This reminds me that the United States Navy and the US Department of State in the mid-‘60s had great hopes for the Philippine’s future. After Japan, the trios Taiwan, ROK and [ROK] Singapore had started to take off and they thought we would be the next. That was the message I got from them when they gave us a briefing…
Looking for an idea for this issue’s column, I reviewed my e-mail files and came across what a friend and classmate, Capt. Frank Bessenger USN (Ret) sent me in April 2011. He recalled his last tour of duty working for the late VADM John D. Bulkeley, USN as a member of the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) in Washington,…
The world’s oceans and forests are absorbing less of the CO2 released by human activity, resulting in a faster rise in atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases.
Many columnists from time to time mention the observation that we are a ‘fractured nation’ for many reasons. For one, some say that we suffer from colonial mentality, that we forgot our roots and readily accepted what our colonial masters dished out to us. On the other hand, there is an opposite syndrome, and that is to falsely claim historical…
I will delve on a topic I developed for the 4th Xiangshan Forum held in Beijing, China on ‘Nov 16-18, 2012 covering new approaches and ideas for strategic mutual trust in the Asia-Pacific region. This is essentially a summary of my paper, with citations deleted for brevity.
Mr. Koji Sekimizu of Japan, who is currently Director of IMO’s Maritime Safety Division has been elected as the Secretary- General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), for a 4-year term effective 1 January 2012. Sekimizu edged out five other candidates, including our own Neil Frank Ferrer and the nominees of the Re- public of Korea, Spain, USA and Cyprus….
In the last issue we talked about the departure of the Philippine Navy contingent that was going to San Diego in connection with the PN’s acquiring the USCG Cutter Hamilton and some concerns expressed by some in the PN forum interested in development of the Navy. The update on this is that the PN contingent would take over officially on…
How do shipping companies make a decision about how much to spend on broad band, and how do they decide on the options available?