South China/West Philippine Sea

[oscartamaguchiblackface]

http://news.yahoo.com/china-says-japan-39-39-hype-39-air-022304706--sector.html

 

 

China says Japan's 'hype' on air defence zone spreads tension

http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/d/0c/d0c3eb8ca18907492a4b337b5cec5193.jpeg 17 hours ago BEIJING (Reuters) - China does not feel threatened by countries in Southeast Asia and is optimistic about the situation in the disputed South China Sea, the Foreign Ministry said, warning Japan not to "spread rumors" it plans a new air defense identification zone. China alarmed Japan, South Korea and the United States last year when it announced an air defense identification zone for the East China Sea, covering a group of uninhabited islands at the center of a bitter ownership spat between China and Japan.

 

Last week, Japanese newspaper the Asahi Shimbun said China was considering setting up a similar zone - where foreign aircraft are supposed to report their movements to China - in the South China Sea, prompting the U.S. State Department to warn against such a move.

 

In a statement released late on Saturday, China's Foreign Ministry implied there was no need for such a zone in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan all have competing claims.

 

"Generally speaking, China does not feel there is an air security threat from ASEAN countries," the ministry said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

 

"China feels optimistic about relations with countries surrounding the South China Sea and the general situation in the South China Sea," the ministry said, adding it believed prospects for ties with ASEAN were "bright".

 

While the ministry said China had a right to set up air defense identification zones which nobody should criticize, it criticized Japan for attempting to distract attention from Japan's own military plans.

 

"Right wing forces in Japan have again been hyping up so-called plans that China will shortly set up an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea, which is purely to try and distract international attention, to cover up their conspiracy to ... expand their military," the ministry said.

 

"We warn these forces not to delude people with rumors for their own selfish interests and play up tensions, and hope the relevant party talks and acts cautiously," it added.

 

Ties have been strained by a recent visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to a controversial shrine for war dead, China's East China Sea air defense zone and the long-running dispute over a string of islets both countries claim, known as the Diaoyu in Chinese and the Senkaku in Japanese.

 

China, which is swiftly ramping up military spending, has regularly dispatched patrols to the East China Sea since it established the defense zone.

 

China has repeatedly denied Japanese accusations of being a threat to peace, saying it is Japan which is the threat, warning that Tokyo is trying to rearm and has failed to learn the lessons from its brutal behavior during World War Two.

 

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

 

 

 

[maxiev]

May be of some interest to those reading this thread...

 

http://news.yahoo.com/us-vows-defend-japan-against-china-185432324.html

 

US vows to defend Japan against China

 

 

By Shaun Tandon

February 7, 2014 3:31 PM

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry ® and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida walk after their private bilateral meeting on Feburary 7, 2014 at the US Department of State in Washington

 

Washington (AFP) - Secretary of State John Kerry vowed Friday that the United States would defend Japan against attack including over islands claimed by China as tensions boil between the Asian powers.

 

Kerry, who said he would visit China next week, met in Washington with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and reaffirmed the 1960 treaty that commits the United States to protect its ally.

 

"That includes with respect to the South China Sea," he said, before correcting himself to say the East China Sea, where China and Japan have conflicting claims.

 

Fears of conflict rose in November when China imposed an Air Defense Identification Zone over much of the East China Sea.

 

Beijing says it now requires notification from planes crossing a group of islands administered by Tokyo, known in Japanese as the Senkaku and in Chinese as Diaoyu.

 

"The United States neither recognizes nor accepts China's declared East China Sea ADIZ and the United States has no intention of changing how we conduct operations in the region," Kerry said.

 

 

The United States and its allies are increasingly concerned China will take similar action in the South China Sea, where the Philippines in particular has voiced worries about Beijing's maritime claims.

 

Kishida, for his part, extended an invitation for President Barack Obama to make a state visit to Japan.

 

Diplomats say Obama is likely to visit Japan on an April tour of Asia, although Kerry is not expected to stop in Tokyo on his upcoming trip.

 

Kishida was visiting Washington after a rare open disagreement between the two allies.

 

The United States voiced disappointment in December when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known for his conservative views, paid a pilgrimage to the Yasukuni shrine which honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including convicted war criminals from World War II.

 

Abe's visit outraged China and also fellow US ally South Korea. Both countries frequently accuse Japan of insufficient remorse for its aggression a century ago.

