Xi to Obama: South China Sea isles ours

Xi to Obama: South China Sea isles ours                                   © Provided by The Philippine Star                                                                      Xi to Obama: South China Sea isles ours                                      BARACK OBAMA SHOWS COWARDICE AGAIN BY NOT DEFENDING OUR ALLIES THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL TERRITORIAL INTERESTS                                                           WASHINGTON – Islands in the South China Sea have been Chinese territory “since ancient times,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Barack Obama on Friday during their meeting after the latter voiced concern over massive land reclamation and militarization in disputed waters.

“We have the right to uphold our own territorial sovereignty and lawful legitimate maritime rights and interests,” Xi said.

“Relevant construction activity that China is undertaking in the Nansha Islands does not target or impact any country and there is no intention to militarize,” Xi said, using the Chinese name for the disputed Spratly archipelago.

Xi also reiterated that China is committed to freedom of navigation in the sea and to resolving disputes through dialogue. He said Beijing and Washington had a shared interest in this regard.

Their White House meeting touched on a wide range of issues including human rights, climate change and cyber espionage.

“I conveyed to President Xi our significant concerns over land reclamation, construction and the militarization of disputed areas, which makes it harder for countries in the region to resolve disagreements peacefully,” Obama said at a joint press conference.

He spoke with Xi at his side during their joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden. The Chinese leader is on his first state visit to the US.

“I encouraged a resolution between claimants in these areas. We are not a claimant, we just want to make sure that the rules of the road are upheld,” Obama said.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea but neighbors Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have rival claims.

But Xi stressed China’s commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.

“We’re committed to respecting and upholding the freedom of navigation and overflight that countries enjoy according to international law,” Xi said.

Obama said China’s dispute with neighboring countries over ownership of islands, shoals, reefs and outcrops should be resolved peacefully.

He also reiterated the right of all countries to freedom of navigation and overflight and to unimpeded commerce.

“The United States will continue to sail, fly and operate anywhere that international law allows,” Obama said.

The US position is that land reclamation and construction of artificial islands destabilize the region and should stop.

Before their talks, Obama – in an official welcome ceremony – said the US welcomes the rise of a China that is stable, prosperous and peaceful.

“I believe that our two great nations, if we work together, have an unmatched ability to shape the course of the century ahead,” he said.

Xi said he came to the US to promote peace and advance cooperation and both sides should be broad-minded about their differences and disagreements.

A White House fact sheet on areas where China and the United States are working together did not mention the South China Sea.

Admiral Harry Harris, commander of US forces in the Pacific, told the Aspen Security Forum in July that China was building hangers on one of the reefs – Kagitingan or Fiery Cross – that appeared to be for tactical fighter aircraft.

Washington analysts and US officials say the militarization of the islands has already begun and the only question is how much military hardware China will install.

US experts say satellite photos from early this month also show China was carrying out dredging work around the artificial islands, a month after saying it had stopped.

Harris said last week that China’s runway building and further militarization of the artificial islands was of “great concern” and posed a threat to all countries in the region.

Jane’s Defense Weekly published new satellite images of Kagitingan taken on Sept. 20 that it said showed China had completed the runway on the reef and was moving closer to making it operational.

Jane’s said completion of the runway could allow China to accelerate construction of infrastructure and to start air patrols over the disputed islands.

Media Silent As Muslims Ethnically Cleanse 60,000 Christians In Philippines

http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2013/09/16/media-silent-as-muslims-ethnically-cleanse-60000-christians-in-

philippines/

By: Daniel Greenfield

When thousands of Muslims become refugees, then you can’t get the media to shut up about it for weeks. Thousands of Muslim migrants invading Burma became “refugees” and the media has spent the better part of a year ranting about how evil the Buddhists are.

But when Muslim terrorists attack a Christian city creating tens of thousands of refugees, you couldn’t pay the media to cover the story, whether it’s in Syria, Egypt or closer to home in the Philippines.

