S7386 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE May 24, 1995 

THE SERVICE OF DR. DUANE 

MEYER 

Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, 

today I would like to congratulate a 

Missourian who has dedicated his life 

to helping students pursue the knowledge and gifts of higher education. He 

is retiring after 40 years of service to 

Southwest Missouri State University, 

located in my hometown of Springfield, 

MO. Duane G. Meyer has spent his entire postgraduate teaching career at 

Southwest Missouri State University, 

serving as a teacher for 18 years and an 

administrator for 22 years, including 

service from 1971–83 as the sixth president of Southwest Missouri State. 

Dr. Meyer was born on June 29, 1926, 

in Carroll, IA, and earned a bachelor’s 

degree from the University of Dubuque 

in Dubuque, IA. He went on to earn a 

master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the 

University of Iowa. In 1955, Dr. Meyer 

arrived in Springfield to begin his career as an assistant professor and later 

professor of history. In 1961, he was appointed dean of faculties, a post he held 

until 1971. During that time, Dr. Meyer 

served as acting president of the university twice, in 1964 and 1970. 

In 1971, Duane Meyer was selected to 

be the sixth president of the school. 

During his 12 years as president, 

Southwest Missouri State University 

experienced unprecedented growth and 

success. The school was renamed 

Southwest Missouri State University 

in 1972 through an enactment of the 

Missouri General Assembly. Enrollment increased to all time highs every 

year of his tenure except one, and 

SMSU became the second largest 4- 

year public institution in the State of 

Missouri. Other notable landmarks of 

Dr. Meyer’s tenure include the creation 

and implementation of an academic 

master plan, the creation of a business 

school, and the building of a new student event center. The SMSU athletic 

program began competition in NCAA 

Division One competition during his 

presidency. 

After his retirement as president of 

the university, Dr. Meyer continued to 

serve Southwest Missouri State as a 

professor of history and president 

emeritus. He served the State of Missouri as a member of the Missouri 

Council on Public Higher Education 

Board. My colleague in the Senate, 

then-governor Kit Bond, appointed Dr. 

Meyer to serve on the Missouri Commission on Higher Education. Dr. 

Meyer has also written two textbooks 

that are still used in classrooms today, 

including ‘‘The Heritage of Missouri: A 

History.’’

Throughout his 42-year career, Dr. 

Duane G. Meyer served the students 

and faculty of Southwest Missouri 

State University and the surrounding 

communities with dedication and 

pride. As a former teaching colleague 

of Dr. Meyer at SMSU, I am grateful to 

him for his selfless labors and salute 

his work and the role he played in the 

education of thousands of students 

from Missouri and across America. 

THE SPRATLY ISLANDS 

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, while 

the dispute surrounding the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea has seemingly disappeared from our domestic 

press, I would like my colleagues to 

know that—unfortunately—it has not 

been resolved. On the contrary, the frequency and tenor of the hostile rhetoric and minor tiffs between the concerned parties have increased since I 

last spoke about the issue on the floor 

on March 30 of this year. This is reflected in the Asian media, and I would 

like to share here a small representative sampling of those reports from 

just the last 2 weeks with my colleagues to keep them abreast of the 

most recent developments. I ask unanimous consent. That several editorials 

be printed in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the 

RECORD, as follows: 

MILITARY TO ‘‘FIRMLY’’ DEFEND TERRITORIAL

WATERS

HANOI VNA, May 7.—Defending firmly the 

territorial waters and islands in the East Sea 

[South China Sea] is an important part in 

Vietnam’s strategic task of safeguarding its 

national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, said an article in the Quan 

Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) daily on Friday [5 May]. 

The article, run in anticipation of the 40th 

foundation day of the Vietnam People’s 

Navy (May 7), praised the Navy’s feats of 

arms in the two resistance wars against foreign invaders. Over the past 40 years, the Vietnamese Navy made a big contribution to 

the struggle for national independence and 

freedom, particularly in the fight against the 

enemy’s air raids and harbour blockade in 

the north. The Navy was assigned to set up 

a ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail on the sea’ to transport 

military supplies to liberation fighters in 

the south and actively engaged in the spring 

1975 general offensive which liberated the entire South Vietnam including Truong Sa 

(Spratly) Islands. 

