themselves, they concentrate disproving their rivals without trying to prove theirs solidly.

Bad strategy :lol::lol::lol:

They are describing themselves in the paper. :lol:

Spratlys cop’ role for US—DFA

Let the United States police the disputed waters of Scarborough Shoal and keep the peace.

Thus, President Benigno Aquino’s plan to ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) should not be seen as an escalation of tensions between the Philippines and China, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

“As a treaty ally, the US has been assisting us in developing a minimum credible defense posture and that includes maritime domain awareness and surveillance reconnaissance as well as intelligence gathering,” DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez told reporters.

He said the flybys would only be for surveillance and monitoring.

“We are just monitoring what is happening in our areas, in our territories,” Hernandez said, stressing that these activities were a sovereign prerogative. He said he had no further details on Mr. Aquino’s plan.

Senator Gregorio Honasan on Tuesday welcomed the President’s move and even suggested that the United States could redeploy to Scarborough Shoal some of its units currently in Mindanao under the Visiting Forces Agreement.

‘Barangay tanod’

“In a bilateral situation, there should be a parity of forces, of leverage. But in our case with China, there’s none. That’s why I need to underscore the need for a third party, an observer,” Honasan said.

“They’ll be the ‘barangay tanod.’ They’ll be the police. They will monitor everything. Any movement of naval and air assets in the area will be monitored by the US,” he added.

“If there’s a violation of the initial agreement, of ground rules, there would be a disinterested party that would call the attention (of both countries), and I think the US fits that role.”

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Mr. Aquino raised the possibility he would request “overflights” in the area where the Philippines and China have been locked in a standoff over Scarborough Shoal sparked by the poaching of marine life by Chinese fishermen.

The United States has declared its neutrality in the dispute, and China has warned against the involvement of “external forces” in the confrontation.

“But the question really is: What do we do with that information?” Honasan, a former Army colonel, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview. “If they would just feed us information that there’s an intrusion but the Americans would do nothing, useless.”

Honasan said Washington could send a “carrier task group” composed of an aircraft carrier and destroyers to police the area where the Philippines had accused China of harassing its vessels.

Clarify US position

He said the US military presence would help “level” the field between the Philippines and China, which boasts of a much stronger military.

But Honasan said the Philippine government should first clarify the US position on the dispute.

“We have to ask the US: Do they believe that the Scarborough Shoal belongs to us? I think we should get a categorical answer from them,” he said.

“If they say it belongs to China, it’s over. Let’s go home,” he said. “Now if they believe that it belongs to the Philippines, help us put up structures there and deploy your troops there. Establish a naval component there as a monitoring device for your deployed air and naval asset.”

Honasan said the Scarborough dispute would allow the Aquino administration to “test” whether the United States placed more value on its historical ties with the Philippines than its relationship with China.

The Philippines should also conduct “backdoor diplomacy” with China over the possibility of a joint exploration of the disputed territory, the senator said.

“This is not a simple issue,” he said.

No plan to go back

General Jessie Dellosa, Armed Forces chief of staff, told reporters on Tuesday he was awaiting orders from Malacañang on whether vessels withdrawn from the Scarborough Shoal should be sent back.

“Actually it’s up to the government, they will decide on this matter,” Dellosa said.

He said the pullout of a Coast Guard vessel and a government fisheries research vessel from the shoal on June 15 “helped to deescalate the situation.”

He failed to mention that China did not withdraw its several large maritime ships from the area but even abetted the presence of dozens of fishing vessels despite its purported fishing ban there.

When asked, Dellosa said China’s reported deployment of combat-ready patrol boats in the disputed Spratlys was not a cause of concern.

“That is a usual transit area for ships. There’s no problem with that,” he said. With a report from Dona Z. Pazzibugan

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42787/‘spratlys-cop’-role-for-us—dfa

^^ Kitams. :lol:

Uhm, why would the US help in our claims in Sabah when:

Marcos decided to invade it by force
The Phil gov't despite having claims, never seriously pursued bringing in to international courts? Never pursued it seriously through actions except for the failed bloody invasion. All talk only. Do we even know what ethnic groups is
Sila ba nakikipag tug-of-war with Malaysia?
If the US will try to help, hypocritical 'nationalists' would cry "pakialamero"

(problem with short self righteous Pinoys is that when country X does not meddle, they complain that country does not meddle; when that country meddles, they complain that country meddles....ano ba talaga? )

Sounds eerily familiar? The DFA has been yakking about bringing it to the ITLOS yet it hasn't done so until now? W almost don't have control of the shoal now because Chian duped the DFA and the DFA is still NOT filing a complaint officially. Only complaining during "press releases"


And now the US has a subtle approach toward the issue, the living magic 12 are complaining that the US is not doing it's part on the MDT (when China has NOT even attacked the Philippines or Philippine assets DIRECTLY)....:lol:

I bet it the US is bolder with their interest in the issue, the same people will complain that the US is meddling

----

The problem with Filipino mentality is that we have oozing empty machismo and tend to overestimate our importance.

Exactly, they open their mouths first without anything to back them up. We kicked out Papa Sugar for meddling in our affairs but they haven't done anything to modernize our capabilities for the past 20 years.

Tapos ngayon, sa kanya pa rin ang sigaw ng damdamin :lol::lol:

Lumalabas tuloy na kahiya hiya tayo.

Chinese patrol ships reach Spratlys to conduct 'observations'

A Chinese patrol team on Tuesday reached reefs and islands in the center of the disputed Nansha (Spratly) Islands, supposedly to conduct closer observations during a patrol mission in the South China Sea.

The Chinese government said the team included four China Marine Surveillance ships, and reached the area Tuesday morning after radar indicated a “foreign” fishing vessel was nearby, according to a report on the Chinese government’s web portal.

“Chinese patrol staff immediately broadcast a statement in Chinese, English and Vietnamese to proclaim sovereignty of the Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands,” said the report posted on the web portal Tuesday night.

It did not specify the nationality of the the supposed fishing vessel’s occupants.

The patrol team had conducted a two-hour formation practice near Yongshu Reef in the South China Sea Monday, though a helicopter scheduled to take part did not do so, due to adverse weather.

According to the Chinese government report, the ships reached Huayang Reef, a coral reef in the Nansha Islands, on Sunday and anchored northeast of Yongshu Reef on Sunday evening.

Since taking off from south China’s coastal city of Sanya on June 26, the team has sailed more than 2,000 nautical miles.

There are six claimants to the Spratly Islands, including the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

The Philippines and China are also locked in a standoff at the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal area since April. — LBG, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/264071/news/world/chinese-patrol-ships-reach-spratlys-to-conduct-observations

^^ Kitams. :lol:



Exactly, they open their mouths first without anything to back them up. We kicked out Papa Sugar for meddling in our affairs but they haven't done anything to modernize our capabilities for the past 20 years.

Tapos ngayon, sa kanya pa rin ang sigaw ng damdamin :lol::lol:

Lumalabas tuloy na kahiya hiya tayo.

Sa kanya pa rin babalik sigaw, ng damdamin
Sa kanya pa rin sasaya bulong ng puso ko
Kung buhay pa ang alaala ng ating nakaraan
Ang pagmamahal at panahon alay pa rin sa kanya

Nakapagtataka talaga yung relasyon natin kay Papa Sugar no?


:lol::lol::lol:

Spratlys cop’ role for US—DFA

Let the United States police the disputed waters of Scarborough Shoal and keep the peace.

Thus, President Benigno Aquino’s plan to ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) should not be seen as an escalation of tensions between the Philippines and China, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

“As a treaty ally, the US has been assisting us in developing a minimum credible defense posture and that includes maritime domain awareness and surveillance reconnaissance as well as intelligence gathering,” DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez told reporters.

He said the flybys would only be for surveillance and monitoring.

“We are just monitoring what is happening in our areas, in our territories,” Hernandez said, stressing that these activities were a sovereign prerogative. He said he had no further details on Mr. Aquino’s plan.

Senator Gregorio Honasan on Tuesday welcomed the President’s move and even suggested that the United States could redeploy to Scarborough Shoal some of its units currently in Mindanao under the Visiting Forces Agreement.

‘Barangay tanod’

“In a bilateral situation, there should be a parity of forces, of leverage. But in our case with China, there’s none. That’s why I need to underscore the need for a third party, an observer,” Honasan said.

“They’ll be the ‘barangay tanod.’ They’ll be the police. They will monitor everything. Any movement of naval and air assets in the area will be monitored by the US,” he added.

“If there’s a violation of the initial agreement, of ground rules, there would be a disinterested party that would call the attention (of both countries), and I think the US fits that role.”

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Mr. Aquino raised the possibility he would request “overflights” in the area where the Philippines and China have been locked in a standoff over Scarborough Shoal sparked by the poaching of marine life by Chinese fishermen.

The United States has declared its neutrality in the dispute, and China has warned against the involvement of “external forces” in the confrontation.

“But the question really is: What do we do with that information?” Honasan, a former Army colonel, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview. “If they would just feed us information that there’s an intrusion but the Americans would do nothing, useless.”

Honasan said Washington could send a “carrier task group” composed of an aircraft carrier and destroyers to police the area where the Philippines had accused China of harassing its vessels.

Clarify US position

He said the US military presence would help “level” the field between the Philippines and China, which boasts of a much stronger military.

But Honasan said the Philippine government should first clarify the US position on the dispute.

“We have to ask the US: Do they believe that the Scarborough Shoal belongs to us? I think we should get a categorical answer from them,” he said.

“If they say it belongs to China, it’s over. Let’s go home,” he said. “Now if they believe that it belongs to the Philippines, help us put up structures there and deploy your troops there. Establish a naval component there as a monitoring device for your deployed air and naval asset.”

Honasan said the Scarborough dispute would allow the Aquino administration to “test” whether the United States placed more value on its historical ties with the Philippines than its relationship with China.

The Philippines should also conduct “backdoor diplomacy” with China over the possibility of a joint exploration of the disputed territory, the senator said.

“This is not a simple issue,” he said.

No plan to go back

General Jessie Dellosa, Armed Forces chief of staff, told reporters on Tuesday he was awaiting orders from Malacañang on whether vessels withdrawn from the Scarborough Shoal should be sent back.

“Actually it’s up to the government, they will decide on this matter,” Dellosa said.

He said the pullout of a Coast Guard vessel and a government fisheries research vessel from the shoal on June 15 “helped to deescalate the situation.”

He failed to mention that China did not withdraw its several large maritime ships from the area but even abetted the presence of dozens of fishing vessels despite its purported fishing ban there.

When asked, Dellosa said China’s reported deployment of combat-ready patrol boats in the disputed Spratlys was not a cause of concern.

“That is a usual transit area for ships. There’s no problem with that,” he said. With a report from Dona Z. Pazzibugan

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42787/‘spratlys-cop’-role-for-us—dfa (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42787/%E2%80%98spratlys-cop%E2%80%99-role-for-us%E2%80%94dfa)

Wow. Wonder if Papa Sugar asks for a similar test of loyalty? Did we pass that one yet?:lol:

Wow. Wonder if Papa Sugar asks for a similar test of loyalty? Did we pass that one yet?:lol:

nyet! :lol: we kicked them out from Subic and Clark then we left cold the Coalition Forces. test of loyalty - :lol: loyalty on Uncle Sam's 'behind'!

^^ Kitams. :lol:



Exactly, they open their mouths first without anything to back them up. We kicked out Papa Sugar for meddling in our affairs but they haven't done anything to modernize our capabilities for the past 20 years.

Tapos ngayon, sa kanya pa rin ang sigaw ng damdamin :lol::lol:

Lumalabas tuloy na kahiya hiya tayo.

unfortunately, hindi pa rin tayo naka-graduate sa beggar mentality,... beg beg beg beg.... :nuts: at wala raw kasalanan ang "magnificient 12" na hindi na-upgrade and military. :lol:

they were the lawmakers at that time for crying out loud!

That's why the Koreans put BVR capability (AMRAAM missile) on the F/A-50 so it can shoot down enemy aircraft without engaging them in a dogfight.

Once the pilot detects the enemy aircraft on his 150km range radar, he will launch the BVR missile that will do the "dog-fighting" for him.


that's assuming you can detect everything, what about a stealth fighter plane - like perhaps an operational J-20? :), or maybe you expect only few enemy planes:).

if the PAF would go with the korean T-50 planes, i really hope that KAI can at least improve the reported limited strike radius and options to allow fitting of non-US technologies/weapons including AESA radars

that's assuming you can detect everything, what about a stealth fighter plane - like perhaps an operational J-20? :), or maybe you expect only few enemy planes:).

if the PAF would go with the korean T-50 planes, i really hope that KAI can at least improve the reported limited strike radius and options to allow fitting of non-US technologies/weapons including AESA radars

philippines will never have the resources, money and pilots to defeat china.... this is just for credible defense.... we won't build an ultimate defense wall of warplanes.... just defense until the big boys come...that is the concept for buying the fa-50 planes.... self defense force, not really shock and awe type doctrine..

our airforce people are smart enough to understand what doctrine to use the FA-50's in imminent threat of war... for example, do you forward deploy? do you attack fighters or use it to attack incoming troop ships? do you run the risk of fighting FA-50's against stealth birds or keep them low and hidden to attack troops, tanks...... if the China fighter planes are coming do you come in low and fast or at maximum ceiling........ bla bla bla... the airforce strategist know what their doing.... they just need the plane and what the plane is capable of doing to define the doctrine

Palace tells China: Xiao xin yi dian
by Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 07/04/2012 2:59 PM | Updated as of 07/04/2012 2:59 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is telling it to China in Chinese.

“Can I say to the Chinese, ‘Xiao xin yi dian’ (Be a little careful). Be a little careful about your statements,” Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Lacierda, who has Chinese blood and who can speak Mandarin, was being asked to react to a People's Daily commentary accusing the Philippines of deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea after President Aquino said he may ask the United States to send spy planes to help monitor the disputed areas in the South China Sea.

“The transcripts, as Secretary Ricky [Carandang] said, would show the context by which the statement was made by the President. So there’s no issue to us. We do not view it as a provocative statement,” Lacierda said.

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang on Tuesday had said that the surveillance flights would not be offensive in nature and that it would only be meant to help the Philippine government monitor its territory.

“Dang rang, of course,” Lacierda said, when asked to react to a statement made by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei urging parties to the issues to “do things conducive to regional peace and stability.”

“We have already explained ourselves. The DFA already issued a statement on that point. We see no reason why it should be viewed as a provocative statement on our part. And as the President said, by no stretch of the imagination can you consider the Philippines as an aggressor,” Lacierda added.

US spy plane

Carandang on Wednesday added that asking the United States to send its spy planes is something that may be seriously considered to help the Philippines monitor its sea lanes.

