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US Will Push Chinese Harder On Territorial Claims: PACOM By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on January 27, 2016 at 3:28 PM WASHINGTON: The United States will keep challenging Chinese claims in the South China Sea, the head of Pacific Command said this afternoon. Such Freedom of Navigation operations will grow in frequency, complexity, and scope, said Adm. Harry Harris. And Harris defended the first such FON operation” since 2012, last October’s cruise of the destroyer USS Lassen through Chinese-claimed waters around an artificial island, Subi Reef. It was not the empty gesture critics have claimed, he argued. “As we continue down the path of freedom of navigation operations, you will see more of them and you will see them increasing in complexity and scope,” Harris said when I raised the question at a Center for Security and International Studies forum. “In general, we will continue to do freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea as we do everywhere else in the world.” In fact, though, the Navy acknowledged last September there had been a three-year gap in FONOPS asserting US rights to sail, fly, and conduct military activities in Chinese-claimed areas of the much-disputed South China Sea. Then came the Lassen mission, which sent the destroyer within 12 nautical miles of territory claimed by not only China but also China’s old enemy Vietnam, America’s old ally the Philippines, and America’s unofficial ally Taiwan. The US did not notify any of the nations in advance that Lassen was coming, which particularly ticked off the Chinese. But the ship just sailed through the 12-mile zone without conducting any specifically military activity — which international law allows in territorial waters under the principle of “innocent passage.” By contrast, warships may not conduct military operations in another nation’s 12-mile territorial waters: If the Lassen had diverted from a straight course to, for example, conduct training with its targeting radars, that would have demonstrated that the US didn’t consider the disputed areas territorial waters at all. By limiting itself to what the Pentagon itself says was merely an “innocent passage,” the Lassen didn’t actually challenge China’s claim that the area around its artificial islands is territorial waters. Harris argued the Lassen still made an important stand for international law. “I believe that the Lassen operation did challenge some aspects of China’s claims,” he said, “for example, the requirement to give prior notice before you do innocent passage.” (See Sec. Ash Carter’s official explanation here). It’s crucial to note that Beijing has its own, rather unique interpretation of international law. There is “no freedom of navigation for warships and [military] airplanes,” said China’s ambassador to the Philippines, Zhao Jianhua, back in August. When an American P-8 maritime patrol plane — with a CNN reporter aboard — flew past a Chinese artificial island in May, the Chinese ordered it to leave their airspace. When P-8s and the older P-3s have flown surveillance missions near China’s Hainan Island in the past, Chinese fighters have scrambled for sometimes dangerously close interceptions. In the face of the Lassen to assert even the baseline right of “innocent passage” through territorial waters is arguably an accomplishment. “They are pretty rigid in their view of their ownership of the islands in the South China sea and all the resources hat can be gained from them [e.g. oil, gas, and fisheries],” said Harris. In a trip last fall to China, he said, “I made clear my view, my personal view, that those islands do not belong to China and that the land reclamation activities [i.e. island building] were increasing the tensions in the region and the Chinese actions were provocative.” The US takes no position on who owns what island in the disputed waters, but it takes a strong position that an artificial structure isn’t legally an island at all. “We debated that quite strenuously,” Harris said. Harris did not expect tensions to let up. Yes, he continues to work on reducing tensions with the People’s Liberation Army. Yes, China contributes positively to global concerns like counter-piracy. Yes, China is halting its island building in the South China Sea. But, the admiral said, the Chinese Coast Guard continues to build a mammoth “cutter” displacing 12,500 tons — a quarter more than a US Arleigh Burke destroyer — with a bow reinforced for ramming. Since the Chinese Coast Guard has played aggressive bad cop to the PLA Navy’s good cop in disputed waters, the construction of such a ship suggests Philippine, Vietnamese, or Japanese coast guard vessels are going to take some hard hits in the near future. The US has specifically stated its treaty obligations to defend Japan would apply to an attack against the disputed Senkaku Islands, known to China as the Diaoyus, Harris reminded the audience. (The US has no position on who owns the islands, but Japan has administered them for decades). And the US is working to enhance its relationships with partners around the region, he said: a new defense agreement with the Philippines to allow the US to use and upgrade bases there; Marines and in future Air Force squadrons operating out of Australia; both exercises and arms deals with India. He also hopes — perhaps against hope — that South Korea and Japan will overcome their deep historical animosity to work together “trilaterally” with the US, instead of in two separate-but-equal one-on-one relationships as exist now. Despite China’s rapidly growing numbers and advancing technology, Harris said, the US still has many “asymmetric” advantages. One of them, he said, is that we have friends in the Asia-Pacific region and they don’t.

