May 24, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7387 May 11 for Puerto Princesa, nearly 600 km were eyeball to eyeball. We did not blink,’’ over some sort of a military logistical ar- southwest of the capital. said Tanega. rangement of the US in the aftermath of the It returned Tuesday to after ob- pullout of the Americans from Subic and serving special municipal elections held Sun- PRC STANCE ON MEDIA’S SPRATLYS TOUR Clark. Asian capitals and some sectors in day in Pag-Asa, the largest of seven Spratly ANALYZED thilippine are loath to admit it but the key islands held by the . (Editorial: ‘‘Manila Scores Versus Beijing’’) to controlling China and maintaining Asian After two nights aboard a private cruise Whatever substance to Beijing’s claim that security in the future is to America mili- ship, the journalists reached Jackson Atoll, the Chinese structures on Mischief Reef are tarily engaged in the region. about 50 km northwest of Mischief Reef, mere stations of Chinese fishermen has been where they transferred to the World War II shown spurious by the celebrated stand-off [From the Manila Philippine Daily, May 18, vintage Benguet. that took place last Saturday at the 1995] The first two sorties with 16 journalists on Kalayaan Islands. There, two Chinese war- ‘‘CREATIVE’’ POLICY ON SPRATLYS LEADS TO board Vietnam war-era Uhih choppers with ships suddenly appeared 15 nautical miles SUCCESS ‘‘press’’ markings took off at about 11:15 AM away in apparent support of Chinese vessels when the landing ship was about 30 km off The decision to take on China on the blocking a ship carrying Mischief Reef. Spratlys is the boldest foreign policy initia- local and foreign journalists. Also on board was Tanega, the first Phil- tive ever taken by the Ramos administra- The inspection trip by our Navy would ippine officer to fly over the area since the tion. It is even more remarkable if we con- have been enough to impress upon inde- Chinese built at least 14 structures on four sider that he took a stand despite the mili- pendent journalists that the structures on platforms around the reef. tary and economic weakness of the Phil- Mischief Reef could not have been mere fish- Manila has strongly condemned the Chi- ippines. That the Philippines forcefully chal- ing stations by ubiquitous Chinese fisher- nese occupation of the reef, which Filipino lenged Chinese creeping expansion in the men: the structures are made of metal with officials stress is well within the country’s Spratlys was a shock to China, as well as a parabolic discs all around, giving credence to 200-km exclusive economic zone. surprise to our ASEAN allies. They never ex- Beijing maintains that the reef is part of Manila’s claim they could eventually become pected the ‘‘sick man of Asia’’ to take on the its territory and claims the structures are naval support facilities. Chinese giant on the question of territorial ‘‘shelters for fishermen.’’ But the Chinese, not exactly known for integrity. The diplomatic gamble paid off. It Tanega pointed out the two Chinese ships subtlety, betrayed their own intentions; they brought to the surface historic fears in Asia raced back to the reef’s lagoon after appar- themselves confirmed Manila’s claim. Within about the Chinese threat, which is more ently seeing the choppers, journalists said. minutes after Philippine Navy helicopters magnified by the modernization of its armed But in the second wave of sorties, journal- started their sorties of Mischief Reef last forces and its rapidly expanding economy. ists saw the ships heading toward the Phil- Saturday, two frigates from the Chinese President Ramos’ gamble touched a raw ippine naval ships which were about 24 km navy raced to the sight in apparent aid of nerve among Asians, and now many of our off the reef. the Chinese ‘‘fishermen’’. neighbors have dropped their reluctance to From the ship’s foredeck, journalists saw The trip has therefore accomplished warn against the Chinese threat. The fear the Chinese vessels, a small fast boat and a Manila’s objective of proving to the inter- and anxieties over the Chinese move on the larger ship, assume blocking positions mid- national community that the Chinese are Spratlys are based on stronger grounds than way between the reef and the Philippine ves- undermining the status quo in the Kalayaan sovereignty or who should exploit maritime sels. and unnecessarily causing tension there. By resources supposed to lie underneath the At that point, about 16 km from the reef, arranging for the coverage by foreign jour- atolls. The larger issue, as pointed out by the Benguet stopped to launch the fourth