China wants to build mutual trust with Phl

Manila, Philippines - A senior Chinese official yesterday expressed hope that his visit to the country would further build mutual trust and military cooperation between China and the Philippines.

Gen. Liang Guanglie, China’s State Councilor and Minister of National Defense, hopes that his meeting with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin tomorrow would promote mutual trust and cooperation between the two Asian nations amid rising tensions over the Spratly Islands.

“The purpose of my visit is to enhance understanding, build mutual trust, expand common ground, promote cooperation, and push for the continued advancement of our state-to-state and military-to-military relations,” Liang said in his arrival speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yesterday.

Liang arrived for a five-day visit even as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday confirmed the report of two foreign jet fighters that flew over the country’s air space last Thursday.

In an official statement issued through its public affairs office, the AFP did not identify the origin of the fighter jets but said they flew high over the area to avoid provoking the patrolling Filipino pilots.

Chinese jet fighters reportedly buzzed two Philippine Air Force (PAF) OV-10 Broncos on a routine reconnaissance patrol Thursday last week in the vicinity of the Kalayaan Island Group, part of the disputed Spratlys.

Sun Yi, Deputy Chief of Political Section and spokesman of the Chinese embassy in Manila, said on Friday that the report is being validated by Beijing.

“The report is being validated. I still haven’t gotten anything from the capital,” he said.

Sun, however, stressed the importance of the visit of the Chinese defense minister in the country.

The Chinese embassy released a statement that said “the visit is expected to further advance China-Philippines friendly relations, specifically military exchanges and pragmatic cooperation, thus enriching and enhancing the strategic and cooperative relationship between our two countries.”

Liang did not categorically say whether he would discuss the issue of the Spratlys with Gazmin while in the country.

Liang also did not say whether he would tackle China’s reported incursions into Philippine territory, one of which was the incident last March when Chinese gunboats reportedly “bullied” a civilian vessel commissioned by the Department of Energy while it was conducting onshore survey at the Reed Bank near Palawan.

Liang, however, said he was looking forward to exchanging in-depth views with government and military officials on issues of common interest.

He said China and the Philippines are “friendly neighbors.”

“Recent years have witnessed the smooth development of our state-to-state relations and the steady advancement of our military-to-military cooperation. In the new historical period, the continuous growth of the friendly relations between China and the Philippines featuring mutually beneficial cooperation not only serves the fundamental interest of our two peoples, but also contributes to regional peace and stability,” Liang said in his prepared arrival statement.

Liang visited the Philippines on the third leg of his Southeast Asia trip that started May 15.

Liang visited Singapore and Indonesia as the guest of Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Teo Chee Hean and Indonesian Minister of Defense Purnomo Yusgiantoro.

‘No provocation’

Liang was invited by Gazmin to visit the country. His visit came at a time when there appears to be growing anti-China sentiments in the AFP following the reports of provocation by Chinese jet fighters in the Spratlys.

Military sources maintained the jet fighters buzzed too close to the OV-10s, apparently to scare off the PAF pilots patrolling the area.

But AFP Public Information Office (PIO) chief Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said this was not the case.

The military said the pilots initially suspected the aircraft as passenger plane, but the two distinct set of contrails made them conclude that they were fighter jets.

“There could not have been any provocation on the part of the jets since they maintained their courses. Contrails come from water vapors forming at the wingtips of an aircraft normally at 24,000 feet or higher,” he said.

Burgos said fighter jets normally fly in close formation to their intended target before making an attack, usually to the rear of the target aircraft.

In this case, there was nothing of that sort that was observed, he said. The jets were transiting toward an intended destination.

AFP chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Oban said the incident justifies the need of the military to upgrade its capabilities in order to protect the country’s territory and its vast maritime assets.

“Equipment acquisition is imperative at this point in time. It may cost a lot of money, but the Philippines cannot afford to remain an idle spectator in a region that is increasingly gearing itself toward modern and better defense capability,” he said.

Oban said the incident would not deter the AFP from performing its mandate to protect the state.

The military said the two unidentified fighter jets were sighted near the vicinity of the country’s claimed territories in the Spratlys on May 11 by two OV-10 planes on a routine maritime air patrol.

Based on the report, the two OV-10 Broncos took off from Palawan at around 7:20 a.m. and proceeded to patrol Seahorse, Sandy, and Marie-Louise Shoals; Reed and Templar Banks; and Fairey Queen Shoals, all and near the Spratlys.

At around 10 a.m., and while the Broncos were heading back to their base, their pilots spotted contrails of an aircraft at “18,000 to 20,000 feet or higher.” The OV-10s were flying at a lower altitude of 5,500 feet.

“The jets were initially observed coming in from their left, passing them from above and still maintaining course and altitude, proceeding to their destination which is towards the southwest of the Western Philippine Sea (South China Sea),” the report said. - With Pia Lee-Brago