Stop NATO News March 4, 2011

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1. Clinton Confirms U.S. Warplanes, Missiles To Be Deployed In Poland

2. U.S. Air Force Base To Be Permanently Stationed In Poland; NATO “Contingency Plan” For Northeastern Europe; U.S. Must Play Role In Eastern Europe, Confront Belarus

3. Mediterranean: Guided Missile Warship First To Deploy For U.S.-NATO Missile Interception System

4. Armenia Important To NATO, Georgia To Join, Says NATO Caucasus And Central Asia Representative

5. NATO Official: Georgia, Ukraine To Join Bloc

6. Belarus “Security Concern” For EU, NATO; U.S. Must Confront It

7. U.S. Marines Deployed To Crete For Libyan Deployment

8. Russia, Saudi Arabia Warn Against Outside Military Intervention In Libya

9. U.S. Vice President, Ukrainian President Discuss U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership

10. NATO Expects Russia To Provide Free Helicopters For Afghan War

11. Baku: U.S.’s Ambassador Bryza, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Discuss Military Cooperation

12. German Authorities: Killing Of U.S. Soldiers Politically Motivated

13. Ivory Coast: Western-Backed “Invisible Commandos” Increase Attacks

14. Prompt Global Strike: U.S. To Launch Second X-37B Spaceplane

15. Spratly Islands: Philippines Deploys Warplanes Against Chinese Boats

16. Japanese F-15s Intercept Chinese Fighters Near Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands

17. Video/Text: Clinton Declares International Information War

18. Video/Text: Guerrilla Warfare Certain If U.S. And NATO Occupy Libya

19. Montenegro: Next NATO Member, Afghan War Troop Provider

20. French NATO Commander Addresses U.S. Naval Postgraduate School

21. Fifty Killed In Ivory Coast In Past Week: UN

22. Video/Text: U.S. Media Eye Invasion Option For Libya

23. Six New East European States Absorbed Into NATO Air Defenses

24. Fidel Castro: NATO’s Inevitable War From: Rick Rozoff

25. East Asia Island Battles Heat Up

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1. Clinton Confirms U.S. Warplanes, Missiles To Be Deployed In Poland

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110303/162850564.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
March 3, 2011

Clinton confirms plans for missile base in Poland

WASHINGTON: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed Washington’s plans to deploy missile defenses and Air Force units in Poland.

“As was announced by our two presidents in December, we plan to establish a new permanent U.S. air detachment in Poland, build missile defenses in Poland, and as agreed at the NATO summit, develop a contingency plan in the region,” Clinton told journalists ahead of talks with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Washington.

Wikileaks published U.S. cables in late 2010 showing that NATO was drawing up a plan on the protection of Estonia, Lithuania and Poland from external threats on a request from the United States and Germany.

The Guardian reported that under the plan, reportedly approved by Clinton, the United States, Britain, Germany and Poland would deploy troops in the region in case of a military aggression against the Baltic States or Poland itself.

According to the British newspaper, NATO members approved the draft plan during the alliance’s summit in Lisbon in November 2010.

In 2009, the United States decided to deploy several F-16 fighter jets and Hercules transport aircraft in Poland. Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich has said the United States was also planning to deploy Patriot missile defense systems in Poland at a base just 100 kilometers from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

“We have a full agenda that will concentrate on three essential areas: building our mutual security, expanding prosperity and promoting democracy,” Clinton said on Thursday, adding “as we grow our military partnership, we continue to expand economic ties between the Polish and American people.”

Moscow has long opposed the deployment of U.S. missile defenses near its borders, arguing they would be a security threat and could destroy the strategic balance of forces in Europe.

The United States scrapped earlier plans in September last year for an anti-ballistic-missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Moscow welcomed the move, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said later that Russia would drop plans to deploy Iskander-M tactical missiles in its Kaliningrad Region, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so called Euro missile defense system at the Lisbon summit. NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system.
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http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/03/46916461.html

Voice of Russia
March 3, 2011

US plans ABMs in Poland

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed US intentions to deploy its ABMs in Poland together with an Air Force unit.

She stated this before talks with Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Washington.

In 2009 the US decided to transfer several of its F-16 jet fighters and Hercules cargo aircraft to Poland together with Patriot-class missiles as a shield.

The missiles will be located 100 km of Russia’s border which is objected by that country as a threat to its security.

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2. U.S. Air Force Base To Be Permanently Stationed In Poland; NATO “Contingency Plan” For Northeastern Europe; U.S. Must Play Role In Eastern Europe, Confront Belarus

http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul150558_clinton-confirms-us-f-16-base-in-poland.html

Polish Radio
March 4, 2011

Clinton confirms US F-16 base in Poland

-”The EU and the United States are responsible not only for EU’s southern but also for its eastern neighborhood, and this is demonstrated by Poland’s and the United States’ unified response to the rigged elections in Belarus.”

After talks in Washington on Thursday, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton confirmed that an American air force base will be permanently stationed in Poland. Secretary Clinton also said Poland was an inspiration for people struggling for freedom today.

“As was announced by our two presidents in December, we plan to establish a new permanent US air detachment in Poland, build missile defences in Poland, and as agreed at the NATO summit, develop a contingency plan in the region.” Hilary Clinton told journalists.

The base will be served by a rotating US squadron of F-16s.

The new European missile defence system will replace plans by the previous Bush administration to house an anti-ballistic missile unit in Poland with a radar system in the Czech Republic – a plan later abandoned by President Obama.

On ties between Washington and Warsaw, Hilary Clinton thanked Poland for its contribution to the fight against “extremism in Afghanistan”, where the nation currently has 2,500 troops stationed.

Poland ‘a model’

She also emphasised how Poland’s history of struggle against communism can be an inspiration for those currently striving for democracy in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Since the Gdansk shipyard and Solidarity, Poles know very well that no nation can be completely secure and prosperous if its people cannot have a voice in their own affairs. In just 20 years, Poland has established a transparent government with a vital, vibrant civil society. Poland serves as a model for others to learn,” she said.

Radek Sikorski emphasised Poland and the United States’ united stand on the recent contested elections in Belarus and the crackdown that followed by President Lukashenko’s regime, with mass arrests and years-long prison sentences given out by courts in Minsk.

