RP faces new tensions with China over Spratly Islands: VERA Files

MANILA, Philippines - Even before the diplomatic tension created by the Aug. 23 hostage crisis has subsided, President Benigno Aquino III will have to deal with another strain on the country’s relationship with China: the dormant yet sensitive issue of the contested Spratly Islands.

The Spratlys dispute will be high on the agenda when Aquino meets his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday in New York.

The ASEAN-U.S. Leaders Meeting is expected to tackle the territorial dispute in the context of maritime security under the broad agenda “Maintenance of Regional Stability.”

The meeting comes after the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced on Tuesday it was pushing through with the plan to develop Pag-asa Island, which is part of the Spratlys group, into a tourist spot.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said major repairs are underway for the airstrip and the pier on the main island of Pag-Asa that needed “a lot of renovation due to poor maintenance, longstanding neglect and deterioration.”

Last Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) received a call from China’s Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao, who said the plan was not a welcome pronouncement at a time when the two countries were still ironing out the issue of the Aug. 23 hostage incident that killed eight Hong Kong tourists.

The ambassador also asked about the final report of the government probe on the incident which was still not ready then. The report was presented to the President only last Friday.

But in an interview with defense reporters last month, Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Rear Admiral Danilo Cortez said repairs on the eroded part of the Pag-asa airstrip were on-going. As a result, supply missions to the Philippine-claimed Kalayaan Island Group had to be done monthly now, compared to the previous quarterly.

Cortez also confirmed that an incident at the Ayungin shoal became the subject of a Chinese protest in July. Soldiers stationed there were accused of firing a warning shot at a Chinese vessel. A Philippine Navy ship is beached at Ayungin shoal and serves as housing facility for AFP troops manning the area.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing summoned the Philippine embassy in Beijing over the incident, but Cortez clarified that Philippine troops stationed there never fired a warning shot.

“Based on our inquiry, there was no shooting that happened. Actually we just flashed a light at them. To actually fire—that needed clearance from the top because that's an act provoking the other country. We had that investigated and there was none really,” Cortez said.

Before the July incident, the DFA also received a diplomatic protest from the Chinese ambassador on alleged construction activities on the same shoal, which the Philippines denied.

The Philippines occupies nine of the islands in the disputed Spratlys chain or Nansha islands in the South China Sea (SCS). Five countries lay overlapping claims to the Spratlys which are believed to be oil-rich. The Philippines along with fellow ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei contest ownership with China and also with Taiwan.

During the ASEAN-U.S. Leaders Meeting in New York on September 24, other items on the agenda also include “Regional Architecture and Plans for the Future” that will cover US eventual participation in the East Asia Summit (EAS).

There is also an item in the agenda called “Economic Cooperation” where the U.S. will talk about the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other areas of ASEAN-US economic cooperation.

In the draft joint statement of the 2nd ASEAN-U.S. Leaders Meeting prepared by the U.S., the leaders are expected to “oppose the use or threat of force by any claimant attempting to enforce disputed claims in the SCS [South China Sea].”

ASEAN prefers to limited the text to “reaffirming the importance of freedom of navigation, regional peace and stability, unimpeded commerce in respect for relevant universally agreed principles of international law and the peaceful settlement of dispute in the SCS.”

Both the U.S. and ASEAN, however, agreed on the text that supported a full implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the SCS and encouraged the eventual conclusion of a regional code of conduct in the SCS.

Among those agreed upon by ASEAN and China in the declaration is to “undertake to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability including, among others, refraining from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays, and other features and to handle their differences in a constructive manner.”

In a meeting in Washington preparatory to the 2nd ASEAN-US summit, U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell and National Security Council Senior Director for Asia Jeffrey Bader briefed ASEAN ambassadors about their discussions with the Chinese government during a recent visit to Beijing.

The State Department officials said the meeting “provided clarity on expectations and behavior of all states in SCS and that they explained to China that the US statement on SCS do not seek to single out China but was a message to all states.”