nalists, Manila has not only scored a public Goh Chok Tong to Chinese Foreign Minister and fifth sorties. relations point against Beijing, it has also Li Peng, involves the freedom of navigation ‘‘We stopped because . . . We knew this is buttressed its territorial claim to the in the South China Sea, over which China the place where we could accomplish the Kalayaan. As Acting Foreign Secretary Do- claims sovereignty based on antiquarian mission in the best, expeditious and safest mingo Siazon put it when he turned down maps. way,’’ said Tanega at a press conference the Beijing’s request that the tour be canceled, It was the Philippines’ actions that proved next day. the foreign journalists who were coming to be the catalyst of the new-found soli- As the Benguet was ‘‘lying to,’’ a naval along for the inspection should be an indica- darity among ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific term to mean that a ship has stopped with- tion of how they perceived the ‘‘sovereignty nations, notably Japan and the United out dropping anchor, its patrol escort, issue’’. States, to forge a common stand in per- Miguel , maneuvered from starboard By drawing international opinion to the suading China that it is in her interest to to a position to port. issue, Manila has hit back at Beijing in the bring the dispute within the framework of Tanega said this was done to prevent the most capable way it could, making full use multilateral negotiations. The Philippine ac- bigger Chinese ship from coming closer to of the resources of democracy and unmask- tion proves that tough diplomatic decisions the Benguet. ing in the process China’s unneighborly de- can give us a position of strength if we get The smaller Chinese vessel moved to a po- signs in the region. It has billed the trip as international support behind us. This is what sition as close as 50 meters from the Benguet a concession to freedom of the press and we call creative diplomacy. made it just an item in the larger itinerary from where some its crew took photos and Mr. THOMAS. Let me say in closing, filmed the operations of the naval ship. of visiting the Filipino settlements in the ‘‘The reaction was definitely expected be- Kalayaan in order to conduct the elections Mr. President, that I am pleased the cause they did not know what we were there. In one fell swoop, the Philippines has State Department has finally issued a doing,’’ said Tanega. been able to demonstrate its democratic definitive U.S. position on the ‘‘They did not know where the helicopters character contrast to the authoritarian re- Spratlys, with which I heartily agree. I were taking off . . . They could not surmise gime in China as well as the fact that the believe that the Foreign Relations how a land-based helicopter could fly 208 km Kalayaan is hers by virtue of the Filipino Committee will take up Senate Resolu- from the nearest land field,’’ he pointed out. living there. tion 97—a sense-of-the-Senate resolu- Tanega said that while the Chinese vessel, The rub is that the confrontation shows whose Chinese markings identified it as be- China’s aggressiveness in pursuing its weak tion on the islands which I sponsored— longing to Beijing’s Bureau of Fisheries, was claim on Kalayaan. And with the Philippine in the near future and move it to the ‘‘too close for comfort,’’ he was not bothered military by all accounts standing eyeball to floor soon thereafter. by its presence. eyeball with the Chinese display of mi last f As the choppers were secured on the deck Saturday—the Italian-made jets of the Phil- of the Benguet, a Philippine Air Force recon- ippine Air Force screamed overhead during MESSAGES FROM THE PRESIDENT naissance plane radioed Tanega about the the stand-off to warn theinese—, what has Messages from the President of the been drummed to the international commu- approach of ‘‘two savage fishes.’’ United States were communicated to The plane was referring to Chinese frig- nity is the seriousness of the Kalayaan dis- ates, which journalists learned were 24 km pute. In such a t, hostilities in the islands the Senate by Mr. Thomas, one of his away and racing toward them. could break out any time. secretaries. Shortly after, at about 2:45 PM, Tanega or- But the tension could be managed by force- f dered the Benguet and its escort ship to ma- ful diplomacy and imaginative show of force neuver out of the area and proceed to Pag- against Beijing. Manila has been able to EXECUTIVE MESSAGES REFERRED Asa, some 18 hours away. compel Washington to issue a statement As in executive session the Presiding The two Chinese vessels made no attempt which voiced United States’ interest that Officer laid before the Senate messages to stop the ships and stayed behind while the ‘‘freedom of maritime investigation’’ shall frigates, whose outlines could be seen on the be preserved in the South China Sea, a clear from the President of the United horizon, appeared to stop. potshot at Beijing over its mischievous in- States submitting sundry nominations ‘‘What is important here is we did what we cursions. Manila now has to navigate which were referred to the appropriate had to do because this is our territory. We through the contentious domestic dispute committees.