Who Owns the Spratlys?

The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. The Islands are located in the Southeastern Asian group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines.

The majority owner of the islands are the Philippines, occupying bigger islands base their claims on the discovery of the islands by a Filipino Citizen, Tomas Cloma who found the island of Kalayaan and turned it over to the Philippine Government. Thitu, the second largest island, has a 1 km airstrip built by the air force and a telecommunications tower built by Smart Telecommunications. Philippine Navy boats and Air Force planes make daily and weekly trips on the island.

Taiwan occupies the biggest island, Itu Aba, where a Taiwanese Coast Guard detachment is currently in place. The government decided to build an airstrip in 2005, and despite Vietnam’s protest they pushed through and was completed in December 2007. A C130 Plane was the first aircraft that ever landed on the airstrip, on January 21, 2008. Recently, the Taiwanese President made a visit to the Spratlys. The governments of the Philippines and Vietnam protested the visit, saying it was meant to pressure their governments.

China doesn’t occupy any island, but controls several reefs. Chinese fishermen also fish near island borders, which often causes trouble. A Philippine Navy ship once shot down a Chinese fishing boat, killing several fishermen. The Navy also arrests fishermen caught catching endangered fish species. In the early ’90s an American cargo plane was shot down by a Chinese fighter plane after it allegedly flew over one of China’s islands. Accident or not, China proved to its neighbors that it would use force in reinforcing their sovereignity.

Until now, the disputes over the islands have remained unsolved and a United Nations tribunal has been investigating over this issue. Will this issue be solved peacefully, or will warfare settle it? Whatever it may be, we still don’t know who owns the Spratlys Islands.

General Suharto: The Strongman of Indonesia

 

General Suharto

1921 – 2008

I know this is kind of late, but I just want to give honor to the man who did the right things to direct his country to move forward. The second president of Indonesia, General Suharto.

Suharto was born in a small village near Yogyakarta, during the era of Dutch colonial control. His ethnic Javanese peasant parents divorced not long after his birth, and he was passed around several foster parents for much of his childhood. After a brief and an unsuccessful stint as a village bank clerk, Suharto joined the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in 1940. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, Suharto served in various Japanese-organised Indonesian security forces. He joined the newly formed Indonesian army during Indonesia’s power struggle where he rose through the ranks to command a garrison against Dutch offensives at the Republican capital of Yogyakarta. Following Indonesian independence, Suharto rose to the rank of Major General.

An attempted coup on 30 September 1965 was repelled by Suharto-led troops. The Suharto-led army blamed the attempt on the Indonesian Communist Party, which was subsequently outlawed, and led a violent anti-communist purge that killed between 500,000 and one million people. Suharto grabbed power from the already weak administration of Sukarno and was inaugurated president in 1968.  During his 32 year reign as president he built a strong militarized centralist government and was popular among the people and the military. Due to his ability to maintain stability over Indonesia and his anti-communist stance, Suharto’s government earned support from the United States during the Cold War. For most of his presidency, Indonesia enjoyed rapid economic growth and industrialization. His administration also lost support from the people after the invasion of East Timor and the alleged embezzlement of Suharto’s family totaling US$ 30 billion.

But despite all these negative remarks, Suharto, thief or not still had the makings of an ideal president. Showing that to rule a country, you must emulate fear to maintain stability as shown by General Suharto.

One of a Kind: Long Awaited Upgrade Part II

The Armed Forces Modernization Bill has been in Congress for over a decade now, lack of funding and more important priorities are the excuses the Congress makes. I say, unnecessary spendings.

The Department of National Defense (DnD) receives an annual budget of Php 50 billion or almost $ 1 billion for all programs that would contribute to the defense of the state. This amount would be enough to buy at least a hundred fighter planes but still the Air Force is composed of trainer jets, all of which cost below $ 1 million dollar. The DnD spends its budget instead on road-building and the construction of useless buildings, which can be destroyed by the enemy.

The military builds classrooms, hospitals, etc. “to win the hearts of the people” but all of these can be destroyed if they’re unable to defend them. The military uses a “silent thunder” tactic which is definitely useless. Look at top defense forces such as the US army and the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) who beat their enemy by using “shock and awe” methods, their enemies now fear them.

Another mistake in military spendings is the President’s “Balik Baril” (Return of Guns) Program which would pay Php 100,000 to any rebel who comes back to the society. A very stupid idea considering the fact that they could return to society as spies and use the money to fund more rebel programs. And a waste of the military money.

What I have also noticed is that the government prioritizes on V.I.P transport aircrafts and vessels when these should be spent from the President’s pork barrel. Which is also useless since its total value is over Php 8 billion and it is focused on anti-hunger programs, considering the fact that the budget for the Anti-Hunger Program of the different departments totals to about Php 100 billion. And also considering that the number of hungry people decreases each year, I don’t think the anti-hunger drive needs another Php 8 billion.

From what was once known as the “most powerful military in Asia”, the country is now one of the weakest in the world. And poor funding cannot be blamed, what is more exact is improper spending… which makes the government, one of a kind.

One Step Forward Two Steps Backward

An upgrade of its investor’s rating but a downgrade from a Democracy watchdog and its aviation quality, an example of the saying “One step forward, two steps backward.”

Moody’s, an international corporation which performs financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities upgraded the Philippines’ investor’s rating. As the country’s economy expands. On the other hand, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) of the US, has downgraded our aviation quality from Category 1 to 2. When it first conducted an inspection on our aviation facilities in 1995 it rated us Category 2 but later upgraded it to Category 1 after then President Fidel Ramos promised to spend millions to meet their standards. Having Category 1 rating gives a country unlimited access to the US. Just a couple of months ago we were downgraded and again we are in Category 2, the same league as Bangladesh and Kenya.

Another step backward was when an international democracy watchdog downgraded us from “Free” to only “Partly Free” following the extra-judicial killings and the unexplained killings of journalists and activists which also gave us the name, “The Second Most Dangerous Place for Journalists only after Iraq”. And “Elections as violent as Afghanistan”, what a shame.

The government thrives so hard to do reforms to improve the economy and to finally get the country to move forward. But with a pace of one step forward, two steps backward let’s not expect to reach the finish line soon.