In a DFA report about the highlights of that meeting, the exchange of views on regional issues showed that “the US wants to strike the exquisite balance” on issues involving maritime security to ensure that they do not create new venue for US-China tensions. However, they will remain supportive of regional efforts without having to create new mechanisms to discuss the issue.” (Tessa Jamandre - VERA Files)

US sends out Chinese gifts to Filipino journalists

A newspaper employee shows off Friday, December 18, 2009 a Chinese-made umbrella sent by the United States Embassy in Manila. The trade dispute between Washington and Beijing had a record $268 billion surplus last year in China’s favor. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 18, 2009) – Despite a trade dispute between the United States and China, the US Embassy in Manila gifted Friday selected Filipino journalists a beautiful umbrella made in China.

The embassy’s Public Affairs Section sent out the huge blue umbrella emblazoned with the seal of the United States. The umbrella was wrapped in a clear plastic with Chinese markings and manufactured by Ing Yi.

The trade dispute between the two countries had a record $268 billion surplus last year in China’s favor.

According to the Washington D.C.-based Council on Foreign Relations, a major factor in China's quick rise has been its vigorous trade activity with the United States.

Trade volume between the two nations reached $211.6 billion in 2005, more than eighty times the $2.4 billion exchanged in 1979, the year they established normal trade relations. This has accelerated in recent years; from 2001 to 2005, the volume of U.S.-Chinese trade increased an average of 27.4 percent a year. The United States has become the top destination of Chinese merchandise exports and China is buying up more and more U.S. goods, with U.S. exports to China rising 21.5 percent each of the last four years.

In 2005 the United States ran a bilateral trade deficit with China of $202 billion, up from $162 billion the previous year.

The New York Times reported in September that both Washington and Beijing face domestic pressure to take a tougher stand against the other on economic issues. But the trade frictions are increasing political tensions between the two nations even as they try to work together to revive the global economy and combat mutual security threats, like the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

President Barack Obama also in September announced that the United States would levy tariffs of up to 35 percent on tires from China.

Obama’s decision to impose tariffs on Chinese tires is a signal that he plans to deliver on his promise to labor unions that he would more strictly enforce trade laws, especially against China, which has become the world’s factory while the United States has lost millions of manufacturing jobs.

China’s commerce ministry issued a formulaic criticism of the American action, but after a frenzy of anti-American rhetoric on Chinese Web sites, the ministry announced that it would take the first steps toward imposing tariffs on American exports of automotive products and chicken meat.

The ministry said it was demanding talks with the United States on the tire tariffs. Carol J. Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the office of the United States trade representative, said the United States wanted to avoid disputes with China and continue talks, but would look at any Chinese trade decisions for whether they comply with World Trade Organization rules.

The New York Times reported that China exported $1.3 billion in tires to the United States in the first seven months of 2009, while the United States shipped about $800 million in automotive products and $376 million in chicken meat to China, according to data from Global Trade Information Services in Columbia, South Carolina. (Mindanao Examiner)

Stronger RP-China Ties: Chinese officials meet with Philippine House Speaker Prospero Nograles

Speaker Prospero Nograles, (left), warmly receives a visiting delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress, People’s Republic of China during a courtesy call on the Speaker at his Batasan office on September 2, 2009. The Speaker is shown shaking hands with Hon. Jiang Futang, delegation head, member of the Standing Committee of the NPC and Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the NPC, as H. E. Liu Jianchao appreciatively listens. Present were members of the Chinese delegation, including Hon Qi Xuchun who is also a member of the NPC Standing Committee and a Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NPC, and Hon Xu Genchu, member of the said committee.

3 Filipino high school students bag medals in China Math Olympiad

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ winning streak in international math contests continued as three Filipino high school students bagged medals in the 6th China Southeast Mathematical Olympiad (CSMO) held in Nanchang, China, from July 26-31.

John Russel Virata of Gideon Academy bagged a silver medal while Zixin Zhang of Grace Christian College and Zheng Rong Wu of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School who each won a bronze, according Dr. Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines (MTG), an organization of math experts which trained the students for the contest.

The three students were the country’s only delegates to the contest.

Dr. Chua said the CSMO is one of the most difficult math contests in the world as the contest jury requires contestants to submit full-detail solutions to the questions. A team is required to have four members but the MTG was only able to send three contestants. Despite this, all three contestants each won a medal, he said.

Virata, Zhang and Wu competed with 174 contestants from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, India and Romania in the contest held at the Attached Middle School of Jiangxi Normal University.

