Philippines and the Spratly Islands

Philippines and the Spratly Islands – this article discusses the policies, activities and history of the Republic of the Philippines in the Spratly Islands from the Philippine perspective. Non-Philippine viewpoints regarding Philippine occupation of several islands are currently not included in this article.
This article often uses the Philippine names of the maritime features, rather than the international names.
Overview.
The Philippines, along with Vietnam, the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Republic of China (ROC), Malaysia and Brunei, is a claimant country in the disputed Spratly Islands of the South China Sea.
, the Philippines are occupying and/or controlling eleven features (eight islands, three reefs), as detailed in the following table:
By comparison, within the Spratly Islands:
Also, the Philippines has some features that are "virtually occupied". These are features that lie in very close proximity to Philippine-occupied features, and can be seen within the horizon. (A 15 meter-height vision gives about of horizon distance). These include: North Reef, Sandy Cay, Loaita Nan and Loaita Cay.
Also, most features that lie to the east of the 116°E, though not necessarily occupied, are largely controlled by the Philippines.
History.
Municipality of Kalayaan.
The Philippine assertion of sovereignty over the Spratly Islands began in May 1956, when Tomas Cloma, owner of a Philippine fishing vessel company, and director of the Philippine Maritime Institute, declared the founding of the new municipality called in .
He "found" the islands while he, with his brothers and 40 crew, were "adventuring" in the South China Sea. Observing that there was no human settlement, nor national flag, present on them, he decided to establish the Kalayaan municipality. He posted a document in English, entitled "Notice to the Whole World", on all features he claimed. His claim comprises about fifty features among the Spratly group. In September 1956, after the Republic of China occupied the largest island, Ligao Island (Itu Aba), Cloma decided to cede and sell all the territories of his state to the Philippines for one peso (US$0.50 of the time). Cloma wrote to Carlos Garcia, then Philippine Vice President and Foreign Minister, asserting that his claim was based on "discovery and occupation". Garcia replied that judging from the point of "occupation" and "proximity", there were no reasons for these islands and reefs not to be under Philippine jurisdiction.
The Philippine government incorporated the Kalayaan group into Palawan Province as a municipality in April 1972, and claimed in 1974 that "Its location rendered it strategically important to Philippine national security". In 1978, the Philippine Presidential Decree No. 1599 was based on the fact that Kalayaan is within the Philippine 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Philippine claim extends over an area of 70,150 sq. nm.
Philippine occupation.
The Philippines sent troops to the Spratly group for the first time in 1968. It prioritized large islands such as Pagasa (Thitu Island), Likas (West York Island), Parola (Northeast Cay), Kota (Loaita Island, Lawak (Nanshan Island), and Pugad (Southwest Cay). Two small islands, Patag (Flat Island) and Panata (Lankiam Cay), were also occupied.
To further the claim of the Philippines on the island group, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, on June 11, 1978, formally annexed the Kalayaan Islands by virtue of Presidential Decree No.1596.
Several years after the Philippines had occupied its latest island, it became apparent that Vietnam was not content in only occupying islands; Vietnam started occupying many reefs. By 2008, Vietnam had about 30 non-island occupied features. Some of these are very close to Philippine-occupied islands. Due to the pressure of losing fishing area in South China Sea, the Philippines decided to occupy at least two reefs: Rizal (Commodore Reef) and Balagtas (Irving Reef). Rizal is not in the northeast region; it is near many Vietnamese and Malaysian occupied reefs, thus serving as a good sentry against eastward expansion of Vietnam and northward expansion of Malaysia (see the map below). Unlike Rizal, Balagtas lies at the center of the northeast region.
Southwest Cay invasion.
Southwest Cay, also known in the Philippines as Pugad Island (); ; Mandarin , is an island in the North Danger Reef of the Spratly Islands. It was occupied by Philippine forces up to 1975, when South Vietnam forces were able to invade and occupy the island.
Southwest Cay is in the northern western corner of the Spratly Islands. It is within the North Danger Reef, which also contains the Philippine-occupied Northeast Cay (Parola Island), the Vietnamese-occupied South Reef and the unoccupied North Reef. Southwest and Northeast Cays are just from each other; each island can actually see the other within their respective horizons.
The "invasion" (occupation of the island) took place when all of the Philippine soldiers guarding the island of Pugad (Southwest Cay) left to attend to the birthday party of their commanding officer, who was based on the neighbouring Parola Island (Northeast Cay). The storm that day is also believed to have persuaded all of the soldiers to regroup temporarily on Parola island. A report also came out saying that South Vietnamese officials managed to send Vietnamese prostitutes to the birthday party to lure the Filipino soldiers guarding Pugad Island. The "gift" was said to be a "present" to the Philippine commander for his birthday, and as a move by South Vietnamese forces to befriend all Filipino soldiers guarding the Spratlys. Philippine soldiers did not expect that South Vietnam would resort to foul play since both the Philippines and South Vietnam, together with the United States, were allies in the Vietnam War. This tactic is believed to be the reason why South Vietnamese forces knew that the Filipino soldiers had left the island, an action that would usually be kept confidential.
After the party, and when the weather cleared, the returning soldiers were surprised to find that there was a company of South Vietnamese soldiers on the island. The South Vietnamese flag had replaced the Philippine flag flying on the pole erected by the Philippine soldiers. They returned to Parola immediately for fear that Parola would be the next target. After higher-ups of the Philippines were informed about the situation, they instructed the troops based in Parola and Pagasa to stay on red alert status. The following morning, the only thing the Filipino soldiers could do on Parola was to "curse" while the South Vietnamese soldiers sang their national anthem. Philippine Malacañang officials, who did not want to compromise the alliance while the Vietnam War was still being fought, decided to remain silent.
A few months later, the then recently formed unified Vietnam (after North Vietnam successfully invaded South Vietnam) decided to remove all remaining South Vietnamese troops in the Spratlys and establish military control among the features. It was reported that dozens of South Vietnamese soldiers on Pugad Island swam all the way to Parola just to avoid being captured by North Vietnamese forces. It was then when Malacañang officials, headed by President Ferdinand Marcos, discussed how the Philippines could reclaim the island. It had been apparent that most of the officials (who treated the Vietnamese communists as a threat to the Philippine national security) wanted to attack Pugad to reclaim it. However, after an intelligence report stated that the unified Vietnam had already built a huge concrete garrison within a few weeks, the officials dropped the plan and tried to resolve the issue diplomatically. This approach eventually died, and Pugad continues as a Vietnamese-occupied island up to this day. This incident was reported in interviews with soldiers involved in an episode of the now defunct "Magandang Gabi Bayan" TV program. (Eng.: Good Evening Nation) (MGB) of ABS-CBN.
Expansion of other claimants.
By the end of the 1970s, the Philippines had occupied a total of eight islands and two reefs. These features, excluding Southwest Cay, are still occupied by the Philippines today. The Philippines has never occupied another feature after the 1970s until 1999. While other countries occupied most of the features they control now during that period, the Philippines has maintained not to occupy any features further. It is attributed to the Philippines' initiation for the cooperative development of the area. The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, along with other ASEAN countries who can serve as investors, were already drawing a plan on a wide exploitation of the Spratly group in the early 1980s when suddenly China became interested in the area. China began occupying features by mid-1980s causing the ASEAN plan to halt. The most controversial occupation of China is the Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) in 1995 (See Mischief Reef for further discussion).
In 1999, Malaysia occupied Gabriela Silang Reef (Erica Reef) and Pawikan Reef (Investigator Shoal), causing the Philippines to protest further. Due to this pressure, with China's Mischief Reef just off Palawan and Vietnam's Pigeon Reef and Malaysia's Investigator Shoal just off Palawan, the Philippines decided to occupy Ayungin Reef (Second Thomas Reef) in 1999. No structure is built on the reef. Soldiers stationed there take shelter at "BRP Sierra Madre", a Philippine naval ship that was purposely run aground in the reef shortly before the Philippines decided to occupy it. Together with Rizal Reef (Commodore Reef), Ayungin Reef can give the Philippines a sentry advantage in stopping other countries' occupation of features nearest to the Philippines (see map below).
China has also been reported seeking to establish another forward outpost, past Mischief Reef and closer to Palawan. Twice since 1998, it planted buoys on Sabina Shoal, just off Palawan. Philippine Air Force planes have blasted the buoys out of the water.
