#Chase jettison code#

The military facility is still regularly accessed by American forces.Īs such, there are now known discussions at the US Pentagon about putting the contested shoal under the 1951 Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty, which requires each party to defend the other in the case of an external attack on its territory. In February, Lorenzana warned that any Chinese reclamation on the contested shoal would be “unacceptable” because the sea feature is “so close” to major Philippine military bases at Subic and Clark. Photo: Reuters/Erik De Castroĭefense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who has sounded alarm bells over China’s maritime intentions, claimed during a recent congressional budget hearing that Beijing has vowed to “not occupy new features in the South China Sea” and refrain from “build structures in Scarborough Shoal” – a bitterly disputed and fisheries-rich land feature around 100 nautical miles off the Philippine coast. Filipino Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on the Philippine occupied Thitu Island in the Spratly Islands on April 21, 2017. “If we can come up with a commercial deal better than Malampaya in the disputed areas, how can any Filipino argue with that?” remarked Cayetano, making a direct pitch for JDAs with Beijing.Įven the Philippines’ defense establishment seems to be gradually warming to the idea of a modus vivendi with China, albeit with lingering misgivings. With the nearby Malampaya gas field – developed by multinational energy companies including the US’ Chevron Corporation beginning in 2002, and once holding 3.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves – expected to run dry by 2024, Manila is desperately scrambling for new close-to-home energy sources to fuel its fast growing economy. The following year, the US and Philippine navies conducted joint war games near Reed Bank. In 2011, Chinese vessels chased off the a survey ship hired by Forum Energy - a UK-based company the Philippines had granted a concession to explore the area. Photo: Reuters/Erik De CastroĬhina, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim the oil and gas-rich bank. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (R) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) before a recent bilateral meeting in Manila. During a congressional hearing, Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano endorsed the prospect of joint Philippine-Chinese energy exploration and development projects at the contested Reed Bank. The Philippines and China are also weighing Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) in overlapping claimed areas, including in the hydrocarbon-rich waters off the western Philippine island of Palawan.

#Chase jettison code#

Many doubt China will ever agree to a binding code for an area where it is fast achieving strategic supremacy. While China agreed to a new negotiation framework at the meeting, critics noted the drawn-out process first started in 2002 in a non-binding ‘Declaration of Conduct’ as allowed China to consolidate its military position in the area. Photo: CSIS-AMTI/DigitalGlobe via ReutersĬertain Southeast Asian countries, particularly the Philippines, have hoped to expand economic relations with the Asian powerhouse in exchange for a more conciliatory approach to the sea disputes. Recent reports suggest China is tightening the noose around the Philippine-claimed and strategically sensitive Thitu Island – which hosts a large Filipino community with its own mayor – by deploying several naval and coast guard ships provocatively close to the feature in the disputed Spratly Islands.ĭespite a feel-good Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit held in Manila at which a new negotiation track was opened for a ‘Code of Conduct’ in the maritime area, many in Manila are questioning anew whether President Rodrigo Duterte’s soft-pedaling on the issue is an effective national strategy.ĭuring Asean ministerial meetings held in Manila in early August, the Philippines exercised its prerogative as the regional body’s rotational chairman to shield Beijing against any criticism over its reclamation and militarization activities in the disputed waters.Ĭontrary to latest satellite imagery, both Chinese and Philippine foreign ministers falsely claimed that China has not engaged in any recent reclamation activities in the Spratly chain of islands, a resource-rich contested area in the South China Sea.Ĭonstruction on Mischief Reef in the disputed South China Sea in a Jsatellite image released by CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Days after the Philippines and China signaled a new modus vivendi in the South China Sea, bilateral relations are once again under strain over military posturing in the strategic waterway.