Chua said this is the first time in four years that the Philippines won a silver medal in the contest. In last year’s contest, the Philippines won a bronze medal.

Virata and Wu recently won bronze medals in the 10th Invitational World Youth Mathematics Intercity Competition (IWYMIC) held in Durban, South Africa.

“We at MTG are very happy that all our delegates won medals this year. We always emphasize that training is the key to victory in any math contest,” Dr. Chua said.

The three Filipino medalists immediately flew back home after the competition dates on July 28 and 29 to take the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) scheduled on August 1. (Robert Degolacion)

Chinese trader kidnapped by Sayyaf in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 14, 2008) – Abu Sayyaf militants kidnapped a Chinese trader in Sulu province in the southern Philippines, police said Sunday.

Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, Sulu police chief, said at least four gunmen seized Peter Go, 28, as he was closing his electronics store in Jolo town at around 7 p.m. on Saturday.

“Initial reports pointed to Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad as behind the kidnapping of the Chinese trader, whose alias is Peter Go,” Kasim told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the kidnappers; all clad in camouflage uniform and armed with automatic weapons, and dragged the victim to a waiting van in front of horrified civilians.

Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, the Jolo police chief, said Go’s real name is Xili Wu, from the Chinese province of Fujian. He said police forces pursued the kidnappers, but lost them in Indanan town.

He said Li is one of five Chinese traders who own Perlas Trading in downtown Jolo.

“It was quick; the kidnappers disarmed the security guard of the store and grabbed Xili and sped away using a van, which was probably stolen. We are tracking down the kidnappers,” Pingay said.

He said the police are investigating how the Chinese nationals, who used aliases, were able to put up a business in Jolo town. He said the foreigners arrived in Jolo in December last year and since then operated the Perlas Trading.

The Abu Sayyaf on Friday also seized Pakkam Hashim, the principal of Kutah Sairap Elementary School in the village of Wanni Piyanjihan in Parang town also in Sulu, according to the military.

Army Lieutenant Steffani Cacho tagged Abu Sayyaf leader Gafur Jumdail as behind the kidnapping of Hashim. The motive of the kidnapping is still unknown, she said.

“As far as we know the Abu Sayyaf is behind both kidnappings,” Cacho said.

Authorities tagged the Abu Sayyaf group as behind the spate of kidnappings and bomb attacks across Mindanao.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means “The Bearer of the Sword,” has been labeled a terrorist organization by both Manila and Washington, and is believed by the US to have links with the al-Qaeda terror network.

The Philippine government, aided by the US military, has deployed thousands of troops in the south in an effort to eradicate Abu Sayyaf. (Mindanao Examiner)

'Gov't Giving Away 90% Of Mt. Diwalwal Gold In ZTE Mining Deal'

MANILA, Philippines (ABS-CBN) - President Arroyo's administration will be giving away 90 percent of the country's gold reserve in Mt. Diwalwal, Compostela Valley if the government's mining deal with China's ZTE Corp. pushes through, lawyer Harry Roque revealed Saturday.

Roque said he uncovered the government's agreement with ZTE Corp. through the minutes of a meeting between government officials, led by Trade Secretary Peter Favila, with officials of the Chinese company.

He said the meeting took place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City on July 27, 2006, months after Favila signed with ZTE the controversial memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the $1-billion mining deal.

Based on the minutes of the meeting, Roque said the government agreed to give the Chinese company 90 percent of gold that will be cultivated from Mt. Diwalwal, which leaves the Philippines 10 percent of the precious metal's reserve in the mining town.

He said the agreement is already contained in a legal document. "This summarizes what was agreed upon by the Philippines and the ZTE Corp in implementation of the MOU."

Roque said one of the Chinese people present in the meeting was Fan Yan, the same ZTE Corp. official mentioned in the Senate's investigation on the botched $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal.

He said he will name the other government officials and details of the agreement next week.

'Tongpats' source

Roque suspects the mining deal entered into by the government with ZTE Corp. would be the source of "kickbacks" for other high-ranking government officials involved in the botched NBN-ZTE agreement, who have not received their share of the deal.

“This explains where the tongpats (kickbacks) will be taken from. The $150 million kickback is too small. How will you get the money that would be used for the broadband operation? This is the answer,” the lawyer told radio dzMM.

