Recent events in the West Philippine Sea as well as other incidents involving shipping lanes, ferry crossings/sinkings, oil discharges into open water, and attacks on vessels, should have brought the attention of the global maritime industry. In monitoring the news, I see it has not. This spiked my curiosity as to why and what would happen if global sea lanes…
To be relevant and to survive, many profit-oriented organizations positively react to their changing operational environment. They are cognizant that the very thing to expect over time is change. As a consequence, they revise their structure to support a new corporate strategy with the aim to improve efficiency, promote teamwork and reduce cost. These changes could lead to mergers, acquisitions,…
Oceans cover 70% of the Earth’s surface area, forming the largest habitat on the planet. Coastal and shallow-water areas contain some of the world’s most diverse and productive ecosystems, including seagrass beds, mangroves, and coral reefs. The 7000 islands of the Philippines are home to an enormous number of coral reef systems that not only contribute to global atmosphere health…
“It would be ‘dumb’ of the Philippines to allow China to explore Philippine Rise despite Beijing’s disrespect for a U.N.-backed arbitral court ruling recognizing Manila’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.” – Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15-January-2018) “Benham, or Philippine Rise, is part of our EEZ and the exploitation of its resources is…
Feature story: Rearing a Maritime Nation by VADM Emilio C. Marayag, Jr. AFP (Ret). Also in this issue: Philippine Maritime Conference 2017 at the PhilMarine 2017 by Vicky Viray-Mendoza; Learning from Korea by COMMO Carlos L. Agustin AFP (Ret); Statement of Justice Carpio on China’s threat to go to war with the Philippines by Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines; and PRS Supports MARINA with latest Technology on Probabilitic Damage Stability Calculations.
China is building militarized islands in the South China Sea and ignoring international law, including in Philippine territory. Experts think China plans to build a new base on strategic Scarborough Shoal. That calls for economic sanctions, and triggering of the U.S.-Philippine defense treaty. On Monday (10-April-2017), Reuters reported China Coast Guard and industrial fishing ship operations at Scarborough Shoal, the…
The United Nations Charter outlaws the use or threat of force to settle disputes between states. In the West Philippine Sea dispute, an arbitral tribunal created under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which China is a party, has already ruled with finality that the Reed Bank is within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)…
115th MARITIME FORUM MF 115 was hosted by the PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD (PCG), held at the PCG Building, Port Area, Manila on 30-September-2016. Commo CARLOS L. AGUSTIN (Ret), FORUM CHAIR thanked the host RADM WILLIAM MELAD, CPCG, and acknowledged HON FELIPE JUDAN, USEC DOTr for Maritime Affairs, as well as the other agency heads present in the Forum. RADM WILLIAM…
THE SOUTH CHINA SEA ARBITRATION (The Republic of the Philippines V. The People’s Republic of China) The Hague, 12 July 2016 The Tribunal Renders Its Award A unanimous Award has been issued today by the Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “Convention”) in the arbitration instituted by the Republic…
In the 112th Maritime Forum, I responded positively to the proposal of a former Undersecretary of National Defense, Atty. Fernando Campos to discuss Strategy. He suggested discussing “National Security Scenarios for the post-election period.” Campos was also a former Governor of Cavite and a former Congressman of Cavite. He sent me his discussion paper, THE BIRTH OF A NEW PHILIPPINES:…
During the China-ASEAN Dialogue between Senior Defense Scholars held at Beijing, China on 11 – 15 March 2008, I presented a paper on Confidence-Building Measures Towards Greater Regional Stability. Military modernization in China was being perceived in a way that caused concern to some countries which fear a repeat of the arms race during the Cold War on one hand…
The 109th Maritime Breakfast Forum (MBF 109) was hosted by the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) and held at the CPA in Cebu City on 11 February 2016. Commo. Carlos L. Agustin (Ret), President of the Maritime League, called the forum to order at 1:00pm. He announced that instead of only one presentation from the CPA, there will be two other…
“[Beijing is] building a Great Wall of sand over islands claimed by several countries. China’s pattern of provocations toward smaller claimant countries on the basis of the sweeping 9-dash Line which is inconsistent with international law, and the wide asymmetry between China’s capabilities and of her weak neighbors, raises serious questions about Chinese intentions.”
Part I: MILITARY DANGERS AND ECONOMIC RISKS “War is the worst option. Peace is the common goal of all mankind…” — Sun Tzu, “The Art of War” Taiwan’s major newspaper, China Post’s headline on 06 April augured bad news for all of mankind because it announced a huge rise in military spending by countries around the world, thus: “Global military spending…
On March 20, 2015, the MBF marked its 100th forum, a milestone hosted by VADM. Jesus Millan and RADM. Ronald Mercado, and held at the Philippine Navy Headquarters. The 100th, 101st and 102nd MBF Fora discussed at length, among others, China’s dredging, reclamation, and construction activities in the disputed islands located in the West Philippine Sea.