RP to intensify surveillance over Spratly's after Taiwan leader's visit

By Ronron
February 4, 2008

The Philippines will intensify its monitoring of the disputed islands
in the South China Sea following the visit there of Taiwanese leader
Chen Shui-Bian a few days ago, an official said Monday.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes
Esperon, Jr. told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo that this would be its
response to the country's lack of capability to "external defense or
to defend our territories."

The Taiwanese leader went to Ligao Island in the Spratly's in what
Philippine officials say as an apparent disregard for the Declaration
on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC).

The Spratly's, believed to be rich in mineral and oil resources aside
from marine resources, is being claimed wholly or partially by the
Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China and Malaysia.

But Taiwan, which is regarded by the international community as a
renegade province of China, is not a signatory to the DoC.

Esperon described Ligao Island as the biggest island in Spratly's
which hosts an airstrip built by the Taiwanese.

"They built their airstrip and so we agree that there is a need for
more surveillance," Esperon said.

This would not mean, however, a deployment of troops in Ligao or an
augmentation of the existing 60-man military team in Pag-asa Island
because this action might further cause tension among the claimant
countries.

"The unnecessary deployment or constructions could disturb the code of
conduct. It's just unfortunate that there is a lot of political
posturing nowadays coming from the side of Taiwan. So that is
something that we would like to address together with the
international community," Esperon said.

"We in the Armed Forces would like to take the position of the
Department of National Defense and the Department of Foreign Affairs
so our troops would be the last to be deployed for the meantime. We
have other ways of engaging the international community and that is
through diplomatic means," he went on.

Over the weekend, DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo expressed concern over
the visit of the Taiwanese leader and urged all claimant parties "to
exercise prudence and self-restraint" over the disputed islands.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr., echoing Romulo's statements,
said yesterday that Shui-Bian's "publicized" visit somehow agitates
other claimant parties because he also "publicized his intension to
fortify his claim in the area."

"The Code of Conduct between the claimants of Spartly's says that
there should be no action done which will increase tension or increase
agitation in the area," Teodoro said.

He said that even if Taiwan is not a signatory to the DoC, any State,
under international law, must respect the "status quo" to "promote
amity and cooperation within an area."

"I believe if there is adherence to the Code of Conduct, and at least
majority of the claimants do adhere to the Code of Conduct, there
won't be any tension," Teodoro said./DMS