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Report- China’s Oil Rig Coming, Heading Towards Philippine waters

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‘Presence of US troops in Phl to help deter Chinese aggression’ By Paolo Romero Philippine Star 20 January 2016 The presence of US troops on Philippine soil – even on a rotational basis under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) – will help deter Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea, a senior administration lawmaker said yesterday. Muntinlupa City Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the House committee on national defense and security, said the country needs the EDCA owing to the continuing encroachment of China in Philippine-claimed waters, particularly the reclamation of islands and construction of runways. “The Constitution does not prohibit – without other things to be done – the presence of foreign military troops and foreign military bases… provided there is a treaty,” Biazon said. He said while the EDCA is not a treaty, it allows Americans use of the country’s existing military bases as governed by Philippine laws, rules and regulations, and policies. “We need EDCA. Remember, we are not only addressing the creeping aggression of China. We are addressing the problem of international terrorism, global terrorism, we are addressing for us to put our resources together, to address consequences of natural or manmade disasters,” he said. Biazon said in his various meetings with his counterparts in the Japanese parliament and US Congress, they were all in agreement that there is a need for a unified response from the international community to check China’s growing aggression. He said the rotational presence of US troops also happens in other countries under similar arrangements. A local official even suggested the reopening of a recruiting facility for Filipinos who want to serve in the US Navy. Olongapo Mayor Rolen Paulino said he has relayed the idea to US Ambassador Philip Goldberg and has asked him to formalize the request. Olongapo used to host the US Navy’s largest military naval base overseas. In Subic Bay, which has an area about the size of Singapore, the US Navy maintained a major ship repair, supply and rest and recreation facility from the 1900s until 1992, when the Senate rejected the extension of the Bases Treaty in 1991 and they were forced to completely withdraw from the country. While the bases were here, the US Navy set up a recruitment center where hundreds of Filipinos, a majority of whom were from Olongapo and Zambales, took the annual examinations to join the US Navy. “You would hardly find a US Navy ship today that has no Filipino officer or crew,” Paulino pointed out. Paulino admitted he has always been in favor of the presence of US troops in the country, and said many residents in Olongapo can claim to have a relative serving in the US Navy. He said able Filipino men and women who joined the US Navy in the past have done well and have since moved up the ranks to become senior naval officers. “The presence of the US naval base in Subic Bay has proved that Filipinos are the best shipyard workers in the world,” Paulino said. – With Bebot Sison

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Phl, UK to expand defense agreement Philippine Star 19 January 2016 The Philippines-United Kingdom defense agreement is being updated to expand the scope of cooperation between the two countries as they hope to sign a revised defense pact before October, British Ambassador Asif Ahmad said yesterday. The current defense agreement, which the ambassador said was lacking in ambition, would have to be updated to make it more responsive to recent developments. “It’s actually being redone now. We have an existing one but we want by the end of this calendar year to establish a new one,” Ahmad told reporters in an interview at his residence in Makati City. “We don’t have a timetable for it but I think well before October. We’re just exchanging drafts,” he said. He explained that the agreement would be treated more like an “umbrella under which we can do many, many things” but would be “not as complicated” as the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US. “I don’t think so. I don’t think it translates into something more than that,” Ahmad said. He did not rule out the possibility of elevating the partnership to a more strategic one that would involve joint training between UK and Philippine troops. “I don’t rule that out but right now, it’ll be wrong for me to say that’s next on the horizon,” Ahmad said. “I wouldn’t describe them as British troops coming here because that sounds a bit emotive. It’s British expertise coming here,” he added. He said the UK also wanted to expand the “scope a little bit” to cover some of the lessons learned from disasters like Super Typhoon Yolanda. South China Sea issue The ambassador said the developments in the South China Sea and terrorism were also considered in updating the defense agreement. He also said freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea are “non-negotiable” and considered “red lines” for the UK. UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who was in Manila for an official visit last Jan. 7, said Britain has been urging all parties in the dispute not to take actions that could increase tensions. “We maintain the position that we as an international maritime and trading nation enjoy freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. We expect to continue to exercise those rights,” Hammond said. Meanwhile in Zamboanga City, critics of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US have nothing to worry about the possibility of the US re-establishing permanent bases in the country, Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hernando Iriberri said. “So, whatever are the apprehensions and worries, I think the Supreme Court has already given the answer. So there is nothing to worry about, everything is constitutional and that is the underlying principle when this agreement was crafted – that it will not violate the Constitution,” Iriberri said. – With Roel Pareño

