Philippine president warns China in major speech that Filipinos will defend Spra

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Philippine president warns China in major speech that Filipinos will defend

Spratlys territory

By Jim Gomez, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 2 hours 40 minutes ago

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III warned China in a major

national speech Monday that the Philippines was ready to defend its Spratly

Islands claims by acquiring more weapons and would elevate the territorial feuds

to a U.N. tribunal.

In his State of the Nation Address to Congress, Aquino also announced a new

chief anti-graft prosecutor and said his year-old government plans to file its

first major corruption case this year against corrupt officials and their

accomplices. He did not name the officials but vowed punishment for the guilty.

" We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know

that we are ready to protect what is ours, " Aquino said, drawing loud applause

at the packed House of Representatives. The address also was televised live to

the nation.

Aquino's tough rhetoric echoed past criticisms of China over the Spratlys, so

may have been meant to project him as a strong leader dealing firmly with an

issue about which many Filipinos feel emotional, political analyst Ramon Casiple

said.

" He was playing to a domestic audience. It's more of asserting to the people

that he's a leader, " Casiple said, adding that Aquino's reiterated position was

unlikely to surprise China.

Aquino noted the efforts to bolster the military's capability, citing the recent

purchase of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and plans to acquire more patrol vessels,

helicopters and weapons in deals he guaranteed would be aboveboard.

Aquino did not name China in his speech but clearly referred to it in laying a

clear claim to the South China Sea feature called Recto Bank, also known as the

Bank, where the Philippines alleges China has intruded.

" There was a time when we couldn't appropriately respond to threats in our own

backyard, " Aquino said. " Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is

ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto

Avenue. "

Recto Avenue is a popular street in downtown Manila. The Philippines has said

Chinese forces have repeatedly intruded into Manila-claimed areas in the sea

since February, including at the Bank. Filipino officials said two Chinese

patrol boats threatened a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving the

Bank, which they said was within its regular territorial waters and not part of

the nearby Spratlys.

Two military planes were deployed during the March 2 incident, but the Chinese

boats have left by the time the aircraft reached the Bank, about 90 miles

(150 kilometres) from the Philippine coast.

Chinese officials have said there were no intrusions because those waters

belonged to China.

The chain of barren, largely uninhabited islands, reefs and banks in the South

China Sea are claimed entirety or partly by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the

Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei. They are believed to be rich in oil and natural

gas and straddle a busy international sea lane.

The Spratlys have long been regarded as Asia's next potential flashpoint for

armed conflict.

Washington has said the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes and

ensuring the freedom of navigation there were in the U.S. national interest, a

position that irked China.

The Philippines has said it intends to bring the Spratlys disputes before the

U.N.'s International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China opposed the plan and

wants to negotiate bilaterally instead.

Aquino said bringing the case before an international arbiter would ensure that

" all involved nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance. "

On government corruption, Aquino did not identify the officials his government

would charge this year but he has been under intense pressure to have his

predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, prosecuted for alleged plunder.

Arroyo has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and criticized Aquino for a

lacklustre performance. Arroyo and her two children, who are now legislators,

attended the morning session of Congress but were absent when Aquino delivered

his speech.

Arroyo then travelled to her home province of Pampanga, north of Manila, but

later returned to the capital and was confined to a hospital for a still

unspecified reason, her spokeswoman, Maite Defensor, said.

More than 6,500 mostly left-wing protesters rallied outside Congress as Aquino

spoke, demanding higher wages, farmland and Arroyo's prosecution. They were

blocked by riot police from getting near Congress.

___

Associated Press writer Cerojano contributed to this report.