 

Kishida told Kerry that Japan valued its relationship with South Korea despite their "difficult issues," saying the two democracies needed to work together in the face of nuclear-armed North Korea.

 

"Going forward, we will make tenacious efforts in order to build a cooperative relationship with the Republic of Korea from a broad perspective," Kishida said.

 

Kishida also highlighted progress under Abe in relocating the Futenma air base within the island of Okinawa -- an issue that has cast a pall for years over defense ties between the two countries.

 

Kerry, in turn, praised Japan for addressing another longtime sore point by ratifying the Hague convention that sets procedures for the return of children abducted by one parent across international boundaries.

 

Kerry's latest trip to Asia comes as critics charge that his focus in his year in office on the Middle East has left US allies in Asia in want of a more robust presence by Washington.

 

Kerry said he was committed to the goal set in President Barack Obama's first term of putting a greater US focus on Asia, and said the strategy was impossible without "ironclad guarantees" between the United States and Japan.

[maxiev]

http://news.yahoo.com/philippines-says-china-fired-water-cannon-disputed-shoal-073936481.html

 

Philippines says China fired water cannon at disputed shoal

 

Manila (AFP) - The Philippines' military chief on Monday accused China's coast guard of firing water cannons at Filipino fishermen for the first time to drive them away from a disputed sea shoal.

 

General Emmanuel Bautista said Chinese vessels fired cannon on January 27 near Scarborough Shoal -- the subject of a bitter territorial row in the strategically important South China Sea.

 

"The Chinese coast guard tried to drive away Filipino fishing vessels to the extent of using water cannon," Bautista told a forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

 

He did not say if anyone was hurt and added that China continues to maintain an armed coast guard and other vessels at the shoal.

 

Chinese embassy spokesmen could not be contacted for comment.

 

Scarborough Shoal lies 220 kilometres (135 miles) off the main Philippine island of Luzon. It is about 650 kilometres from Hainan island, the nearest major Chinese land mass.

 

In April 2012, the Philippines and China had a tense standoff which ended with the former retreating from the shoal -- a rich fishing area.

 

China has occupied the shoal as part of its claim to most of the South China Sea including waters near the coasts of its neighbours.

 

The Philippines, along with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have competing claims to parts of the sea, and the rivalries have been a source of tension for decades.

 

The South China Sea is one of the world's most important waterways as it is home to vital shipping lanes and is believed to sit atop lucrative deposits of natural resources.

 

Last year, Manila asked a United Nations arbitration tribunal to rule on the validity of China's claim to most of the sea, but Beijing has refused to be part of the process.

 

"We continue to give primacy to its (the dispute's) peaceful resolution principally through international arbitration," Bautista said.

 

"All our actions are in support to that. We remain hopeful that the issue can be resolved peacefully and result in peace and stability in the region."

 

He added too that "our resolve to perform our mandate as protectors of the people and the state and of our national territory" had not been weakened.

 

"We will continue to perform that mandate with whatever we've got," he said, adding that the country was in the first phase of modernising its poorly-equipped armed forces.

[Larry]

we should hire somali pirates to just wreck sh1t with the chinese while they're there

[Bugatti Veyron]

we should hire somali pirates to just wreck sh1t with the chinese while they're there

[tk421]

we should hire somali pirates to just wreck sh1t with the chinese while they're there

 

What for? We have the Abu Sayyaf right here...

[Larry]

What for? We have the Abu Sayyaf right here...

 

AS is a land based species bro

 

or amphibian at best.

[boibastos]

we should hire somali pirates to just wreck sh1t with the chinese while they're there

 

Somali pirates are two bit amateurs. You want to send a strong message that we really mean business by sending our politicians instead.

 

C'mon guys. Don't make us call "sexy" and "pogi".

Edited February 27, 2014 by boibastos

[Larry]

those bitches can't fight worth a lick.

[Ryuji_tanaka]

those bitches can't fight worth a lick.

two words: human shields

note: iam using the word human very very loosely.

 

 

[maxiev]

two words: human shields

note: iam using the word human very very loosely.

How about target practice.

[Bugatti Veyron]

two words: human shields

note: iam using the word human very very loosely.

Perhaps "inhuman" shields is a more appropriate term.....