China occupied only eight features. However, these features were strategic points in the area, making China able to assert its exploitation rights for the whole area. In contrast, the Philippines and Malaysia are limited to particular regions in the area, making these two countries incapable of contesting exploitation rights in other regions. In his essay contributed for TIME Asia in 1999, Professor Alex Magno of University of the Philippines pointed out that China is the main aggressor in the Spratly dispute. Magno, in particular, called on ASEAN to be watchful of China's actions in the South China Sea (Magno said it is very unlucky for ASEAN that the sea where the Spratly group lies is named South China Sea, named after China). Being one of the major consumers of Chinese goods and being adjacent to China itself, the ASEAN bloc is capable of crippling the Chinese economy, both through product boycotts and the possibility of peace instability. Even non-Spratly claiming ASEAN nations—Singapore, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar—are more supportive to the Vietnamese, Philippine, Malaysian and Bruneian claims than the Chinese claim. However, China today is beginning to engage itself in joint efforts to exploit the area. In particular, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam are already working on their second phase of drawing a joint exploitation plan.
In November 2002 the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" was signed in an effort to ease tensions between the claimants. It has been described as stipulating "that all nations claiming sovereignty over the Spratly Islands shall commit to the status quo and shall not erect any new structure in the disputed regions of Spratly, Paracel Islands and Scarborough Shoal." The actual language of the declaration, however, mentions neither "status quo" nor the erection of structures.
JMSU controversy.
The Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) is a tripartite agreement between the Philippines, China and Vietnam to conduct seismic exploration in an area spanning 142,886 square kilometers west of Palawan, all of which are within Philippine territories (as defined by EEZ of UNCLOS and does not necessarily mean as accepted by China and Vietnam). More specifically it is an agreement between Philippine National Oil Company -Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam), that was signed in September 2004 and took effect in July 2005. JMSU has already finished the first phase of the seismic exploration which lasted from September 1 to November 16, 2006, covering 11,000 line kilometers. A Chinese vessel conducted the survey, Vietnam processed the data gathered and this was interpreted by PNOC-EC in Manila. The second phase started in October 2007, covering 11,800 line kilometers. It was supposedly to end January 2008.
A controversy broke out when Barry Wain, a researcher in the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, wrote an article in the January–February 2008 issue of the Hong-Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review saying that "it was largely a sellout on the part of the Philippines". Wain wrote:"The Philippines ... has made breathtaking concessions in agreeing to the area for study, including parts of its own continental shelf not even claimed by China and Vietnam."Regarding the area of exploration he stated:"[The area] thrusts into the Spratlys and abuts Malampaya, a Philippine producing gas field. About one-sixth of the entire area, closest to the Philippine coastline, is outside the claims by China and Vietnam."
This prompted the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives (HR) to seek separate inquiries into the said agreement. Several senators alleged that "the agreement weakens the government's position in its claim over the disputed islands." Also, some alleged that it is a "precondition" set by China in exchange of some loan agreements. After signing the agreement, China has committed Philippines $2 billion USD a year in loans. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is suspected by some legislators to be hiding the facts about the agreement. Malacañang rebuts by saying that the agreement is not hidden and is actually posted in a government website. However, legislators are not convinced. They say Malacañang intentionally did not disseminate the right amount of information about the agreement including a detailed map which was only made available by Malacañang few days after the controversy broke out to a limited number of people. China denied the allegations connecting the deal with the loans.
Another puzzle some legislators pointed out is the continued delay in the passage of the bill setting the Philippines’ archipelagic baselines. The bill is needed to be passed before the middle of 2009 to beat the deadline set by the United Nations for the measures defining countries’ territorial claims. The bill has just passed its second reading and the third and final reading is not yet started. Furthermore, the HR committee on foreign affairs received a message from Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) saying that the bill should not be passed because it is in conflict with some international agreements the government had entered to.
The Philippine Senate, which is an opposition-majority block, believes that the President can be impeached if she was proven to have forsaken the national interests of the Philippines. Charges can include treason, betrayal of public trust, violation of the constitution and other charges related to other anomalies the Arroyo is currently facing. The Philippine Senate believes that the agreement should have gone through them for ratification before it could take effect.
Opposition legislators also say that the agreement is a betrayal to the 10-member ASEAN. After ASEAN, as a group, confronted China 10 years ago regarding the latter’s apparent of hegemonic motive in South China Sea, the legislators said that Philippines had made an agreement with China on its own without even consulting other ASEAN states. Vietnam is said to have initially resisted joining the agreement but was eventually "forced" to join to protect its own interest after Philippines gave China a 100% OK.
The alleged betrayal also extends up to the signing of the Code of Conduct in 2002. The legislators said that after convincing the other ASEAN states to force China sign the Declaration, which China initially resisted, the Philippines had made an agreement which will clearly affect the fates of other ASEAN states without even consulting them. The legislators also say that Arroyo became too soft regarding China’s claim over the Spratlys, while all other ASEAN states are still strongly rejecting it.
Malacañang, on the other hand, continues to stress that there is nothing wrong with the agreement and that it doesn’t go against the constitution. They contend that the agreement is for purely seismic activities only, without any actual exploitation activities, thus there is no need for a Senate ratification. Supporters of the agreement contend that the nature of the activity is a scientific one which helps in easing the tensions among the three involved nations. They also say that the JMSU is not different from other agreements the Philippines had made in the past with Australia and Norway regarding the oil in the Spratlys. Critics, on the other hand, pointed that Australia and Norway are in a different situation since neither of these countries is a claimant to the Spratlys.
Because of the controversy, some Philippine legislators were alarmed by the increasing Chinese influence in the Philippines which is in parallel with the growing influence of China in other countries, especially in Africa. Reports came out saying that the United States was "pissed off" by the Philippines’ deal with China, signifying a war of the US and China for dominance in the ASEAN region. The US embassy in Manila denied the reports.
Activities and policies.
Republic Act 9522.
Republic Act 9522, was passed by the Congress which defined the archipelagic baselines of the Philippines, claimed sovereignty over the Kalayaan Island Group and the Scarborough Shoal under Section 2, sub-paragraph A which described the territory as a "Regime of Islands"—a concept defined in the United Nation Convention on Law of the Sea for similar bodies of land.
2016 PCA Tribunal ruling.
In January 2013, the Philippines formally initiated arbitration proceedings against China's claim on the territories within the "nine-dash line" that includes Spratly Islands, which it said is "unlawful" under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) convention. An arbitration tribunal was constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS and it was decided in July 2013 that the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) would function as registry and provide administrative duties in the proceedings.
On July 12, 2016, the arbitrators of the tribunal of PCA agreed unanimiously with the Philippines. They concluded in the award that there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or resources, hence there was "no legal basis for China to claim historic rights" over the nine-dash line. Accordingly, the PCA tribunal decision is ruled as final and non-appealable by either countries. The tribunal also criticized China's land reclamation projects and its construction of artificial islands in the Spratly Islands, saying that it had caused "severe harm to the coral reef environment". It also characterized Taiping Island and other features of the Spratly Islands as "rocks" under UNCLOS, and therefore are not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. China however rejected the ruling, calling it "ill-founded". Taiwan, which currently administers Taiping Island, the largest of the Spratly Islands, also rejected the ruling.
Guarding activity.
The Philippines has stationed soldiers in its occupied islands and reefs. One to three small structures were built in Likas, Parola, Kota, Lawak and Rizal Reef to house soldiers. The only island with a significant number of structures is Pagasa (see Pagasa Island subsection in this article), the only Philippine-occupied island to have a civilian population. The Philippines has not built any structure on Ayungin and Balagtas Reefs. A Philippine Navy ship, "BRP Sierra Madre", which ran aground on Ayungin Reef in 1999, serves as a shelter and observation post for soldiers stationed here. In Balagtas Reef, the Philippine Navy's ships take alternate shifts in guarding the reef and the whole area encompassing all other Philippine-occupied islands. The two other Philippine-occupied islands, Patag and Panata, are each less than a hectare in area. Fortunately for the Philippines, these two tiny islands are each near a large Philippine-occupied island. Patag Island is just from Lawak Island and Panata Island is just from Kota Island. Lawak and Kota are 7.93 and 6.45 hectares in area respectively. This situation enables the Philippines to guard the small islands effectively without having to build any structures, or to station soldiers permanently to the two tiny islands. A watchtower is present on each of the large islands to effectively see the tiny islands within the horizon. In addition, Philippine Navy vessels and reconnaissance planes are always present in the area to monitor movements of foreign countries.