Philippine troops have started to battle their way into coastal villages in the south where Muslim rebels have held scores of residents hostage in a six-day standoff, sparking fierce clashes that have killed 56 people and displaced more than 60,000, officials said Saturday.

President Benigno Aquino III said more firefights were expected but assured more than 62,000 displaced villagers being sheltered at a sports complex in Zamboanga city that the rebels’ capability to sow trouble has been degraded and the government was working to end the crisis soon.

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MAKE NO RUSH TO JUDGEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES COMMANDOS DEATHS

https://ph.news.yahoo.com/us-played-big-role-botched-philippine-raid-103131265.html
#BEFORE #YOU #PASS #JUDGEMENT #MAKE #SURE #YOU #HAVE #ALL #THE #FACTS
THIS OPERATION MAY HAVE BEEN LEAKED BEFOREHAND BY AN ISLAMIC REBEL SUPPORTER! LOOK AT ALL PARTIES INVOLVED CAREFULLY! AQUINO HAS FOUGHT THE MORRO REBELS ALL ALONG !STAND WITH AQUINO! THE BRAVE MEN GAVE ALL TO STOP TERRORISM! SOMETIMES BAD THINGS HAPPEN WITH THE BEST PLANNING !

US forces played a "substantial" role in a botched anti-terrorism raid in the Philippines that left 44 local police commandos dead in clashes with Muslim rebels, according to a Senate report released Tuesday.
The raid, known locally as Oplan Exodus, has plunged President Benigno Aquino's administration into crisis and jeopardised efforts to end a decades-long Muslim separatist insurgency.
"US personnel played a role in the training before, and monitoring, of the... operation," Senator Grace Poe told reporters as she released the findings of a committee inquiry into the January 25 raid.
"The committee found that the United States substantially invested in the entirety of Oplan Exodus. It provided equipment, training and intelligence."
The raid sought to capture or kill two men on the US government's list of "most wanted terrorists" who were living among Muslim rebels in southern Philippine farming communities.
One of the men, Malaysian national Zulkifli bin Hir who had a $5-million bounty on his head, was reported killed.
But the other, Filipino Abdul Basit Usman, escaped as rebels surrounded the police commandos and killed 44 of them.
A police inquiry earlier outlined a multitude of tactical errors that led to the slaughter of the commandos.
The Senate report said Aquino must "bear responsibility" for the deaths.
But it also raised questions about the accountability of the United States, a longtime military ally of the Philippines that has so far declined to outline its role in the operation.
Three unidentified Americans were brought into the local army brigade headquarters during the operation, creating tensions at a crucial time with the Filipino military commander, according to the Senate report.
"One of the Americans ordered Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan to fire the artillery," the report stated.
"However Pangilinan refused and told him, 'Do not dictate to me what to do. I am the commander here'."
A US embassy spokesman in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the Senate report.
The United States provides military training and intelligence to the Philippines in its counter-terrorism efforts.
Under the terms of an alliance between the allies, US forces are not allowed to engage in combat.
Poe said there was no evidence to show the United States was involved in combat.
But, citing US training, equipment and intelligence, Poe said there were concerns that Washington's influence on the Philippine National Police (PNP) was too strong.
"This raises a question of whether the PNP leadership would have entered into such a risky and hazardous operation without the support of the United States and the five-million (dollar) reward offered for Marwan's capture."
- Plunging support -
Aquino's public support has plummeted to its lowest level since he took office in 2010 because of the botched raid, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
His public approval ratings fell to 38 percent in the first week of March, from 59 percent last November, polling firm Pulse Asia said.
Aquino's term ends in the middle of next year and the constitution does not allow him to run for re-election.
But his plunging popularity could weaken his ability to secure congressional support for his most important remaining initiatives, as well as damage the election chances of his hoped-for successor.
Aquino is also hoping to finalise a peace pact with the nation's biggest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and end a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1970s.
But the raid has left the peace process in jeopardy, with congress suspending hearings on the proposed law that would implement the pact.