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Carpio: US to boost PH chance vs China SC justice says Edca for credible defense IN THE FACE of China’s “creeping invasion” in the heavily disputed South China Sea, American military presence in the Philippines would give the country “a fighting chance” in defending its territory. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio made this case in voting to uphold the constitutionality of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) between the Philippines and the United States, calling the accord essential in building a “credible defense” for the Philippines against China’s expansionist moves in the strategic waterway. In his separate concurring opinion to the high court’s majority ruling last week, Carpio said the Edca—and its provisions allowing the prepositioning of US war materiel and equipment in Philippine military bases—would “give teeth” to the longstanding Philippine-US defense alliance at such a critical time. “With the Edca, China will think twice before attacking Philippine military resupply ships to Philippine-occupied islands in the Spratlys. With the Edca, the Philippines will have a fighting chance to hold on to Philippine-occupied islands in the Spratlys,” Carpio said. He said the executive agreement would deter China from attacking Philippine boats patrolling the West Philippine Sea—waters within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea—as had previously happened with the country’s poorly equipped military forces vulnerable to the growing Chinese might. Fighting chance “With the Edca, China will think twice before attacking Philippine Navy and Coast Guard vessels patrolling the West Philippine Sea. This will give the Philippines a fighting chance to ward off China’s impending enforcement of its nine-dash-line [claim in the South China Sea],” Carpio said. China claims nearly all of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer South China Sea, representing its stake with nine dashes on the new Chinese map to show its “national boundaries.” Voting 10-4, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the defense pact, ruling that the 2014 executive agreement between Manila and Washington no longer needs Senate concurrence, as it merely implements existing defense treaties, including the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). The ruling junked petitioners’ claims that the agreement would pave the way for the de facto permanent basing of US forces in the Philippines 24 years after the Senate voted to get rid of US naval and air bases in Central Luzon. The court said the Edca, as an implementing pact, may not breach the provisions of the VFA—a treaty that covers the “temporary” stationing of US military and civilian personnel in the Philippines. Strictly, the Edca must comply with the Constitution’s “policy of freedom from nuclear weapons within Philippine territory,” the court said. Still, the 118-page decision afforded flexibility in the enforcement of VFA provisions as far as “agreed locations” for troop stationing, prepositioning of defense materiel and equipment and operational control are concerned. No dissolution As to concerns that the Edca might be enforced beyond its intent, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said: “We cannot invalidate the Edca on the basis of the potential abuse of its provisions.” Carpio was one of the 10 justices who affirmed the constitutionality of the agreement, while Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Marvic Leonen dissented. For Carpio, who has been at the forefront of the campaign against China’s land reclamation and construction activities on Philippine-owned reefs in the Spratly archipelago, the Edca is necessary to implementing the spirit of the MDT. “The Edca is absolutely necessary and essential to implement the purpose of the MDT, which on the part of the Philippines, given the existing situation the in West Philippine Sea, is to deter or repel any armed attack on Philippine territory or on any Philippine public vessel or aircraft operating in the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio said. Under the MDT, the Philippines and the United States agreed to “separately and jointly by self-help and mutual aid maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.” The agreement likewise provides that “each party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.” Carpio said throwing out the Edca for not being ratified by the Senate would, in effect, invalidate the MDT. “The prepositioning of war materiel is the very essence of the phrase to ‘maintain and develop (the parties’) individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.’ Without the prepositioning of war materials, a party to the MDT cannot maintain and develop the capacity to resist armed attack. Without the prepositioning of war materials, a party is simply and totally unprepared for armed attack,” he said. Defense ally Carpio cited the importance of the United States as a defense ally, citing the prevailing expert opinion that “there is only one power on earth that can deter militarily China from enforcing its nine-dash-line claim.” He underscored the import of prepositioning defense equipment, “like mobile antiship and antiaircraft missiles” in the age of modern warfare for coastal states such as the Philippines. Emphasizing the importance of US presence in the Philippines, Carpio traced China’s flourishing presence in the South China Sea to the Pacific “power vacuum” that occurred when US military bases were booted out of Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base in 1992. “As in any power vacuum, the next power would rush in to fill the vacuum. Thus, China, the next power after the US, filled the power vacuum in the South China Sea, which includes the West Philippine Sea,” he said. He warned that China’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea showed that Beijing was turning Panganiban (Mischief), Zamora (Subi) and Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) reefs into a triangle of defense, if not aggression, with airstrips and facilities on them configured as air and naval bases. If Chinese actions are left uncontained, the Philippines stands to lose 381,000 square kilometers of its EEZ in the South China Sea, “a maritime space larger than the total Philippine land area of 300,000 square kilometers,” Carpio said. By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Naval base on Palawan’s Oyster Bay being developed by Redemto D. Anda Inquirer Southern Luzon 12:37 AM January 18th, 2016 Oyster Bay Palawan- Philippine Navy Vessels are scattered around the Oyster Bay and Ulugan Bay fronting the West Philippine sea, and is being deveopled as a “mini Subic” where the country’s two former U.S. Coast Guard cutters would be based. Oyster Bay is only 160 km (100 miles) from the disputed Spratly islands, where China has been reclaiming a reef known as Johnson South Reef, and building what appears to be an airstrip on it. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—If there are efforts to develop a new military base in Palawan that can host US troops, no confirmation is coming from local military and civilian officials here. But the development of an existing naval facility located on Oyster Bay, acknowledged to be the most suitable to host US troops, is quietly going on, aimed at what Philippine Navy officials have described as creating a “mini Subic” in Palawan. Subic is a former US naval base in Zambales province. It was shuttered together with Clark Air Base in Pampanga province in 1992 after the Senate voted to terminate the US-Philippine Military Bases Agreement. Located on the edge of the primary forest reservation facing the South China Sea, the Naval Forces West (Navforwest) facility on Oyster Bay is close to the islands and reefs that the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, China and Taiwan are disputing. Previously accessible only by sea from the pier of its local host community, Puerto Princesa’s northern village of Macarascas, Oyster Bay will soon be linked to the urban center by a highway now under construction. Work on the 12-kilometer access road is being undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for Navforwest. “The purpose of this road is for easy access of our troops from Oyster Bay to Puerto Princesa, transporting materials for construction of new barracks for our troops and accessibility of Navy ships,” Lt. Ariesh Climacosa, spokesperson for Navforwest, told the Inquirer. The road is expected to be completed in October. By then, the base would be less than an hour’s drive from Puerto Princesa. Some local officials, however, have complained of the “haste” by which the road project was started. Community Environment and Natural Resources (Cenro) officer Emer Garraez said the project proponent had been cited for bypassing the agency in seeking permits. He explained that the project required the clearing of primary forest vegetation to make way for the road. “They started it without a tree-cutting permit,” Garraez said. The project, however, received endorsement and approval of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) when the matter was taken up late last year. Waiting for Americans In the fishing village of Macarascas, the present jump-off point to Oyster Bay and host of the main headquarters of the Western Command’s naval arm, the residents are waiting for the arrival of the Americans. “There used to be opposition to the naval base here, but now the people are used to the presence of the military,” said Sebastian Labrador, barangay captain of Macarascas. The move to develop the Oyster Bay naval base into a modern naval facility started in 2014. The base was the Philippine Navy’s sole shipyard facing the South China Sea, but it was rundown and starting to surrender to the elements. Nestled among old-growth mangrove forests and limestone cliffs on the western flank of Palawan’s central region, Oyster Bay is the Philippine Navy’s staging point to the Kalayaan Islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago. The