Posted on 04/10/2012 7:25:28 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch
The Philippines says its main naval vessel is engaged in a stand-off with Chinese surveillance ships at a disputed South China Sea shoal.
The Philippines said its warship tried to arrest Chinese fishermen anchored at the Scarborough Shoal, but was blocked by the two surveillance boats.
Both countries dispute the ownership of the shoal, which lies off the Philippines' northwestern coast.
The Philippine government said it would "assert sovereignty" over the area.
A statement from the county's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the naval vessel, the Gregorio Del Pilar, found eight Chinese fishing vessels at the shoal when it was patrolling the area on Sunday.
Two Chinese surveillance ships then apparently arrived in the area on Tuesday, placing themselves between the warship and the fishing vessels.
According to French news agency AFP, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario contacted China's ambassador to the Philippines, Ma Keqing, to emphasise that the Scarborough Shoal area was "an integral part of Philippine territory".
He is said to be seeking a diplomatic solution to the situation.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Damn! The Torpedoes?
Didn’t know the Philippines had a navy. Maybe they had to get one after we left.
Ah, the days of the Olympia and ‘You may fire when ready, Gridley’.
Any coincidence that we now have TWO carrier groups off Iran...leaving us a flattop short somewheres else...Tom Clancy wrote this plot a while back...
What, exactly, is a “surveillance vessel”? Are these PLAN vessels? If so, are they armed? With what?
I guess if push comes to shove, The Philippines are out of luck unless they have some kind of agreement with Japan etc. to help them and I doubt they do.
I do like them at least trying to stand up to the bully.
Here’s the Wiki page on the PI Frigate on station:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRP_Gregorio_del_Pilar_(PF-15)
It’s a relatively capable vessel despite it’s age — certainly more capable than the WWII era destroyer that made up the lion share of the “fleet” previously.
But I don’t know how much they will be able to accomplish with the two PLAN “surveillance vessels” on station unless they are willing to use deadly force. I don’t think they will.
The ChiComs are counting on the bully factor. They know that Obama is not going to lift a finger to help the Philippines.
I’m sad to say, though, that while Zero is a turd, the Filipinos brought a lot of our disinterest on themselves.
Goes back to the late 80’s and their greedy demands over base leases.
I used to be a great supporter of them but they wore me out.
Tend to agree.
The Chinese have a zillion paramilitary Coast-Guardy type agencies with a crapload of ships, one of which is China Maritime Surveillance; they aren’t PLAN but they’re used for a lot of harassment operations.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/9259/china-uses-surveillance-vessels-to-enforce-claims
I’d bet money the USN will be back in Subic in some fashion within 5 years.
Interestingly the Chinese CMS ships are unarmed, I think.
The Philippine ship is an old US Coast Guard cutter; they could ventilate them with some 76mm.
The problem is that the Philippines really wants to look like a victim in this incident.
I think you’re correct but maybe over a longer period.
Great empires lose their ability to project power when they can’t afford to and THAT will be our biggest challenge over the next twenty years or so.
In the meantime, it’s going to be flak over Berlin for us.
Please study the role of various naval vessels.
Carriers are for stike missions.
Frigates and Destroyers and Submarines handle Sea Control duties...especially when going up against a PLAN armada composed of two spy ships lol
Please study the role of various naval vessels.
Carriers are for srtike missions.
Frigates and Destroyers and Submarines handle Sea Control duties...especially when going up against a PLAN armada composed of two spy ships lol
Please study the role of various naval vessels.
Carriers are for strike missions.
Frigates and Destroyers and Submarines handle Sea Control duties...especially when going up against a PLAN armada composed of two spy ships lol
oops
I read not too long ago that Japan now has more destroyers than we do. Of course that is not the same as carrier groups but it does sound like they could be major players in any area conflicts.
They thought the end of the Cold War meant the end of history. History has returned with a vengeance - in the form of China. East Asia's leaders are a bunch of retards. Prior to Western influence, China used to throw its weight around, annexing its neighbors on a whim. This is why China, the largest country in Asia by land area, is the 2.5x the size of India (which was assembled from dozens of South Asian kingdoms by the British Empire). How anyone could see China as this gentle panda bear is a mystery to me. But that appears to be China's image in the region. For civilizations that are alleged to be ancient, East Asians appear to pay very little attention to the lessons of history.
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