The Philippines in the Spratly group, like any other country, reserves the right to fire upon any vessel of other countries found within the horizon of its occupied features. For instance, the Smart Communications engineering team sent to install a communication system in Pagasa Island in 2005 was forced to seek temporary refuge in "BRP Sierra Madre" due to inclement weather. Since their boat did not display a Philippine flag, the marines stationed at "BRP Sierra Madre" considered sinking the boat. Fortunately for the engineering team, the marines did not carry out their plan as they suspected that the boat was manned by Filipinos and that it was seeking refuge because of the storm.
A documentary produced by i-Witness of GMA 7, a local TV network, entitled "Bantay ng Kalayaan" (lit. Guards of "Kalayaan"), featured the lives of soldiers guarding the islands of Patag and Lawak Islands. As the two islands are near each other, they are managed as a single unit. In the documentary, four enlisted soldiers are stationed there. A simple wooden structure on Lawak, the larger of the two islands, serves as their shelter. They have two dogs as mascots. Basketball serves as a pastime to relieve boredom. Every month, a Navy vessel arrives on a supply run and to replace one or two soldiers. Their weapons include M16 rifles and a few grenades. The soldiers themselves believe that they will never be able to protect the islands if other countries attacked them. However, all of them agree that the islands should be guarded since it is of national importance. Occasionally, some Filipino fishermen who happen to see the islands, visit for a few minutes and engage the soldiers in conversation. These fishermen would commend the soldiers, a morale-booster. Before leaving, the fishermen would leave the soldiers a portion of their catch.
Among the claimant nations, the Philippines is considered the weakest in terms of military capability. Its defense program in the Spratlys only includes several old naval vessels, most of which are used assets sourced from the US military. Its air assets lean more toward surveillance types rather than fighters. A former Armed Forces chief of the Philippines, General Hermogenes Esperon Jr., expressed doubts that the Philippines can win a war with other claimants. However, he said that this will not hinder the Philippine's soldiers from defending the islands. "We may not have the chance, but that does not mean that soldiers are not willing to fight for the country," he said. He stated that despite limited firepower, Filipino troops are ready for "hand-to-hand" combat.
After the signing of the Code of Conduct between claimant nations in November 2002, the Philippines have maintained a total of 450 soldiers stationed in all of the features it occupies. About 40 of those are in Pagasa Island. The remainder are divided among the remaining features. These exclude the one to two policemen and several village guards or barangay tanods which are unarmed and are considered as civilians of Pagasa island. These also exclude naval personnel aboard Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard vessels and pilots of the Philippine Air Force's jets which regularly patrol the area.
Balikatan exercises.
The Balikatan Exercises have been part of Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines (OEF-P) which is in turn part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the U.S. Global War on Terrorism. Since 2001, United States and Philippines have held joint military exercises in different parts of the Philippines. However, some analysts see this agreement as a move of the Philippines in its desperate quest to protect its claimed territories. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviets who have bases in Vietnam and the United States which has bases in the Philippines have maintained a balance of power in the Spratly region. After the collapse of the USSR and the departure of United States forces from the Philippines in 1991, most claimants, especially China, have aggressively taken actions occupying features and building more structures. In 2001, two years after China's building of additional structures in Mischief Reef that caused a news panic in Manila, the Visiting Forces Agreement was ratified by both United States and the Philippines. Since then, a joint military exercise is always held annually.
Many of the war games involved amphibious assault exercises. Some of these amphibious assault exercises were held in Palawan which lies near the Spratlys. Analysts say Philippines does not need amphibious assault in jungle warfare with Philippines' secessionist groups. China has protested past Balikatan exercises that were held near the Spratlys.
The Philippines has invoked its mutual defense treaty with the US to obtain US assistance in repelling Chinese forces from islands claimed by the Philippines. Signed in 1951, the treaty stipulates the two countries to defend each other in case of an attack from an external party. However, US does not include the Spratly Islands in its understanding of Philippine territory. Instead, the US limited itself in continuously supporting the Philippine defense programs with military and intelligence aid and training, and a variety of diplomatic measures aimed at sending a "strong message" to Beijing. Such "strong messages" and the ASEAN intervention are believed to have calmed China's previously aggressive drive in the Spratly region.
Grounded ships.
China has accused the Philippines of intentionally grounding two naval vessels in the Spratly group to advance an occupation. The two ships, the BRP "Sierra Madre" and BRP "Benquet", were grounded on Ayungin (Second Thomas) Reef and Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal during 1999. The Philippines decided to occupy Ayungin Reef following Malaysia’s sudden occupation of Erica Reef and Investigator Shoal during the same year.
China then urged the Philippines to remove the grounded ships and the Philippines immediately replied that it would do so. However, the Philippines only removed BRP "Benquet" from Scarborough Shoal shortly before the official visit of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji to Manila. After the Philippines removed "BRP Benguet" she went aground again on Pagasa Island in 2004, but was removed again and still serves the Philippine Navy today.
Pag-asa Island.
As of 2008, the only Philippine-occupied Spratly island to have many structures is Pagasa (Thitu) Island, the lone barangay of Municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan. All Philippine-occupied Spratly islands are integrated as one municipality to the province of Palawan. Cities and municipalities in the Philippines are divided into smaller political units called barangays. However, because Pagasa is currently the only civilian-inhabited island, Kalayaan is the only municipality in the Philippines to have a single barangay and that is Pagasa. Pagasa has about 300 civilian residents and 40 soldiers. The civilian population is always less than 200 at a time since other Kalayaan residents have businesses to attend to on the Palawan mainland. The population is regulated to protect the island’s environment, to avoid short supplies of commodities and to conserve land space. Pagasa is only 37 hectares and can only accommodate a maximum of 500 people at a time. Most of the civilian population consists of poor Filipinos who were convinced by Mayor Mantes to settle in the islands since 2002. Before, Pagasa Island barely had a civilian population even though Kalayaan was already an established municipality. The settlers are provided a means of livelihood by the government. Most of them are involved in fishing and other sea-related crafts. To make some additions to their supplies which are provided by a naval ship which visits once a month, the settlers also raise pigs, goats and chickens and plant some crops in an allotted space.
Because of its thriving civilian community, the only one in the Spratly group, Pagasa has many structures compared to other Philippine-occupied islands. These include the municipal multi-purpose hall, a school and clinic, a military outpost, a water treatment plant, a deep well, a marina, a 1.26 km airstrip, a commercial communications tower, power generator, houses of civilian families, pig barns and goat and poultry houses. However, the number and size of Pagasa’s structures are still relatively few and small compared to structures of other countries’ occupied islands. One unique feature of Pagasa Island is its unconcretized airstrip. Aerial photos of Pagasa Island show that a rectangular portion of the coral base around Pagasa is reclaimed to serve as an extension of the airstrip. Pagasa's airstrip is the longest airstrip in the Spratly group, followed by Taiwan's Itu Aba (Ligao) Island's airstrip (completed in January 2008), Malaysia's Swallow Reef's airstrip and Vietnam's Spratly (proper) (Lagos) Island's airstrip. Pagasa's airstrip can accommodate Philippine Air Force (PAF) fighter jets and even the huge C-130 cargo planes. Right now, numerous plans are proposed for Pagasa. One plan is construction of a hangar beside the airstrip to house more surveillance and fighter jets of the PAF. Another plan is to concretize the airstrip to avoid rough landings of planes.
For the Philippine Navy, they are proposing making a causeway that leads all the way to a deep water region where naval vessels can dock. Pagasa island is completely surrounded by its wide coral base making it hard for naval vessels to get near the island. Actually, one naval vessel, the "BRP Benguet", attempted to dock near the island in 2004 but it was damaged and went aground. Up to this day, the damaged ship is still there. The Philippine government currently has no resources to move the damaged ship. And in 2001, civilian Filipinos who first settled on the island had needed to make numerous boat trips between the coast and the ship to move their belongings and properties. The pigs they have carried to the island were actually thrown in the water. The pigs float in water and they instinctively swim to the nearest land they can see.
Kalayaan residents have also erected an imposing bust of Tomas Cloma on the island as a tribute to Kalayaan's founder.