Oyster Bay development plans came as tensions were increasing between the Philippines and China over China’s aggressive assertion of ownership of almost the entire South China Sea, including waters within the Philippines’ 370-km exclusive economic zone known as West Philippine Sea. ‘Capability upgrade’ The new infrastructure components, including the 12-km access road from the mainland, were described by Commodore Joseph Rostum Peña, the then Navforwest commander, as “capability upgrade.” Once completed, the facility will have a new wharf that could accommodate as many as four large naval vessels, according to Navy officials. But even then, Peña and other Navforwest officials avoided discussion of the South China Sea dispute. Peña said at the time that part of Navforwest’s capability upgrade would come from the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program. The upgrade would include installation of high-powered radar systems in strategic areas from north to south of Palawan facing the South China Sea, he said. The radar systems would allow Navforwest to closely monitor developments in the disputed areas of the Spratlys, he said. “The coastal watch program should allow us eventually to monitor our seas in real time,” Peña had said. ‘Mini Subic’ Once completed, Oyster Bay would be “a mini Subic,” he said. Like the former US naval base in Zambales, Oyster Bay has physical characteristics ideal for hosting large warships. “It is also ideal as a base for our Marines. It has vast jungles suitable for training,” Peña had said. He was mum, however, on the suitability of Oyster Bay for use by US naval ships, saying only that the facility would be “suitable for large warships.” Top priority In May last year, then Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Catapang was quoted by Reuters as saying that it was the AFP’s top priority to build a naval base on the country’s western coastline, opposite the disputed Spratly archipelago. According to Reuters, Catapang said American, Japanese and Vietnamese naval vessels would be allowed to make port calls once the facility at Oyster Bay was completed. Catapang said P800 million was needed for the initial development of Oyster Bay and P5 billion to turn it into a major operating base.

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China slams PH-US base deal Inquirer.net BEIJING—China harshly criticized the Philippine Supreme Court’s backing of a defense pact allowing American forces, warships and planes to be based temporarily in local military camps, with an editorial in state media on Wednesday calling the move “stupid” and warning of consequences. The strongly worded editorial in the official Xinhua News Agency said the agreement would “only escalate tensions and undermine peace and stability in the region.” The Philippines “appears to be now turning to Uncle Sam to back its ambition to counter China,” the article said, employing a phrase harking back to the Cold War. The high court’s ruling declaring the pact constitutional bolsters US efforts to reassert its presence in Asia and dovetails with Philippine desires for American help in countering China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. The United States immediately welcomed the court’s decision, saying the defense pact will bolster both countries’ ability to respond to disasters and strengthen the Philippines’ military. Xinhua dismissed such assertions as attempts to rationalize an ill-advised move. “Manila has to bear the negative consequences of its stupid move in the future,” it said. China responded almost immediately by ramping up its presence in the South China Sea, including areas claimed by the Philippines. Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the strategically vital sea through which around $5 trillion in world trade passes each year. Recent years have seen Manila turn to Washington as it scrambles to strengthen its military, one of the worst equipped in Asia. Tensions have been especially high since Beijing transformed seven disputed reefs into islands on which it is now constructing runways and facilities that rival claimants say can be used militarily. Su Hao, an international relations expert at China Foreign Affairs University, said Washington was likely to have engineered the court’s decision to uphold the pact, a claim also made by Xinhua without offering evidence. Su said China may feel compelled to respond by boosting its own military presence in the region, in which both its Navy and Coast Guard operate constantly. “It may lead to the direct military confrontation in the South China Sea between China and the United States, therefore having a negative impact on the current situation of the region,” Su said. AP Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/135061/china-slams-ph-us-base-deal#ixzz3xHadCEZw Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Japan to prioritize patrolling West Philippine Sea in support to EDCA