“We have taken a number of actions to try to enhance our ability to monitor our sea lanes. I am sure you have heard of Coast Watch. Coast Watch is a series of radars that we are putting up around our territory with assistance from countries like Australia and the United States. So you have to view these surveillance flights, if they happen, in a general effort to do that. If nobody feels Coast Watch is provocative, then this should not be viewed as provocative either,” Carandang said.

Carandang stressed that this should not be viewed by China as provocative since the Philippines is “merely exercising” its “sovereign right.”

“We are merely exercising our sovereign right to monitor and watch over our territory. Any sovereign territory will do that and I don’t think any other country will begrudge us for doing that. As I said [yesterday], this is not a provocative action. There is no aggressive intent here. But every country has a right to monitor its territory and to do whatever means it sees necessary,” Carandang said.

“In the context of what we are doing, I would think it would be something seriously considered,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Palace reiterated the country’s commitment to a diplomatic solution to the territorial dispute, with Lacierda saying that it advocates a multilateral approach “to a resolution on any matter on the South China Sea.”

I'm very impress by how President Aquino is handling this situation in a mild Manner, Kudo's to you Mr.President. You act and think like a true President.:cheers: :banana::banana::banana:

that's assuming you can detect everything, what about a stealth fighter plane - like perhaps an operational J-20? :), or maybe you expect only few enemy planes:).

if the PAF would go with the korean T-50 planes, i really hope that KAI can at least improve the reported limited strike radius and options to allow fitting of non-US technologies/weapons including AESA radars

The F/A-50 also has the same limitations so that means what you're suggesting would be impossible unless you go for the M-346 which can be fitted with any radar system due to its plug and play design. The range of the M-346 is also better than the T/A-50. I don't think the T/A-50 will be used for frontline defense; just for advanced jet pilot training with little air combat patrol.

They are more useful for ground attack duties than air to air combat they can be used to do some patrols or to check out non responsive or unidentified civilian aircraft or to shoot them down that sort of thing, but these types of aircrafts will never be suitable to go toe to toe with modern fightercraft .

The radar issue is another thing, South Africa used it's Gripens during it's last football world cup to send radar information to it's radarless "Bae hawk" lift aircraft via datalink to provide them with radar information .

----

How about "temporary increase" in % of GDP and when we have acquired what we need, we can bring it down again, for maintenance purposes.

I think we need to really speed up our acquisition right now to protect our territory and EEZ and have the capability to arrest who violate our laws. Maybe, if we have the necessary equipment, we can lower the %GDP again

Imo setting up specific acquisition budgets from time to time is ok but with regards the regular budget 2,5% is sufficient as this will already mean a fourfold increase or the equivalent of 400% compared to the current budget, there comes a point when more money would be useless as the organisation also needs time to absorb new equipment which can't all be delivered immediately anyway .

Let us not exagerate the threat the MDT with the US is still in effect so there's little risk of anyone invading the country anytime soon and we are not at war nor are we close to war, as others have pointed out we can't create a force capable of matching the entire PLA in the forseable future therefor the goal must simply be at first to have a credible minimum defence to deal with what the PLA can send our way .

The more pressing issue is really first to have the capability to see what is happening whitin our eez and air and maritime spaces we know that there are illegal activities and violations going on whitin these spaces and not just the WPS but the actual Phillippine sea on the Pacific side, once we have that capability we can slowly acquire the means to patrol and defend but we can't stop all violations and challenges right away it will be a long process of slowly closing the gaps and deficiencies .

I know that some wish to see some kind of immemdiate response but we should instead just be patient while persistent in developing the countries defense capabilities, imo the current pace is just right and things will improve over time .

philippines will never have the resources, money and pilots to defeat china.... this is just for credible defense.... we won't build an ultimate defense wall of warplanes.... just defense until the big boys come...that is the concept for buying the fa-50 planes.... self defense force, not really shock and awe type doctrine..

our airforce people are smart enough to understand what doctrine to use the FA-50's in imminent threat of war... for example, do you forward deploy? do you attack fighters or use it to attack incoming troop ships? do you run the risk of fighting FA-50's against stealth birds or keep them low and hidden to attack troops, tanks...... if the China fighter planes are coming do you come in low and fast or at maximum ceiling........ bla bla bla... the airforce strategist know what their doing.... they just need the plane and what the plane is capable of doing to define the doctrine

For now, it is The TA-50 that are being bought unless it can be converted to FA-50s later on.

It is possible as with this,

http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=32015.0

Anyway, it is possible that our LIFT aircraft would be The T-50 but it is still a question of whether what our MRFs is going to be whether it is converting to FA-50 or acquiring some well established MRFs like the F-16, JAS Gripen, Dassult Rafale and so on.

The FA-50 seems to be a good aircraft for air defense and it is yet to be proven in it's capabilities.

On the other hand, countries like Japan and to some extent Israel have armed forces that mainly for defense but it's air force have real MRFs in it's inventory.

They are more useful for ground attack duties than air to air combat they can be used to do some patrols or to check out non responsive or unidentified civilian aircraft or to shoot them down that sort of thing, but these types of aircrafts will never be suitable to go toe to toe with modern fightercraft .

The radar issue is another thing, South Africa used it's Gripens during it's last football world cup to send radar information to it's radarless "Bae hawk" lift aircraft via datalink to provide them with radar information .

----



Imo setting up specific acquisition budgets from time to time is ok but with regards the regular budget 2,5% is sufficient as this will already mean a fourfold increase or the equivalent of 400% compared to the current budget, there comes a point when more money would be useless as the organisation also needs time to absorb new equipment which can't all be delivered immediately anyway .

Let us not exagerate the threat the MDT with the US is still in effect so there's little risk of anyone invading the country anytime soon and we are not at war nor are we close to war, as others have pointed out we can't create a force capable of matching the entire PLA in the forseable future therefor the goal must simply be at first to have a credible minimum defence to deal with what the PLA can send our way .

The more pressing issue is really first to have the capability to see what is happening whitin our eez and air and maritime spaces we know that there are illegal activities and violations going on whitin these spaces and not just the WPS but the actual Phillippine sea on the Pacific side, once we have that capability we can slowly acquire the means to patrol and defend but we can't stop all violations and challenges right away it will be a long process of slowly closing the gaps and deficiencies .

I know that some wish to see some kind of immemdiate response but we should instead just be patient while persistent in developing the countries defense capabilities, imo the current pace is just right and things will improve over time .

The only way to defeat China and it's PLA without the aid of The United States is for every Asian country to band together and fight the big red dragon. Better if Australia would lend it's hand.

But that scenario is less likely to happen and for China to attack The Philippine mainland is impossible. China has not invaded any other countries or territories during the late 20th century to today.

Diplomacy is still the best solution in resolving this issue. But even if this is peacefully resolved, the modernization of our armed forces should still resume.

They invaded the Paracels during the early 70's and an all out invasion of Vietnam in the late 70's but that failed miserably and Vietnam was able to dislodge the Chinese Khmer Rouge allies in Cambodgia ... .

As for China Japan by itself can match the PLA in terms of naval and air power altough it can't occupy China because the losses in manpower would be inacceptable in modern Japan but they are capable of at least crippling the PLA in a confrontation of course to really annihilate China's ability to wage war the US and it's alliance system would be required .

The Chinese have stuff or equipment but the overall quality of the PLA is still poor they often mistake their stuff for real military capability which is why theyve got an over inflated ego but that's about it in reality they will get their ass kicked badly in a real war with the US and it's allies, in the meantime of course they can bully the Phillippines but that doesn't say much about them given our for the moment almost non existent capabilities ... .

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/582742_2969609097525_1643567881_n.jpg

^^ magpapaalam ako sayo Manila-X na iaaupload ko yung pic sa Facebook ko ha. Thanks. :)

ako din...thanks po...

unfortunately, hindi pa rin tayo naka-graduate sa beggar mentality,... beg beg beg beg.... :nuts: at wala raw kasalanan ang "magnificient 12" na hindi na-upgrade and military. :lol:

they were the lawmakers at that time for crying out loud!

Mas nakakahiya pa na may mga bansang mas maliit ang economy nila kesa atin pero modernisado sila.:lol:

Kung

philippines will never have the resources, money and pilots to defeat china.... this is just for credible defense.... we won't build an ultimate defense wall of warplanes.... just defense until the big boys come...that is the concept for buying the fa-50 planes.... self defense force, not really shock and awe type doctrine..

our airforce people are smart enough to understand what doctrine to use the FA-50's in imminent threat of war... for example, do you forward deploy? do you attack fighters or use it to attack incoming troop ships? do you run the risk of fighting FA-50's against stealth birds or keep them low and hidden to attack troops, tanks...... if the China fighter planes are coming do you come in low and fast or at maximum ceiling........ bla bla bla... the airforce strategist know what their doing.... they just need the plane and what the plane is capable of doing to define the doctrine

If that's the case, they should have thought of emphasizing on missile systems as means of our defense.

O Papa Sugar, *ahem* happy birthday to me and yous!

http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/aetsch/cheeky-smiley-036.gif:lol:


http://s18.postimage.org/hiqykt2t5/REVISED_Republic_Day0_RAW_with_CLICKHERE.jpg (http://postimage.org/)


Now about those spy planes...

For now, it is The TA-50 that are being bought unless it can be converted to FA-50s later on.

It is possible as with this,

http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=32015.0

Anyway, it is possible that our LIFT aircraft would be The T-50 but it is still a question of whether what our MRFs is going to be whether it is converting to FA-50 or acquiring some well established MRFs like the F-16, JAS Gripen, Dassult Rafale and so on.

The FA-50 seems to be a good aircraft for air defense and it is yet to be proven in it's capabilities.

On the other hand, countries like Japan and to some extent Israel have armed forces that mainly for defense but it's air force have real MRFs in it's inventory.

The only thing problem the plane has no ability to refuel in the air to continue patrol mission. It will be wasted resources of dropping fuel tanks everytime .

Converted? It will wasted readjust tools,timing instead buying MRF para isa deretso lamang. Sayang oras.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/582742_2969609097525_1643567881_n.jpg

Top rebel freed on bail rejoins NPA in Negros


July 04, 2012 04:56 PM

MANILA, Philippines - A top New People’s Army (NPA) commander freed on bail has rejoined his comrades in Negros Island, the military reported on Wednesday.

Maj. Enrico Gil Ileto, spokesperson of the Army's Capiz-based 3rd Infantry Division, said that Romeo Nanta, the NPA's regional operations commander in Negros Island, is now back in the hills after he was released on bail last Feb. 21, 2012.

Joint police and military elements arrested Nanta, who also goes by the names of Juanito Magbanua, Jack Nanta, Juaning, Islao and Kulas, on Nov. 7 2011, at Brgy. Zone 2, Cadiz City by virtue of arrest warrants for rebellion, robbery-in-band, attempted and frustrated murder issued by three different courts in Negros Occidental.

Nanta’s release was facilitated by Fred Caña of the human rights group Karapatan based in Negros Island. :bash::bash::bash:

“It may be legal for Fred Caña of Karapatan-Negros to support arrested New People’s Army members in their posting of bail but Caña should have thought of the repercussions of such actions,” Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr.,commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, said.

Hernando Llorente (alias Adoy), the Commander of the NPA's Northern Negros Front and his wife Faith Roseen Basergo (alias Bea), an NPA political instructor, were also ordered released on bail last April 27.

“The Secretary General of Karapatan-Negros, Fred Caña, rendered the P80,000 bail bond for the temporary liberty of Adoy and Bea”, said Lieutenant Colonel Efren Morados, Commander of the 62nd Infantry Battalion, whose troops supported were responsible for the arrest of the two NPA rebels on April 20.


READ MORE (http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=824030)

The only thing problem the plane has no ability to refuel in the air to continue patrol mission. It will be wasted resources of dropping fuel tanks everytime .

Converted? It will wasted readjust tools,timing instead buying MRF para isa deretso lamang. Sayang oras.

unang-una wala pang nakakaalam sa capability nito lalo na sa endurance at reliability at fighting ability ng sakiting agila na ito (Golden Eagle daw e), tas lalo na pag mino-dify ito into an MRF without modifying most of the airframe design, sabagay mahilig naman ang mga inutil na mga opisyales ng AFP/ DND sa "okay na yan" mindset imbes na ang magde-decide niyan ay mga aerospace engineers at mga pilots natin, ang mga gung-gung na mga government officials at walang mga alam na opisyales ng AFP,..:ohno:

For now, it is The TA-50 that are being bought unless it can be converted to FA-50s later on.

It is possible as with this,

http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=32015.0

Anyway, it is possible that our LIFT aircraft would be The T-50 but it is still a question of whether what our MRFs is going to be whether it is converting to FA-50 or acquiring some well established MRFs like the F-16, JAS Gripen, Dassult Rafale and so on.

The FA-50 seems to be a good aircraft for air defense and it is yet to be proven in it's capabilities.

On the other hand, countries like Japan and to some extent Israel have armed forces that mainly for defense but it's air force have real MRFs in it's inventory.

The F/A-50 is just an up-armed version of the T/A-50 with a slightly larger airframe and tweaked engine. The speed and range remains the same.

If that's the case, they should have thought of emphasizing on missile systems as means of our defense.

A modern fighter jet has only 3 ways to defeat an air defense missile:


Use Flares or Radar Jammers/ECM (depending on the missile)
Jettison Fuel drop tanks on hard surfaces as Decoys
Escape... Run for dear life!!! :lol:

FYI An anti-aircraft missile attacks faster than the fastest production fighter jet (MiG-25 @ Mach 3.2).

hagisan na lang ng super bawang and minidynamite pagsinugod tau, nabibili lang yan kahit saan sa bulacan

parang hindi maganda kung convert yung T-50 na LIFT ng Pilipinas. Kapag na convert na ay ano naman ang gagamiting LIFT ng mga future Pilots plus magiging "pwede na yan" attitude ang mangyayari kaysa bumili ng totoong MRF ng Air Force. Mas maganda ng bumili ngalang ng deretsong F/A-50 from SoKor kung ganyan din lang.

Or lets call the aswang for service.:lol: Sila ang papalit sa mga piloto natin. :lol:

If that's the case, they should have thought of emphasizing on missile systems as means of our defense.

well, multi role fighters have their uses.... I'd still buy jets to bomb the crap out of MILF, Abu, NPA and warlords..... Screaming jets with smart bombs, cannons and AGM should scare would be insurgents shitless..... this would also help us in the long run so I'd still buy them together with missile defenses.... FA-50s can be used for ground attack

hagisan na lang ng super bawang and minidynamite pagsinugod tau, nabibili lang yan kahit saan sa bulacan

how about good bye philippines! :lol:

This I found.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/navy.htm

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/images/eez-map1.jpg

This I found.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/navy.htm

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/images/eez-map1.jpg
Nice find!