The Kalayaan residents (led by their mayor) are proposing to have the island developed for tourism. The island has a white beach; trees and birds are abundant. It has good diving spots too. An AFP military chief said that the army together with its navy would help bring more tourists to the white sands and pristine waters of Pagasa Island starting April 2008. In addition, there have been plans of building stilt cottages in Pagasa Island, like the ones in El Nido and Puerto Princesa in Palawan. Several housing units were already built to accommodate tourists. One to two commercial flights between Pagasa and Puerto Princesa City are available weekly for tourists.
Other islands and reefs.
Parola, Likas, Kota and Lawak Islands are expected to be populated within the following next two decades. However, the latter two islands may take a longer time to be populated because they are less than eight hectares, requiring a need for land reclamation to expand their areas. This will make the Municipality of Kalayaan to have a total of five barangays. On the other hand, Patag and Panata Islands are too small to be populated. They are most likely to remain as military outposts unless the Philippines opt to do some massive land reclamation projects on the islands. Rizal, Balagtas and Ayungin Reefs will likely remain as fishing zones occupied by Philippine forces. Land reclamation on these reefs, like what Malaysia did to Swallow Reef where Malaysia turned it into an artificial island with 6.2 hectares area, will reduce the Philippines' fishing space. Thus, such reclamation projects might be opposed by Filipino fishermen who regularly fish in the said reefs.
A proposal to build lighthouses in some shallow features to the east of the 116°E meridian like Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal is also being considered.
Filipino soldiers guarding the islands always feel bored in their assignment. Their niche is very small. There is very little to do in the islands. Though all features of the Philippines have a satellite dish to provide soldiers access to television shows, and a satellite telephone for them to have continuous contact with their family and superiors, these have not been enough to lift their boredom.
The soldiers in Lawak Island, just to signify how bored they were, said that they enjoy watching the flights, egg-laying and incubation of the numerous sea gulls living on the island.
The soldiers on Rizal Reef, on the other hand, enjoy fishing. Rizal Reef has white sandbars which are above water level when the tide is not extremely high. These sandbars enclose many lagoons which according to the soldiers are like "swimming pools" for the clear water they enclose. When the weather is bad (e.g., typhoon), there comes the boredom. They have no choice but to stay inside their small quarters on stilts. However, they are not totally bitter when the weather is bad since it is also their source of clean water. The roof of their quarters is made such that it can catch raindrops and stock them in a huge container. The soldiers said that, unlike food which can be provided by their fishing and a vegetable garden beside their barracks, fresh water is their number one concern. When they run out of fresh water supplied by the Philippine Navy or Coast Guard, they begin drinking the water caught from the rain. And during these times is when they limit their baths as much as they can.
Soldiers on Ayungin Reef have similar problems regarding clean water. However, unlike the soldiers in Rizal Reef who have small quarters, the soldiers in Ayungin Reef have a much better lifestyle. Their shelter is the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine naval vessel. They have individual beds, a karaoke machine, and a dining area.
The Philippine Marines in Panata Island, on the other hand, used to raise up to five sharks at a time in a lagoon located in the middle of the island.
The Philippine government tries to compensate for this boredom by giving the soldiers a salary way above their normal salary. Actually, this has been the reason why some of the soldiers always volunteer to take the job despite the boredom.
Oil exploration.
The area surrounding Spratly is said to be rich in yet unexplored oil and gas fields, and hence, remains controversial.
The Philippines began exploring the areas west of Palawan for oil in 1970. Exploration in the area began in Reed Bank/Tablemount (Reed Bank is the largest seamount within the Spratly Islands) in 1976, gas was discovered following the drilling of a well. However, China's complaints halted the exploration.
Today, Malampaya oil platform is the only operational oil platform in the Philippines. It is extracting natural gas from the Camago-Malampaya oil leg (CMOL) (or simply Malampaya Field), located west of northern Palawan. It is not claimed by other countries. It contains of natural gas reserves. The Malapaya Project began the Philippines' natural gas industry and enabled the supply of at least 2,700 megawatts of power for a period of at least 20 years starting 2002. In December 2001, an extended well test of the thin oil rim beneath the field initially yielded about of oil per day (bpd). It is also believed to be the deepest horizontal subsea well test undertaken in the world at a depth of about 850 m.
The upstream component of the $4.5 billion USD Malampaya gas-to-power project was jointly developed by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX), ChevronTexaco and PNOC EC. The project was formally inaugurated on October 16, 2001. Shell Philippines Exploration owns 45% of the project, ChevronTexaco owns 45% and PNOC-EC owns 10%. Malampaya is expected to provide substantial long-term revenue of between $8–10 billion USD to the Philippine government over its life span. Other sites eyed by PNOC-EC west of Palawan are the Calamian, West Calamian, West Balabac, and East Sabina sites.
Another oil field being explored today is Reed Bank, which exploration was halted in 1980's after China's objections. The concession is currently awarded to Forum Energy plc, a UK-based oil, gas and coal company. The Reed Bank concession is located in the South China Sea west of Palawan Island. The licence is located to the southwest of the Shell-operated Malampaya Gas Field.
The concession was first awarded to Sterling Energy plc (which later merged with another company to form Forum Energy) in June 2002. In 2003 Sterling reprocessed 250 km of 2D seismic data and completed a feasibility study on the gas-to-liquid options for the gas field. The seismic work and the gas-to-liquid study fulfilled the initial work commitments on the concession and Sterling was granted a 12-month extension in June 2004. In 2005 Forum acquired new 3D seismic data over the licence area fulfilling its work commitments required under the 12-month extension. In September 2006, results of the interpretation of the 3D seismic programme at the Sampaguita (an area inside Reed Bank) gas discovery indicated a world class gas accumulation with potential reserves of up to .
Unlike Malampaya, Reed Bank is claimed by the People's Republic of China, Republic of China, and Vietnam. There is still no news on whether these countries are disputing this exploration or not. In March 2011, two Chinese vessels chased off the "Veritas Voyager", a survey ship hired by Forum Energy—a UK-based company with a portfolio of projects in the Philippines. Forum Energy intends to return to Reed Bank in 2012 to explore for energy resources. The U.S. military has also signalled its return to the area, with war games scheduled in March with the Philippine navy near Reed Bank.
Fisheries enforcement.
Arrests of Chinese fishermen.
Many Chinese vessels fish in the South China Sea. Some of these enter internal Philippine waters like the Sulu Sea, and not just disputed waters in the Spratly islands. The Philippines, in general, is tolerant in allowing Chinese vessels to fish in disputed areas including Scarborough Shoal and waters in the vicinity of Philippine-occupied Spratly islands. They are, however, arrested if the Philippine Navy or Coast Guard determines that they are doing illegal fishing activity (i.e., using dynamites, or cyanide poison).
The Philippines is less tolerant in waters east of the 116°E meridian, the Sulu Sea and the waters between Philippine islands (non-Spratly). Within these areas Chinese fishing vessels normally fly a Philippine flag to avoid suspicion, or try to escape into Malaysian or Indonesian waters when hailed to elude arrest. When caught the fishermen are usually charged with trespassing in Philippine territories.
The press in the Philippines regularly reports arrests of these fishermen, with violations ranging from failure to allow Philippine authorities to inspect their ships when inside Philippine waters, to using illegal fishing methods (dynamite, trawl net, or using cyanide poison), to fishing in marine reserves, or more commonly, poaching of endangered sea species like sea turtles. These fishermen are usually labeled as "Chinese poachers" by the Philippine press. Most of them are arrested in the Sulu Sea (an internal sea within the Philippines), with some apprehended in Scarborough Shoal. Rarely, arrests are made in the Visayas seas.
When poachers are arrested in the Spratly region, they are turned in to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; if in the Sulu Sea, to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan or Zamboanga City whichever is nearer; if in Scarborough Shoal, to Subic, Zambales.
Apprehended poachers are put to trial quickly, to avoid further political disputes with China. Normally cases are disposed of within two months, with almost all being convictions. However, Philippine courts generally only confiscate the vessels, and fines the offenders a sum of money that is always paid by the Chinese government.
In other situations, the courts approve bail even before a trial could start, and the fishermen are repatriated. Environmentalists in the Philippines have always criticized the Philippine government for allowing Chinese fishermen to be released on bail, saying that they must still be punished under Philippine laws. China has always protested the Philippines' arrest of its fishermen, whether these were arrested in the Spratly region controlled by the Philippines, in Scarborough Shoal, or in the internal Sulu Sea.
Arrests of Vietnamese fishermen.
There had been occasions of arrests of Vietnamese fishermen by the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard, however these are not as frequent as arrests of Chinese fishermen. The arrests are also caused largely by poaching activities. The latest arrest of Vietnamese fishermen happened in May 2014 in the province of Zambales.