“We are on the side of ordinary citizens who want to control their lives and who are at last demanding their rights,” Sikorski said of unrest in Belarus and the Middle East.

“The EU and the United States are responsible not only for EU’s southern but also for its eastern neighborhood, and this is demonstrated by Poland’s and the United States’ unified response to the rigged elections in Belarus,” said Sikorski, who has been in the US since Sunday evening.

Minister Sikorski invited Secretary Clinton to visit Poland in October and reiterated an invitation to President Obama to attend a meeting of Central European leaders in Warsaw this May.

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3. Mediterranean: Guided Missile Warship First To Deploy For U.S.-NATO Missile Interception System

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/03/cruiser-monterey-first-deploy-missile-defense-system

Virginian-Pilot
March 3, 2011

Cruiser Monterey first to deploy missile defense system
By Bill Sizemore

NORFOLK: The Norfolk-based guided-missile cruiser Monterey will deploy the first sea-based ballistic missile defense system under the European Phased Adaptive Approach announced by the Obama administration in 2009.

Crew size: 24 officers, 340 enlisted sailors

Leader: Capt. James Kilby

Location of deployment: Mediterranean Sea

Deployment date: Monday

Return date: Expected six-month deployment

This is the first phase of a long-range plan to protect deployed U.S. forces and parts of Europe against ballistic missile threats….

The NATO alliance agreed to the plan at its November summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Monterey is equipped with systems to detect, track, engage and destroy ballistic missiles in flight.

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4. Caucasus: Armenia Important To NATO, Georgia To Join – NATO Rep

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/63144/James_Appathurai_Armenia_is_important_for_NATO

PanArmenian.net
March 3, 2011

James Appathurai: Armenia is important for NATO

Armenia is important for NATO, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia stated.

James Appathurai specifically emphasized NATO-Armenia cooperation in the Afghanistan campaign.

Dwelling on potential members of the Alliance, Appathurai emphasized that Georgia, which repeatedly expressed a wish to enter NATO, will most probably fulfil its dream. “Georgia will become a member of NATO as soon as it proves its conformity with NATO standards,” Appathurai stated.

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5. NATO Official: Georgia, Ukraine To Join Bloc

http://news.az/articles/georgia/32316

Rustavi2
March 3, 2011

Cooperation between NATO, Georgia is positive – NATO official

NATO is satisfied with its current relations with Georgia, James Appathurai, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia announced during his visit to the United States.

NATO envoy said the Bucharest resolution on Georgia and Ukraine, which said that Georgia and Ukraine would become the members of the alliance, remained in force. He also assessed the last year of cooperation between NATO and Georgia as positive.

Within the visit, Appathurai held meetings in the Pentagon and delivered a speech at Johns Hopkins University, where he was asked the position of the Alliance regarding Russia, which is against NATO enlargement as the threat to its security.

Appathurai said the position of Russia for unintelligible for him because there were other NATO member states which bordered Russia, Turkey and Norway for example. Appathurai said the reasons for Russia’s concerns are illogical in this case,` Appathurai said.

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6. Belarus “Security Concern” For EU, NATO; U.S. Must Confront It

http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2011/3/3/36509/

Charter 97
March 3, 2011

Jarábik: Belarus is a security challenge for EU and NATO

Bratislava [Slovak capital] began hosting the sixth Global Security Forum on March 2, the most important annual foreign policy and security forum in central Europe that is organised by the Slovak Atlantic Committee (SAC).

The Country Representative for Belarus and Ukraine from PACT Balázs Jarábik said today that Belarus is a security challenge for the EU and NATO. He also recognized that democracy building is a long-term process.

According to Senior Fellow of the Polish Institute of International Affairs Eugeniusz Smolar, the EU and the United States should put forth very clearly a vision of what should be done about Belarus.

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7. U.S. Marines Deployed To Crete For Libyan Deployment

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/03/46910424.html

Voice of Russia
March 3, 2011

US Marines on Crete for Libyan deployment

Around 400 US Marines were dispatched on Thursday to a US base on the Greek Island of Crete ahead of their deployment on warships off Libya, a US military spokesman said.

Earlier this week, the USS Kearsage and the USS Ponce steamed into the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal en route to Libya.

The Kearsage amphibious assault ship, with about 800 marines, a fleet of helicopters and medical facilities on board, could support humanitarian efforts as well as military operations.

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8. Russia Warns Against Outside Military Intervention In Libya

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110303/162849785.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
March 3, 2011

Russia, Saudi Arabia caution against intervention in Libya

Moscow: Russia and Saudi Arabia on Thursday warned against outside political or military intervention in Libya, saying such actions could only make the situation worse, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier in the day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov, who is also presidential envoy on the Middle East, and Ali ben Hasan Jaafar, the Saudi ambassador to Moscow, discussed the situation in the Middle East.
….

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9. U.S. VP, Ukraine President Discuss U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16006851&PageNum=1

Itar-Tass
March 3, 2011

US vice president, Ukrainian president discuss strategic agenda

WASHINGTON: U.S. Vice President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on Wednesday, March 2, to discuss the common agenda following the meeting of the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission on February 15.

The vice president thanked President Yanukovich for Ukraine’s assistance in responding to the situation in Libya. He underscored that the strategic partnership with Ukraine is based on shared democratic values. In that context, the vice president emphasised the importance of avoiding any selective prosecutions of opposition officials and the need for an electoral law reform process that is fully inclusive to further Ukraine’s European integration and best help it attract foreign direct investment, the Office of the Vice President said.

The vice president emphasised that the United States wants to see greater foreign direct investment in Ukraine, and he and President Yanukovich discussed the need to avoid any laws or other actions that would undercut the ability of businesses to make those investments.
….

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10. NATO Expects Russia To Provide Free Helicopters For Afghan War

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/03/c_13758237.htm

Xinhua News Agency
March 3, 2011

NATO hopes Russia to offer free helicopters to Afghanistan

MOSCOW: NATO expected that Russia would supply some helicopters free of charge to Kabul authorities to support the alliance’s operations in Afghanistan, head of NATO’s information bureau in Moscow said on Wednesday.