The only thing that's troubling is would the people of Kota Kinabalo and Sandakan not complain with the delineation encroaching over their territory? There needs to be a re-drawing on that sector, the 200 mile rule overlaps, IMO.

^^ magpapaalam ako sayo Manila-X na iaaupload ko yung pic sa Facebook ko ha. Thanks. :)

Hindi sa akin yung image. May nag post sa FB ko.

The only thing problem the plane has no ability to refuel in the air to continue patrol mission. It will be wasted resources of dropping fuel tanks everytime .

Converted? It will wasted readjust tools,timing instead buying MRF para isa deretso lamang. Sayang oras.

Para sa akin lang, kung TA-50 ang bilhin, gawin na lang LIFT at bumili na lang nang tunay na MRF kaysa i-convert sa FA-50.

But honestly, do we really need a good MRF in the likes of the F-18? What we really need are MRFs that is good enough for defense and The FA-50, F-16 or The JAS Gripen is good enough for such use.

Para sa akin lang, kung TA-50 ang bilhin, gawin na lang LIFT at bumili na lang nang tunay na MRF kaysa i-convert sa FA-50.

But honestly, do we really need a good MRF in the likes of the F-18? What we really need are MRFs that is good enough for defense and The FA-50, F-16 or The JAS Gripen is good enough for such use.

a) Philippines has no refueling tanker so requesting for a plane that can do that is not connecting
b) Major Philippine allies like the USA and Japan have refueling tankers, check first if you can request them to provide sortie flights to support your refueling requirements mid-air.
c) don't be worried about range, we don't even know the plans of where to put the planes... mactan? sangley? naia? san fernando? clark? subic? where? what areas protected? 12 or 6 planes?

a) Philippines has no refueling tanker so requesting for a plane that can do that is not connecting
b) Major Philippine allies like the USA and Japan have refueling tankers, check first if you can request them to provide sortie flights to support your refueling requirements mid-air.
c) don't be worried about range, we don't even know the plans of where to put the planes... mactan? sangley? naia? san fernando? clark? subic? where? what areas protected? 12 or 6 planes?

Let us see what the DND / PAF will do. But I hope these plans are not put to waste.

Let us see what the DND / PAF will do. But I hope these plans are not put to waste.

your correct mr.manilax chaka marami namng airport sa pinas:banana:

PAF to flaunt air assets in anniversary rites Friday
INQUIRER.net
2:47 pm | Thursday, July 5th, 2012

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/223993/paf-to-flaunt-air-assets-in-anniversary-rites-friday

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Air Force will showcase some of its air assets on its 65th anniversary Friday at Fernando Air Base, in Lipa City, Batangas.

“We are reliving this olden tradition….as we are the Air Force, we should be flying,” Air Force spokesman Colonel Miguel Ernesto Okol said in a statement.

It was 15 years ago since the last fly-by during an anniversary celebration, Okol said.

Among the highlights of the Air Force anniversary include a fly-by of PAF’s aircraft which consists of four T41-D Mescalero, 16 Aermacchi SF-260M, two Sokol combat utility helicopters, two UH-1H Huey, two MD-520MG attack helicopters, two Fokker F-27 and one Hercules C-130.

“This also signals that we are regaining our strength and will soon be a potent force in our defense and security operations,” he added.

Items now under negotiation and expected to be acquired within five years include territorial defense assets such as 10 attack helicopters, 21 UH1H helicopters, lead-in fighter trainers, long range patrol aircraft, air defense radar, eight light lift and three medium airlift aircrafts and a special mission aircraft, among others which will greatly boost the country’s defense stance against external threats, Okol said in a statement.
Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin will be the special guest in Friday’s activity.

Other highlights include a slow drill and band drill exhibition, parade and review, static display of selected Air Force aircraft; a high-speed opener pass by an S-211 aircraft at the start the ceremony, and the awarding of outstanding military personnel from the Air Force.

Gripen operational cost lowest of all western fighters: Jane’s

The study conducted by IHS Jane's Aerospace and Defense Consulting, compared the operational costs of the Gripen, Lockheed Martin F-16, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35 aircraft.

Read here
http://www.stratpost.com/gripen-operational-cost-lowest-of-all-western-fighters-janes

question ....i saw it in wiki

and 15 assembled locally by Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation.

if we have s211 aircraft .... and some are being assembled by "Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation" what happend to them .....

PAF to flaunt air assets in anniversary rites Friday
INQUIRER.net
2:47 pm | Thursday, July 5th, 2012

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/223993/paf-to-flaunt-air-assets-in-anniversary-rites-friday

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Air Force will showcase some of its air assets on its 65th anniversary Friday at Fernando Air Base, in Lipa City, Batangas.

“We are reliving this olden tradition….as we are the Air Force, we should be flying,” Air Force spokesman Colonel Miguel Ernesto Okol said in a statement.

It was 15 years ago since the last fly-by during an anniversary celebration, Okol said.

Among the highlights of the Air Force anniversary include a fly-by of PAF’s aircraft which consists of four T41-D Mescalero, 16 Aermacchi SF-260M, two Sokol combat utility helicopters, two UH-1H Huey, two MD-520MG attack helicopters, two Fokker F-27 and one Hercules C-130.

“This also signals that we are regaining our strength and will soon be a potent force in our defense and security operations,” he added.

Items now under negotiation and expected to be acquired within five years include territorial defense assets such as 10 attack helicopters, 21 UH1H helicopters, lead-in fighter trainers, long range patrol aircraft, air defense radar, eight light lift and three medium airlift aircrafts and a special mission aircraft, among others which will greatly boost the country’s defense stance against external threats, Okol said in a statement.
Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin will be the special guest in Friday’s activity.

Other highlights include a slow drill and band drill exhibition, parade and review, static display of selected Air Force aircraft; a high-speed opener pass by an S-211 aircraft at the start the ceremony, and the awarding of outstanding military personnel from the Air Force.

the news actually made me sad.... these are air liabilities :lol:

Gripen operational cost lowest of all western fighters: Jane’s

The study conducted by IHS Jane's Aerospace and Defense Consulting, compared the operational costs of the Gripen, Lockheed Martin F-16, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35 aircraft.

Read here
http://www.stratpost.com/gripen-operational-cost-lowest-of-all-western-fighters-janes

Only if the DND would consider this aircraft for your country's future MRFs.

the news actually made me sad.... these are air liabilities :lol:

At least modernization is taking effect rather than having the same current inventory years after.

in what way they are air liabilities??..care to explain??

AFP submits initial wish list for modernization
INQUIRER.net
5:02 pm | Thursday, July 5th, 2012

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/224071/afp-submits-initial-wish-list-for-modernization

MANILA, Philippines – The chairman of the House committee on national defense and security, Representative Rodolfo Biazon, on Thursday said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines has submitted an initial list of equipment it eyes to purchase for the military’s second modernization program amounting to P428 billion.

Biazon, a former AFP chief of staff, said the military has already planned its allocation to different divisions for the modernization fund’s first release worth P75 billion with more than a third going to each of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force.

The rest of the fund, he said, would go to the Philippine Army.

Biazon said that although the AFP modernization bill was able to hurdle discussions in his committee, the question now is where to source the funds for the necessary military equipment.

The bill is now pending at the House committee on appropriations for its funding requirement.

Military spending spree in the Philippines
By Al Labita

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NG06Ae01.html

MANILA - China's rising assertiveness to claims over the contested Spratly Islands has spurred the Philippines to ramp up a long-overdue upgrade of its external defense capability. Manila's move signals an impending arms race in the increasingly volatile region.

Next month, Philippine President Benigno Aquino's government will begin bidding for some 70 billion pesos (US$1.8 billion) worth of military contracts, the initial outlay of a 500 billion peso budget for a five-year modernization of the 125,000-strong Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Over the past months, ranking defense and AFP officials have traveled abroad to sound out possible foreign arms suppliers, including vendors in Great Britain, France, Italy, Poland, Russia, South Korea and Spain.

Manila is even said to be considering communist-ruled Vietnam, a rival in territorial claims to the Spratlys, for the commercial supply of a fleet of fast-moving maritime patrol craft which Hanoi has developed with the aid of Russian technology.

The Philippine government will tender a total of 138 contracts for brand new naval and air assets, including fighter jets, attack helicopters, long-range patrol and transport aircraft, warships, air defense radar and other state-of-the-art armaments to boost the country's territorial and maritime defenses.

The bulk of the acquisitions will be earmarked for the air force and navy, both as currently configured ill-equipped against China's growing military, the world's third largest after the United States and Russia.

To kick off the acquisitions, the AFP has sealed deals to buy eight brand-new Sokol multi-purpose attack helicopters from Swidnik of Poland, four of which have already been delivered.

Under a newly revised defense framework, the AFP has restructured its organization and orientation - from fighting decades-old communist and Muslim rebellions to external defense vis-a-vis China's rising assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Army battalions, trained by US Special Forces in counter-insurgency, are to be retrained as territorial defense units, while the para-military police bear the burden of tackling still potent internal security threats in the form of armed rebel groups.

Though the US has pledged to help the Philippines build a minimum, credible defense system in the face of China's rising threats in the Spratlys, Manila is not entirely relying on Washington, opting as well to tap its own resources in a self-reliance policy.

Over-dependence on the US's regional security umbrella is arguably one reason why the AFP has grown stagnant, lagging behind its counterparts in the region in terms of funding, armaments and other logistics.

US security aid has likewise declined as the Philippine share of the US's foreign military sales (FMS) to its strategic allies in Asia dropped from a high of 70% in 2006 to only 35% this year.

"We hope this is not indicative of the priority placed on the Philippines as a regional partner, as even non-treaty allies appear to be getting a bigger share of the FMS allocation," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a recent speech at the Heritage Foundation think-tank in Washington.

Del Rosario was referring apparently to Washington's decision last year to transfer 24 ex-US Air National Guard F-16 fighter jets, categorized as "excess defense articles", to Indonesia, which has no formal defense treaty with the US. The Philippines, with which the US has a mutual defense treaty dating to 1951, had been lobbying for the same warplanes.

Helping hands
Nonetheless, Washington agreed to provide Manila with $30 million in FMS this year, double the initial 2012 allocation of $15 million and up significantly from the $11.9 million allocated last year.

The political opposition in Manila, however, sneezed at the amount, describing it as an "insult" to a now financially sound yet militarily inadequate Philippine government, which recently lent a whopping $1 billion in credit to the International Monetary Fund.

"If I were the Aquino government, I would say 'thank you,' I do not need your $30 million. We can provide that $30 million for ourselves," says Philippine Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile.

Other domestic critics have assailed Washington's habit of freezing a portion of the promised FMS on allegations of state-sponsored political killings and human rights violations.

While the government has been at pains to address the abuses, leftist groups have kept them in the spotlight as part of a wider nationalist strategy to oppose a resurgence of US military influence in its former colony.

Foreign military bases are barred in the Philippine constitution, a legal impediment the US has skirted through revolving deployments of troops and trainers. There is widespread speculation the US would increase military sales in exchange for a more permanent footing in the country.

Other countries such as Japan and Australia have offered to help strengthen the Philippines' maritime patrols, but like any foreign aid the exchange has been subject to rigorous bilateral negotiations.

Tokyo's promised assistance is tied to the stringent conditionalities of its official development assistance, while Australia's hinges on Manila's approval of the so-called Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA).

Currently under debate in the opposition-led 23-member Philippine senate, SOVFA is similar to the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement which allows American troops to hold "war games" on Philippine soil. Recent joint US-Philippine exercises have been conducted near contested maritime territories.

China has assailed the Philippines big ticket military acquisition plans, warning the procurements would further escalate prevailing tensions in the Spratlys. The two sides recently mutually backed away from a two-month standoff over the contested Scarborough shoal in the archipelago.

"Once (the Philippines) dares escalate the movements of maritime police into military operations, it will suffer a great calamity from China's strike in response to their attack," said Major General Xu Yan, an official of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) National Defense University, according to news reports.

Ironically, China has a long-standing $12 million loan offer to enable the Philippines to buy Chinese-made weaponry. That, however, is now in limbo due to rising tensions sparked by their conflicting claims to the potentially resource-rich Spratlys.

Those tensions and planned arms acquisitions threaten to spark wider regional tensions. For example, state-linked Chinese commentators recently warned Japan against supplying the Philippines with patrol ships.

"As Japan is already engaged in a dispute with China over the sovereignty of Diaoyu Island, aiding the Philippines in its territorial disputes with China in this way could dramatically escalate tensions in the region," said a commentary published by China.org.cn.

Despite China's various veiled threats to go to war over the Spratlys, the Philippines has refused to be drawn into such a scenario, exhausting all possible diplomatic and political means to resolve their overlapping claims to the chain of isles and islands.

Some analysts believe the Philippines is playing a double game to buy time. While engaging Beijing in behind-the-scenes dialogue, Manila is also building up its external defense posture, with or without significant US succor, to counterbalance China.

It's a strategy that obviously risks provoking China into staking its maritime claims by force while it has the strategic upper hand, and in the process draws the Philippines into a wider proxy war driven by regional powers keen to contain China's regional ambitions.
Manila is even said to be considering communist-ruled Vietnam, a rival in territorial claims to the Spratlys, for the commercial supply of a fleet of fast-moving maritime patrol craft which Hanoi has developed with the aid of Russian technology.

The Philippine government will tender a total of 138 contracts for brand new naval and air assets, including fighter jets, attack helicopters, long-range patrol and transport aircraft, warships, air defense radar and other state-of-the-art armaments to boost the country's territorial and maritime defenses.

The bulk of the acquisitions will be earmarked for the air force and navy, both as currently configured ill-equipped against China's growing military, the world's third largest after the United States and Russia.

To kick off the acquisitions, the AFP has sealed deals to buy eight brand-new Sokol multi-purpose attack helicopters from Swidnik of Poland, four of which have already been delivered.

Under a newly revised defense framework, the AFP has restructured its organization and orientation - from fighting decades-old communist and Muslim rebellions to external defense vis-a-vis China's rising assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Army battalions, trained by US Special Forces in counter-insurgency, are to be retrained as territorial defense units, while the para-military police bear the burden of tackling still potent internal security threats in the form of armed rebel groups.

Though the US has pledged to help the Philippines build a minimum, credible defense system in the face of China's rising threats in the Spratlys, Manila is not entirely relying on Washington, opting as well to tap its own resources in a self-reliance policy.

Over-dependence on the US's regional security umbrella is arguably one reason why the AFP has grown stagnant, lagging behind its counterparts in the region in terms of funding, armaments and other logistics.

US security aid has likewise declined as the Philippine share of the US's foreign military sales (FMS) to its strategic allies in Asia dropped from a high of 70% in 2006 to only 35% this year.