[Bugatti Veyron]

http://news.yahoo.com/philippines-protests-china-stopping-troop-resupply-081642697.html

 

 

 

 

Philippines protests China stopping troop resupply

 

By OLIVER TEVES 5 hours ago

 

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Chinese coast guard prevented delivery of supplies to Filipino soldiers guarding a disputed shoal in the South China Sea and an envoy rejected a Philippine protest over the interference, officials said Tuesday.Chinese ships prevented two Filipino civilian vessels hired by the Philippine navy from reaching Second Thomas Shoal on Sunday, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The shoal is called Ayungin Shoal by Manila and Ren'ai Reef by the Chinese.

 

"Ayungin Shoal is part of the continental shelf of the Philippines and therefore, the Philippines is entitled to exercise sovereignty rights and jurisdiction in the area without the permission of other states," the statement said.

 

China's actions "constitute a clear and urgent threat to the rights and interests of the Philippines" under the Law of the Sea, it added.

 

Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the resupply was a routine activity that hasn't been interrupted by the Chinese in the past.

 

"For 15 years we have conducted regular resupply missions and personnel rotation without interference from China," he said.

 

He said the Chinese ships used digital signs, sirens and megaphones in ordering the Filipino vessels to leave. The Filipinos returned to Palawan, the nearest Philippine province east of the Shoal.

 

China's charge d'affaires was summoned and handed the protest note. Hernandez said that as in the past, Beijing rejected the protest.

 

Less than a month ago, Manila also protested a Chinese water cannon attack on Filipino fisherman near another disputed shoal. No one was injured in the Jan. 27 incident at the Scarborough Shoal off the country's main island of Luzon in the north.

 

The Filipino troops awaiting fresh supplies are stationed on a decrepit military hospital ship that ran aground in 1999 on the shallow coral outcrop of the Second Thomas Shoal. The rusty ship has since become the symbol of the country's sovereignty over the area.

 

China has been demanding the removal of the ship, claiming that the area is part of Chinese territory.

 

Department of National Defense spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said "the Chinese coast guard ships blocked our two vessels which were en route to Ayungin to reprovision" the troops. He did not give other details.

 

The Chinese did not block Philippine marines and supplies to the station last June, a month after the deployment of Chinese ships to the area that also prompted diplomatic protests from Manila.

 

China's official Xinhua news agency on Monday quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying that the two Philippine ships were loaded with construction materials and were driven away by Chinese coast guard vessels as they approached the shoal.

 

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters including the Ren'ai Reef," Qin said.

 

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea. Nansha is the Chinese name for the Spratlys, a chain of resource-rich islands, islets and reefs claimed partly or wholly by China, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

 

 

 

[sonnyt111]

http://news.yahoo.com/philippines-rejects-chinese-demand-remove-ship-111738256.html

 

 

Philippines rejects Chinese demand to remove ship

http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/04/21/image001-png_162613.png By TERESA CEROJANO 8 hours ago 0 shares MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines on Friday rejected a Chinese demand that it remove a grounded navy ship from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, saying the vessel is a permanent government outpost.

 

China's coast guard prevented two Philippine civilian vessels from delivering supplies to the rusting ship at Second Thomas Shoal on Sunday, escalating tensions in the area. The Philippines and the U.S. have called Beijing's action provocative. The shoal is called Ayungin in the Philippines and Ren'ai Reef in China.

 

The ship "was placed in Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a permanent Philippine government installation in response to China's illegal occupation of Mischief Reef in 1995," Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a statement Friday. Mischief Reef is another Philippine-claimed outcropping in the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea.

 

"The Philippines reiterates that Ayungin Shoal is part of its continental shelf over which the Philippines has sovereign rights and jurisdiction," Hernandez said.

 

Philippine officials have previously said the military hospital ship ran aground in 1999 on the shallow coral reef and could not be removed because of a lack of funds and capability. Friday's statement was the first acknowledgement that the ship was deliberately sent to the shoal as a government outpost.

 

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, resource-rich waters where other neighboring nations also have claims.

 

On Thursday, a Philippine security official said the navy would send supplies on other vessels to the soldiers stationed on the grounded ship because the men were running short of food and water. The official, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media, did not say when the supplies would be dispatched.

 

He said a small navy plane had dropped several days' worth of drinking water to the troops.

 

"It's not that we're trying to court China's ire," he said. "We do not want to starve our people to death."