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 05:09 May 28, 2008 Jkt 041999 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 J:\ODA15\1995_F~1\S24MY5.REC S24MY5 mmaher on MIKETEMP with SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS S7388 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 24, 1995 (The nominations received today are million contract for Russian space convergence of civil and military printed at the end of the Senate pro- hardware, services, and data. In Au- polar-orbiting operational environ- ceedings.) gust, the program completed a vehicle mental satellite systems into a single f architecture review and in September, operational program. Other White the Space Station Control Board rati- House announcements during the year REPORT ON AERONAUTICS AND fied the recommendations it included. included a policy for licensing U.S. SPACE FOR FISCAL YEAR 1994— The redesigned Space Station costs $5 firms by the Secretary of Commerce to MESSAGE FROM THE PRESI- billion less than Space Station Free- operate private remote sensing systems DENT—PM 52 dom and still offers increased research and sell their images to domestic and The PRESIDING OFFICER laid be- capability and user flexibility. foreign entities and a national space fore the Senate the following message In aeronautics, activities included transportation policy that will sustain from the President of the United development of technologies to im- and revitalize U.S. space transpor- States, together with an accompanying prove performance, increase safety, re- tation capabilities by providing a co- report; which was referred to the Com- duce engine noise and other environ- herent strategy for supporting and mittee on Commerce, Science, and mental degradation, improve air traffic strengthening U.S. space launch capa- Transportation. management, lower costs, and help bilities to meet the growth needs of the American industry to be more competi- civilian and national security sectors. To the Congress of the United States: tive in the world market. For example, Thus, Fiscal Year 1994 was a highly I am pleased to transmit this report high-speed research continued during successful one for the U.S. aeronautics on the Nation’s achievements in aero- Fiscal Year 1994 to focus on resolving and space programs. Efforts in both nautics and space during Fiscal Year critical environmental issues and lay- areas have contributed significantly to 1994, as required under section 206 of ing the technological foundation for an furthering the Nation’s scientific and the National Aeronautics and Space economical, next generation, High technical knowledge, international co- Act of 1958, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2476). Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). In this operation, a healthier environment, Aeronautics and space activities in- connection, the United States reached and a more competitive economy. volve 15 contributing departments and agreement with Russia to use the Tu- WILLIAM J. CLINTON. agencies of the Federal Government, as 144 supersonic transport as a testbed THE WHITE HOUSE, May 24, 1995. this report reflects, and the results of for HSCT development. In addition, ef- their ongoing research and develop- forts in advanced subsonics focused on f ment affect the Nation as a whole in a reducing aircraft and engine noise lev- MESSAGES FROM THE HOUSE variety of ways. els, on development of wind shear sens- Fiscal Year 1994 featured many im- ing devices, and on creating tech- portant developments and changes in nologies that will improve general ENROLLED BILL SIGNED U.S. aeronautics and space efforts. It aviation aircraft. At 11 a.m., a message from the House included 7 Space Shuttle missions suc- In space science, astronomers using of Representatives, delivered by Mr. cessfully completed, 15 Government HST’s revitalized optics discovered Hays, one of its reading clerks, an- launches of Expendable Launch Vehi- disks of protoplanetary dust orbiting nounced that the Speaker has signed