“We hope that some helicopters will be handed over for free. This will not be a gift for NATO but Russia’s contribution to the common goal of stabilizing Afghanistan,” said Robert Pszel, head of the bureau.

Pszel also revealed that discussions of the creation of a trust fund have been underway in the NATO-Russia council. The fund will finance the supplies of Russian helicopters and spare parts to Afghanistan and support the training of Afghan pilots.

Earlier Russia has agreed to supply the Afghan government with 21 helicopters.

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11. Baku: U.S.’s Bryza, Azerbaijan’s DM Discuss Military Cooperation

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1839322.html

Trend News Agency
March 3, 2011

Azerbaijani-U.S military cooperation discussed in Baku
K. Zarbaliyeva

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev received U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza today, the Defense Ministry said.

They discussed the political and military situation in the region, the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the prospects for military cooperation between the two countries.

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12. German Authorities: Killing Of U.S. Soldiers Politically Motivated

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/europe/1839424.html

Deustche Presse-Agentur
March 3, 2011

Political motive in Frankfurt attack on US soldiers

Germany’s prosecutor general on Thursday took over investigations into the fatal shooting of US soldiers at Frankfurt airport, indicating that authorities suspect the attack was politically motivated, DPA reported.

Cases are referred to the senior judicial authority when charges relate to terrorism and politically motivated crimes.

Police arrested a 21-year-old Kosovan-born man on Wednesday, shortly after deadly shots were fired on board a bus carrying US soldiers.

Two US airmen died in the attack, and another two were in a critical condition after suffering bullet wounds to the head and chest.

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13. Ivory Coast: Western-Backed “Invisible Commandos” Increase Attacks

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=141992

Reuters
March 3, 2011

Ivory Coast fighting spreads to southern Abidjan

Baku: Explosions rocked the southern Abidjan suburb of Koumassi overnight and on Wednesday, as fighting between insurgents seeking to oust Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo and security forces spread to new areas of the main city, APA reports quoting “Reuters”.

Security in the world’s top cocoa grower is deteriorating, with gun battles between rival forces most of last week and hostilities resuming across a north-south ceasefire line that had been largely quiet since a 2002-3 war ended in stalemate.

Ivory Coast has been in turmoil since a disputed November election between Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara….

Fighting has mostly been restricted to northern pro-Ouattara suburb of Abobo, where an insurgent force calling itself the Invisible Commandos has seized control of most of the territory and forced out pro-Gbagbo security forces.

Gunfire has also been heard much closer to the central business district. Across the other side of town, residents of Koumassi said fierce fighting had flared up there too.

“Since last night there have been a lot of military on the streets. They said they are looking for insurgents who have infiltrated the neighborhood,” said student Eloise Kouassi. “The traffic is dead: everyone is staying in.”
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The crisis has had a catastrophic impact on Ivory Coast’s economy, with international banks shutting down, shops shuttering up and bars and restaurants empty at night.

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14. Prompt Global Strike: U.S. To Launch Second X-37B Spaceplane

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123244939

U.S. Air Force
American Forces Press Service
March 2, 2011

Air Force to launch second orbital test vehicle
by Maj. Tracy Bunko
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

WASHINGTON: Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office officials announced the launch of the second X-37B March 4 with a back-up launch opportunity March 5.

AFRCO is leading the Defense Department’s orbital test vehicle initiative, by direction of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics and the secretary of the Air Force.

For the first X-37B OTV mission, Air Force officials focused on testing and evaluating the performance capabilities of the vehicle. This second mission will build upon the OTV-1 on-orbit demonstration, validate and replicate initial testing and fine tune the technical parameters of the vehicle tests.

Launch specialists at the Air Force Space Command’s 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., will launch the vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41. The vehicle will land at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and will be recovered by technicians from the 30th Space Wing.

The launch window for the mission opens at 3:39 p.m. EST.

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15. Spratly Islands: Philippines Deploys Warplanes Against Chinese Boats

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/A/AS_PHILIPPINES_DISPUTED_ISLANDS?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-03-03-05-08-47

Associated Press
March 3, 2011

Philippines sends warplanes near disputed islands
Jim Gomez

-Beijing reacted with fury last year when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional security forum in Vietnam that the peaceful resolution of disputes over the Spratly and Paracel island groups was in the American national interest.
Beijing said Washington was interfering in an Asian regional issue.

MANILA, Philippines: The Philippine military deployed two warplanes near a disputed area in the South China Sea after a ship searching for oil complained it was harassed by two Chinese patrol boats, officials said Thursday.

The Chinese vessels later left without confrontation, said Philippine military commander Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban.

The incident happened Wednesday at the Reed Bank, which is near the disputed Spratly Islands that are claimed by the Philippines, China and other nations, said Sabban, who heads the military’s Western Command. Philippine officials said the Reed Bank is clearly within Philippine territory.

“The boats approached in a way that the Philippine vessel thought it was better to back off,” Carandang told The Associated Press.

Aside from its potential oil deposits, the Spratly archipelago has rich fishing grounds and straddles busy sea lanes that are a crucial conduit for oil and other resources fueling China’s fast-expanding economy and those of other Asian nations. It has long been regarded as a potential flash point for conflict in Asia.
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A Philippine navy patrol ship has been deployed to secure the oil exploration activity, which would be resumed at the Reed Bank, the official said.

The Philippines has asked the Chinese Embassy to explain, but Chinese spokesman Ethan Sun declined to immediately comment.

The Spratlys, a group of islands, reefs and atolls believed to be sitting stop vast oil and gas reserves, has been claimed in whole or in part by China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Sabban said he deployed an OV-10 bomber plane and an Islander light aircraft to the Reed Bank to undertake surveillance after the Philippine ship radioed his command.

When the planes reached the area, the foreign vessels had left, said Sabban.

“It’s clearly our territory,” Sabban told the AP. “If they’ll bully us, well, even children will fight back.”

The vast sea area where the incident happened lies more than 124 miles (200 kilometers) west of the southwestern Philippine province of Palawan.