List of massacres in Malaysia

The following are a list of massacres that have occurred in Malaysia and its predecessors:


Inarimori Kofun

The is the name of an archaeological site containing a large Kofun period keyhole-shaped burial mound located in what is now part of the city of Nan'yō, Yamagata in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1980.
Overview.
Discovered around 1933, it has been speculated that the Inarimori tumulus was a "kofun" from 1938; however, as a preliminary excavation in 1961 found only Heian period Sue ware shards, this hypothesis was discredited. The area also contained the remains of a village from around the middle of the Kofun period. When the mound was cleared in 1977 to 1979, its keyhole-shape was discovered, and more detailed investigation from 1977 to 1978 confirmed that it indeed dates from the latter-half of the 4th century AD. Further investigations were performed by the Nan'yō Board of Education from 1987-88, but the interior of the tomb has never been investigated and no burial chamber has yet been discovered.
The Inarimori kofun has an overall length of 96 meters, making it the largest in Yamagata, and the 7th largest in the Tōhoku region. It was made by partially cutting away of an isolated hill on the right bank of the Yoshino River on the northern edge of the Yonezawa basin. The tomb is orientated to face south-southwest. The circular portion has a diameter of 62 meters and height of 9.2 meters and is constructed in three tiers. The rectangular portion has a width of 30 meters and height of five meters and is constructed in one tier. No "fukiishi", "haniwa" or trace of a moat have been discovered, although shards of Haji ware pottery and some human bones were found.
The "kofun" and surrounding 10,182.7 hectares are maintained as an archaeological park. It is located approximately five minutes by car from the Akayu Station on the Yamagata Shinkansen.


James Richardson Logan

James Richardson Logan (b 10 April 1819 Berwickshire, Scotland, d 20 October 1869 Penang, Straits Settlements) was a lawyer who popularised the name Indonesia after it was coined by the English ethnologist George Windsor Earl. He was an editor of the "Penang Gazette" and a former student of Earl who in 1850 published the term 'Indu-nesians' to describe the peoples of the region. In 1847, while living in Singapore, Logan founded a scholarly periodical, the "Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia", and both edited and contributed to the journal until 1862.
Logan died on 20 October 1869 and is buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery in George Town, Malaysia. A marble statue of him stands in the compound of the Penang High Court building. Logan Road is named after him.


Ruslan Abdulgani

Ruslan Abdulgani (November 24, 1914, Surabaya — June 29, 2005, Jakarta, his first name is also spelled Roeslan) was an Indonesian government official and diplomat known for his role as a leader during the Indonesian National Revolution in the late 1940s, and as a key minister and United Nations ambassador in the Sukarno government during the 1950s and 1960s.
Ruslan was born and raised in Surabaya, East Java. He came from an upper-middle-class family; his father was a neighborhood shopkeeper and owned a small fleet of taxis. His mother, his father's second wife, was a religious tutor, giving reading and religion lessons from the Qur'an. According to a memoir of his childhood, which Ruslan wrote in the 1970s, his mother was also a strong Javanese nationalist, and it was from her that he first learned about Dutch colonial rule and the possibility of independence.
During the Indonesian fight for independence from the Dutch in the late 1940s, Ruslan was a key lieutenant under Sukarno, earning the future president's trust and ensuring him a secure place in the new government. In the 1950s he served most prominently as foreign minister, representing Indonesia abroad during the tumultuous decade when, under Sukarno's leadership, Indonesia tried to transform itself into a postcolonial, anti-imperialist success story.
Ruslan's most prominent moment as a public servant came in 1955, when he served as secretary-general of the Bandung Conference, a major meeting of African and Asian countries working to form what became the Non-Aligned Movement as an alternative to alignment with one of the Cold War superpowers. Ruslan served as Indonesia's foreign minister from March 1956 to April 1957. From July 1959 to March 1962, he was head of the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA); in October 1962 he became Minister of Information.
While being foreign minister, Ruslan was briefly arrested in August 1956 by the Indonesian military in West Java, and accused of corruption. Part of a power struggle between the Sukarno government and dissatisfied military officers, he was promptly pardoned by vote of Sukarno's cabinet, and the military was forced to release him.
While being a minister in 1964, he was a first rector of Teacher and Education Science Institute or now is Indonesia University of Education. He acted as rector until 1966.
After Suharto replaced Sukarno as president in 1967, Ruslan served briefly as Indonesian ambassador to the United Nations. He left formal government service in 1971, but continued to play a role as an elder statesman in Indonesian politics. After president Suharto stepped down in 1998, he emerged as an advisor to presidential candidate Megawati Sukarnoputri, Sukarno's daughter, and as a critic of Suharto's Golkar successors, Jusuf Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid.
In 1998 Dutch historians Bob de Graaff and Cees Wiebes published a book, "Villa Maarheeze: De Geschiedenis van de Inlichtingendienst Buitenland" ("Villa Maarheeze: The History of the Netherlands Foreign Intelligence Service") in which they alleged that Ruslan had secretly worked for the Dutch government during the conflict over Papua (Irian Jaya) in the 1960s, by passing confidential information about Indonesian activities. Ruslan vehemently denied the charges, saying that he had seldom even communicated with the Dutch government even in his official government capacities.
Ruslan's wife Sihwati Nawangwulan, also a prominent activist during Indonesia's independence movement, died in 2001 at the age of 85. Ruslan and Sihwati had five children together. Ruslan died in June 2005 after suffering from stroke and pneumonia. He was one of the last survivors of Indonesia's war for independence.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called him "a leader who never said bad things about others". Suharto called him "a great man and leader who has given so much for the country he loves".
His second daughter, Retnowati Abdulgani-Knapp, wrote a biography about her father, "A Fading Dream: The Story of Roeslan Abdulgani and Indonesia", which was published in 2003. In it, she described Ruslan as a lifelong fighter against colonialism and imperialism.
Abdulgani was awarded the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria in 1956.


Talatal Ghar

The Talatal Ghar ( ) is located in Rangpur, 4 km from present-day Sivasagar, Assam. It is one of the grandest examples of Tai Ahom architecture. The Talatal Ghar is also the largest of all Tai Ahom monuments.
Visitors nowadays are only allowed to scout through the ground floor, the first floor, and what remains of the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Talatal Ghar. The floors of the Talatal Ghar below the ground have been sealed off, as visitors tended to get lost within its mazy structure and were never heard of thereafter.
History.
Swargadeo Rudra Singha shifted the capital of the Ahom Kingdom from
Garhgaon to
Rangpur in AD 1702-03. For about a century thereafter, Rangpur remained the capital. It is located in the western part of Sivasagar. The earliest constructions were commissioned by Swargadeo Rudra Singha in AD 1698. Rangpur was the capital of the Ahom Kingdom and served as its military-station.
Architecture.
The Talatal Ghar is a place which was initially built as an army base. It houses two secret tunnels, and three floors below ground level which were used as exit routes during the Ahom wars (and which give the structure its name).
The Rangpur Palace is a seven-storied structure (1751-1769 CE).
However the first Ground Penetrating Survey (GPR) in the northeast, undertaken at two Ahom monuments in Sivasagar district in early Apr 2015, has not revealed the existence of any secret tunnel. The survey was carried out by IIT-Kanpur, in collaboration with the Guwahati circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), over a period of five days at Talatal Ghar and Ahom Royal Palace (Kareng Ghar), both in Sivasagar district.
Visitors nowadays can only view the ground floor, the first floor, and what remains of the 2nd and 3rd floors .The floors of the Talatal Ghar below ground have been sealed off, and most of the wooden parts of the palace have disappeared over time.
The Rangpur Palace was once surrounded by a brick fortification and an earthen fort (Garh) with dikes filled with water. There is a Gola Ghar (gunpowder and ammunition store) near the palace.