One proof that giving away kickbacks is involved in the mining deal, Roque read a part of the MOU that says the Philippine government would handle the “local nuances.”

“The government of the Republic of the Philippines shall make available technical advises on the local nuances in the development and implementation of the investment,” Roque said, reading a provision of the MOU. “What do local nuances mean? That’s tongpats.”

Roque had said that the mining deal, if it pushes through, would become the mother of all illegal transactions entered into by the government, because of the amount involved in the agreement.

He said that based on a P200-million study conducted by the Philippine Mining Development Corp., the gold reserve in Mt. Diwalwal is worth at least $1 billion.

He said $1 billion is enough to satisfy all erring government officials who want a share from the projects awarded to the ZTE Corp.

Confidential clause

Roque said the MOU is a five-page document with a provision that says the agreement should be kept from the public.

“Unless otherwise required by law, regardless of regulations or an order of a court or any appropriate government agency, a party hereto shall not reveal the contents of this agreement, or issue any press release or make any other public announcement pertaining to the project contemplated herein without the written approval of the parties,” the lawyer said.

He said the provision clearly proves that something is fishy about the deal, adding that all negotiations entered into by the government should be made public as transparency in all government transactions is required by law.

Enforceable

Roque also belied claims by Press Secretary Jesus Dureza that the MOU is not an enforceable document.

The press secretary told radio dzMM that the MOU is not like a memorandum of agreement. He said the MOU is just a document for an “intention to invest.”

Roque, however, said that other than the title, there were no words in the document that says there is only an intention to invest.

He said the word “agreement” is written all over the document. “Aside from the title, there were no instances that mention the document is an MOU.”

Roque added that there is a provision in the document that says the government and ZTE Corp. “agree to perform all such acts and to execute and deliver such other documents… maybe necessary in order to give effect to the intent underlying the agreement or fully implement or consummate the transactions contemplated hereby…”

One of the required documents that has been executed by the government with ZTE Corp. is the 90-10 “sharing agreement” of Favila and Chinese officials, he said.

“I challenge Secretary Favila to make public other agreements entered into by the government with ZTE Corp. regarding this MOU,” he said.

Roque said the government hid the agreement by using the word MOU in anticipation of the people’s possible negative reaction to the mining deal.

Arroyo directly involved

The lawyer said Mrs. Arroyo is directly involved in the alleged illegal deal.

He said Mrs. Arroyo gave Favila a special authorization to “negotiate, conclude and sign for and in behalf of the Republic of the Philippines the MOU between the Philippine government and the ZTE International Investment Limited.”

Roque said he will bring his latest exposé before the proper court only after the public has been completely informed about the allegedly anomalous mining deal.

He added that he is also waiting to get hold of other documents needed to file complaints before the court.

Dureza, meanwhile, declined to comment on the revelations of the lawyer.

“Let it be threshed out [in the proper court]. We will wait for his answer to the constitutional challenge,” he said.

The press secretary had challenged Roque to bring the mining deal issue before the courts instead of babbling his revelations before the media.(abs-cbnnews.com)

Photo: Philippine President Gloria Arroyo Departs For China For 3-Day Working Visit

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo shakes hands with Ambassador Song Tao of the People's Republic of China before she departs for a three-day working visit to China Thursday, August 7, 2008. Also in photo are Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and other officials. And the President salutes the Philippine colors during the foyer honors accorded her. (Luisito Iglesias and Rey Baniquet / OPS-NIB Photo)

Philippine Coast Guard Gets Chinese Equipment

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 31, 2008) – Some P20 million worth of Chinese marine pollution control equipment were handed over Thursday to the Coast Guard and Filipino officials said it would be sent immediately to central Philippines where a ferry capsized in June during a typhoon.

The Chinese government donated the equipment last year to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and it was only on Thursday that they had been formally transferred to the Coast Guard.

The equipment include 10,800-meter oil spill boom, 500 pairs of protective overalls, 200 units of high pressure sprayers, among others, according to Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo.

He said it would be sent to Sibuyan Island where the 23,800-ton Princess of the Star which was carrying more than 800 passengers and crew capsized. About 5 dozen people had survived the tragedy. The ship was also carrying cargoes of pesticides and poisonous chemicals. (Chris Navara)

Philippines Searches For Missing Military Jet Over Spratlys

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 26, 2007) – The Philippines mounted a massive search for one of its Italian S211A military trainer jet which went missing near the Spratly Archipelago.