 

 

 

[lomex32]

Everyone place your bets on the table

 

[maxiev]

http://news.yahoo.com/us-commander-emphasises-philippine-alliance-amid-china-row-135300841.html

 

US commander emphasises Philippine alliance, amid China row

 

Manila (AFP) - The US Pacific commander Tuesday emphasised the Philippines' importance as a military ally, as Filipino forces were involved in an increasingly tense standoff with Chinese ships in the South China Sea.

 

"Our 62-year alliance with the Philippines remains key to our efforts to ensure the stability and prosperity of the Western Pacific," Rear Admiral Robert Thomas told reporters in Manila.

 

He sailed to the Philippine capital on Tuesday aboard his command ship, the USS Blue Ridge, days after the latest of a series of hostile encounters between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea.

 

China said its coastguard on March 9 blocked two Philippine-flagged vessels approaching Second Thomas Shoal, which is guarded by a small group of Filipino marines but is also claimed by China.

 

The Philippine military evaded the blockade by airdropping supplies to the troops.

 

The shoal is part of the Spratlys, a chain of islets and reefs that sit near key shipping lanes, are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are also believed to lie atop huge oil and gas reserves.

 

They are around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,100 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass.

 

China claims most of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of its neighbours.

 

The Philippines grounded an old navy ship at Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, four years after China built structures on a nearby Filipino-claimed reef. Filipino troops have kept a presence on the ship ever since.

 

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei warned that China "will never allow any form of occupation" of the Second Thomas Shoal.

 

He repeated an allegation, denied by Manila, that the Philippine vessels were bringing construction materials there on March 9.

 

"China watches closely and is highly vigilant on further possible provocations in the South China Sea by the Philippines and it must bear all the consequences arising therefrom," Hong said.

 

Asked what the US 7th Fleet would do to help the Filipino marines, Thomas said he did not wish to address "hypothetical" scenarios, but then highlighted his country's 1951 mutual defence pact with Manila.

 

"And so without going into the hypotheticals, what I would offer is that the 7th Fleet is going to support this alliance. Period," he said.

 

The pact binds each country to come to the other's aid if its armed forces or ships are attacked in the Pacific.

[sonnyt111]

"And so without going into the hypotheticals, what I would offer is that the 7th Fleet is going to support this alliance. Period," he said.

 

Less talk = Less mistakes. Filipino politicians, police and other persons who are interviewed on television should follow this example.

 

 

 

 

 

[hellyeah1]

http://adroth.ph/afpmodern/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/casino.png

 

 

http://adroth.ph/afpmodern/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/golez.png

http://adroth.ph/afpmodern/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/casino2.png

 

http://adroth.ph/afpmodern/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/golez2.png

[Bugatti Veyron]

http://adroth.ph/afpmodern/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/casino.png

 

 

http://adroth.ph/afpmodern/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/golez.png

http://adroth.ph/afpmodern/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/casino2.png

 

http://adroth.ph/afpmodern/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/golez2.png

 

Casino is in a Catch 22 situation. If he says he's in favor of strengthening the Philippine military in response to Chinese aggression in the South China/West Philippine Sea, his comrades in the leftist groups will say he's a traitor to their cause.

 

If he says he is not in favor of strengthening the Philippine military in response to Chinese aggression, he'll be perceived as pro-China and will be labeled as a traitor to his country.

 

His best bet is to just keep quiet and not engage Roilo Golez in a discussion which he (Casino) cannot possibly win.

 

 

 

[tk421]

I sorta agree with Golez. Casino (and his group) doesn't even need to show support for AFP modernization, but at least show the same passion in protesting China's actions as he does with the US's perceived threat...

[maxiev]

I sorta agree with Golez. Casino (and his group) doesn't even need to show support for AFP modernization, but at least show the same passion in protesting China's actions as he does with the US's perceived threat...

China was their main benefactor when it still had a communist economic system. Which is probably why it refuses to protest China's actions with the same passion as it does the presence of US troops on Philippine soil.

 

"We communists must stick together" is probably what's foremost on his mind.

[hellyeah1]

Casino and his ilk's are nothing but hindrance and traffic causing traitors! His ass was handed to him BIG time by Mr. Golez!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Casino is in a Catch 22 situation. If he says he's in favor of strengthening the Philippine military in response to Chinese aggression in the South China/West Philippine Sea, his comrades in the leftist groups will say he's a traitor to their cause.