"We hope this is not indicative of the priority placed on the Philippines as a regional partner, as even non-treaty allies appear to be getting a bigger share of the FMS allocation," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a recent speech at the Heritage Foundation think-tank in Washington.

Del Rosario was referring apparently to Washington's decision last year to transfer 24 ex-US Air National Guard F-16 fighter jets, categorized as "excess defense articles", to Indonesia, which has no formal defense treaty with the US. The Philippines, with which the US has a mutual defense treaty dating to 1951, had been lobbying for the same warplanes.

Helping hands
Nonetheless, Washington agreed to provide Manila with $30 million in FMS this year, double the initial 2012 allocation of $15 million and up significantly from the $11.9 million allocated last year.

The political opposition in Manila, however, sneezed at the amount, describing it as an "insult" to a now financially sound yet militarily inadequate Philippine government, which recently lent a whopping $1 billion in credit to the International Monetary Fund.

"If I were the Aquino government, I would say 'thank you,' I do not need your $30 million. We can provide that $30 million for ourselves," says Philippine Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile.

Other domestic critics have assailed Washington's habit of freezing a portion of the promised FMS on allegations of state-sponsored political killings and human rights violations.

While the government has been at pains to address the abuses, leftist groups have kept them in the spotlight as part of a wider nationalist strategy to oppose a resurgence of US military influence in its former colony.

Foreign military bases are barred in the Philippine constitution, a legal impediment the US has skirted through revolving deployments of troops and trainers. There is widespread speculation the US would increase military sales in exchange for a more permanent footing in the country.

Other countries such as Japan and Australia have offered to help strengthen the Philippines' maritime patrols, but like any foreign aid the exchange has been subject to rigorous bilateral negotiations.

Tokyo's promised assistance is tied to the stringent conditionalities of its official development assistance, while Australia's hinges on Manila's approval of the so-called Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA).

Currently under debate in the opposition-led 23-member Philippine senate, SOVFA is similar to the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement which allows American troops to hold "war games" on Philippine soil. Recent joint US-Philippine exercises have been conducted near contested maritime territories.

China has assailed the Philippines big ticket military acquisition plans, warning the procurements would further escalate prevailing tensions in the Spratlys. The two sides recently mutually backed away from a two-month standoff over the contested Scarborough shoal in the archipelago.

"Once (the Philippines) dares escalate the movements of maritime police into military operations, it will suffer a great calamity from China's strike in response to their attack," said Major General Xu Yan, an official of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) National Defense University, according to news reports.

Ironically, China has a long-standing $12 million loan offer to enable the Philippines to buy Chinese-made weaponry. That, however, is now in limbo due to rising tensions sparked by their conflicting claims to the potentially resource-rich Spratlys.

Those tensions and planned arms acquisitions threaten to spark wider regional tensions. For example, state-linked Chinese commentators recently warned Japan against supplying the Philippines with patrol ships.

"As Japan is already engaged in a dispute with China over the sovereignty of Diaoyu Island, aiding the Philippines in its territorial disputes with China in this way could dramatically escalate tensions in the region," said a commentary published by China.org.cn.

Despite China's various veiled threats to go to war over the Spratlys, the Philippines has refused to be drawn into such a scenario, exhausting all possible diplomatic and political means to resolve their overlapping claims to the chain of isles and islands.

Some analysts believe the Philippines is playing a double game to buy time. While engaging Beijing in behind-the-scenes dialogue, Manila is also building up its external defense posture, with or without significant US succor, to counterbalance China.

It's a strategy that obviously risks provoking China into staking its maritime claims by force while it has the strategic upper hand, and in the process draws the Philippines into a wider proxy war driven by regional powers keen to contain China's regional ambitions.

I am absolutely loving the growing national pride and maturity of the Philippines. More power to our country and the interests of our people.

AFP submits initial wish list for modernization
INQUIRER.net
5:02 pm | Thursday, July 5th, 2012

Biazon said that although the AFP modernization bill was able to hurdle discussions in his committee, the question now is where to source the funds for the necessary military equipment.:ohno:

The bill is now pending at the House committee on appropriations for its funding requirement.

Ano ba naman tong si pong pagong,..tsk tsk tsk, sanpa edi sa mga pork barrel ng mga senaTONGressman!:bash::bash::bash:

PHL hands Ma Keqing signed protest over 'Sansha City'

(Updated 5:14 p.m.) The Philippines on Thursday said it has lodged a protest against China’s establishment of a city called Sansha which covers a vast expanse of the South China Sea and clearly violated the Philippine sovereignty over its territorial waters and continental shelf.

A June 28 note verbale containing Manila’s diplomatic protest was handed personally to Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters in a press briefing Thursday.

“This note verbale protested on the establishment of Sansha City as the extent of the jurisdiction of the city violates Philippine territorial sovereignty over the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc and infringes on Philippine sovereign rights over the waters and continental shelf of the West Philippine Sea,” said Hernandez.

Beijing-based “Global Times” reported on June 25 that the creation of Sansha City was a new step for China to manage South China Seas.

“China's Ministry of Civil Affairs announced last week the establishment of Sansha city, which will administer Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands. The decision is more than just a response to Vietnam's maritime law, approved Thursday,” according to the report.

“China's actions concerning South China Sea disputes have been forced by Vietnam and the Philippines. Their provocations will meet with strong reactions from China, and push China to systematically strengthen related management.

“Technological breakthroughs in offshore drilling platforms and the new success of the Jiaolong submersible have demonstrated China's strength as a maritime power,” it added.

Sansha prefecture

China claims the South China Sea nearly in its entirety, including areas that overlap with the Philippine territory and the cluster of islands reefs and atolls further south called the Spratlys.

Other claimants are Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Except for Brunei, all claimants have stationed military troops in their territories in the vast sea said to be sitting atop huge oil and gas deposits,

The Kalayaan or Freedom in Filipino is a group of Philippine-claimed islands facing the South China Sea. The 37-hectare Pag-asa Island, equipped with an airstrip, commercial communications tower, and power generators, is the largest of these territories.

Sansha has been elevated to prefecture-level that will administer “the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea,” according to Beijing.

The government seat will be stationed on Yongxing Island, which is part of the Xisha Islands, a Ministry of Civil Affairs statement noted.

The council has abolished a county-level administration office for the islands that was previously stationed on Yongxing Island.

China’s Sansha City also covers the disputed Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines, which has been at the center of a weeks-long territorial standoff between Manila and Beijing.

PHL territory, maritime jurisdiction

Both the Kalayaan Islands and Bajo de Masinloc are within the Philippine 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Philippines, China and 162 other nations are signatories to this treaty.

“The declaration of the establishment of Sansha City contradicts the spirit of the conduct of parties in the South China Sea,” Hernandez said, referring to a non-binding code of conduct that calls on all claimants to stop new occupation and to avoid actions that will escalate tensions in the area.

“The Philippines reiterates in that note verbale that the KIG and Bajo de Masinloc and the waters and continental shelf around them form an integral part of the Philippine territory and maritime jurisdiction,” Hernandez said. — VS/ELR, News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/264276/news/nation/phl-hands-ma-keqing-signed-protest-over-sansha-city

http://s11.postimage.org/76gbve57n/1339543741288.png
FFFFFFFFCCCCCCKKKKKKKK

I am absolutely loving the growing national pride and maturity of the Philippines. More power to our country and the interests of our people.

As long as it is done in the right way, then it is good for the country.

in what way they are air liabilities??..care to explain??

:lol: relax it was just a word play on words air assets.... these are all old birds though... a pilot friend told me before the f5 were retired, they were not allowed to pull more than 3g turns or the airframe would fall apart. hehehe:lol: relax

:lol: relax it was just a word play on words air assets.... these are all old birds though... a pilot friend told me before the f5 were retired, they were not allowed to pull more than 3g turns or the airframe would fall apart. hehehe:lol: relax
It will be okay if the pilot can eject before the fighter disintegrates! And we may call those old birds as "widow-makers"!

This is circa 1972, imagine if we focus on developing indigenous weapons fast forward 2012, we can give the commies a really serious threat in thier stupid bullying and squatting in the WPS,..

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oufzihYKc-k/Txa818IFyAI/AAAAAAAADLg/eODFM80LtDE/s1600/image001.jpg

Si manong ang bata pa inosenteng-inosente,..
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ajGC3gqzBkc/Txa9EIMQkuI/AAAAAAAADLo/JZzfhvdu4yA/s1600/image002.jpg

Designed as mobile-launch? this could be great,..
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_9TLrFP6m2k/Txa8hraS0cI/AAAAAAAADLY/IZlvYCNJGIg/s1600/image.jpg

If you notice the terminology used and tech-know how of pinas at that time i can say that we are already on the advance state,..

parang hindi maganda kung convert yung T-50 na LIFT ng Pilipinas. Kapag na convert na ay ano naman ang gagamiting LIFT ng mga future Pilots plus magiging "pwede na yan" attitude ang mangyayari kaysa bumili ng totoong MRF ng Air Force. Mas maganda ng bumili ngalang ng deretsong F/A-50 from SoKor kung ganyan din lang.

Tama ka dyan kaya nga may hiwalay na programa para sa pagbili ng mga totoong fighter jets.

well, multi role fighters have their uses.... I'd still buy jets to bomb the crap out of MILF, Abu, NPA and warlords..... Screaming jets with smart bombs, cannons and AGM should scare would be insurgents shitless..... this would also help us in the long run so I'd still buy them together with missile defenses.... FA-50s can be used for ground attack

That task will be done by the winning candidates of the SAA and NCAH programs because they are best suited for COIN warfare due to their ability to loiter around the targeted area for a long period of time.

This is circa 1972, imagine if we focus on developing indigenous weapons fast forward 2012, we can give the commies a really serious threat in thier stupid bullying and squatting in the WPS,..

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oufzihYKc-k/Txa818IFyAI/AAAAAAAADLg/eODFM80LtDE/s1600/image001.jpg

Si manong ang bata pa inosenteng-inosente,..
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ajGC3gqzBkc/Txa9EIMQkuI/AAAAAAAADLo/JZzfhvdu4yA/s1600/image002.jpg

Designed as mobile-launch? this could be great,..
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_9TLrFP6m2k/Txa8hraS0cI/AAAAAAAADLY/IZlvYCNJGIg/s1600/image.jpg

If you notice the terminology used and tech-know how of pinas at that time i can say that we are already on the advance state,..

SRDP was at its peak during Marcos' time.

At the speed of 42 knots, this MPAC will give the commies a headache, we can retrofit it with anti-ship missile launchers and a stinger or sam-7 shoulder fired anti-air missiles,..

n3l5CDZ9j3g&feature=related

At the speed of 42 knots, this MPAC will give the commies a headache, we can retrofit it with anti-ship missile launchers and a stinger or sam-7 shoulder fired anti-air missiles,..

n3l5CDZ9j3g&feature=related

According to the P.N the MPAC top speed is 48 knots (VERY FAST than the China boats). With the installed of strong jamming devices will disrupt their guided missile system and tracking system.

Chinese Missile Boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houbei_class_missile_boat


This IDAS multi-purpose missile developed by the German is a perfect choice for the MPAC.
http://s17.postimage.org/wrz9hjq0f/800px_BGT_IDAS.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDAS_(missile)

http://manilastandardtoday.com/www2/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-July-06-Mainphoto.jpg
^^ A protester uses a bullhorn during a rally outside the Armed Forces headquarters in Quezon City to condemn the killing of 11 communist New People’s Army rebels in Quezon province last week. Source (http://manilastandardtoday.com/www2/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-July-06-Mainphoto.jpg)

^^
Those pro Communist faggots should be put in jailed or hanged.

we can retrofit it with anti-ship missile launchers and a stinger or sam-7 shoulder fired anti-air missiles,..

AVENGER ASSEMBLE!
http://s14.postimage.org/edlz5bk29/9263593_large.jpg

According to Boeing, "AFPS carries the 'classic' Avenger weapon - the Stinger surface-to-air missile - but can also field an array of other weapons, including the AIM-9X surface-to-air missile, which has longer range than the Stinger. Hellfire missiles and 2.75-inch guided rockets on AFPS can defend against ground targets, and a remotely operated, lightweight 25 mm machine gun can counter air or ground targets. AFPS can even carry a high-energy laser to destroy unexploded ordnance on the ground or unmanned aircraft in the air. Weapons can be removed or installed in as little as a few minutes."

http://blog.al.com/huntsville-times-business/2011/02/avenger.html

http://manilastandardtoday.com/www2/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-July-06-Mainphoto.jpg
^^ A protester uses a bullhorn during a rally outside the Armed Forces headquarters in Quezon City to condemn the killing of 11 communist New People’s Army rebels in Quezon province last week. Source (http://manilastandardtoday.com/www2/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-July-06-Mainphoto.jpg)

Masarap sampalin ang lalaking yan sa harap ng maraming tao....iihi pa ako sa mukha nya tapos ay ipapanood ko sa kanya kung paano patayin mga kasama nyang NPA.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/www2/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-July-06-Mainphoto.jpg
^^ A protester uses a bullhorn during a rally outside the Armed Forces headquarters in Quezon City to condemn the killing of 11 communist New People’s Army rebels in Quezon province last week. Source (http://manilastandardtoday.com/www2/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-July-06-Mainphoto.jpg)

Nakaka buwsit talaga yang mga taong yan. Dapat din silang i-audit kung saan nila kinukuha ang kanilang pondo na ginagamit sa pagproprotesta, baka kasi galing na sa ibang bansa. Aba threat to national security kung ganyan yan.

P-Noy to China: Pull out ships from shoal

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino yesterday called on China to pull out all its ships from Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal as he assailed Beijing for asking the Philippines to stop making provocative statements while itself continuing to talk.

“It’s not clear to me what provocative statements the Philippines or Filipino officials have made. But we know that the other side has been saying a lot. So maybe they should read first what have been written on their end and with all due respect, maybe they can balance that with reality,” Aquino said yesterday.

Malacañang also said that the redeployment of ships to Panatag Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, would depend on the weather.

“There are many schools of thought on how to handle (or) how to deal with the Chinese. So we will be getting, in effect, a discussion on the opposite points of view on what is the best approach to settle this issue,” Aquino noted.

As this developed, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned on Wednesday China’s top diplomat in the Philippines and gave her a note verbale protesting Beijng’s establishment of a new “prefectural-level” city of Sansha to administer three disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea and future development of the islands.

“The DFA sent a note verbale dated 28 June 2012 and handed this to Ambassador Ma yesterday, protesting the establishment of Sansha City as the extent of the jurisdiction of the city violates Philippine territorial sovereignty over the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratlys) and Bajo de Masinloc and infringes on Philippine sovereign rights over the waters and continental shelf of the West Philippine Sea,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said.