Shamakhi Uyezd

Shamakhi Uyezd (, ) was an administrative unit within the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire, and then of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR with its cenre in the city of Shamakhi until its formal abolishment in 1929 by Soviet authorities. The uyezd was located in central part of the governorate, bordering Javad Uyezd to the south, Baku Uyezd to the east, Geokchai Uyezd to the west and Kuba Uyezd to the north. The administrative center of the uyezd was Shamakhi.
History.
The uyezd was established in 1840 and was initially made part of the , and later became the capital of the in 1846. But due to an earthquake in 1859, the city and most of the uyezd suffered great damage. Subsequently, capital of the Shamakhi Governorate was moved from Shamakhi to Baku and the governorate was renamed Baku Governorate.
After the collapse of the Russian Empire, Shamakhi briefly became part of Transcaucasian Federation. On 28 May 1918, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic declared its independence, but most of its claimed territory was still under the control of the Bolsheviks. It captured Shamakhi on July 1918 and kept the uyezd as part of its administrative units.
After the Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan in 1920, Azerbaijan was integrated into the Soviet Union and the uyezd was abolished by Soviet authorities in 1929.
Population.
According to the 1897 Russian Empire census, 121,842 people inhabited the uyezd, of which 20,007 lived in the city of Shamakhi. The census recorded 89,840 native speakers of Azerbaijani (whom the census indicates as "Tatar"), 14,283 Armenians and 11,362 Russians.
The population declined to 91,185 by 1926.


Muhammad Sholeh Ibrahim

Muhammad Sholeh Ibrahim (born Sep 1958) is an Indonesian man who is the acting leader of Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid since 2014. He has sworn allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State.
History.
He was born in Demak, Indonesia in September 1958.
Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid.
According to the United States Department of Treasury, he took part in JAT paramilitary training in 2008 and was involved in registering new JAT paramilitary recruits in 2010. In mid-2011, he organised buses to transport JAT supporters from Central Java to Jakarta for the trial of JAT founder Abu Bakar Bashir. Muhammad Sholeh Ibrahim "has supported ISIL and swore allegiance to the group in 2014". He has been involved in raising funds for JAT and served as a leader of their Surakarta office since 2014. He was previously responsible for planning and strategy.
US and UN sanctions.
Muhammad Sholeh Ibrahim is subject to sanctions by both the United States Department of Treasury and the United Nations Security Council. He was listed by the UN on 20 April 2016 pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 5 of resolution 2253 (2015) as being associated with ISIL or Al-Qaida for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of" and "recruiting for" Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.


Radcliffe Award


Umatwara


Sirmur State

Sirmur (also spelled as Sirmor, Sirmaur, Sirmour,or Sirmoor) was an independent kingdom in India, founded in 1616, located in the region that is now the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The state was also known as Nahan, after its main city, Nahan. The state ranked predominant amongst the Punjab hill States. It had an area of 4,039 km2 and a revenue of 300,000 rupees in 1891.
History.
Nahan, the predecessor state of Sirmur, was founded by Soba Rawal in 1095 AD who assumed the name Raja Subans Prakash. The new capital was founded in 1621 by Raja Karam Prakash, and the state was renamed to Sirmur.
Sirmur was surrounded by the hill states of Balsan and Jubbal in the North, Dehradun district in the East, Ambala district in the South West, and the states of Patiala and Keonthal in the North-West.
But by chance, shortly after this event a prince of Jaisalmer visited Haridwar as a pilgrim, and was invited by one of the minstrels of the Sirmoor kingdom to become its sovereign. He accordingly sent a force under his son, the Rawal or prince Sobha, who put down the disorders which had arisen in the State, and became the first Räjã of Sirmur, under the title of Subhans Parkash, a title which the Rajãs have ever since retained.
Rajban became the capital of the new king in 1095. The eighth Rãjã conquered Ratesh, later a part of the Keonthal State, about 1150 and his successor subdued Jubbal, Balsan, Kumharsain, Ghond, Kot, and Theog, thus extending his dominions almost to the Sutlej. For many years these territories remained feudatories of the State; but its capital was at Kälsi, in Dehra Dun, and the Rajas’ hold over their northern fiefs appears to have been weak until in the fourteenth century Bir Parkash fortified Hãth-Koti, on the confines of Jubbal, Retwain, and Sahri, the last of which became the capital of the State for a time.
Eventually in 1621 Karm Parkash founded Nahan, the modern capital. His successor, Mandhata, was called upon to aid Khalil-ullah, the general of the emperor Shah Jahan, in his invasion of Garhwãl, and his successor, Sobhag Parkãsh, received a grant of Kotaha in reward for this service. Under Aurangzeb this Rãjä again joined in operations against Garhwãl. His administration was marked by a great development of the agricultural resources of the State, and the tract of Kolagarh was also entrusted to him by the emperor.
Budh Parkãsh, the next ruler, recovered Pinjaur for Aurangzeb’s foster-brother. Raja Mit Parksh gave an asylum to the Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, permitting him to fortify Paonta in the Kiarda Dun; and it was at Bhangani in the Dun that the Guru defeated the Rajäs of Kahlur and Garhwäl in 1688. But in 1710 Kirat Parkäsh, after defeating the Räja of Garhwal, captured Naraingarh, Morni, Pinjaur, and other territories from the Sikhs, and concluded an alliance with Amar Singh, Raja of Patiala, whom he aided in suppressing his rebellious Wazir; and he also fought in alliance with the Raja of Kahlür when Ghuläm Kãdir Khan, Rohilla, invaded that State. He supported the Rajã of Garhwãl in his resistance to the Gurkha invasion, and, though deserted by his ally, was able to compel the Gurkhas to agree to the Ganges as the boundary of their dominions. His son, Dharm Parksh, repulsed the encroachments of the chief of Nalagarh and an invasion by the Rãjã of Garhwãl, only to fall fighting in single combat with Rãjã Sansãr Chand of Kangra who had invaded Kalhur, in 1793.
He was succeeded by his brother, Karm Parkãsh, a weak ruler, whose misconduct caused a serious revolt. To suppress this he rashly invoked the aid of the Gurkhas, who promptly seized their opportunity and invaded Sirmür, expelled Ratn Parkash, whom the rebels had placed on the throne, and then refused to restore Karm Parkash. His queen, a princess of Goler and a lady of courage and resource, took matters into her own hands and invoked British aid. Her appeal coincided with the declaration of war against Nepal by the British, and a force was sent to expel the Gurkhas from Sirmür, On the conclusion of the Gurkha War the British Government placed Fateh Parkash, the minor son of Karm Parkãsh, on the throne, annexing all the territories east of the Jumna with Kotaha and the Kiãrda Dan. The Dun was, however, restored to the State in 1833 on payment of Rs.50,000. During the first Afghan War the Raja aided the British with a loan, and in the first Sikh War a Sirmur contingent fought at Hari-ka-pattan. Under Raja Sir Shamsher Parksh, G.C.S.I. (1856—98), the State progressed rapidly. Begar (forced labour) was abolished, roads were made, revenue and forest settlements carried out, a foundry, dispensaries, post and telegraph offices established. In 1857 the Raja rendered valuable services, and in 1880 during the Second Afghan War he sent a contingent to the north-west frontier. The Sirmür Sappers and Miners under his second son, Major Bir Bikram Singh, C.I.E., accompanied the Tirãh expedition in 1897.
Rulers.
The rulers of Sirmur bore the title "Maharaja" from 1911 onward.