Beijing reacted with fury last year when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional security forum in Vietnam that the peaceful resolution of disputes over the Spratly and Paracel island groups was in the American national interest.

Beijing said Washington was interfering in an Asian regional issue.

The United States worries the disputes could hurt access to one of the world’s busiest commercial sea lanes.

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16. Japanese F-15s Intercept Chinese Fighters Near Senkakus/Diaoyus

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_CHINA?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-03-03-03-11-13

Associated Press
March 3, 2011

Tokyo: No protest over China jets nearing islands
By Eric Talmadge

TOKYO: Japan will not lodge a complaint against China for sending two warplanes into airspace near disputed islands in the East China Sea but is concerned by the incident and Chinese military activity in the area, a senior official said Thursday.

Tokyo’s top spokesman said the Chinese planes did not actually enter Japanese airspace before Japanese F-15 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept them. He said they were not a security threat but Tokyo will watch closely for further activity in the area.

Japan’s Defense Ministry says it scrambled the fighters Wednesday as the Chinese planes – a Y-8 surveillance aircraft and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft – approached the disputed islands.

“The planes were flying outside of Japanese airspace and so we do not intend to lodge a formal protest,” said chief Cabinet spokesman Yukio Edano. “But we intend to continue to closely monitor Chinese military activity.”

According to Japanese media reports, the Chinese naval aircraft came within 30 miles (50 kilometers) of the disputed islands, called the Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in China. The islands are uninhabited and lie between Taiwan, China and southern Japan.

The islands have long been a flashpoint in relations between Tokyo and Beijing.

Japan’s arrest of the Chinese captain in a maritime collision near them last September inflamed nationalist emotions in both countries, with China suspending ministerial-level contacts and thousands taking to the streets for angry anti-Japanese protests.

Japan eventually let the captain go home without charges.

Japanese fighters were scrambled in response to suspected Chinese air incursions 38 times in the year up until the end of last March, the most recent period for which statistics have been compiled. Fighters were scrambled 299 times in total in that period, primarily because of Russian military activity.

It was not clear if the number of scrambles has gone up since then.

Still, Tokyo has expressed increasing concern over China’s rapidly improving military capabilities and its more assertive stance toward disputed islands such as the ones in the East China Sea.

As a counterbalance, Tokyo is planning to increase the number of submarines in its fleet and bolster its troops and radar capabilities on the southern Okinawan islands.

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17. Video/Text: Clinton Declares International Information War

http://rt.com/news/information-war-media-us/

RT
March 3, 2011

Hillary Clinton declares international information war

The US is losing the global information war, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared while appearing before a congressional committee to ask for extra funds to spread US propaganda through new media.

Clinton said existing private channels are not good enough to handle the job, naming as rivals Al Jazeera, China’s CCTV and RT – which she watches, she added.

Clinton was defending her department’s budget in front of the House’s Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

Clinton said the US should step up its propaganda effort and get back “in the game” of doing “what we do best.”

“During the Cold War we did a great job in getting America’s message out. After the Berlin Wall fell we said, ‘Okay, fine, enough of that, we are done,’ and unfortunately we are paying a big price for it,” she said. “Our private media cannot fill that gap.”

“We are in an information war and we are losing that war. Al Jazeera is winning, the Chinese have opened a global multi-language television network, the Russians have opened up an English-language network. I’ve seen it in a few countries, and it is quite instructive,” she stated.

Things have changed a lot since the days when Western media outlets, including BBC and CNN, had a monopoly on the coverage of world news. More and more viewers across the world tune into various foreign media to get a fresh take on events.

It is all in the numbers. For instance, RT’s presence on YouTube is a real hit: almost 300 million views, when CNN International is struggling to reach 3 million.

RT’s constantly growing audience is an indication that the days of media monopoly are over and that people are demanding more multi-polar thinking.

One of the latest examples is Al Jazeera’s coverage of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, which by most accounts outshone the US media’s presentation of events.

Not everyone, however, is happy with the wider variety of media options. The head of the federal agency that manages the US’s government-run international broadcasting has basically called all those foreign media enemies.

Last year Walter Isaacson, who heads the federal agency that manages the US’s government-run international broadcasting, including the Voice of America, warned against the influence of foreign media.

“We can’t allow ourselves to be out-communicated by our enemies,” he said, in a now-infamous pitch to get his agency more funding. He did, however, later backtrack on his statement, saying that he was misunderstood.

­Journalist and filmmaker Danny Schechter says the US can no longer maintain a monopoly on information.

“The United States feels defensive in part because it can no longer monopolize not only the terms of authority in these countries, but also the terms of the debate,” he said. “There is other information out there. There are other points of view and those points of view are profoundly damaging to a country that believes that its point of view is the only point of view.”

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18. Video/Text: Guerrilla Warfare Certain If West Occupies Libya

http://rt.com/news/libya-gaddafi-guerilla-warfare/

RT
March 3, 2011

Guerilla warfare in Libya guaranteed in case of occupation – former Russian envoy

If the US chooses to occupy Libya, it risks being dragged into another guerrilla war akin to the one it already has in Iraq, former Russian ambassador to Libya Aleksey Podtserob told RT.

­RT: You met Mr. Gaddafi in person lots of times. What impression did he make on you?

Aleksey Podtserob: Gaddafi is a very purpose-oriented politician. He sets himself a goal, does his best to achieve it, and knows how he should go about it. That’s on the one hand. On the other, he is not a blinkered politician. When he makes mistakes, he knows how to analyze a new situation, to draw conclusions, and to find a way out of what sometimes seemed totally hopeless predicaments. So, it is not for nothing that he has been at the head of Libya since 1969, longer than any other leader the world over.

RT: You said he was an achiever. Was this at any cost?

AP: What does it mean – at any cost? In politics, you always keep in mind the price that you should pay. Gaddafi occasionally went far but it wasn’t too far, and whenever he did that he soon realized that he was going too far.

RT: As the Middle East uprising spread it seems that different leaders became harsher in their response. In Tunisia, the president came out with concessions. In Egypt, concessions came with attacks. In Bahrain it was violence. Now Gaddafi promises to fight to the last drop of blood. If he prevails, other dictators will know what course to follow.