 

If he says he is not in favor of strengthening the Philippine military in response to Chinese aggression, he'll be perceived as pro-China and will be labeled as a traitor to his country.

 

His best bet is to just keep quiet and not engage Roilo Golez in a discussion which he (Casino) cannot possibly win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oscartamaguchiblackface]

http://news.yahoo.com/manila-raises-stakes-beijing-seeks-arbitration-over-south-202727743.html

 

 

Manila raises stakes with Beijing, seeks arbitration over South China Sea

http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/d/0c/d0c3eb8ca18907492a4b337b5cec5193.jpeg By Greg Torode and Manuel Mogato 11 hours ago

HONG KONG/MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines will file a case against China over the disputed South China Sea at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague next week, subjecting Beijing to international legal scrutiny over the increasingly tense waters for the first time.

 

Manila is seeking a ruling to confirm its right to exploit the waters in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as allowed under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), its team of U.S. and British lawyers said.

 

A ruling against China by the five-member panel of the Permanent Court of Arbitration could prompt other claimants to challenge Beijing, experts said. But while legally binding, any ruling would effectively be unenforceable as there is no body under UNCLOS to police such decisions, legal experts said.

 

China, which has refused to participate in the case, claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, displaying its reach on official maps with a so-called nine-dash line that stretches deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

 

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to parts of the potentially energy-rich waters.

 

The U.N. convention gives a country 12 nautical miles of territorial control with claim to sovereign rights to explore, exploit and manage natural resources within 200 miles. China claims several reefs and shoals in Manila's EEZ.

 

The head of the Philippines' legal team, Paul Reichler, a lawyer at U.S. law firm Foley Hoag, told Reuters a submission would be sent electronically on Sunday, meeting a March 30 deadline set by the tribunal. Manila filed an initial complaint in January 2013.

 

Legal experts said it could take months for the panel to weigh the case.

 

Diplomats and experts who follow the tensions in the South China Sea said Manila was going ahead despite pressure from China to delay or drop its submission.

 

"They've crossed a significant line here ... the pressure to withdraw before actually mounting an argument has been intense but they've stayed the course," said Carl Thayer, from the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.

 

Arbitration would clarify Manila's rights to fishing and other resources in its EEZ as well as rights to enforce its laws in those areas, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

 

"We see arbitration as an open, friendly and durable solution to the dispute," del Rosario told a business forum recently.

 

China reiterated this week that it would not take part.

 

"We demand the Philippines ends it mistaken actions and stop going further down this wrong path to prevent bilateral relations from being further harmed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a news briefing on Wednesday.

 

"China's determination and resolve to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering."

 

TENSIONS GROWING

 

Diplomats said the case was the focus of growing interest across East Asia and beyond given China's assertiveness in both the South and East China Seas.

 

Washington has stiffened its rhetorical support for Manila's action, even as it insists it does not take sides in regional territorial disputes.

 

The State Department warned this month of the "ambiguity" of some claims to the South China Sea and called for disputes to be solved legally and peacefully, through means such as arbitration.

 

Tensions have been on full display in recent weeks.

 

Earlier this month, Manila protested action by Chinese coastguard ships to block two Philippine civilian vessels resupplying marines on the disputed Second Thomas Reef.

 

The Philippines instead air-dropped supplies to the marines, who live on an old military transport ship rammed onto the reef in 1999 to mark Manila's territory. While Chinese vessels regularly surround the reef, it was the first time China had blocked a routine re-supply mission, a move Thayer said could have been related to the arbitration case.

 

Further north, the two sides have traded angry words over the Scarborough Shoal, where in January Philippine officials said a Chinese coastguard ship fired water cannon at Filipino fishermen.

 

Manila says both reefs lie within its EEZ. China says they are part of its territory.

 

Much further to the south, Chinese naval ships staged exercises in January at the James Shoal, a submerged reef within Malaysia's EEZ.

 

Less visibly, China has applied pressure behind the scenes, attempting to isolate the Philippines within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), one regional diplomat said.

 

"China has let us all know that they are very angry ... The message is clear - you must not support this in any way," said the envoy, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

 

Diplomatic sources in Vietnam have told Reuters that China put pressure on Hanoi over joining the case at the tribunal. A Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman last month said Hanoi reserved the right to apply "all necessary and appropriate peaceful means" to protect its sovereignty.

 

Malaysian officials have given no indication they are planning to join the action or launch their own case.