Irian Jaya


History of aviation in Bangladesh

The history of aviation in pre-1947 India began with kites, the traditional heavier-than-air man-made object that is flown by one or more people while staying on the ground. The first recorded manned flight was arranged by the Dhaka Nawab Family in 1882, which resulted in the death of the flyer.
Early era.
Unmanned flight.
Kite flying was one of the many different forms of entertainment of the elite people of Dhaka, since the Mughal period. It became a festive tradition during the period of Nayeb-e-Nazim Nawajesh Mohammad Khan in the 1740s. Kite flying is still a popular pastime in Bangladesh, especially right after the monsoon. In the older parts of Dhaka it is one of the most popular activities. Kite painting was a specialised art form in the 18th century in Bangladesh. Some kites of Bengal has been known to keep flying for three months. They were big kites tied to anchors with stout ropes.
Kite flying festival had long been a major festival. The Chaitra Sankranti festival (known as Shakrain or Hakrain in Old Dhaka) is celebrated every year in the last day of the Bengali calendar (30th Choitro, mid April). It is a major event for competitive kite flying and boat racing. Combating fighter kite flyers trying to slash each other's carefully sharpened kite-string is a major part of the competition. In West Bengal the major kite flying festival happens on the day of Makar Sankranti or end of winter (mid January), and Vasant Panchami (late February).
First manned flight.
Jeanette Van Tassel, a young balloonist from the United States, was hired by the then incumbent Nawab Khwaja Ahsanullah. She was a member of a family troupe of professional balloonists and arrived with her mother, Jenny Rumary Van Tassel. At 6.20 pm on 16 March 1892, she set off to fly from the southern bank of the River Buriganga to the roof of Ahsan Manzil, lying across the river. But a gusting wind carried her off to the gardens of Shahbag, where her balloon became stuck in a tree. She was killed in her fall to the ground, and lies interred in the Christian graveyard at Narinda, Dhaka.
World War II.
Modern aviation in modern Bangladesh area began when the British Government of India built a Royal Indian military airstrip in Tejgaon during World War II to fly warplanes towards the battle fields of Kohima and war theatres in Burma. Other airstrips were built in Comilla, Feni, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Chakaria, Sylhet, Jessore, Rajshahi and Lalmonirhat.
In August 1943, a South Asia Command was formed under Admiral Mountbatten, including the RAF Third Tactical Air Force (Third TAF), which launched the second Burma Campaign against the Empire of Japan in the December that year. The Royal Indian Airforce (RIAF), Indian part of the Royal Air Force played a crucial role by providing tactical reconnaissance and extensive close support to the army when a British Corps started advancing down the Arakan coast in January 1944.
In November 1943, 6 Squadron and later 8 Squadron were moved to Cox's Bazaar. By the end of February 1944, No 6 Squadron pilots had completed over 1,000 operational sorties, averaging 6 sorties a day per pilot, a record for the entire the Third TAF. Towards the end of March 1944, 4 Squadron joined the operations when it was moved first to Feni airfield, and then to Comilla in June to replace 6 Squadron. In March 1944, the squadron moved to Feni for operations against the Japanese. The role of the squadron was to provide close Air support to the XIV Army. it was from Feni that the squadron carried out its first operational sorties by providing fighter escort to Dakota, engaged in supply dropping missions in the northern Burma. From August 1944 to January 1945, No. 4 Squadron was based at Cox's Bazar and carried out CAS, interdiction and tactical recce operations.
In May 1944, 9 Squadron was moved to Comilla after a brief spell of tactical reconnaissance duties supporting the battles of Imphal and Kohima. During August 1944, the two squadrons carried out intensive bombing of Japanese positions in the Sangu River valley, specially for three consecutive days in Labawa to support an offensive by 81 Division to expel the Japanese from the area. By the end of December 1944, 10 Squadron had also been moved into the operational area at Ramu. With the fall of Rangoon on 3 May 1945, the operations in Burma were reduced to mopping up of small pockets of resistance. By the end of June most of the Royal Air forces squadrons were withdrawn, leaving only 8 Squadron to assist in the mopping up.
The Shahjalal International Airport originated in 1941, during the second world war, as the British government built a landing strip at Kurmitola, several kilometres north of Tejgaon, as an extra landing strip for the Tejgaon Airport. At that time Tejgaon was a military airport, to operate warplanes towards the war fields of Kohima (Assam) and Burmese war theatres. Shah Amanat International Airport was a combat airfield as well as a supply point and photographic reconnaissance base by the United States Army Air Forces Tenth Air Force during the Burma Campaign 1944-1945. Known American units assigned to Chittagong were: 80th Fighter Group, flew P-38 Lightning fighters over Burma between March 1944 and February 1945; 8th Reconnaissance Group, between October and December 1944 (various detachments); and 4th Combat Cargo Group, flew C-46 Commando transports between January and June 1945. Osmani International Airport in Sylhet was built during British rule as Sylhet Civil Airport, partly to check Japanese aggression from Burma. Biman Bangladesh Airlines earns most of its revenue from this airport.
Civil aviation.
When the war was over, the colonial government decided to build the Tejgaon Airport along with a landing strip at Kurmitola to meet the needs of a Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) station in Dhaka. In 1946, the Mirza Ahmad Ispahani and his partners formed an airline – Orient Airways – which soon started using the airport as a civil airport. Shifting its base from Kolkata to Karachi when Pakistan was born, Orient Airways started DC-3 flights from Karachi to Dhaka on 7 June 1954, forming a critical connection between the capitals of geographically separated East and West Pakistan. On 11 March 1955, Orient Airways merged with the government's proposed airline, becoming "Pakistan International Airlines Corporation", later rechristened as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The Eastern Pakistan Flying Club was established in 1948. By 1960, British Overseas Airways Corporation and Pan American Airways had started operating flights out of Dhaka, PIA had started operating Boeing 707 and Vickers VC10 jet services, and new airports had been established out of former Royal Air Force stations at Jessore, Chittagong, Thakurgaon, Ishwardi, and Comilla. During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, services to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) were proving to be difficult, therefore PIA placed their Sikorsky S-61 helicopters on these routes until 1966 when conditions improved. In the 1971 war, PIA aided the Pakistan Army by transporting soldiers to East Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and lost a couple of its aircraft to Indian Air Force fighters. Between 10 and 13 March, immediately before the war started, Pakistan International Airlines cancelled all their international routes to urgently fly "Government Passengers" to Dacca. These "Government Passengers" were almost all Pakistani soldiers in civilian dress.
Liberation War.
During the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fought had extensive engagements in the sky over Bangladesh. The first engagement was on 22 November over the Salient of Boyra in West Bengal. In the process Tejgaon Airport suffered extensive damage.
Bangladesh Air Force was organised in India with the initiative of Squadron Leader Sultan Mahmud (Ex-PAF Pilot), Captain Shahabuddin Ahmed (Ex-PIA Pilot), Captain Akram Ahmed (Ex-Plant protection Pilot) and Captain Sattar (ex-PIA Pilot) and Captain Sarfuddin (Ex-PIA Pilot). Later many Bangladeshi ex-PAF Officers joined in Bangladesh Air Force in India. Finally Bangladesh Air Force was formed in late July 1971. Indian Air Force trained these Officers July 1971 through November 1971 as fighter pilots. Bangladesh Air Force first went in action on 3 December 1971 and attacked the Chittagong-based Oil tank depot and oil tank depot was totally destroyed by that air attack. The Air attack was conducted by Capt. Akram Ahmed. The second Bangladesh Air Force attack was on 6 December 1971 at Moulovi Bazar Pakistani Army barracks under the command of Squadron Leader Sultan Mahmud, where Captain Shahabuddin Ahmed was co-pilot.
Then, on the night of 3 December 1971, Canberra bombers of Eastern Air Command struck Tejgaon, which was guarded by PAF No. 14 squadron equipped with Sabre jets which lacked night fighting capability. By the morning of 4 December, strike missions against Tejgaon were assigned to 11 IAF squadrons, including Hunters of the No. 7 Squadron, No. 14 Squadron, No. 17 Squadron and No. 37 Squadron of IAF, as well as Su-7s of No. 221 Squadron and MiG-21s of No. 28 Squadron.
Throughout 4 and 5 December, IAF concentrated in attacking the aircraft on the ground. But, it failed to cause significant damage to the PAF assets in well-dispersed and camouflaged locations. By the evening of 5 December, the IAF changed tactics. On the morning of 6 December four MiG-21s (No. 28 Sqn), flying from Gauhati hit Tejgaon with 1000lber, scoring several hits on the runway. Kurmitola was attacked on the morning of 7 December, when Mig-21s of No. 28 Sqn again hit the runway. No. 7 Sqn was pulled out of the eastern ops on 6 December to help the Indian Army in the west. Repeated attack by MiG-21s and Hunters of No. 14 and No.28 however, kept the runway cratered. The IAF assault effectively grounded the PAF by 7 December, and No. 14 Squadron was taken out of the war. The IAF also bombed other airfields including the abandoned WWII airfields of Comilla, Lalmanirhat and Shamsher Nagar through the war, denying their use to PAF.
On 20 August 1971 Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman attempted to pilot a T-33 trainer from Karachi, Pakistan to India to defect from the Pakistan Air Force and join the liberation movement of Bangladesh. However, Matiur could not take the plane out of Pakistani territory, as reportedly, Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, the other pilot in the plane, forced it to crash in Thatta, a place near the Indian border. Matiur was awarded Bir Sreshtho and Minhas was awarded Nishan-E-Haider, respectively the highest military honours in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and both has air bases named after them, respectively in Jessore and Kamra.
Post-independence.
Resumption of civil aviation.
The first civil flight of independent Bangladesh operated from Tejgaon Airport by Capt. A. Rahim on 1 January 1972 with a Cessna 150. The first international flight from Independent Bangladesh destined to Calcutta departed on 10 January 1972. The aircraft, a Douglas DC-3 subsequently crashed, killing the aircrew.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines was formed with one Boeing 707 left behind by PIA.
Bangladesh Air Force.
The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) was formed at Dimapur, Nagaland, India on 28 September 1971 under the command of Air Commodore A.K. Khandker (later Air Vice Marshal and Chief of Air Staff, Bangladesh Air Force). At that time, the nucleus of the (BAF) was formed as 'Kilo Flight' to assist the Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters). Initially, 'Kilo Flight' consisted of three aircraft provided by the Indian Air Force, 09 officers and 47 airmen. Squadron Leader Sultan Mahmud (retired as Air Vice Marshal and Chief of the Air Staff of BAF) was appointed as the commander of 'Kilo Flight'. After having some basic training on air to ground weapon delivery, 'Kilo Flight' successfully bombed a fuel storage in Chittagong and Narayangonj area and thus the journey of BAF had commenced. During the last phase of the Bangladesh Liberation War the newly formed Bangladesh Air Force carried out 12 successful attack missions over Pakistani targets.
After liberation in 1971, the Bangladesh Air Force received equipment from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China—a clutch of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighters; Antonov An-24 and Antonov An-26 transport aircraft; and Mil Mi-4 helicopters.
Shahjalal International Airport started operation in 1981. It is the home base and hub of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines and United Airways.
Bangladesh Naval Aviation.
Bangladesh Naval Aviation is the Aviation wing of Bangladesh Navy. At present Bangladesh Naval Aviation is operating two Agusta Westland Helicopters from Italy and two Dornier class Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) from Germany.
 Bangladesh Naval Aviation wing was established in 2011, when two AgustaWestland AW109 helicopters were accepted into service. Two Dornier Do 228NG maritime patrol aircraft joined the service in 2013


Dalsvyaz

OJSC Dalsvyaz () is a telecommunications service provider active in the Russian Far East. It is part of Svyazinvest Holdings, which is Russia's largest telecommunications holding company, and which owns many large regional telecommunications service providers in Russia.
Operations.
The company is active in the following federal subjects:
Related organizations.
Dalvyaz owns a significant amount of the stock of the following companies:


Tok Janggut

Haji Hassan bin Munas (1853 – 25 June 1915) was a Malay warrior in Kelantan, Malaysia during the Kelantan rebellion.He fought side by side with the fierce warrior named Adib Burhan. Haji Mohd Hassan Bin Munas was nicknamed Tok Janggut ('old man with a beard' in Malay) because of his long beard which almost reached his chest.
Early life.
Born in Kampung Jeram, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan in 1853, Tok Janggut received his early education (pendidikan pondok) in Kelantan and in Mecca and was a master of silat, a Malaysian martial art. His father was Panglima Munas, who served as a commander in the Kelantan palace.
Rebellion.
After the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, Britain took over the administration of Kelantan from Siam, and immediately made significant changes in its administration system, triggering a rebellion.
The local government of Jeram, Pasir Puteh, and Kelantan was taken over by British administrators. British officer Encik Abdul Latiff took over the administration of Kelantan from the local leader, Engku Jeram. Latiff was viewed as an outsider by the Kelantan locals, both for his subservience to the British colonial administration and for the fact that, although Malay, he was not from Kelantan, which has a culture and dialect distinct from other Malay areas of Southeast Asia. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence suggests that Latif perhaps considered himself above the largely rural Kelantanese and was notably stern in his tax collection duties.
The deposed local administrator, Engku Besar Jeram, called upon Tok Janggut, Haji Said, Che Sahak Merbol and Penghulu Adam to discuss the tense situation in Kelantan. At the meeting, a pact was signed by the participants which prohibited any one of them to co-operate with the British. Their independence fight gained support from most Kelantan residents, whose refusal to pay taxes meant the revenue of the district dropped by half in one year.
In 1915, Latiff discovered that Janggut was responsible, and sent Sergeant Sulaiman and six other policemen to arrest him. The officers found him surrounded by 2,000 of his followers, many of whom were carrying weapons. Tok Janggut did not try and escape: he stood his ground and refused to go with the officers. In the heat of the argument, Janggut stabbed Seargeant Sulaiman with his keris. Sulaiman shortly died, and the crowd disarmed the other officers, who were sent back to Latif.
Encik Latif attempted to rally the surrounding villages against Janggut, but this failed because Tok Janggut was now marching towards Pasir Puteh with his followers. Latif fled Pasir Puteh to avoid Janggut, and to seek an audience with the Sultan of Kelantan in Kota Bharu. Tok Janggut's forces fought against the British in Pasir Puteh, and the rebels triumphed. They remained in Pasir Puteh for three days and declared the independence of Pasir Puteh from British rule. Engku Besar was selected as Sultan of Pasir Puteh, with Tok Janggut as his chief minister. Having heard about Janggut's rebellion from Encik Latif, the Sultan branded Janggut a traitor and called a meeting with the state officials. The rebel leaders were ordered to surrender themselves within seven days, failing which they would be arrested and sentenced to death. They refused to surrender, and a $500 reward was offered to anyone who arrested Engku Besar, Tok Janggut, Haji Said, Haji Ishak or Penghulu Adam.
In May 1915, 1,500 British troops marched to Pasir Puteh to attempt to quell the rebellion. Tok Janggut got wind of this, however, and advised his followers to flee. He and the other rebel leaders hid in the jungle, avoiding the troops. The soldiers returned to Singapore on 17 May, having failed in their mission. After the British troops withdrew, Tok Janggut came out of hiding. News of this reached the authorities in Kota Bharu, who decided to send Indian troops led by British officers in a second attempt at ending the rebellion. The rebel leaders went into hiding again, and out of anger the troops burnt down Jeram town, including the houses of Tok Janggut and many of his followers. Tok Janggut marched on Pasir Puteh town (where the Indian troops had gone after burning down Jeram) on 25 June 1915, with 1,000 of his followers, armed with guns and traditional weaponry. Even though the rebel forces outnumbered their enemy, the Indian troops were much better-equipped. Many of Tok Janggut's followers fled, and he himself was killed. All the corpses were buried except Janggut's: his dead body was exhibited throughout Kota Bharu and Pasir Puteh, as an example of the consequences of rebelling against government rule. Tok Janggut's body was buried in Kota Bharu afterwards, ending the rebellion against British rule in Kelantan.