cles (ELVs), and 4 commercial launches stars in the Orion Nebula, suggesting the following enrolled bill: from Government facilities. Among no- that the formation of planets in the table developments in the ELV area Milky Way and elsewhere may be rel- H.R. 1421. An act to provide that references were the launch of the Deep Space in the statutes of the United States to any atively common. Also, HST’s revela- committee or officer of the House of Rep- probe, Clementine, initial use of the tion of helium in distant constellations resentatives the name or jurisdiction of Titan IV Centaur upper stage, and the provides valuable information about which was changed as part of the reorganiza- first launch of the Taurus launch vehi- the conditions in the universe during tion of the House of Representatives at the cle. Highlights of the Shuttle missions its initial evolution. The Spacelab Life beginning of the One Hundred Fourth Con- included the highly successful serv- Sciences-2, U.S. Microgravity Payload- gress shall be treated as referring to the cur- icing mission for the Hubble Space Tel- 2, and International Microgravity Lab- rently applicable committee or officer of the escope (HST), which replaced several oratory-2 greatly increased our under- House of Representatives. faulty parts and installed a sophisti- standing of the role of gravity on bio- The enrolled bill was subsequently cated package of corrective optics to logical, physical, and chemical proc- signed by the President pro tempore compensate for the spherical aberra- esses. In biology, we learned that grav- [Mr. THURMOND]. tion in HST’s primary mirror. Also, the ity affects the function of the neural f flight of the Space Radar Laboratory connections between brain cells; this began to provide information on envi- can have profound implications for re- INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND ronmental change, and a mission with building damaged brain cells due to JOINT RESOLUTIONS a Russian astronaut, Sergei Krikalev, strokes and disease. In Earth science, The following bills and joint resolu- as a member of the crew signalled the the Space Radar Laboratories-1 and -2, tions were introduced, read the first beginning of a three-phased coopera- plus the Lidar In-Space Technology Ex- and second time by unanimous con- tive program in space between Russia periment payload, used powerful radar sent, and referred as indicated: and the United States. and laser technology to penetrate By Mr. SHELBY (for himself, Mr. HEF- In a year of tremendous accomplish- cloud cover and map critical factors on LIN, Mr. COVERDELL, and Mr. NUNN): ments for the international Space Sta- a global scale. Also, the highly success- S. 848. A bill to grant the consent of Con- tion, National Aeronautics and Space ful launch of the Clementine Deep gress to an amendment of the Historic Chat- Administration (NASA) developed an Space Probe tested 23 advanced tech- tahoochee Compact between the States of initial set of specifications that in- nologies for high-tech, lightweight Alabama and Georgia; to the Committee on cluded Russian elements as part of the the Judiciary. missile defense. The relatively inexpen- By Mr. D’AMATO: design. Russia’s agreeing to join the 12 sive, rapidly-built spececraft con- S. 849. A bill to amend the Age Discrimina- original participating nations as a stituted a major revolution in space- tion in Employment Act of 1967 to protect partner resulted in the expansion of craft management and design; it also elected judges against discrimination based the existing Shuttle/Mir program into contributed significantly to lunar stud- on age; to the Committee on Labor and Phase I of the international Space Sta- ies by photographing 1.8 million images Human Resources. tion program, which officially began of the surface of the Moon. By Mrs. KASSEBAUM (for herself, Mr. with Sergei Krikalev’s flight on the Additionally, on May 5, 1994, the COATS, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. KENNEDY, Shuttle. All of the partners held a suc- White House announced that the Na- Mr. DODD, and Mr. INOUYE): S. 850. A bill to amend the Child Care and cessful systems design review in Texas tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to con- in March, and in June, Russia and the ministration (NOAA), the Department solidate Federal child care programs, and for United States signed an interim agree- of Defense, and NASA were estab- other purposes; to the Committee on Labor ment on the Space Station and a $400 lishing a joint program to effect the and Human Resources.

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