He pointed out “it was a diplomatic protest” since the declaration of the establishment of Sansha City contradicts the spirit of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the non-aggression accord in 2002.

A senior security official also noted that China’s latest move showed that it has no respect towards its neighbors when it comes to peacefully settling territorial disputes in the region.

“With the way Beijing is behaving, it only showed that they don’t have any respect towards its neighbors,” the security official, who asked not be named, said.

Contrary to Beijing’s claim that the Philippines is plotting to further increase the tension in the region, its present actions to bolster its territorial claim of the entire South China Sea showed otherwise, the security official said.

Earlier, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Chinese officials and the state media were the ones who should be careful about issuing statements.

“Can I say to the Chinese ‘xiao xin yi dian.’ Be a little careful about your statements,” Lacierda said in reaction to a commentary in the People’s Daily of China, which admonished the Philippine government for its plan to ask the United States to deploy spy planes over the West Philippine Sea to help monitor the country’s territorial waters.

Lacierda stressed the Philippines has the right to explore all options in safeguarding its territorial waters, including seeking help from the US.

He added that the request should be viewed in the context of the defense cooperation between the Philippines and the US.

“So there’s no issue to us. We do not view it as a provocative statement,” Lacierda said. “And as the President said, by no stretch of the imagination can you consider the Philippines as an aggressor.”

Defending Kalayaan

Meanwhile, Kalayaan, Palawan Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon said his civilian constituents in the Spratly region are not disturbed by China’s current aggression.

“We are not disturbed at all,” Bito-onon said, adding that aside from the Philippines, China has also to deal with other Spratlys claimant countries if Beijing so decides to settle the territorial dispute by force.

Western Command (Wescom) commander Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban also vowed that they would defend at all costs Kalayaan municipality.

“We will keep on doing our duty, prepare for any contingency and let our leaders do the high level solutions. Kalayaan municipality is ours. We will defend it,” Sabban said.

Wescom, a composite military unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has operational jurisdictions over the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and has forward troops deployed in the region.

The Philippines and China are currently locked in a territorial dispute not only in Panatag Shoal but also in the Spratly region, which is also being claimed in whole or in part by Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

The Spratly archipelago is a chain of islets, reefs, atolls and sand bars straddling the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in mineral and fuel deposits.

Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles from Zambales Province and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.

China stands on a historical claim while the Philippines has taken the view that Beijing’s claim is not supported by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) - With Pia Lee-Brago, Jaime Laude, AP - By Aurea Calica (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/p-noy-china-pull-ships-shoal-174931085.html

Ageing aircraft in Air Force fly-by (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/05/12/ageing-aircraft-air-force-fly)
ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 07/05/2012 9:30 PM | Updated as of 07/05/2012 9:30 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Ageing aircraft will take part in a fly-by that will mark the Air Force's 65th foundation Friday.

It will be the first time in more than 10 years that a fly-by will be held, according to Air Force spokesman Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol.

He said the tradition was not held in previous years to cut expenses.

"We are reliving this olden tradition of the PAF to have fly-bys during anniversary celebrations which was last seen about 15 years ago. We are the Air Force, we should be flying," Okol said.

"This also signals that we are regaining our strength and will soon be a potent force in our defense and security operation," he said.

A total of 43 aircraft, include "vintage" airplanes, are taking part in the event that will be held at the San Fernando Air Base in Lipa City.

The aircraft includes a S-211 trainer jet, 2 OV-10 bomber planes, 4 MG-520 attack helicopters, 9 T41 trainer planes, 4 Huey helicopters, 3 F27 Fokker planes, and a C-130 plane.

Sixteen brand new SF-260FH trainer planes and 3 brand new Sokol helicopters will also join the fly-by, Okol said.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino dela Cruz will be present during the event.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/www2/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-July-06-Mainphoto.jpg
^^ A protester uses a bullhorn during a rally outside the Armed Forces headquarters in Quezon City to condemn the killing of 11 communist New People’s Army rebels in Quezon province last week. Source (http://manilastandardtoday.com/www2/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012-July-06-Mainphoto.jpg)

The government should wire taps there cellphones and start tracing whom they are are communicating. That is what the U.S. and England are doing now to get those internal security treats.

The military should be more aggressive and eradicate more of those commies in the mountains.

The government should wire taps there cellphones and start tracing whom they are are communicating. That is what the U.S. and England are doing now to get those internal security treats.

The military should be more aggressive and eradicate more of those commies in the mountains.

With modernization taking effect and anti-corruption drive, our armed forces will be able to handle our internal threats once they acquire such weapons and equipment.

^^ masakit mang sabihin.. ngyari yun sa panahon ni marcos.. mukang malabo ng maulit un..

^^ masakit mang sabihin.. ngyari yun sa panahon ni marcos.. mukang malabo ng maulit un..

With Aquino, I'm sure he is keen in AFP's modernization and is making sure that there would not be any corruption in any arms procurement.

Masarap sampalin ang lalaking yan sa harap ng maraming tao....iihi pa ako sa mukha nya tapos ay ipapanood ko sa kanya kung paano patayin mga kasama nyang NPA.

Sige ka. irerape ka nyan sa puwet:lol:

1st video and recently uploaded photos of todays PAF 65th founding anniversary celebration in Batangas ... :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7PdKvHLY6E

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.377039219029424.89733.195218547211493&type=1

It's been a 'LONG TIME' since the PAF did something this huge during it's annual anniversary celebration and could be a sign of things to come in the next few years for the dilapidated agency...

Sige ka. irerape ka nyan sa puwet:lol:

Kalabaw ang type tirapin ng mga NPA.:lol::lol:

PHL hands Ma Keqing signed protest over 'Sansha City'

(Updated 5:14 p.m.) The Philippines on Thursday said it has lodged a protest against China’s establishment of a city called Sansha which covers a vast expanse of the South China Sea and clearly violated the Philippine sovereignty over its territorial waters and continental shelf.

A June 28 note verbale containing Manila’s diplomatic protest was handed personally to Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters in a press briefing Thursday.

“This note verbale protested on the establishment of Sansha City as the extent of the jurisdiction of the city violates Philippine territorial sovereignty over the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc and infringes on Philippine sovereign rights over the waters and continental shelf of the West Philippine Sea,” said Hernandez.

Beijing-based “Global Times” reported on June 25 that the creation of Sansha City was a new step for China to manage South China Seas.

“China's Ministry of Civil Affairs announced last week the establishment of Sansha city, which will administer Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands. The decision is more than just a response to Vietnam's maritime law, approved Thursday,” according to the report.

“China's actions concerning South China Sea disputes have been forced by Vietnam and the Philippines. Their provocations will meet with strong reactions from China, and push China to systematically strengthen related management.

“Technological breakthroughs in offshore drilling platforms and the new success of the Jiaolong submersible have demonstrated China's strength as a maritime power,” it added.

Sansha prefecture

China claims the South China Sea nearly in its entirety, including areas that overlap with the Philippine territory and the cluster of islands reefs and atolls further south called the Spratlys.

Other claimants are Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Except for Brunei, all claimants have stationed military troops in their territories in the vast sea said to be sitting atop huge oil and gas deposits,

The Kalayaan or Freedom in Filipino is a group of Philippine-claimed islands facing the South China Sea. The 37-hectare Pag-asa Island, equipped with an airstrip, commercial communications tower, and power generators, is the largest of these territories.

Sansha has been elevated to prefecture-level that will administer “the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea,” according to Beijing.

The government seat will be stationed on Yongxing Island, which is part of the Xisha Islands, a Ministry of Civil Affairs statement noted.

The council has abolished a county-level administration office for the islands that was previously stationed on Yongxing Island.

China’s Sansha City also covers the disputed Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines, which has been at the center of a weeks-long territorial standoff between Manila and Beijing.

PHL territory, maritime jurisdiction

Both the Kalayaan Islands and Bajo de Masinloc are within the Philippine 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Philippines, China and 162 other nations are signatories to this treaty.

“The declaration of the establishment of Sansha City contradicts the spirit of the conduct of parties in the South China Sea,” Hernandez said, referring to a non-binding code of conduct that calls on all claimants to stop new occupation and to avoid actions that will escalate tensions in the area.

“The Philippines reiterates in that note verbale that the KIG and Bajo de Masinloc and the waters and continental shelf around them form an integral part of the Philippine territory and maritime jurisdiction,” Hernandez said. — VS/ELR, News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/264276/news/nation/phl-hands-ma-keqing-signed-protest-over-sansha-city

http://s11.postimage.org/76gbve57n/1339543741288.png
FFFFFFFFCCCCCCKKKKKKKK



New Step In Legalizing China's Piracy in South East Asian Sea.We know that Chinese government is trying its best to make huge propaganda regarding its illegal claim of the islands, making the world think that China is the only one which controls the islands. China, please behave properly, stop doing the dirty tricks and show your proofs to your own people and to the world, besides your ridiculous historical myths! The reality is that no country would like to deal with an aggressive and bullying China! :bash::bash:


http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n147/chipopoy/s.jpg

New Step In Legalizing China's Piracy in South East Asian Sea.We know that Chinese government is trying its best to make huge propaganda regarding its illegal claim of the islands, making the world think that China is the only one which controls the islands. China, please behave properly, stop doing the dirty tricks and show your proofs to your own people and to the world, besides your ridiculous historical myths! The reality is that no country would like to deal with an aggressive and bullying China! :bash::bash:


http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n147/chipopoy/s.jpg

The buildings shown on this image is way out of proportion (palibhasa intsik ang gumawa). Anyways, those islands in the Spratlys cannot sustain itself as a "city" due to a very limited area, and a ratio of the population versus the land mass will be grossly disproportionate. Besides, building utilities and infrastructures alone to sustain a citywide population will eat up the space of those islands and may not even be enogh. It's like building a highrise on a 1 Sq Meter lot. So enough of these Communist eutopia propaganda.

They're the noisiest bunch, but do they really reflect the sentiments of the Filipino people? Etong mga leftist na ito na sa sobrang galing sa panloloko pati mga taong masyadong emosyonal nadadala sa propaganda nila.

Communism has been defeated, or has it? These communist and even the ultra-nationalists think that the Philippines can stand on its own isolated from the world.

All politics is global, whatever happens outside will have varying effects on us here in the home front. It is something that they should realized or maybe they chose not to realize.

They're the noisiest bunch, but do they really reflect the sentiments of the Filipino people? Etong mga leftist na ito na sa sobrang galing sa panloloko pati mga taong masyadong emosyonal nadadala sa propaganda nila.

Communism has been defeated, or has it? These communist and even the ultra-nationalists think that the Philippines can stand on its own isolated from the world.

All politics is global, whatever happens outside will have varying effects on us here in the home front. It is something that they should realized or maybe they chose not to realize.

Communism has been defeated long time ago. Whats left are bandits hiding behind a curtain of their so called communism. Their own brand of it and their own style.

^^ buildings on spratlys? now i know how idiotic those chinese are.. this is a very simple economics..

Air force eyeing new bases

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is eyeing the establishment of additional bases within the next two to three years as focus will be shifted to territorial defense, an official said on Friday.

According to Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino G. Dela Cruz, PAF commanding general,

"A strategic recasting" towards territorial defense will require "the drawing of new basing and relocation plans… the remapping of stations,"

Col. Miguel Ernesto G. Okol, PAF spokesperson said...

"We are reliving this golden tradition of the PAF… as we are the air force, we should be flying,"

"This also signals that we are regaining our strength and will soon be a potent force in our defense and security operations"

Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin emphasized...

"We are now very determined in our intention to modernize"

The department has targeted to approve 138 modernization projects by the end of July, including three radars systems, 21 utility helicopters, 10 attack helicopters, four additional search-and-rescue helicopters, two long-range patrol aircraft, a special mission aircraft, three medium-lift aircraft and 12 lead-in fighters. These are expected to boost the air power in the next two years.


BusinessWorld (http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Air-force-eyeing-new-bases&id=54745)

^^ i like that.. hoping that it would be very fruitful for coming years...

Philippine defense chief: Military modernization 'in full swing'

By Alexis Romero Home Updated July 06, 2012 05:40 PM 1 comment to this post

FERNANDO AIRBASE, Lipa City, Batangas – Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Friday vowed to meet his agency’s goal to approve the contracts of 138 military modernization projects by the end of the month.

Speaking during the 65th anniversary of the Air Force here, Gazmin said the Armed Forces’ upgrade program is “in full swing” and that efforts are underway to equip troops.

“Your Defense Department is now working speedily on the approval of the contracts for the 138 upgrade and modernization projects of our armed forces, to be implemented over the next five years,” Gazmin said.

“I am happy to let you know that through our defense system of management, the upgrade and modernization program for our armed forces is presently in full swing,” he added.

The Department of National Defense (DND) aims to approve the contracts of 138 military upgrade projects worth P70 billion by July 31.

These projects include big-ticket items like multi-role vessel for the Navy, fighter jets and long-range patrol aircraft for the Philippine Air Force (PAF), maritime and aerial radars.

The medium-term projects would be completed in 2016 while the long-term ones would be implemented by 2018 or 2020.

Gazmin said the government has been relentless in its goal of acquiring new military equipment that would replace the old and unreliable ones.

He said modernizing the Armed Forces is needed in maintaining internal peace and in securing the country’s territory.

“Our extreme necessity to modernize is likewise meant to address the primordial constitutional duty of our armed forces to secure the sovereignty of the state and the integrity of the national territory,” Gazmin said.

For his part, PAF chief Lt. Gen. Lauro dela Cruz said they are determined to focus on their mission to harness airpower to serve the public.

“We need to primarily show that we are not expanding to become a ground force; rather, we are powering up to project airpower in service to our country and people,” dela Cruz said.

“The composite flights embodies our untiring zeal to modernize our fleet and to show positive results not simply for the sake of supporting AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) operations but for the higher value of sustaining the reams of our young fliers and the next generation,” he added.

In what seems to be an effort to dispel criticisms about its lack of capability, the PAF conducted a flyby that involved 47 of its air assets.

The air assets that joined the activity are OV-10 planes, an S2-11 jet, MG-250 attack helicopters, T-41 aircraft, SF-260 trainers, UH1H helicopters, F-27 aircraft, a C-130 cargo plane and Sokol combat utility helicopters.

Notable among these air assets are the 16 SF-260 trainers which flew in diamond formation.

During the start of the PAF anniversary program, four SF-260 trainers performed acrobatics in the air, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Dela Cruz said the PAF is looking forward to the planned acquisition of key aerial assets in the next two to three years.

These assets are three radar systems, 21 utility helicopters, 10 attack helicopters, four search and rescue helicopters, two long-range patrol aircraft, a special mission aircraft, three medium lift aircraft and 12 lead-in fighters.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=824739

question ....i saw it in wiki

if we have s211 aircraft .... and some are being assembled by "Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation" what happend to them .....