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Tensions surge as China lands plane on artificial island Philippine Star 6 January 2016 HONG KONG/BEIJING – China’s first landing of a plane on one of its new island runways in the South China Sea shows Beijing’s facilities in the disputed region are being completed on schedule and military flights will inevitably follow, foreign officials and analysts said. China’s increasing military presence in the disputed sea could effectively lead to a Beijing-controlled air defense zone, they said, ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and with the United States in one of the world’s most volatile areas. The US expressed concern over the landing of a Chinese aircraft on Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef in the South China Sea and called on China to stop provocative flights over the disputed area. State Department spokesman John Kirby said to begin flight operations at this new airfield in a disputed area raises tensions and threatens regional stability. “We again call for all claimants to halt land reclamation, further development of new facilities and the militarization on their outposts, and instead focus on reaching agreement on acceptable behavior in disputed areas,” Kirby said at a press briefing in Washington. Chinese foreign ministry officials confirmed on Saturday that a test flight by a civilian plane landed on an artificial island built in the Spratlys, the first time Beijing has used a runway in the area. Vietnam launched a formal diplomatic protest while Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said Manila was planning to do the same. Both have claims to the area that overlap with China. “That’s the fear, that China will be able take control of the South China Sea and it will affect the freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight,” Jose told reporters. Sen. John McCain, the chairman of the influential US Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the Obama administration for delaying further “freedom of navigation” patrols within 12 nautical miles of the islands built by China. China has been building runways on the artificial islands for over a year, and the plane’s landing was not a surprise. The runway at Kagitingan Reef is 3,000 meters or 10,000 feet long and is one of three China was constructing on artificial islands built up from seven reefs and atolls in the Spratlys archipelago. The runways would be long enough to handle long-range bombers and transport craft as well as China’s best jet fighters, giving them a presence deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia that they have lacked until now. Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed that the new islands would be mostly for civilian use, such as coast guard activity and fishing research. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the weekend that the test flight was intended to check whether the runway met civilian aviation standards and fell “completely within China’s sovereignty.” However, military landings on the islands were now “inevitable,” said Leszek Buszynski, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University’s Strategic and Defense Studies Centre. An air defense zone, while unlikely soon, was feasible and possible in future once China built up its air strength, he said. “The next step will be, once they’ve tested it with several flights, they will bring down some of their fighter air power – SU-27s and SU-33s – and they will station them there permanently. That’s what they’re likely to do.” De facto defense zone Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore’s ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, said he expected tensions to worsen as China used its new facilities to project power deeper into the South China Sea. Even if China stopped short of formally declaring an Air Defense Identification Zone, known as an ADIZ, Beijing’s need to protect its new airstrips and other facilities could see it effectively operating one. Work is well underway to complete a range of port, storage and personnel facilities on the new islands, US and regional officials have said. Kagitingan is also expected to house advanced early warning radars and military communications facilities, they said. “As these facilities become operational, Chinese warnings to both military and civilian aircraft will become routine,” Storey said. “These events are a precursor to an ADIZ, or an undeclared but de facto ADIZ, and one has to expect tensions to rise.”

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Pia Wurtzbach and Steve Harvey effigies burned in Colombia A video of a Columbian man burning an effigy of Miss Universe winner Pia Wurtzbach and Miss Universe host Steve Harvey as part of New Year celebrations has gone viral online. The video, which was uploaded on Facebook on January 1 by Noider Almanza Barraza, showed Wurtzbach’s effigy being burnt. The effigy was dressed in a garment similar to the one worn by the Miss Universe winner during her coronation. The video has since been taken down, but has been reposted on other Facebook pages and social media sites. One Facebook page showed the video garnering more than 9,400 shares and 3,900 comments at the time of writing. In response to the backlash on social media, Barraza created a Facebook post on January 2 explaining that the effigy burning was part of a New Year’s Eve tradition in Colombia, and did not mean to cause offense. Barraza was not alone in his effigy burning, with many other social media users who observed the tradition during the New Year celebrations sharing their own effigies online as well. The Miss Universe 2015 pageant was noteworthy for host Steve Harvey wrongly announcing Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner, before correcting it later to a win by Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach.