Aiming to restrain China's unilateral advances in the South China Sea, Japan has decided to provide two large patrol vessels to the Philippines to help strengthen that country's maritime security capabilities.

Japan will provide 90-meter (295-foot) patrol vessels, the largest that Japan has ever provided to another nation. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a plan to provide the patrol vessels to the Philippines during his first talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Laos on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a Japanese government official, Japan will extend yen loans to the Philippines as part of its official development assistance. The funds raised will be used to build two patrol vessels in Japan that will be delivered to the Philippine Coast Guard.

Japan has already decided to provide 10 40-meter patrol boats to the Philippines and has started to deliver some of them. It will be the first time for Japan to provide large patrol vessels to the country.

During talks with Abe in November last year, then Philippine President Benigno Aquino asked Japan to provide large patrol vessels. Abe told Aquino that Japan would discuss the matter.

Large patrol vessels have thick armor to protect against shells and therefore will likely be treated as weapons.

The Japanese government plans to maintain cooperation with Duterte over the South China Sea issue, as it did with the administration of former President Aquino.

However, Duterte's diplomatic strategies have yet to be formulated. He said he will respect the ruling handed down by an arbitration court that rejected China's claims over the South China Sea, but at the same time Duterte indicated his willingness to have bilateral negotiations with China.

A meeting between President Barack Obama and Duterte was canceled on Tuesday after Duterte lashed out at Obama. Abe intended to build a relationship of trust with the Philippines during talks with Duterte on Tuesday and express again the need for cooperation between Japan, the United States and the Philippines.

During the Abe-Duterte talks, Japan formally decided to lend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's TC-90 training aircraft to the Philippines. A plan to lend the training aircraft was agreed on between the two countries in May.

It will be the first lending of defense equipment based on the agreement on defense equipment and technology transfer that Japan and the Philippines signed in February.

In 1995, China occupied Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, which had been effectively controlled by the Philippines. In 2012, the Philippines saw the Scarborough Shoal taken under China's effective control.

China is reportedly stepping up preparations to reclaim areas around the Scarborough Shoal. It is therefore an urgent task for the Philippines to strengthen its maritime security capabilities.

Many Southeast Asia countries that have disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea are vulnerable in terms of maritime security capability. The government plans to help enhance their capabilities.

Japan has already donated six used ships as patrol vessels to Vietnam.</s>Ahead of summit, Philippines shows images of Chinese boats at disputed shoal

VIENTIANE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines' defence ministry released pictures on Wednesday showing what it said were Chinese boats near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, just hours before Southeast Asian nations were due to meet China's premier at a summit in Laos.

There was no explanation for the timing of the release, but it came two days after Manila expressed "grave concern" about the increasing number of Chinese vessels around the Scarborough Shoal and demanded an explanation from Beijing's ambassador.

A Philippines official said the release of the photographs and a map was ordered by the defence minister, who is at the summit in Vientiane, Laos.

China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts or all of the resource-rich South China Sea, making it a hotspot of regional tension. The last four are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The 10 images and map were sent by email to journalists, many of whom are in Vientiane for the ASEAN summit. The leaders were due to meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, although it was unclear if the row over the South China Sea would be openly addressed.

The move by the Philippines comes after a spat with the United States, its main ally. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte criticised U.S. President Barack Obama, prompting the cancellation of a meeting between the two leaders in Laos.

China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

The United States says it has no position on the territorial dispute, but has conducted freedom of navigation patrols close to Chinese-held islands, to Beijing's anger, while China has been bolstering its military presence there.

Although the Scarborough Shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of its tranquil waters and rich stocks of fish. Manila says China's blockade of the shoal is a violation of international law.

The dispute has become more significant since the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled on July 12 that no one country had sovereign rights over activity in the Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese.

China has refused to recognise the ruling by the court in The Hague.

Duterte wants China to abide by the ruling but he had pledged not to raise the issue during the meeting in Laos. He wants to smooth the way for bilateral negotiations and last month sent former President Fidel Ramos as his special envoy to meet Chinese representatives in Hong Kong.

A draft ASEAN communique seen by Reuters on Monday listed eight points related to the South China Sea, but made no mention of the ruling.

However, Duterte's defence minister said ahead of the summit that a Philippines air force plane had flown over the shoal and spotted more boats than usual in a flotilla China has maintained since seizing the shoal after a tense standoff in 2012.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the presence of six Chinese vessels in addition to coastguard ships in the area was "a cause of grave concern".

A Philippine security official travelling with Duterte said it was a challenge for the government to explain why Filipino fishermen cannot go back and fish in the area when The Hague had ruled that Scarborough was a fishing ground for all.

"We won in the arbitral court, but we could not enforce it, how can we explain that to our own fishermen?" said the official, who declined to be named.

"So, we wanted to talk to China and resolve the issue, but the situation like this is making it more difficult. The president is asking what is China's intentions in the area?"</s>American officials had been waiting to see what China would do around Scarborough Shoal after the summit meeting, assuming that the Chinese would not act sooner in the interest of preserving a seamless conference. The appearance of ships while global leaders were still in Hangzhou was not expected.

The meeting had already been rocked by a chaotic arrival when the Chinese did not provide a rolling staircase for President Obama to disembark from the main door of Air Force One on his arrival in Hangzhou on Saturday.

Mr. Obama got off the plane by a staircase carried on board Air Force One and released from the belly of the aircraft.

Scarborough Shoal has been the center of attention as one of the most desirable places in the South China Sea for the Chinese to convert into an artificial island. It is close to military bases in the Philippines where the United States military has access.

In the last several years, the Chinese have built a group of artificial islands with military capabilities in the Spratly Archipelago, not far from Scarborough Shoal.</s>VIENTIANE, Laos — The Philippine government today released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in an apparent diplomatic gambit to publicize its concerns at a regional summit being attended by China's premier and Southeast Asian leaders.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. China has built seven such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, alarming neighbors and rival claimants.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China hadn't done anything to alter the circumstances in the waters surrounding the shoal.

"What I can tell you is that the situation in waters near Huangyan Island remains unchanged and China hasn't made any new moves," Hua said in Beijing, using the shoal's Chinese name. "We should be highly alert against the mischief-making intentions of people who spread such groundless information in such situations."

Asked how disturbed the Philippines was by the presence of the Chinese ships, Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella told a news conference: "Enough to announce it."

He said that China and the Philippines were discussing the issue, but gave no details.

"There are talks at this stage," Abella said. He refused to comment if the Philippine policy was to prevent any country from constructing at or transforming Scarborough, a coral reef, into an island.

If the Chinese government confirms the photos, the Philippines will lodge an official protest, said Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Duterte has taken a more reconciliatory track to rebuild relations with China ad has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial disputes in an adversarial manner that might upset Beijing.

Relations were severely strained under Duterte's predecessor because of the conflict.

However, Duterte expressed alarm after a Philippine surveillance plane recently spotted four Chinese coast guard ships, four suspected barges, including one equipped with what appeared to be a crane. The government released the photos with a diagram showing the vessels' exact locations at the shoal, which the Chinese coast guard seized after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.

Hours after the Philippines released the pictures, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with Li and his aides. The South China Sea dispute was tackled at the closed-door meeting with some of the leaders, including Duterte, who reiterated calls for the conflicts to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

He quoted the Chinese premier as saying that there was now a "positive direction" in Beijing's relations with ASEAN and that the disputes should not affect overall relations.

The U.S. military has also expressed concerns over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing's forces control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, citing historical reasons. It has rejected a July 12 international arbitration ruling that called its claims illegal. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities.</s>Ahead of summit, Philippines shows images of Chinese boats at disputed shoal

VIENTIANE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines' defence ministry released pictures on Wednesday showing what it said were Chinese boats near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, just hours before Southeast Asian nations were due to meet China's premier at a summit in Laos.

There was no explanation for the timing of the release, but it came two days after Manila expressed "grave concern" about the increasing number of Chinese vessels around the Scarborough Shoal and demanded an explanation from Beijing's ambassador.

A Philippines official said the release of the photographs and a map was ordered by the defence minister, who is at the summit in Vientiane, Laos.

China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts or all of the resource-rich South China Sea, making it a hotspot of regional tension. The last four are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The 10 images and map were sent by email to journalists, many of whom are in Vientiane for the ASEAN summit. The leaders were due to meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, although it was unclear if the row over the South China Sea would be openly addressed.

The move by the Philippines comes after a spat with the United States, its main ally. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte criticised U.S. President Barack Obama, prompting the cancellation of a meeting between the two leaders in Laos.

China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

The United States says it has no position on the territorial dispute, but has conducted freedom of navigation patrols close to Chinese-held islands, to Beijing's anger, while China has been bolstering its military presence there.

Although the Scarborough Shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of its tranquil waters and rich stocks of fish. Manila says China's blockade of the shoal is a violation of international law.

The dispute has become more significant since the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled on July 12 that no one country had sovereign rights over activity in the Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese.

China has refused to recognise the ruling by the court in The Hague.

Duterte wants China to abide by the ruling but he had pledged not to raise the issue during the meeting in Laos. He wants to smooth the way for bilateral negotiations and last month sent former President Fidel Ramos as his special envoy to meet Chinese representatives in Hong Kong.

A draft ASEAN communique seen by Reuters on Monday listed eight points related to the South China Sea, but made no mention of the ruling.

However, Duterte's defence minister said ahead of the summit that a Philippines air force plane had flown over the shoal and spotted more boats than usual in a flotilla China has maintained since seizing the shoal after a tense standoff in 2012.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the presence of six Chinese vessels in addition to coastguard ships in the area was "a cause of grave concern".

A Philippine security official travelling with Duterte said it was a challenge for the government to explain why Filipino fishermen cannot go back and fish in the area when The Hague had ruled that Scarborough was a fishing ground for all.

"We won in the arbitral court, but we could not enforce it, how can we explain that to our own fishermen?" said the official, who declined to be named.

"So, we wanted to talk to China and resolve the issue, but the situation like this is making it more difficult. The president is asking what is China's intentions in the area?"</s>VIENTIANE, Laos — The Philippine government today released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in an apparent diplomatic gambit to publicize its concerns at a regional summit being attended by China's premier and Southeast Asian leaders.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. China has built seven such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, alarming neighbors and rival claimants.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China hadn't done anything to alter the circumstances in the waters surrounding the shoal.

"What I can tell you is that the situation in waters near Huangyan Island remains unchanged and China hasn't made any new moves," Hua said in Beijing, using the shoal's Chinese name. "We should be highly alert against the mischief-making intentions of people who spread such groundless information in such situations."

Asked how disturbed the Philippines was by the presence of the Chinese ships, Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella told a news conference: "Enough to announce it."

He said that China and the Philippines were discussing the issue, but gave no details.

"There are talks at this stage," Abella said. He refused to comment if the Philippine policy was to prevent any country from constructing at or transforming Scarborough, a coral reef, into an island.

If the Chinese government confirms the photos, the Philippines will lodge an official protest, said Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Duterte has taken a more reconciliatory track to rebuild relations with China ad has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial disputes in an adversarial manner that might upset Beijing.

Relations were severely strained under Duterte's predecessor because of the conflict.

However, Duterte expressed alarm after a Philippine surveillance plane recently spotted four Chinese coast guard ships, four suspected barges, including one equipped with what appeared to be a crane. The government released the photos with a diagram showing the vessels' exact locations at the shoal, which the Chinese coast guard seized after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.

Hours after the Philippines released the pictures, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with Li and his aides. The South China Sea dispute was tackled at the closed-door meeting with some of the leaders, including Duterte, who reiterated calls for the conflicts to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

He quoted the Chinese premier as saying that there was now a "positive direction" in Beijing's relations with ASEAN and that the disputes should not affect overall relations.

The U.S. military has also expressed concerns over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing's forces control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, citing historical reasons. It has rejected a July 12 international arbitration ruling that called its claims illegal. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities.</s>The Philippine government Wednesday released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in an apparent diplomatic gambit to publicize its concerns at a regional summit being attended by China's premier and Southeast Asian leaders.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. China has built seven such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, alarming neighbors and rival claimants.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China hadn't done anything to alter the circumstances in the waters surrounding the shoal.

"What I can tell you is that the situation in waters near Huangyan Island remains unchanged and China hasn't made any new moves," Hua said in Beijing, using the shoal's Chinese name. "We should be highly alert against the mischief-making intentions of people who spread such groundless information in such situations."

Asked how disturbed the Philippines was by the presence of the Chinese ships, Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella told a news conference: "Enough to announce it."

He said that China and the Philippines were discussing the issue, but gave no details.

"There are talks at this stage," Abella said. He refused to comment if the Philippine policy was to prevent any country from constructing at or transforming Scarborough, a coral reef, into an island.

If the Chinese government confirms the photos, the Philippines will lodge an official protest, said Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Duterte has taken a more reconciliatory track to rebuild relations with China ad has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial disputes in an adversarial manner that might upset Beijing.

Relations were severely strained under Duterte's predecessor because of the conflict.

However, Duterte expressed alarm after a Philippine surveillance plane recently spotted four Chinese coast guard ships, four suspected barges, including one equipped with what appeared to be a crane. The government released the photos with a diagram showing the vessels' exact locations at the shoal, which the Chinese coast guard seized after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.

Hours after the Philippines released the pictures, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with Li and his aides. The South China Sea dispute was tackled at the closed-door meeting with some of the leaders, including Duterte, who reiterated calls for the conflicts to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

He quoted the Chinese premier as saying that there was now a "positive direction" in Beijing's relations with ASEAN and that the disputes should not affect overall relations.

The U.S. military has also expressed concerns over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing's forces control over a swath of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, citing historical reasons. It has rejected a July 12 international arbitration ruling that called its claims illegal. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities.</s>VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — The Philippine government has released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea just hours before the Chinese premier attended a regional summit with Southeast Asian leaders.

Officials say Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital on Wednesday whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. China has built many such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, much to the alarm of governments in the region.

If the Chinese government confirms the suspicion, the Philippines would lodge an official protest, according to Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. China has not commented on the presence of the ships.</s>China says no change to the situation around disputed Scarborough Shoal

BEIJING, Sept 7 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that there had been no change to the situation around Scarborough Shoal, after the Philippines said it was seeking clarification from China about an increase in ships near the disputed South China Sea shoal.

"I can tell you that there has not been any change to the Huangyan Island situation. China has also not taken new actions," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing, using China's name for the shoal.

"Given this situation, some people are hyping the situation by spreading that kind of information. I think it is worth everyone being vigilant of this kind of intent." (Reporting by Michael Martina and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)</s>VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — The Philippine government on Wednesday released what it says are surveillance pictures of Chinese coast guard ships and barges at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in an apparent diplomatic gambit to publicize its concerns at a regional summit being attended by China’s premier and Southeast Asian leaders.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in the Laotian capital whether the vessels were on another island-making mission on the Scarborough Shoal. China has built many such islands in the disputed, resource-rich sea, much to the alarm of governments in the region.

If the Chinese government confirms the suspicion, the Philippines would lodge an official protest, according to Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. China has not commented on the accusations.

Duterte has taken a more reconciliatory track to rebuild relations with the Asian economic powerhouse and has said he would not raise the long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea in an adversarial manner that might upset the Chinese government.

Relations were severely strained under Duterte’s predecessor because of the conflict.

However, he expressed alarm after a Philippine surveillance plane recently spotted four Chinese coast guard ships, four suspected barges, including one equipped with what appeared to be a crane, and two people-carrying ferries at the Scarborough Shoal off his country’s northwestern coast.

Duterte’s government released surveillance photos of the Chinese ships and barges along with a diagram showing the vessels’ exact locations at the Scarborough Shoal, which the Chinese coast guard seized after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.

Hours after the Philippines released the pictures, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, met with Li and his aides. The meeting was held behind closed doors and it is not immediately known if the South China Sea dispute was raised.

The U.S. military has also expressed concerns over the possibility that China might turn Scarborough into another island, something that would give Beijing’s forces control over a swathe of the South China Sea used as a passageway to the Taiwan Strait.

China claims the entire South China Sea as its own, citing historical reasons. It has rejected a July 12 international arbitration ruling that called its claims illegal. The tribunal ruling also rebuked China for its land reclamation activities in the resource-rich sea, where it has conflicting claims with Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei besides the Philippines.

All of the countries are members of the 10-nation ASEAN, which treads a delicate path with the emerging superpower. They benefit greatly from its powerful economy – China is now the biggest source of tourists to the region – but its growing might also poses challenges.

The issue of ownership of the South China Sea has come to dominate the annual ASEAN summit and the separate ASEAN-China summit in recent years. On Wednesday, the leaders of AESEAN and Li cut a cake before the beginning of the summit to celebrate 25 years of relations.
Chinese vessels are seen positioned near the disputed Scarborough Shoal off the coast of the Philippines.