Assembly has ended and most of the airframes are no longer flyable because they have already exceeded their service flight hours due to wear and tear, few have been involved in accidents while others were cannibalized for spare parts to keep the 2 remaining units operational. The S-211 was used beyond it's primary purpose of advanced jet pilot training because it was extensively used for air combat patrol when the F-5 was retired in 2005 and no immediate MRF replacement was acquired. All candidate pilots for the fighter wing were diverted to train for COIN warfare on the OV-10, MD-520, and SF-260 attack version.

the news actually made me sad.... these are air liabilities :lol:

How come? Do you treat fighter jets as the only air assets of any air force? :ohno:

in what way they are air liabilities??..care to explain??

Ranters don't explain their thoughts very well. :cheers:

According to the P.N the MPAC top speed is 48 knots (VERY FAST than the China boats). With the installed of strong jamming devices will disrupt their guided missile system and tracking system.

Chinese Missile Boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houbei_class_missile_boat


This IDAS multi-purpose missile developed by the German is a perfect choice for the MPAC.
http://s17.postimage.org/wrz9hjq0f/800px_BGT_IDAS.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDAS_(missile)

Our MPAC is faster than the Chinese Navy fast missile attack catamaran.

^^
Those pro Communist faggots should be put in jailed or hanged.

Supporting Communism should be made a crime! :cheers:

Aquino’s order: Keep government plans secret

Decisions on China under wraps until done deal

By Norman Bordadora (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/byline/norman-bordadora)
Philippine Daily Inquirer (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/source/philippine-daily-inquirer) 9:45 pm | Friday, July 6th, 2012




President Benigno Aquino III ordered the government’s plans and decisions involving the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China to be kept secret before they are implemented.


Toward that end, Mr. Aquino, according to presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, gave instructions that the four hourlong Cabinet meeting on Thursday—the second in a week—be held behind closed doors.
The staff of the 35 Cabinet members present were asked to leave before the meeting began, Lacierda said.


“Security matters were discussed,” Lacierda said when asked about the level of sensitivity of the issues the President took up with his Cabinet.
“Certain decisions were made,” Lacierda said. “What those decisions are, let’s just wait,” he said.


Lacierda wouldn’t say if a decision was made on when the government would send ships back to Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea to resume a standoff with the Chinese there.


Before the meeting began, Mr. Aquino told reporters that sending back ships to Scarborough Shoal would depend on the weather.


On June 15, he ordered a Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessel and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources survey ship home from the shoal, citing stormy weather, temporarily ending a two-month standoff with Chinese government vessels in the disputed waters.


The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said China had committed to withdraw its vessels from the shoal, but it did not.

‘Primarily consultative’


Lacierda said the Cabinet meeting did not discuss the diplomatic protest. The meeting, he said, was “primarily consultative.”


He denied that the discussions became heated at some points.
Lacierda said Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV were at the meeting. Enrile is a former secretary of national defense, while Trillanes is a former Navy officer.


“I’m certain that the President will ask for their opinions,” Lacierda said when asked if Mr. Aquino would consult the two senators on the dispute with China.


Curiously, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin wasn’t in the meeting. Lacierda said Gazmin was in Japan and was represented by an undersecretary.

No more fishing boats


Raul Hernandez, DFA spokesperson, said on Friday that China still had vessels at Scarborough, which the Philippines calls Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc.


Citing a report from the Coast Guard, Hernandez said there were two Chinese maritime vessels and one Chinese fisheries law-enforcement vessel outside the lagoon of the shoal Friday morning.


Hernandez said there were no more Chinese fishing boats inside or outside the lagoon.


President Aquino had threatened to send back government vessels to the shoal unless China withdrew its ships.

New city’s jurisdiction


The dispute began on April 8 when Chinese maritime ships blocked the path of a Philippine vessel to prevent the arrest of Chinese fishermen caught poaching sharks and collecting rare clams and corals in the shoal’s lagoon.


The shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. But China refuses to recognize the Philippine EEZ, insisting that ancient maps prove the shoal is part of its territory.


China is also claiming Philippine territory in the Spratly Islands and Macclesfield Bank. In June it warned the Philippines against the opening of a public elementary school on Pag-asa Island in the Spratlys, and placed Macclesfield Bank, which it calls Zhongsha Island, under the jurisdiction of the new Sansha City. It also placed Paracel Islands, which Vietnam claims, and Vietnam’s parts of the Spratlys under Sansha’s jurisdiction.


On Wednesday, the DFA summoned Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ma Keqing and handed her a note protesting China’s action on Macclesfield Bank, which the Philippines’ administers through the provincial government of Zambales.

Spy planes


President Aquino on Monday said that he was considering asking the United States to help monitor the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea through spy plane overflights.


When China reacted, accusing him of stirring up tension in the West Philippine Sea, Mr. Aquino told Chinese officials on Thursday to “balance their statements with the truth.”


He said it was well within the Philippines’ right to ask a treaty ally for help in monitoring its territories in the West Philippine Sea. The United States and the Philippines has a mutual defense treaty.


But asking help from the United States was “just an option,” Mr. Aquino said. The government has not yet given the United States permission for surveillance overflights.

‘Virtual annexation’


Friday, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, who supported the decision of the municipal government of Pag-asa to build a public school for children on the island, said the creation of Sansha City amounted to “virtual annexation” of the entire West Philippine Sea.


“The Chinese government is showing its true intentions in the West Philippine Sea,” Bello said. “Although their establishment of a new city will not in any way serve to diminish our country’s sovereignty in the area, they are setting the stage for more incursions, and possibly occupation of our territory,” he said.


Bello said China’s move was a violation of a nonaggression accord China signed with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2002.


“Their creation of a city to administer the West Philippine Sea sends the message that [they are] not serious [about] a diplomatic and peaceful resolution to the dispute,” he said. “When you place the entire area under this city, what’s there to negotiate?”


‘Stronger action’


Bello said the Philippines and the other Asean countries should take “stronger action” against China for its bullying in the West Philippine Sea.
The 2002 accord is no longer sufficient, he said.


“In order to prevent further Chinese intrusions into our territories, we will need a binding code of conduct for all parties in the West Philippine Sea,” Bello said. With reports from Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Tina G. Santos and Gil C. Cabacungan


http://globalnation.inquirer.net/43251/aquinos-order-keep-government-plans-secret

yes! mamomodernize na ang tora2 natin :D

yes! mamomodernize na ang tora2 natin :D

We no longer have tora2 in the 1st place! :nuts:

just came to a thought: Vietnam has numerous modern 4th-generation MRF's, a fighter-based air force, a formidable modern navy and an equally formidable army with extensive armored assets but they still get bullied day in and day out by China.

your thoughts?

panalo yung skyscrapers sa isang maliit na isla. man, the Chinese are comic, aren't they..although they don't intend to be... lol..sana matsunami yang city to be nila :lol:


having a sasha city is direct piracy of our idea of a baranggay in the spratly's. gaya gaya puto maya. mastanga lang sila kasi gagawa ata sila ng metropolis sa rough seas :lol:
---

Philippines and China: But what do we do about it? (http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/264204/opinion/blogs/philippines-and-china-but-what-do-we-do-about-it)


What do you do when a neighbor forces himself into your kitchen and starts taking your pots and pans because he fancies the things you possess as his own?

What do you do when a neighbor breaks your fence down because he wants to harvest the fruits from your mango trees without permission?

Wouldn’t you stop him and yell? “Put my stuff back and get the hell out of my property!”

Is this not what is happening to us right now? But what do we do about it? How does our national leadership respond to such naked aggression and violation of our sovereignty?

Unfortunately, we are being kicked around by a giant whose appetite for territorial conquest is unquenchable and we scamper away like little ants in all different directions without a common knowledge and a sense of purpose.

Why do we appear irresolute and ambivalent? Is it because we are scared? Or is it because we feel helpless? Or is it because we are simply overwhelmed by the problem?

I think it is for all these reasons and more. And yet, in the midst of such a quandary, we have decided to keep going on with our own separate ways and separate lives.

It is unfortunate that our Muslim brothers and sisters are glued to their secessionist idea, our militant brothers and sisters are fixated on their leftist agenda, and our politicians are wrapped up with the demands of their little dog and pony shows to sway public opinion to their favor.

And yet, as if our disunity is not enough, our national leader gives out wishy-washy pronouncements here and there without a consistent and unflinching resolve.

It’s like, one day “PNoy wants U.S. spy planes over West Philippine Sea,” and then, the next day “PNoy’s statement on spy plane is taken out of context”.

Well, la-di-da. Do we really think we scared the pants off of China? Do we really think that China will now change its policy towards the disputed territories?

Of course, not! It already made up its mind to get what it wants, by hook or by crook!

We better decide on what we would like to do right now because China is not waiting for us. In fact, China doesn’t give a tinker damn on what we say, nor take us seriously, however we adeptly spin a tale.

Here are my suggestions:

First, the national leadership must actively engage in this enormous issue by calling the people to unite.

I know it won’t be anything close to easy. But the president must unite all of the disparate forces, not only for the sake of our sovereignty, but also, for our very survival. For now, our unqualified political focus must be how to respond to China’s bullying and aggression.

Second, the national leadership must internationalize this issue.

Since we cannot outspend China, the president must immediately pursue a robust and an unbending national policy of multilateralism to support the principle of the “freedom of navigation and respect of international law.”

For us, this means proactively synergizing the interests of multiple countries working with us in concert on this issue. Other than the United States and Australia, we must institutionalize the visiting forces agreements with other sovereign states, namely, ASEAN countries, Taiwan, Japan, India, and New Zealand.

Unequivocally, I am for regular multilateral military drills and practices in the West Philippine Sea and the deployment of U.S. spy planes too. Just imagine this, the latter could have given us sufficient information to identify the culprit in the ramming of a Filipino boat and the deaths of its five crewmembers.

Third, the national leadership must promote and assist bullish localities in the development, planning, and implementation of selected maritime cities.

By maritime development, I mean the re-rooting of our urban development to the origins of the city-state development that the classical Greeks talked about. In fact, the success of Greece, Italy, Hong Kong, or Singapore can be traced to the application of the city-state model of development.


Our country has no shortage of maritime planning corridors (i.e., in Moro Gulf, Davao Gulf, Lingayen Gulf, Panay Gulf, Albay Gulf, Leyte Gulf, etc.). As an archipelago, this is our national strength, both human resource and natural resource.

Long-term wise, I believe we need the self-economic empowerment to better prepare ourselves to face our naval as well as development challenges.

Besides, I prefer that rather than exhausting the cultivation of our limited land resources, we must conserve it by making maritime trade and services as our chief economic activity.

As a starter, how about the national government promoting and supporting the plan of Butuan, Negros Oriental, Palawan, or Davao Oriental to put up its own international shipping dockyards and/or containerships?

I believe our country can provide competitive rates and fees for servicing American, Indian, Australian, Japanese, Korean, Singaporean, or Taiwanese commercial and military shipping repair, maintenance, and supply needs.

Maybe it’s just me but every time I look at the map of our islands with its safe harbors and winding coastlines, this is what I see---a Venice, a Monaco, a Macau, a Hong Kong, or a Singapore.

They are more useful for ground attack duties than air to air combat they can be used to do some patrols or to check out non responsive or unidentified civilian aircraft or to shoot them down that sort of thing, but these types of aircrafts will never be suitable to go toe to toe with modern fightercraft .

The radar issue is another thing, South Africa used it's Gripens during it's last football world cup to send radar information to it's radarless "Bae hawk" lift aircraft via datalink to provide them with radar information .

----



Imo setting up specific acquisition budgets from time to time is ok but with regards the regular budget 2,5% is sufficient as this will already mean a fourfold increase or the equivalent of 400% compared to the current budget, there comes a point when more money would be useless as the organisation also needs time to absorb new equipment which can't all be delivered immediately anyway .

Let us not exagerate the threat the MDT with the US is still in effect so there's little risk of anyone invading the country anytime soon and we are not at war nor are we close to war, as others have pointed out we can't create a force capable of matching the entire PLA in the forseable future therefor the goal must simply be at first to have a credible minimum defence to deal with what the PLA can send our way .

The more pressing issue is really first to have the capability to see what is happening whitin our eez and air and maritime spaces we know that there are illegal activities and violations going on whitin these spaces and not just the WPS but the actual Phillippine sea on the Pacific side, once we have that capability we can slowly acquire the means to patrol and defend but we can't stop all violations and challenges right away it will be a long process of slowly closing the gaps and deficiencies .

I know that some wish to see some kind of immemdiate response but we should instead just be patient while persistent in developing the countries defense capabilities, imo the current pace is just right and things will improve over time .

The problem that I see with the Chinese is that they send paramilitaries to avoid US involvement. As what has been happening lately. The stand off, the "ramming"..who knows what else is to come. The Chinese, it seems to me are trying to "outmaneuver" the issue to get them what they want yet avoiding US involvement (aka activating the MDT). I wish we'd have the appropriate assets before the Chinese will be able to get around that MDT

PHL firms up decision on how to handle tension with China but won't disclose yet (http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/264441/news/nation/phl-firms-up-decision-on-how-to-handle-tension-with-china-but-won-t-disclose-yet)


The Aquino administration has arrived at a decision on how to best handle the tension with China over the West Philippine Sea (also called South China Sea), a Palace spokesperson said Friday. The announcement of such decision, however, will have to wait.

At a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that since security matters were discussed, President Benigno Aquino III decided to close Thursday's meeting to other persons and staff other than the members of the Cabinet.

“It was conducted in executive session and therefore, any results would not be disclosed. Security matters were discussed… there was a decision made and the decision cannot be disclosed. As to what actions they are, we cannot–I cannot–disclose under pain of imprisonment,” Lacierda said.

“Certain decisions have been made, let us just wait for the decisions to be announced,” he added.

Aside from the Cabinet members, also present in the meeting were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Enrile served as defense chief during the time of former Presidents Marcos and Corazon Aquino (Noynoy's mother), while Trillanes is a former Navy officer.

Despite Enrile’s presence, his proposal to amend the 1987 Constitution to prioritize the budget for military and defense capability was not discussed, Lacierda said.

Lacierda said no heated debate transpired during the meeting but a healthy discussion on the matter. The executive session started around 1:30 in the afternoon and ended before 5 p.m.

Aquino earlier said he wanted to get the views of his Cabinet on the best approach to settle the issue with China.

On Thursday, the President urged the Chinese government to balance their statements with what is happening on the ground, saying the Philippines never issued a provocative statement against China.

This was in reaction to a commentary by China’s People’s Daily newspaper that the Philippines was deliberately stirring up tensions in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

The standoff between Manila and Beijing began in early April when Philippine forces spotted Chinese fishermen gathering marine species at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal. No arrests were made as Chinese vessels blocked Philippine ships from doing so.