AP: I wouldn’t draw up a cause-and-effect sequence like this. You see, each case is unique. What happened in Tunisia? In Tunisia, a palace coup was superimposed upon popular protests. The Chief of Staff came to the President and said: Your time is up; your plane has been filled with fuel and is awaiting you on the airfield. It was the army that didn’t back the president. In Egypt, the army remained neutral until Mubarak stepped down, but no one unleashed it against the protesters. But in parallel there were different things too. In Algeria, where student unrest began, it was dealt with in a sufficiently ruthless manner. The same thing happened in Yemen. You see, I wouldn’t draw up a direct connection here. Neither would I say that Libya will be an example for others.

RT: What forces are likely to replace Gaddafi after he is gone, which seems just a matter of time now?

AP: You see there is a grave danger in this respect that comes from the fundamentalists. Libya has two major opposition groups. It’s not certain that they will come to power, but the chances for that are rather good. One is the London-based National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFS), which is not Islamist, but the leading group among those affiliated with the NFSL is the Muslim Brotherhood. The other organization is the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group that draws its support from Libyan immigrants in Europe. As early as 1996, it sent its militants to Libya in an attempt to start guerilla warfare in the Cyrenaica [region on Libya’s east coast]. A third point is Al-Qaeda. An Islamic emirate has been proclaimed at Derne, as you perhaps know. Al-Qaeda is now focusing on Libya, which is only natural. Libya looks like a weak link where al-Qaeda may gain success.

RT: They didn’t just proclaim an emirate. It was a former Guantanamo prisoner who did that. What consequences could this have?

AP: If the fundamentalists come to power, the consequences will be serious. They are not moderate fundamentalists like in Egypt or Tunisia. They are extremists; the radicals. This means that inside the country they’ll attempt to impose a dictatorship on their own people. What for? To put into practice their principles: an Islamic state, an Islamic economy, etc. It’s yet another egalitarian utopia, and utopias are always imposed only by means of a dictatorship and only by force. The foreign policy area will be what we have repeatedly seen before. There’ll be attempts to export Islamic revolutions and wherever possible to support fighters for the faith. Throw in the fact that Libya is chock-a-block with weapons and that Libya has financial funds. So, the consequences, if the fundamentalists come to power, will be mostly negative. Let me emphasize this “if” because their coming to power is not anything certain, but such a possibility does exist.

RT: There is a view that democracy in the Middle East is the right of the majority to suppress the minority and that democracy there is seen differently than in the West, do you agree?

AP: You see, the Americans believed and seem to believe even now that it’s enough to build an Arab capital, a White House and everything will be OK. They did so, in Baghdad. What’s the result? A civil war that lasts since 2003 until this day! The problem of democracy in the Arab world is a very complicated one. What is going on now is determined by two factors that are linked to democracy. They operate not only in Libya but elsewhere in the Arab world. One is their new generation, a well-informed generation that has been brought up on television, radio and the Internet, a generation of people who want to be citizens rather than subjects.

RT: Is it likely that a united Libya could end being broken up?

AP: In the territory of Libya? Yes, of course. Libya is facing two grave problems. As a country, Libya exists since the time of the Italian occupation. The name “Libya” itself was invented by the Italians. Before that there were three Turkish provinces: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan. And the regionalism plus the separatist moods in Cyrenaica have never ceased. There are many tribes and they are locked in rivalry with each other. Why has Gaddafi held power for so long? Because Gaddafi belongs to a small tribe, the Qaddadfa. This tribe took power into its hands, but it was unable to penetrate all the pores, or control the entire state. It secured the balance between the tribes. I mean the tip is the Qaddadfa, and the rest are all other tribes. So, Gaddafi kept hold for so long because the other tribes were afraid that intertribal infighting would ensue after Gaddafi and the Qaddadfa left. Again, I don’t want to say that everything will happen
precisely in this way. But, of course, the chances that Libya will explode because of the rivalry between the regions, on the one hand, and because of the rivalry between the tribes, on the other, do exist.

RT: Less than two years ago at the G8 summit in Italy, world leaders sat at one table with Gaddafi and talked huge business deals. Gaddafi felt free to set up tents on the lawns near the government buildings. But everybody knew back than who they were dealing with. Why is it only now that they’ve started talking about human right violations in Libya and the need for radical change?

AP: Libya has an organization called the National Oil Corporation (NOC). It’s a huge state-run enterprise that controls the bulk of oil extractions in Libya. Concessions account for a very small share. So, the NOC was expected to go private and to be sold abroad to foreign companies, American in particular, and British to some extent. Naturally, the Americans and the British were very happy with that perspective. But that prospect collapsed. And when that happened, it turned out on the first occasion that Gaddafi was a bloody dictator and that liberal reforms were needed. Liberal reforms may imply, among other things, the privatization of the NOC. The anti-Gaddafi rhetoric started when the right conditions emerged. Just look, the bombings of the Pan Am jet and the UTA aircraft caused a campaign against Gaddafi; prior to that there was a campaign against Gaddafi’s support for the Irish Republican Army. We’ve seen all that before. Incidentally, as far as plane explosions are concerned, aircraft shouldn’t be blown up. It’s really horrible. It’s a terrible thing.

The Israelis shot down a Libyan aircraft which was just off-course over the Sinai in broad daylight in 1973. It was an ordinary passenger airliner with 150 people onboard. The Israelis shot it down without warning and not by mistake. But no Security Council meeting or sanctions followed the incident. Does anybody remember this shot down Libyan plane now? It just seemed appropriate to mention it as an example of double standards and double approaches.

RT: What’s going to happen if NATO intervenes in Libya?

AP: Well, it will certainly take them one, two or three days at most to destroy the Libyan army. Part of the army, some of its units, have switched over to the side of the protestors, others have scattered. There’s no doubt about that. But what’s next? And then do they want a repetition of Iraq, do they want a guerrilla war? Do you think that if NATO comes to save the Libyan people from Gaddafi, their reaction to it would be any different from the reaction of the Iraqi people when they were being saved from Saddam Hussein? It’s going to be the same. The Libyan people will consider them to be occupiers. Will Al-Qaeda, the National Front for the Salvation of Libya or the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group consider them to be their rescuers? It’s not going to be so. They will fall into the same trap once again, and that’s it.