The jet took off Monday morning and was one of two aircrafts heading towards Kalayaan group of islands where a Filipino fishing boat capsized last week, leaving 25 people missing.

Philippine Air Force officials said the search began later in the day after the aircraft failed to return to Palawan province where it took off. The other aircraft returned safely.

At least 30 sailors were rescued near the Zhongye Reef in the Spratly islands by Chinese trawlers. The Philippine boat sank after huge waves and strong winds battered the vessel.

The Spratly islands are being claimed in whole or part by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan. The Chinese call it Nansha islands, believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits.

The S211 supplied by Aermacchi is a military jet pilot trainer in operation with the air forces of Haiti, the Philippines and Singapore. S211A, the latest high-performance version of the aircraft, has full acrobatic capability and can be armed with a range of weapon systems. (Mindanao Examiner)

China: Journey To The Heart Of Internet Censorship

In partnership with Reporters Without Borders and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a Chinese Internet expert working in IT industry has produced an exclusive study on the key mechanism of the Chinese official system of online censorship, surveillance and propaganda. The author prefers to remain anonymous.

On the eve of the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which opens this week in Beijing, Reporters Without Borders and the Chinese Human Rights Defenders call on the government to allow the Chinese to exercise their rights to freedom of press, expression and information.

"This system of censorship is unparalleled anywhere in the world and is an insult to the spirit of online freedom," the two organisations said. "With less than a year to go before the Beijing Olympics, there is an urgent need for the government to stop blocking thousands of websites, censoring online news and imprisoning Internet activists."

This report shows how the CCP and the government have deployed colossal human and financial resources to obstruct online free expression. Chinese news websites and blogs have been brought under the editorial control of the propaganda apparatus at both the national and local levels.

The use of the Internet keeps growing in China. The country now has more than 160 million Internet users and at least 1.3 million websites. But the Internet's promise of free expression and information has been nipped in the bud by the Chinese government's online censorship and surveillance system.

"Journey to the Heart of Internet Censorship" explains how this control system functions and identifies its leading actors such the Internet Propaganda Administrative Bureau (an offshoot of the Information Office of the State Council, the executive office of the government), the Bureau of Information and Public Opinion (an offshoot of the party's Publicity Department, the former Propaganda Department) and the Internet Bureau (another Publicity Department offshoot).

The report also documents how the Beijing Internet Information Administrative Bureau has in practice asserted its daily editorial control over the leading news websites based in the nation's Capital. It gives many examples of the actual instructions issued by officials in charge of this bureau.

The last part of the report gives the results of a series of tests conducted with the mechanism of control through filtering keywords. These tests clearly show that, though there are still many disparities in the levels of censorship, the authorities have successfully coerced the online media into submission to censor themselves heavily on sensitive subjects.

This report recommends using proxy servers, exploiting the different levels of censorship between provinces or between levels in the administration and using new Internet technologies (blogs, discussion forums, Internet telephony etc.)

Philippine Senate Probes Controversial China Broadband Project

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 20 Sept) – The Philippine Senate ended late Thursday a series of investigation into the controversial $330-million proposed national broadband network by a Chinese telecommunication firm, ZTE Corporation.

Sen. Mar Roxas debunked the government’s claim that P4.7 billion in government’s communication expenses will be saved as a result of the project which seeks to connect government offices in the country, where many areas are still without telephone and Internet connections.

“Do not say that this P4.7 billion will actually be all totally saved, because a huge portion of this is really government communicating with the citizens,” he said at the joint hearing of the Senate trade & commerce, blue ribbon and defense committees.

“You’re using these numbers not to help clarify but to further confuse,” Roxas, the Senate trade committee chairman, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

He said he was “offended” by Transportation and Communications Assistant Secretary Lorenzo Formoso’s claim that the government communications savings yearly will be P4.7 billion, which would include expenses of the national government, government-owned and controlled corporations and local government units.

He said that the NBN project will only serve the communication linkage between government offices, and that the usual costs will be applied when outside calls, especially international calls, will be made.

Upon Roxas’ questioning, Formoso agreed that when calls go outside the NBN, access charges would have to be paid. When asked further as to the portion of this P4.7 billion which are IDD or other outside calls, Formoso said he did not know.

At Formoso’s answer, Roxas said, “You cannot say that by implementing the NBN project that we will be saving this entire amount or this amount excluding P1 billion which is the annual amortization expense, because you do not know how much will continue to be spent by government talking to the outside world.”

“When you answer my colleagues, please answer clearly because otherwise you are serving to obfuscate the issue and not help clarify it,” he told Formoso.Formoso also failed to answer when Roxas asked him how many of the more than 1,500 municipalities have telephone connections and would benefit from the project.

Roxas strongly urged President Gloria Arroyo to cancel the project or any agreement between the Philippines and China to be covered by a foreign loan.

“Just say No, Mrs. President” Roxas said, pointing out that since the loan has not been obtained, the Philippines can still back out of the deal. He said the ZTE broadband deal was an apparent attempt by unscrupulous “power-wielders” to take advantage of the people’s lack of familiarity with new technology to earn millions in commissions.

He said the legitimacy of the ZTE broadband deal would still be questionable because the idea behind the project is flawed.

Roxas said aside from the scandals and controversies attached to it, the ZTE broadband deal also fails on three counts – there is no urgent need for a national broadband network; lack of information on what the government is buying and insufficient studies and disregard of proper bidding procedures.

“It’s like government spending people’s money to buy for their own use a high-definition, state-of-the art television set rather than setting aside this same amount to provide schools and classrooms with basic computers and even just an ordinary colored TV,” Roxas said.

He also likened the broadband deal to government officials buying PDAs when schoolchildren do not even have pencils to write with.

“Based on the provisions of the supply contract alone, it is obvious that this multi-million dollar contract was driven by supply and not demand, for short-term personal gain, and not for the people’s long-term benefit,” Roxas said.

Roxas said canceling the contract will not result in any serious impairment of our diplomatic relations with China and will actually demonstrate the shared desire of both countries to serve the paramount interest of the Filipino people.

He noted that the overpriced contract is about a year’s worth of EVAT revenues arising from a 12% rate, up from the previous 10%, or about P15 billion. Under this agreement, every Filipino would shoulder a huge 20-year loan for a project that may become obsolete in less than two years.

“This project is not critically important. It is overpriced and failed to go through the standard bidding process. The people have said No to this. The Senate is against it. The Supreme Court has issued a TRO against it. Mrs. President, there is nothing honorable about this contract. The time has come for you to simply just say no.”

Titan Rain - How Chinese Hackers Targeted Whitehall: The Guardian

Chinese hackers, some believed to be from the People's Liberation Army, have been attacking the computer networks of British government departments, the Guardian has learned.

The attackers have hit the network at the Foreign Office as well as those in other key departments, according to Whitehall officials.

The Ministry of Defence declined yesterday to say whether it had been hit. An incident last year that shut down part of the House of Commons computer system, initially believed to be by an individual, was discovered to be the work of an organised Chinese hacking group, officials said.

Security and defence officials are coy about what they know of specific attacks. However, they say several Whitehall departments have fallen victim to China's cyberwarriors. One expert described it as a "constant ongoing problem".

The disclosures came after reports that the Chinese military had hacked into a Pentagon military computer network in June. The Financial Times said American officials called it the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department.

Defence department officials confirmed that there had been a "detected penetration" of elements of the email system used by the network serving the office of Robert Gates, the US defence secretary.

US officials were reported to have said that an investigation had discovered that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was responsible.

The US gave the codename "Titan Rain" to the growing number of Chinese attacks, notably directed at the Pentagon but also hitting other US government departments, over the past few years.

The latest attack caused some minor administrative disruptions, but there had been no adverse impact on operations, an official said.

Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, is reported to have raised the issue of Chinese attacks on her government's computers during a visit to Beijing. Officials here declined to say whether the British government had raised the issue with the Chinese authorities.

Alex Neill, China expert and head of the Asia Security Programme at the Royal United Services Institute, Rusi, said cyber attacks by the Chinese had been going on for at least four years. He described the reported attack on the Pentagon as the "most flagrant and brazen to date".

He said such attacks reflected a new doctrine of the PLA described as "pressure point warfare" - the attacking of specific nodes to leave the adversary paralysed.

The incidents should be seen against the background of the forthcoming 17th Chinese Communist party congress, which could determine the next generation of leaders, and the PLA keen to flex its muscles, Mr Neill suggested.

The attacks on the Pentagon's computer system were described by Dr Sandra Bell, head of Rusi's homeland security department, as "very much a wake-up call". She added: "The Chinese see no difference between asymmetric warfare and conventional warfare".

Analysts have argued over the seriousness of the attacks, and China has officially denied responsibility. However, the latest attack was said by officials and analysts yesterday to be the most serious discovered so far.

Responsibility for advising government departments on how to protect their networks rests with MI5, GCHQ, and the Centre for the Protection of the National Infrastructure in the Cabinet Office.(Richard Norton-Taylor/The Guardian)

Philippines Detains 19 Chinese Fishermen

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 05 Sept) – Philippine authorities detained 19 Chinese fishermen for poaching off the southern island of Tawi-Tawi, police said Wednesday.

Police said security forces seized 19 live turtles and carcasses of 58 turtles and 50 more dried carcasses from the fishermen who were arrested at the weekend.

The poachers were arrested near Turtle Island, a marine sanctuary, said Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, director of the regional police in the Muslim autonomous region.

Other reports said some 10,000 turtle eggs and carcasses of about 200 endangered turtles were seized from the fishermen, all from Hainan in China.

Goltiao said they filed charges Tuesday against the Chinese poachers and their ship seized.

“We have filed criminal charges against the 19 Chinese poachers in violation of the Philippine laws,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said Pasu Minda Bairulla, a Filipino environment officer assigned in Taganak Island, reported to the police the presence of the poachers near the Turtle Island.

Policemen, backed by Marines, Coast Guard and the Navy, surrounded the ship and arrested the fishermen.

Goltiao said police forces were closely working with the Coast Guard and the Navy and Marines in patrolling marine sanctuaries in the southern Philippines.

“Filipino fishermen are also helping authorities guard the sanctuaries against poachers,” he said.

Turtle eggs are considered an aphrodisiac in many Asian countries, but the in the Philippines their sale is illegal, but a black market for them persists.

Filipino patrol boats have previously detained Taiwanese and Chinese fishermen for poaching off the Sulu Archipelago, a favorite fishing ground in the south, but many areas also are considered marine sanctuary. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP, China Sign Bilateral Agreements On Ethanol Investments

NEGROS ISLAND - A bilateral investment and trade meeting held between the Philippine and Chinese chambers of commerce resulted in the island state attracting several ethanol investments from its giant neighbor, a report by the Brussels-based Biopact.com said.

It said President Gloria Arroyo was trying to attract foreign investments in the sector and that after months of vivid debates, the Philippines recently finalized its bio-fuels legislation.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the Philippines and China will sign two memoranda of understanding and a memorandum of agreement on the setting up of three ethanol fuel plants in the country, which will involve the development of thousands of hectares of land for sugar cane.

Earlier research indicated that the island state has considerable potential to develop a sugar cane based bio-energy industry large enough to export fuels.

The MOUs, Biopact says, will cover the construction of two ethanol plants in Negros Island in the central Philippines (maximum output capacity of respectively 120,000 and 150,000 liters per day) will be entered into by the Philippine government and the China Machines Engineering Corp. Some 10,000 to 12,000 hectares of land will be developed for the projects.

Meanwhile, the MOA seeks to construct a 150,000-liter a day ethanol plant in Zamboanga del Norte province in the southern Philippines, Yap said.

The MOU's on ethanol investments and cooperation are part of a larger package consisting of 10 agreements, covering a range of sectors, from mining, tourism and fisheries to culture and banking. Between 2001 and 2005, Philippine trade with China grew at an annual rate of 41.9 percent.

The Philippines-Chinese agreements signal a continued drive towards greater South-South exchanges in the bio-energy sector. The Biopact is connective of European and African citizens who strive towards the establishment of a mutually beneficial 'energy relationship' based on bio-fuels and bio-energy.

For the time being, Biopact is an entirely volunteer effort, but the young organization is working towards formalization under a non-profit structure because of growing interest in its activities and its vision. (Mindanao Examiner)