Aquino has ordered the pullout of government ships in Panatag Shoal due to bad weather. There is no decision yet if the Philippine vessels will be redeployed to the area. The Chinese authorities withdrew their ships as well but they returned after a few days. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ/KG, GMA News

Sa kanya pa rin babalik sigaw, ng damdamin
Sa kanya pa rin sasaya bulong ng puso ko
Kung buhay pa ang alaala ng ating nakaraan
Ang pagmamahal at panahon alay pa rin sa kanya

Nakapagtataka talaga yung relasyon natin kay Papa Sugar no?


:lol::lol::lol:

Bagay na bagay! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Vietnamese fishing boat was allegedly sunk by Chinese ship: One rescued, Three missing
http://eyedrd.org/2012/07/vietnamese-fishing-boat-was-allegedly-sunk-by-chinese-ship-one-rescued-three-missing.html

This surveillance ship must be the culprit of sinking our defenseless fishing boat.

yung media ang madalas nagpapalala ng sitwasyon dyan sa Spratlys

Phl eyes P7-B loan from Japan (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=63&articleId=824916)
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated July 07, 2012 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is eyeing a P7-billion loan from Japan to acquire 10 “multi-role response vessels (MRRVs)” to upgrade the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) monitoring capability in the country’s territorial waters.

The project is expected to reinforce and further develop the coast watch/patrol and search rescue capabilities of the PCG. This will support the PCG in controlling oil pollution; protecting maritime environment; and in enforcing applicable maritime laws on safety and security, according to National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) records.

The NEDA-ICC said the total project cost was estimated at P7.37 billion based on a Nov. 11, 2011 feasibility study.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) proposed that the funding comes from the Japanese government under the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s Special Term for Economic Partnership (STEP) loan.

Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II had mentioned the project but did not give details. He said Japan was willing to provide the funding to help the Philippines.

He also said the government would use P1.5 billion from its share of the national gas project in Palawan to give the PCG a much needed upgrade.

Roxas said the government would use the money from the Malampaya fund to repair and refurbish three vessels and a helicopter of the Coast Guard for search and rescue operations.

He said the Coast Guard would also put up detachments in various areas so that Filipino fishermen and all vessels plying the country’s waters would be monitored.

He admitted that the current standoff in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal with China highlighted the country’s need to modernize its capabilities to guard the coastlines.

Roxas said the Philippines has vessels that could withstand any weather, but because of their limited size – 56 meters was the biggest in the Coast Guard fleet – the ships could only carry limited amounts of fuel, water, food and other supplies.

He added that the government has limited sea assets to replenish the supply of other ships in operations.

He said it was important for the Coast Guard to be able to immediately launch search and rescue operations.

“The (plan) also includes deployment of Coast Guard detachments or stations in other key strategic locations in the country and, of course, assigning personnel,” he said.

just came to a thought: Vietnam has numerous modern 4th-generation MRF's, a fighter-based air force, a formidable modern navy and an equally formidable army with extensive armored assets but they still get bullied day in and day out by China.

your thoughts?

Right! China, the world's largest military won't get easily intimidated even if you are armed with the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters, S-300 air defense SAM system, Improved Kilo class fast attack diesel submarines, stealthy Gepard 3.9 class guided missile anti-submarine frigates (pictured below), T-72 main battle tanks, and Scud tactical missile trucks.

http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/gepard-class/images/1-gepard-class.jpg

The Vietnamese fishing boat that was allegedly sunk by a Chinese ship wasn't even protected/defended by its own modern navy! What more can we if we demand a fully modernized armed forces? China will just fight fire with a bigger fire.

What is your opinion PAF's roundel. I actually made a design for a new roundel.

What do you think?

http://elementoz.ph/PAF/roundel.gif

just came to a thought: Vietnam has numerous modern 4th-generation MRF's, a fighter-based air force, a formidable modern navy and an equally formidable army with extensive armored assets but they still get bullied day in and day out by China.

your thoughts?

Vietnam Marine police boat has guts. We should do the same.

38EvcXlboaE

What is your opinion PAF's roundel. I actually made a design for a new roundel.

What do you think?

http://elementoz.ph/PAF/roundel.gif

i actually like the current one.

What is your opinion PAF's roundel. I actually made a design for a new roundel.

What do you think?

http://elementoz.ph/PAF/roundel.gif

It's too detailed I think. I think you should thicken the Red and Blue circles para makita siya clearly even at high visibility. :okay:

Chinese patrol ships reach Nansha Islands
BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhuanet) -- A team of four China Marine Surveillance ships has arrived at the Nansha Islands to conduct closer observations. It’s all part of their patrol mission in the South China Sea. CCTV’s Fintan Monaghan has more on how the team is protecting China’s territory and marine interests.

Patrolling and conducting surveys in the South China sea, the four China Marine Surveillance ships are here to highlight China’s sovereignty and jurisdiction.Read more (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/video/2012-07/04/c_131694381.htm)

West Phl Sea disputes to get spotlight at Asean meet
MANILA, Philippines (PNA) - The territorial disputes in the strategic West Philippine Sea would likely steal the spotlight in next week’s Association of South East Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) that would be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 26 other foreign ministers despite China’s objections.

Clinton and Southeast Asian nations at odds with China over disputed territories in the resource-rich South China Sea, or West Philippine Sea to Manila, plan to tackle the issue at the ARF, Asia’s largest security forum, to be held July 8 to 12 in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.Read more (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=825041&publicationSubCategoryId=200)

instead of acting and feeling cowardice, we should build our armed forces that can withstand head-on confrontation against the pirates in our EEZ and the WPS. We need funds, billions of USDs to purchase all necessary weapons to deny the pirates in any of an inch of our territory. we are of the home advantage than the commies, our fighters can do multirole duties in 3 sorties against the commies one only (without the carrier) and naval reinforcements faster than the commies can send additional backups. we need the funds now or it's too late for us to defend what is left of the vastness of our western territories. We need to build a credible force that can withstand blitz by the commies for at least 1 week, as historically the US will always react late (ww1, pearl harbor, 911), we need to get a hand of the funding from our lawmakers,..a hefty 5BUS$ budget for the one time investments in our defense modernization in order for us to withstand from the pirates stubborn show of stupidity and incessant incursion and illegal occupations of any part or isles/ shoal of our 200NM EEZ in the WPS. Budget for 3 attack subs, 3dozens missile fast attack crafts, 3 squadrons of MRFs, numerous mobile ASM launcher batteries and radar and mobile AAM umbrellas and hundreds of missiles, ammos, bombs and ordinances.

What is your opinion PAF's roundel. I actually made a design for a new roundel.

What do you think?

http://elementoz.ph/PAF/roundel.gif

sorry but it looks like a target mark, like some kind of a cross hair,..:nuts:

What is your opinion PAF's roundel. I actually made a design for a new roundel.

What do you think?

I still prefer the current one. The PAF roundel is the only kind of the world, lozenge.

Vietnam Marine police boat has guts. We should do the same.

Well, the crew of BFAR patrol boat pulled a Wronski feint during the standoff.

China Counters U.S. Tilt Toward Asia

Richard D. Fisher Jr. Alexandria, Va.

If late 2011 heralded the U.S. “pivot” toward East Asia—so far, words backed up by modest deployments meant to reassure allies and remind China of Washington's interest in the region—then early 2012 looks like a time for China to parry the move. China has used its geographic and asymmetric advantages to challenge Washington's latest strategic turn.

The origins of the pivot date back a decade, to a point when the U.S. concluded that China was building a force of submarines, space weapons and anti-ship ballistic missiles to execute anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategies against U.S. forces. But it was Asian fears of Chinese belligerence in 2010—such as its vigorous support for North Korea following its March 2010 sinking of a South Korean corvette, plus its rejection of mediation of conflicting claims in the South China Sea—that forced the Obama administration to “rebalance” toward Asia following drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In her October 2011 Foreign Policy article, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. had reached a “pivot point” that required renewed U.S. emphasis on Asia, and while taking care to reject the notion that China is a “threat,” made it clear that U.S. “treaty alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand are the fulcrum for our strategic turn to the Asia-Pacific.” During President Barack Obama's mid-November 2011 visit to Australia it was announced that the U.S. would station up to 2,500 Marines in Darwin by 2016 and that the Navy might deploy two to four Littoral Combat Ships in Singapore. (U.S. and Singaporean officials have clarified that this arrangement does not entail basing the ships there, just rotational visits.)

In January 2012, it emerged that U.S. and Philippine officials were discussing a revival in military alliance cooperation, potentially including rotations of U.S. surveillance aircraft and about 500 troops through Philippine bases, and more exercises. However, in an update to reporters at the Pentagon last month, Adm. Samuel Locklear, 3rd, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said, “We're not really interested in building any more U.S. bases in the Asia-Pacific.”

In early November 2011 the Pentagon announced the formation of its new Air-Sea Battle Office, which ostensibly will deepen cooperation among the U.S. armed services, starting with the Air Force and Navy, but which has long been depicted as the manifestation of a Defense Department effort to counter China's growing A2/AD capability. Even though budgetary and force cutbacks announced in late 2011 and early 2012 made it clear the U.S. would all but abandon its previous “two-war” force planning strategy, U.S. officials also asserted that cutbacks would spare U.S. forces in Asia.

China's challenge during early 2012 was to exploit the Obama administration's intention to end its two-war planning strategy, by strengthening the potential for Chinese allies to tie down the U.S. in multiple conflicts. Prominently displayed in North Korea's April 15 parade was a large new missile on a 16-wheel transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) apparently manufactured by China's Sanjiang Hubei Special Vehicle Co., part of missile maker China Aerospace Industry and Science Co. (Casic). While China immediately denied making such a sale, the TEL is clearly a version of Sanjiang's WS51200 vehicle, that in turn was developed in cooperation with MAZ of Belarus, which makes TELs for Russia's ICBMs.

China's provision of a TEL for a new North Korean missile raises the possibility that it is assisting that program, but even the fact that China provided the TEL points toward a new level of support for Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. This contradicts China's oft-stated opposition to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development, including its leadership of the Six Party Talks intended to reverse that development. It suggests that China directly supports a nuclear threat aimed at the U.S.—and Europe as well, since North Korea's new missile could be sold to Iran.

Since early April, China has used its geographic proximity to challenge Washington's and Manila's revival of military cooperation—a relationship that improved rapidly following Clinton's change of longstanding U.S. neutrality toward the conflicting claims in the South China. That change of policy opposes China's claims to nearly the entire South China Sea, which Beijing asserted at the July 2010 Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.

Washington transferred a decommissioned 3,200-ton Hamilton-class Coast Guard cutter to the Philippine navy in July 2011 (now that service's largest ship, it has been reclassified as a frigate), and may provide two more by 2013. In January 2012, it was revealed that Philippine and U.S. officials were discussing more expansive military cooperation for the first time since the 1991 departure of U.S. forces from Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base. That may include a sale of F-16 fighters to Manila and the rotation of U.S. surveillance aircraft through the Philippines, on the edge of China's ballistic missile submarine patrol area in the South China Sea.

On April 8 the Philippines intercepted Chinese fishing boats in the middle of Scarborough Reef, which is about 138 mi. from the Philippine island of Luzon, but about 500 mi. from China's Hainan Island. Manila dispatched its new Hamilton-class frigate for its first police action, intercepting the Chinese fishermen, but not arresting them. On April 10 two ships from China's Fisheries Protection Agency, one of several Chinese coast guard forces, blocked the Philippine ship. By this time it had become a diplomatic confrontation, which Manila sought to dial down by replacing its frigate with a coast guard corvette.

The standoff continued through the Philippine-U.S. Balikatan exercise that started on April 14. China declared a fishing moratorium for the region but continued to station its own fishing boats in the shoal, and sent fighters to overfly the area on June 11. China used its new long-range over-the-horizon radar on Hainan to control its maneuvers around Scarborough Shoal, while its use of coast guard ships demonstrated its ability to stand up to Manila and its larger ally, short of military action. Then, in early May, the Chinese navy dispatched a five-ship squadron, led by its largest Type 071 LPD that stoked fears China might attack Philippine-held islands. Likely in response, the Virginia-class submarine USS North Carolina made a visit to Subic Bay on May 15.

Amid the lingering Scarborough stand-off, China further challenged U.S. strategy by holding its most complex naval exercise to date with Russia. From April 21-27, 16 Chinese navy ships plus two submarines, and four Russian navy combat ships, conducted air defense and anti-submarine exercises. Then from June 7-14 about 400 Chinese airborne and ground troops joined Russian and Tajikistan forces for the Peace Mission 2012 exercise under the umbrella of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Newly reelected Russian President Vladimir Putin pointedly attended the SCO summit in Beijing in early June, emphasizing strategic cooperation with China.

In late June there were conflicting reports of an upcoming Russian, Chinese, Iranian and Syrian joint exercise that would involve 90,000 troops and 1,000 tanks and would include 12 Chinese ships that would transit the Suez Canal, all to deter possible Western military intervention in Syria. While the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries denied such an exercise would take place, it served as a warning that China could further parry the U.S. with a “pivot” of its own—toward the Middle East.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_07_02_2012_p08-469144.xml&p=1

This I found.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/navy.htm

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/images/eez-map1.jpg
More warships ! More warplanes ! Four AA Missile batteries in Palawan.

400,000 pirates humiliated by 100,000 mostly female vietnamese militias. Filipinos are by nature nationalist, we hope we can get into the same level in terms of pride for our country and as nationalistic as them. the pirates are not invincible as illustrated by our vietnamese friends. The pirates deployed fake soldiers (no pride, low morale, no objective), low quality and hilarious copied weapons resulting in defeat.:cheers:

ZoCZviOodTM&feature=related

sorry but it looks like a target mark, like some kind of a cross hair,..:nuts:

Most roundels look like target marks.

1st video and recently uploaded photos of todays PAF 65th founding anniversary celebration in Batangas ... :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7PdKvHLY6E

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.377039219029424.89733.195218547211493&type=1

Not if i should be proud or just completely facepalm watching this. Sobrang nakakahiya ang PAF sa airshow na 'to. Puro air walang force..ano ba yan... :crazy:

Not if i should be proud or just completely facepalm watching this. Sobrang nakakahiya ang PAF sa airshow na 'to. Puro air walang force..ano ba yan... :crazy:

Honestly, I feel that most Pinoys are not proud of our air force the fact it is less superior compared to our ASEAN counterparts.

This is the reason why I decided to do a PAF roundel proposal since the current one represents a current tarnished air force. Anyway this is my opinion on this issue.

But the good thing is modernization is now taking effect and we will see some brand new weapons, equipment and other hardware soon including some fighter planes.

^^ The old roundel is better.

What needs to be done is of course a material boost to PAF's arsenal. We need modern, innovative equipment and more of them. Second, annual air shows should be done. They have to take into account the element of 'awe'. Next is to test the mettle of PAF through conflict engagements. The Scarborough dispute and rebellion movements provide more than enough venues to do this.

In the end, it all boils down to how PAF will prove their worth once again and make us again proud of our Air Force.

^^ The old roundel is better.

What needs to be done is of course a material boost to PAF's arsenal. We need modern, innovative equipment and more of them. Second, annual air shows should be done. They have to take into account the element of 'awe'. Next is to test the mettle of PAF through conflict engagements. The Scarborough dispute and rebellion movements provide more than enough venues to do this.

In the end, it all boils down to how PAF will prove their worth once again and make us again proud of our Air Force.

Not just PAF but the entire AFP.

Gringo makes sense sometimes, i don't know if this is just political show or something. I once admired this guy, but after unsuccessfully tried to unseat Cory in its 9nth and final last attempt, i consider him a loser already.:nuts:
He maybe considered for more work on military matters than counting geckos in the ceilings of batasan.:ohno:


Honasan: Spy planes not enough, bring US military to West Philippine Sea
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
8:36 pm | Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012
share292 223
Senator Gregorio Honasan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Spy planes are OK, but then what?
Senator Gregorio Honasan called, on Tuesday, for an actual military presence by the United States in the Scarborough Shoal and other disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea to help protect Philippine interests there.
Honasan, a former Army colonel, welcomed President Benigno Aquino’s move to tap US spy planes to monitor activities in the area and relay information to the Philippine government.
“But the question really is: What do we do with that information?” he told the Inquirer in a phone interview. “If they just feed us information that there’s an intrusion but the Americans would do nothing, useless.”
Honasan said the US could send a “carrier task group” composed of an aircraft carrier and destroyers to police the area where the Philippines has accused China of harassing its vessels.
The senator said the US could also redeploy to Scarborough some of its troops currently in Mindanao as part of the Visiting Forces Agreement. He said the US military presence would help “level” the field between the Philippines and China, which boasted of a much stronger military.
“In a bilateral situation, there should be a parity of forces, of leverage. But in our case with China, there’s none. That’s why I need to underscore the need for a third party, an observer,” he said.
Honasan added: “They’ll be the ‘barangay tanod.’ They’ll be the police. They will monitor everything. Any movement of naval and air assets in the area will be monitored by the US.”
In case a Philippine vessel is blocked by China, for instance, he said the US could serve as a third party to ensure that any agreement between the two claimant countries would be observed.
“If there’s a violation of the initial agreement, of ground rules, there would be a disinterested party that would call the attention (of both countries), and I think the US fits that role,” he said.
But before getting the US on board, the Philippine government should clarify where the US stood when it came to the dispute with China, said Honasan.
“We have to ask the US: Do they believe that the Scarborough Shoal belongs to us? I think we should get a categorical answer from them,” he said.
“If they say it belongs to China, it’s over. Let’s go home,” he added. “Now if they believe that it belongs to the Philippines, help us put up structures there and deploy your troops there. Establish a naval component there as a monitoring device for your deployed air and naval asset.”
Honasan said the Scarborough dispute would allow the Aquino administration to “test” whether the US put more value on its historical ties with the Philippines than its relationship with China.
“Now is the time to test it,” he said.
While trying to get the US more involved, the Philippines should also conduct backdoor negotiations with China over the possibility of a joint exploration of the disputed territory, the senator said.:bash::bash::bash:
“There should be backdoor diplomacy. This is not a simple issue,” he said.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42749/honasan-spy-planes-not-enough-bring-us-military-to-west-philippine-sea

Our MPAC is faster than the Chinese Navy fast missile attack catamaran.



Supporting Communism should be made a crime! :cheers:
Naka, maraming leaders natin ang maging criminals?

Gringo makes sense sometimes, i don't know if this is just political show or something. I once admired this guy, but after unsuccessfully tried to unseat Cory in its 9nth and final last attempt, i consider him a loser already.:nuts:
He maybe considered for more work on military matters than counting geckos in the ceilings of batasan.:ohno:



And his actions caused a severe damage to our country's economy back in the 80s.

^^ US presence on Scarborough is not literally it is.. a base from subic and clark is enough.. Honasan is so much exaggerated..

And his actions caused a severe damage to our country's economy back in the 80s.

He should have done it right the first time, because there is no 2nd or the 9nth time..:ohno:

C.R.O.C.! Jump off the crap to 1:35, it's a good innovation, they can add torpedo tube(s) or a hidden bay for an exocet launcher, they can also add ballast to make it half-submerged,..I wonder the initials maybe dedicated to the senaTONGressmen and supercocs in AFP,..

8ylJLiuMJbQ

This is just a CONVENTIONAL THOUGHT; Recent Wars have shown that MISSILES are more capable of delivering successive impact against the enemy; Our country should have thought of advancing the Maritime Patrol in Skies by purchasing some P-3 Orions or Embraer with Naval capabilities, these naval aircraft is superb as well as anti submarine aircrafts. Likewise, Radars that can fetch 50-100 kms is an absolute buy because of the proximities of islands, islets and other proclaimed assets of our country. Enforced and Equipped those Radars with Missile Technology, here the PH will see no intruders will dare get into our air space, sea spaces...submarines is a different issue. Buying aircrafts must be a sub-priority. Those mention above is a priority.

400,000 pirates humiliated by 100,000 mostly female vietnamese militias. Filipinos are by nature nationalist, we hope we can get into the same level in terms of pride for our country and as nationalistic as them. the pirates are not invincible as illustrated by our vietnamese friends. The pirates deployed fake soldiers (no pride, low morale, no objective), low quality and hilarious copied weapons resulting in defeat.:cheers:

ZoCZviOodTM&feature=related

They got their asses majorly handed twice, first by Filipinos during the Korean war,then the Vietnamese right after the Vietnam war. :lol::lol:

They better not f*** everyone around in their neighborhood.

From Mactan-Cebu International Airport thread


Some interesting photos, and the P-3C Orion was a delight!
httphttp://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb411/dennislitigs/IMG_1838.jpg://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb411/dennislitigs/IMG_1839.jpghttp://i1204.photobucket.com/albums/bb411/dennislitigs/IMG_1832.jpg

This is the quickest way of having one. IMO.

from wiki.
"A missile boat is a small warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being a small craft, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming an inexpensive navy. They are similar in idea to the torpedo boats of World War II; in fact, the first missile boats were modified torpedo boats replacing two or more torpedo tubes with missile tubes. The doctrine behind the use of missile boats is based on the principle of mobility over defence. The advent of proper missile and electronic counter measure technologies gave birth to the idea, that because a missile is far more accurate than a shell and can penetrate even the most heavily armored ship hulls, warships should now be designed to outmaneuver their enemies and get to a better position first.

Moreover, increasing the potency of shells requires employing larger projectiles, which necessities larger naval guns and consequently, larger platforms to carry these guns. This trend culminated in the giant battleships of WWII. The ability to deploy anti-ship missiles on small, maneuverable platforms seriously negates the advantages that were provided by larger ships in the era before the advent of guided missiles. A small missile boat, when equipped with sophisticated guided anti-ship missiles can pose a serious threat to even the largest of capital ships, and do so at much greater ranges than is possible with torpedoes."

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Osa-I_class_Project205_DN-SN-84-01770.jpg/250px-Osa-I_class_Project205_DN-SN-84-01770.jpg
An Osa I class missile boat in 1983. The Osa class are probably the most numerous class of missile boats to have been built.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_boat

Germany is superior
http://s16.postimage.org/lrtuhhaat/20120706210301.jpg

US seeks to reduce tensions in South China Sea

BEIJING (AFP) - The United States (US) will emphasise the importance of easing friction over competing claims in the South China Sea during regional talks in Cambodia next week, a US government official said on Saturday.

The talks of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and regional powers including China will be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the South China Sea likely to be high on the agenda.

Tensions have risen recently over territorial claims in the resource-rich waters amid a standoff between China and the Philippines at the Scarborough Shoal and between China and Vietnam over the Spratly and Paracel islands.

All parties must realise that 'there is an enormous potential for developments that undermine the very confidence on which Asia prosperity is built', a US government official told reporters in Beijing.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_819796.html

From Mactan-Cebu International Airport thread

No it's not preparing for spy sorties over the WPS! It's just on "routine maintenance call",..:nuts:

NPA itutulak si Casiño sa LP (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=824144&publicationSubCategoryId=92) :bash:
Ni Butch Quejada (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated July 05, 2012 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Aktibo sa pag-atake ang New People’s Army para mapilitan si Pa ngulong Aquino na kunin sa senatorial ticket ng administrasyon si Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casino.

Sinabi ni ANAD Rep. Pastor Alcover Jr., dating kasapi sa NPA, na maraming krimen na ginagawa ang komunistang grupo sa mga probinsya gaya ng pagsusunog ng mga construction equipment upang mapasunod ang Pangulo.

“The order of the Communist Party chief is to strike at least per week they have to attack, in order for the president to bow down because they have demands,” sabi ni Alcover.

Ang gusto umanong mangyari ng CPP ay makapasok sa gobyerno upang masira nila ito mula sa loob.

“In fact they are demanding for Teddy Casino representing the Maka bayan party, which is a Maoist communist party front, to be part of the team of the senatorial ticket of the Liberal Party yun ang banat nito ngayon susugan yung atake para si PNoy mag-bow down kunin sila in the name of peace.”

Bahagi umano ng plano ng CCP ang pagpasok sa gobyerno, “you join the government to destroy the government. You use democracy to destroy democracy. I know that because I came from them, mga kasama ko sila noon eh.”

Si Casino ay nasa ikatlo at huling termino na bilang kongresista ng Bayan Muna partylist.

New tack on dispute with China: Just wait (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/43405/new-tack-on-dispute-with-china-just-wait)
Aquino to execs: Let’s not telegraph our punches
By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:02 am | Sunday, July 8th, 2012

Don’t telegraph our punches.

That sums up the instructions that President Benigno Aquino III gave to his officials on Thursday concerning the government’s plans and decisions involving the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, however, refused to go into details because the “framework” to deal with an increasingly aggressive China was to be kept a secret, for now, as ordered by the President.

The framework has drawn support from two members of the House of Representatives.
And Malacañang officials hope the people, too, will support the President’s decision to keep the government’s West Philippine Sea plans secret.

One of the officials, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad on Saturday described the actions that would be taken as “delicate.”

“[The] government has found it prudent not to telegraph its decisions and plans by not publicly disclosing them before they are executed,” Abad said in a text message to the Inquirer.

Abad, a senior political adviser to the President, said Mr. Aquino was confident he had the support of the people “as he exercises leadership in scaling down the tensions arising from the incidents in Panatag Shoal.”

Panatag Shoal is one of two names the Philippines uses to refer to the Scarborough Shoal, a resource-rich formation of rocks and corals in the West Philippine Sea 220 kilometers west of Zambales province. The other name is Bajo de Masinloc.

Panatag Shoal is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China claims it is part of its territory, and shows old maps to prove it.

Thursday’s Cabinet meeting was supposed to decide when to send the government vessels back. Lacierda told reporters that the meeting, which was held behind closed doors, made certain decisions. He would not say, however, whether a date for resuming the face-off with the Chinese at Panatag Shoal was one of those decisions.

Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas on Saturday appealed to the public to just wait for what the government would do.

“The government will lay out its position in due time after it has thoroughly evaluated the available options,” Llamas said. “While that evaluation and discussion are taking place, though, the premature public revelation of all the issues will only create confusion and make the process of reaching a peaceful and favorable outcome more difficult,” he said.

For Rep. Rodolfo Biazon of Muntinlupa City and Rep. Roilo Golez of Parañaque City, there’s no problem with the President’s decision.

“We can’t telegraph our strategic plans and intentions,” Biazon, a former military chief, said Saturday. “In effect, what we’re witnessing is that different members of the Cabinet are saying different things on the same issue. I welcome that instruction of the President.”

Golez, a former Navy officer, said that’s how it should be, as “diplomacy is an opaque exercise.”

Golez had a reminder for everyone: Leaking vital information or state secrets is a criminal offense.

Standoff

The dispute began on April 8 when Chinese maritime vessels blocked the path of a Philippine law-enforcement vessel to prevent the arrest of Chinese fishermen caught poaching sharks and illegally collecting rare clams and corals in the shoal’s lagoon.

For two months, ships from both countries faced off with each other at the shoal until stormy weather forced President Aquino on the night of June 15 to order the Philippines’ vessels home. The departure of two Philippine ships from the shoal temporarily ended the standoff.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, China committed to withdraw its vessels from the shoal. A reciprocal pullback by the Chinese would have ended the confrontation between the two countries. But China withdrew only its fishing boats and kept its maritime vessels at the shoal for effective control of the area. As of Friday morning, China had two surveillance ships and one fisheries patrol vessel at the shoal.

Two weeks ago, President Aquino threatened to send back government vessels to the shoal unless China withdrew all of its ships.

^ Good move on the gag order. Madami kasing tsismosong Pinoy eh. :lol:

NPA itutulak si Casiño sa LP (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=824144&publicationSubCategoryId=92) :bash:
Ni Butch Quejada (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated July 05, 2012 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Aktibo sa pag-atake ang New People’s Army para mapilitan si Pa ngulong Aquino na kunin sa senatorial ticket ng administrasyon si Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casino.

Sinabi ni ANAD Rep. Pastor Alcover Jr., dating kasapi sa NPA, na maraming krimen na ginagawa ang komunistang grupo sa mga probinsya gaya ng pagsusunog ng mga construction equipment upang mapasunod ang Pangulo.

“The order of the Communist Party chief is to strike at least per week they have to attack, in order for the president to bow down because they have demands,” sabi ni Alcover.

Ang gusto umanong mangyari ng CPP ay makapasok sa gobyerno upang masira nila ito mula sa loob.

“In fact they are demanding for Teddy Casino representing the Maka bayan party, which is a Maoist communist party front, to be part of the team of the senatorial ticket of the Liberal Party yun ang banat nito ngayon susugan yung atake para si PNoy mag-bow down kunin sila in the name of peace.”

Bahagi umano ng plano ng CCP ang pagpasok sa gobyerno, “you join the government to destroy the government. You use democracy to destroy democracy. I know that because I came from them, mga kasama ko sila noon eh.”

Si Casino ay nasa ikatlo at huling termino na bilang kongresista ng Bayan Muna partylist.

If that happens.... in the name of all who died under communist attacks in our country... We Will Never Vote For Him.

Do Not Vote For The Communists In This Coming Elections of May 2013.

Better Dead Than Red.

WOLVERINES!!!!!! WOLVERINES!!!!!! WOLVERINES!!!!!