 

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Stuart Grudgings in Kuala Lumpur. Editing by Dean Yates)

 

 

 

[Bugatti Veyron]

I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before China opens fire on one of the Filipino re-supply ships which could result in a shooting match between the two nations. China has the upper hand but such an exchange of fire may finally draw the US into the conflict. The US is known to engage in military adventures not to support its allies. It does so only if it stands to gain by doing so. Self-interest is what motivates the US and the reported huge deposits of natural gas lying underneath the South China/West Philippine Sea may be the motivating factor for its military to enter into the fray.

 

http://news.yahoo.co...-090235347.html

 

Philippine supply ship evades Chinese blockade

http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/04/21/image001-png_162613.png By JIM GOMEZ March 29, 2014 11:57 AM

 

 

 

 

• SECOND THOMAS SHOAL, South China Sea (AP) — A Philippine government ship slipped past a Chinese coast guard blockade Saturday and brought food and fresh troops to a marooned navy ship used as a base by Filipino troops to bolster the country's territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.
   
  The incident was witnessed by journalists who were invited by the Philippines military to accompany the resupply mission.
   
  It was a rare close-up look at the tensions in the waters and the determination of both sides to press their claims. China's growing assertiveness is alarming smaller nations that have competing territorial claims and worrying the United States, which is neutral in the disputes but jockeying for influence with Beijing in the region.
   
  Around one hour away from Second Thomas Shoal, where the detachment is based, a Chinese coast guard ship marked "1141" twice crossed the bow of the smaller Philippine vessel in an attempt to stop it from proceeding. Another tailed the Filipino boat.
   
  The Chinese radioed the Filipinos, telling them to stop. "You will take full responsibility for the consequences of your action," the voice said in English.
   
  "This is the Republic of the Philippines," Philippine navy Lt. Ferdinand Gato, who was in charge of the supply mission, replied. "We are here to provision the troops."
   
  The marines on board the supply boat waved the "V'' for peace sign toward the Chinese vessel.
   
  The Filipino captain maneuvered his vessel to shallow waters where the Chinese ships couldn't sail to reach the marooned vessel, BRP Sierra Madre, which has become an awkward symbol of Philippine sovereignty in the remote offshore territory.
   
  On March 9, Chinese vessels blocked a resupply mission to the shoal, called Ayungin by the Philippines
   
  Philippine air force planes have airdropped live-saving food and water at least twice since then.
   
  The cat-and-mouse-like confrontation was witnessed by Associated Press journalists and more than a dozen other media members who were allowed by the Philippine military to board the government vessel to show what the Manila government has said was "China's bullying" in the disputed waters.
   
  As they approached the shoal, one of the marines raised the Philippine flag on the supply ship. Once inside the shoal, the marines and the crew applauded and exchanged high-fives. Journalists said a plane with U.S. Navy markings also flew above the marooned ship.
   
  "Our policy is maximum tolerance," Gato said. "I will not let them stop us because our marines will starve."
   
  The supply ship carried about 10 tons of food, including rice and canned goods, and water, Gato said. The provisions were placed in sacks and transferred to the marooned ship using ropes pulled with pulleys. The two vessels were surrounded by the calm turquoise waters of the shoal under the blazing sun.
   
  China claims almost the entire South China Sea. The two countries were in a two-month standoff at the Scarborough Shoal to the north, which the Chinese eventually occupied after Philippine ships left the area because of a storm in 2012.
   
  The Philippines has questioned China's claims before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.
   
  Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims over the territory, which is believe to be rich in oil and gas and is also a major shipping lane.
  

[Bugatti Veyron]

The Chinese have been angered by the Philippines' move to bring the issue of the South China Sea/Philippine Sea to an international tribunal for arbitration. Even if the international tribunal doesn't have the resources to enforce its decision, a judgment favoring the Philippines will alienate China. China will be perceived by the rest of the world as a nation that doesn't respect international courts of law. Which is why it is so incensed about the Philippines bringing the case to arbitration.

 

Then of course, there's the matter of saving face. Here's China with its huge and powerful military unable to prevent a poor third world country from re-supplying its troops in an old rusting derelict of a ship that serves as an observation outpost of the Philippines in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea.

 

It takes just one angry Chinese captain to open fire on either the re-supply ship or the observation post which could bring the tensions in this area to a much higher level. If the Philippine military retaliates, who knows what could happen then?