RT: The events in the Middle East are nearing the borders of CIS. How could this affect Russia?

AP: Nothing tragic will come of it. Whoever comes to power in the Arab world, representatives of the old classes and social strata or some new people, the Arabs will always be interested in co-operation with Russia. Why? Because when Arab countries have relations with Russia, international relations become more balanced, without one-sided shifts in the direction of the United States and the West on the whole. Here is where their interest lies. Therefore, all these changes are unlikely to seriously damage our relations.

====

19. Montenegro: Next NATO Member, Afghan War Troop Provider

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-7C5ABC28-FC9812F7/natolive/news_71136.htm

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
March 3, 2011

NATO Secretary General congratulates Prime Minister of Montenegro on progress in important reforms

The NATO Secretary General welcomed Prime Minister Igor Luksic of Montenegro on his first visit to NATO on 3 March 2011. During the visit, they discussed progress on reforms that Montenegro is undertaking in the framework of the Membership Action Plan.

The Secretary General said that Allies note and appreciate clear progress in crucial areas. However, the Secretary General said, more work remains to be done and it is now premature to outline a timetable for membership in the Alliance.

“NATO is the guarantor of peace and stability in the Balkans”, the Secretary General said. “I firmly believe that the future of Montenegro lies within Euro-Atlantic structures, within NATO and the EU”.

The Secretary General thanked Montenegro for its moderating role in the region and for the valuable contribution to NATO’s ISAF mission in Afghanistan.

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20. French NATO Commander Addresses U.S. Naval Postgraduate School

http://www.act.nato.int/multimedia/archive/42-news-stories/536-sact-addresses-students-at-us-navy-postgraduate-school

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Transformation
March 2, 2011

SACT addresses students at US Navy Postgraduate School

While attending the Building Integrity Conference recently in Monterey, California, General Abrial had the opportunity to address more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) as part of the Secretary of the Navy Guest Lecture Series.

NPS is home to nearly 1,500 students from the five U.S. uniformed services and 220 international students from 49 countries.

During his lecture, titled “The need for NATO in the current and future security framework,” Abrial advocated the relevance of NATO as an Alliance in a challenging 21st Century security environment.

In closing, Abrial challenged the students to make the most of their time at NPS to expand their professional horizons.

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21. Fifty Killed In Ivory Coast In Past Week: UN

http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/fifty-killed-i-coast-violence-a-week-un

Agence France-Presse
March 3, 2011

Fifty killed in I. Coast violence in a week: UN

Fifty people have been killed in Ivory Coast violence over the past week, including 26 in an Abidjan district that has witnessed fierce clashes, the UN mission there said on Thursday.

“Fifty people have been killed in a week,” a UN mission official told AFP of bloodshed in violence since mid-December linked to a dispute over the results of the November presidential election.

This took to 365 the number of people killed since then, said deputy head of the mission’s human rights section, Guillaume Ngefa.

Clashes last week in Abidjan’s Abobo area had led more than 200,000 people to flee their homes, he said.

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22. Video/Text: U.S. Media Eye Invasion Option For Libya

http://rt.com/usa/news/usa-nato-invasion-libya-middle-east/

RT
March 3, 2011

US media eye invasion option for Libya

The US 6th Naval Fleet, British and Canadian forces are repositioning ships and other forces in the Mediterranean, igniting rumors of a NATO or US lead invasion of Libya.

The nations and NATO have all denied any intervention is imminent, citing a need to place forces in the region in case swift humanitarian assistance is required.

The US Department of Defense said the units would be ready to serve in the area in the event of emergency evacuations and to provide humanitarian relief. The US has also said any American involvement in the area would be multinational in nature.

Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen said there are some in the Neocon groups in the US who would enjoy seeing war in Libya.

“We [US] have people who remember the 1980’s and would just love to get Gaddafi,” he commented.

There is a great divide in US politics, those in the administration who favor a diplomatic and collective approach, and many others involved in US politics who are war-hawks and favor invasive confrontation.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, however, “If you follow, as we follow, all of the websites that are looking at what’s happening in the Middle East, you see a constant drumbeat that the United States is going to invade Libya to take over the oil and we can’t let that happen. Well, we are not going to do that.”

The US media and many pundits have continued to discuss the possibility of American or NATO intervention. Many seem to be laying the groundwork and making the case for potential invasion options.

Some of the chatter on major American networks ranges from speculation to expectation.

“We are expecting this coalition of opposition forces to ask the United States to declare and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, is this what that is meant to counter, the idea that Libyan planes are bombing their own cities,” said one CNN morning news anchor.

“Hundreds of tanks and anti-aircraft artillery pieces have turned the city of 2 million into a fortress,” said another on MSNBC.

And on Fox News an reporter stated, “Anything of value that they [Libyans] did have was stripped from them at the check points being run by Gaddafi’s militias.”

Madsen explained Clinton often watches RT, Al-Jazeera and others while overseas and found the coverage of international news more constructive. US media however fails to cover the story properly.

“They’re always looking for the next war movie. We saw that with Iraq, we saw it with Afghanistan,” he added. “Now we see some networks trying to do this with the Libyan situation.”

Phyllis Bennis, the director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington added that there is a possibility someone could make the “insane decision” to send troops to Libya.

“What I think is more likely is that there will be an effort to respond to demands that have been made asking for a no-fly zone,” she said.

However, she added, no-fly zones are not always successful, citing the numerous deaths that took place in Iraq where hundreds of civilians were killed by efforts to enforce the zone. Also fresh in their minds is the no-fly zone over Libya in the past which saw the deaths of many civilians and children.

“I think people in Libya remember that very well,” Bennis said. “The majority of people in Libya do not want foreign troops.”

Moving forward the US is positioning themselves to take some sort of action, and the government has said nothing is off the table.

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23. Six New East European States Absorbed Into NATO Air Defenses

http://www.aco.nato.int/page424204756.aspx

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
March 2, 2011

Six new nations to participate in Air Defence

-”The CAOCs [Combined Air Operations Centres] have been established to support NATO Air operations in peacetime, periods of crisis and war. They support SACEUR’s Air Defence and Air Policing missing as part of the NATO Integrated Air Defence System and provide air expertise for the NATO Response Force.”
-”This is about Air Command and Control to allow NATO to provide collective Air Defence. This is at the heart of Article Five.”

On 2 March 2011, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) held a Memorandum of Understanding signature ceremony for five nations who will begin participating in Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) and supporting NATO Air operations. Participating in the Accession Signature Ceremony were Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France and Latvia. Albania is finalizing the process to participate in CAOCs and is expected to sign the MOU in the next weeks.

Overseeing the ceremony was Chief of Staff, General Manfred Lange, who congratulated Major General Mark Ramsey, the Chairman of the CAOC Steering Group, on expediting the complicated and long-lasting accession process to allow these nations to begin participating in CAOC. “The CAOCs have been established to support NATO Air operations in peacetime, periods of crisis and war,” General Lange said during the ceremony. “They support SACEUR’s Air Defence and Air Policing missing as part of the NATO Integrated Air Defence System and provide air expertise for the NATO Response Force.”

The steps taken have allowed NATO to “recommit to maintaining the Air Defence of the Alliance through CAOCs,” said Major General Ramsey, adding “This is about Air Command and Control to allow NATO to provide collective Air Defence. This is at the heart of Article Five.”

Once Albania signs the MOU, there will be 26 NATO nations participating in CAOCs. By combining national assets, NATO has created an integrated air defence structure and system. The resulting NATO Integrated Air Defence System (NATINADS) comprises sensors, command and control facilities and weapons systems such as ground based air defence and fighter aircraft. Fulfilling NATO’s Air Policing task requires alliance nations to allocate their air defence assets to SACEUR’s operational command. This is executed from ground radar and surveillance assets attached to CAOCs distributed throughout the region.

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24. Fidel Castro: NATO’s Inevitable War

http://www.escambray.cu/Eng/Special/fidel1103031115

Escambray
March 3, 2011

NATO’s Inevitable War
By FIDEL CASTRO

In contrast with what is happening in Egypt and Tunisia, Libya occupies the first spot on the Human Development Index for Africa and it has the highest life expectancy on the continent. Education and health receive special attention from the State. The cultural level of its population is without a doubt the highest. Its problems are of a different sort. The population wasn’t lacking food and essential social services. The country needed an abundant foreign labour force to carry out ambitious plans for production and social development.

For that reason, it provided jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers from Egypt, Tunisia, China and other countries. It had enormous incomes and reserves in convertible currencies deposited in the banks of the wealthy countries from which they acquired consumer goods and even sophisticated weapons that were supplied exactly by the same countries that today want to invade it in the name of human rights.

The colossal campaign of lies, unleashed by the mass media, resulted in great confusion in world public opinion. Some time will go by before we can reconstruct what has really happened in Libya, and we can separate the true facts from the false ones that have been spread.

Serious and prestigious broadcasting companies such as Telesur, saw themselves with the obligation to send reporters and cameramen to the activities of one group and those on the opposing side, so that they could inform about what was really happening.

Communications were blocked, honest diplomatic officials were risking their lives going through neighbourhoods and observing activities, day and night, in order to inform about what was going on. The empire and its main allies used the most sophisticated media to divulge information about the events, among which one had to deduce the shreds of the truth.

Without any doubt, the faces of the young people who were protesting in Benghazi, men, and women wearing the veil or without the veil, were expressing genuine indignation.

One is able to see the influence that the tribal component still exercises on that Arab country, despite the Muslim faith that 95% of its population sincerely shares.

Imperialism and NATO – seriously concerned by the revolutionary wave unleashed in the Arab world, where a large part of the oil is generated that sustains the consumer economy of the developed and rich countries – could not help but take advantage of the internal conflict arising in Libya so that they could promote military intervention. The statements made by the United States administration right from the first instant were categorical in that sense.

The circumstances could not be more propitious. In the November elections, the Republican right-wing struck a resounding blow on President Obama, an expert in rhetoric.

The fascist “mission accomplished” group, now backed ideologically by the extremists of the Tea Party, reduced the possibilities of the current president to a merely decorative role in which even his health program and the dubious economic recovery were in danger as a result of the budget deficit and the uncontrollable growth of the public debt which were breaking all historical records.

In spite of the flood of lies and the confusion that was created, the US could not drag China and the Russian Federation to the approval by the Security Council for a military intervention in Libya, even though it managed to obtain however, in the Human Rights Council, approval of the objectives it was seeking at that moment. In regards to a military intervention, the Secretary of State stated in words that admit not the slightest doubt: “no option is being ruled out”.

The real fact is that Libya is now wrapped up in a civil war, as we had foreseen, and the United Nations could do nothing to avoid it, other than its own Secretary General sprinkling the fire with a goodly dose of fuel.

The problem that perhaps the actors were not imagining is that the very leaders of the rebellion were bursting into the complicated matter declaring that they were rejecting all foreign military intervention.

Various news agencies informed that Abdelhafiz Ghoga, spokesperson for the Committee of the Revolution stated on Monday the 28th that “‘The rest of Libya shall be liberated by the Libyan people’”.

“We are counting on the army to liberate Tripoli’ assured Ghoga during the announcement of the formation of a ‘National Council’ to represent the cities of the country in the hands of the insurrection.”

“‘What we want is intelligence information, but in no case that our sovereignty is affected in the air, on land or on the seas’, he added during an encounter with journalists in this city located 1000 kilometres to the east of Tripoli.”

“The intransigence of the people responsible for the opposition on national sovereignty was reflecting the opinion being spontaneously manifested by many Libyan citizens to the international press in Benghazi”, informed a dispatch of the AFP agency this past Monday.

That same day, a political sciences professor at the University of Benghazi, Abeir Imneina, stated:

“There is very strong national feeling in Libya.”

“‘Furthermore, the example of Iraq strikes fear in the Arab world as a whole’, she underlined, in reference to the American invasion of 2003 that was supposed to bring democracy to that country and then, by contagion, to the region as a whole, a hypothesis totally belied by the facts.”

The professor goes on:

“‘We know what happened in Iraq, it’s that it is fully unstable and we really don’t want to follow the same path. We don’t want the Americans to come to have to go crying to Gaddafi’, this expert continued.”

“But according to Abeir Imneina, ‘there also exists the feeling that this is our revolution, and that it is we who have to make it’.”

A few hours after this dispatch was printed, two of the main press bodies of the United States, The New York Times and The Washington Post, hastened to offer new versions on the subject; the DPA agency informs on this on the following day, March the first:

“The Libyan opposition could request that the West bomb from the air strategic positions of the forces loyal to President Muamar al Gaddafi, the US press informed today.”

“The subject is being discussed inside the Libyan Revolutionary Council, ‘The New York Times’ and ‘The Washington Post’ specified in their online versions.”

“‘The New York Times’ notes that these discussions reveal the growing frustration of the rebel leaders in the face of the possibility that Gaddafi should retake power”.

“In the event that air actions are carried out within the United Nations framework, these would not imply international intervention, explained the council’s spokesperson, quoted by The New York Times”.

“The council is made up of lawyers, academics, judges and prominent members of Libyan society.”

The dispatch states:

“‘The Washington Post’ quoted rebels acknowledging that, without Western backing, combat with the forces loyal to Gaddafi could last a long time and cost many human lives.”

It is noteworthy that in that regard, not one single worker, peasant or builder is mentioned, not anyone related to material production or any young student or combatant among those who take part in the demonstrations. Why the effort to present the rebels as prominent members of society demanding bombing by the US and NATO in order to kill Libyans?

Some day we shall know the truth, through persons such as the political sciences professor from the University of Benghazi who, with such eloquence, tells of the terrible experience that killed, destroyed homes, left millions of persons in Iraq without jobs or forced them to emigrate.

On Wednesday, the second of March, the EFE Agency presents the well-known rebel spokesperson making statements that, in my opinion, affirm and at the same time contradict those made on Monday: “Benghazi (Libya), March 2. The rebel Libyan leadership today asked the UN Security Council to launch an air attack ‘against the mercenaries’ of the Muamar el Gaddafi regime.”

“‘Our Army cannot launch attacks against the mercenaries, due to their defensive role’, stated the spokesperson for the rebels, Abdelhafiz Ghoga, at a press conference in Benghazi.”

“‘A strategic air attack is different from a foreign intervention which we reject’, emphasized the spokesperson for the opposition forces which at all times have shown themselves to be against a foreign military intervention in the Libyan conflict”.

Which one of the many imperialist wars would this look like?

The one in Spain in 1936? Mussolini’s against Ethiopia in 1935? George W. Bush’s against Iraq in the year 2003 or any other of the dozens of wars promoted by the United States against the peoples of the Americas, from the invasion of Mexico in 1846 to the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982?

Without excluding, of course, the mercenary invasion of the Bay of Pigs, the dirty war and the blockade of our Homeland throughout 50 years, that will have another anniversary next April 16th.

In all those wars, like that of Vietnam which cost millions of lives, the most cynical justifications and measures prevailed.

For anyone harbouring any doubts, about the inevitable military intervention that shall occur in Libya, the AP news agency, which I consider to be well-informed, headlined a cable printed today which stated: “The NATO countries are drawing up a contingency plan taking as its model the flight exclusion zones established over the Balkans in the 1990s, in the event that the international community decides to impose an air embargo over Libya, diplomats said”.

Further on it concludes: “Officials, who were not able to give their names due to the delicate nature of the matter, indicated that the opinions being observed start with the flight exclusion zone that the western military alliance imposed over Bosnia in 1993 that had the mandate of the Security Council, and with the NATO bombing in Kosovo in 1999, THAT DID NOT HAVE IT”.

To be continued.

====

25. East Asia Island Battles Heat Up

http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/philippine-military-accuses-china-sea-spat

[See:
U.S. Supports Japan, Confronts China And Russia Over Island Disputes
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/u-s-supports-japan-confronts-china-and-russia-over-island-disputes ]

Agence France-Presse
March 3, 2011

Philippine military accuses China in sea spat

The Philippine military Thursday accused the Chinese navy of entering Manila’s waters in the South China Sea and ordering an oil exploration vessel to leave.

A Filipino military aircraft was scrambled to the area off the Reed Bank, west of the Philippine island of Palawan to investigate the alleged incident on Wednesday, and the Chinese vessels left, Major-General Juancho Sabban said.

The area in question is a disputed part of the South China Sea, where there are multiple competing claims of sovereignty.
….
The Reed Bank lies between the Philippines’ offshore Malampaya gas field and the disputed Spratly archipelago, a South China Sea chain claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The claimants have been involved in several similar incidents in the past.

In one of the most high-profile incidents, the Philippine government protested the occupation by China of Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef in 1995, but Beijing brushed off calls to dismantle the structures it erected there.

Three years earlier China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes the Philippines and three other Spratly claimants, signed a pact to resolve territorial disputes in the area peacefully.
….
——————————————————————–

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12632042

BBC News
March 3, 2011

Japan sends jets as China planes near disputed islands

Japan says it scrambled jets after two Chinese military aircraft flew close to disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Government spokesman Yukio Edano said the Chinese planes came within 55km (34 miles) of islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

He said that the planes did not enter Japanese airspace and withdrew when confronted.
….
Last year a row over the islands – which are controlled by Japan – severely strained ties between the two nations.

‘Matter of concern’

“It is correct that yesterday Japanese jet planes were scrambled as two Chinese military aircraft were flying over the East China Sea,” Mr Edano told journalists.

“On the other hand, the two planes were flying outside Japanese airspace and there were no breaches of international law or safety issues, so we are not in a position to lodge a complaint. However we are keeping an eye on them.”

A diplomatic row began after Japan arrested a Chinese captain who rammed coastguard vessels China’s military modernisation and increased activity was “along with insufficient transparency, a matter of concern”, he added.

It was the first time Chinese military planes had come so close to the islands, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported, citing a military body.
….
The island chain is made up of eight uninhabited small islands and rocky outcrops.

They matter because they are close to strategically important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits.

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