Vietnam has a coastal line of 3,260 km. It 

has one million sq. Km of sea under its jurisdiction including two archipelagoes Hoang 

Sa, Parag Sa (Spratly) and a great number of 

other islands. Endowed with rich oil and 

other natural resources, Vietnam is expected 

to tap 7.7 million tonnes of crude oil this 

year and about 20-25 million tonnes by the 

year 2000. 

Regarding the East Sea issue, during his 

talks in Seoul last month with South Korean 

president, party General Secretary Do Muoi 

said Truong Sa and Hoang Sa belong to Vietnam, and it wants to resolve the disputes 

through peaceful negotiations on the basis of 

equality, mutual respect and in line with the 

1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

He expressed his wish that joint efforts 

should be made to build Asia-the Pacific into 

a region of peace, stability, cooperation and 

prosperity. 

For his part, President Le Duc Anh in a recent message to the inhabitants and soldiers 

on Truong Sa on the occasion of the 20th liberation day of the archipelago stressed that 

it is the country’s sacred territory. 

TRIP IS ‘‘SERIOUS INFRINGEMENT’’

BEIJING, May 16, (XINHUA)—Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang issued a 

statement here today. 

Shen Guofang said: Plotted and organized 

by the Philippine military, a formation of 

two Philippine warships and one pleasureboat carrying Filipino and foreign reporters 

sailed to Meiji Reef of our country’s Nansha 

Islands [Spratly Islands] on 13 May to engage 

in so-called ‘‘news-gathering’’ activities. 

Prior to that, the Chinese Foreign Ministry 

and the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines 

had made stern representations on several 

occasions to the Philippine side, in which 

they demanded the latter to call off this provocative act. The Philippine side, however, 

disregarded the Chinese Government’s stern 

warning and was bent on having its own way. 

This was a serious infringement of China’s 

sovereignty. The Chinese Government has 

lodged a strong protest with the Philippine 

Government over this matter. 

He said: We advise the Philippine side not 

to misinterpret the Chinese side’s restraint. 

The Philippine side had better return to the 

correct course of settling the relevant dispute through peaceful talks. If the Philippine side continues to act willfully and 

recklessly, it should be responsible for all 

consequences arising therefrom. 

‘‘RECKLESS MOVES’’ DISCOURAGED

BEIJING, May 16 (XINHUA)—China repeated 

today its protest against the Philippines for 

an organized trip by the Philippine side to 

Nansha Islands [Spratly Islands] last week, 

asking it ‘‘not to misunderstand China’s restraint.’’

On May 13, at the instigation of the Philippine military forces, two Philippine warships and another ship carrying Philippine 

and foreign reporters went to China’s Meiji 

Reef in the Nansha Islands for a so-called 

‘‘interview’’, according to a statement of 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen 

Guofang issued here today. 

Before that, Shen said, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese Embassy to the 

Philippines had made many solemn representations to the Philippine side, asking that 

country to cancel the provocative action. 

However, the Philippine side, regardless of 

China’s serious warning, still acted willfully, 

the spokesman said, adding that the action 

seriously encroached on China’s * * *. 

PHILIPPINES’, PRC SHIPS FACE ‘‘STANDOFF’’

IN SPRATLYS ‘‘STANDOFF’’ LASTS 70 MINUTES

(‘‘News Focus’’ by Virgilio C. Galvez) 

OFF MISCHIEF REEF, SPRATLY ISLANDS, May 

16 KYODO—Two Chinese ships faced off with 

two Philippine naval vessels Saturday [13 

May] while journalists were being ferried by 

helicopters over a Chinese-held reef in the 

disputed Spratly islands in the South China 

Sea. 

The 70-minute standoff ended several minutes after the last of seven chopper sorties 

landed on the deck of the BRP Benguet, a 

landing ship which was carrying the first 

ever group of foreign and Filipino reporters 

to Mischief Reef, 250 kilometers west of 

Palawan Island in the western Philippines. 

‘‘You saw for yourself what they did . . . 

They crossed our bow. We were just doing 

our thing,’’ Maj. Gen. Carlos Tanega, commander of Military Forces in western Philippines, told reporters. 

‘‘We were just launching and recovering 

helicopters . . . and here they are, sometimes blocking our way,’’ Tanega pointed 

out. 

On Monday, Beijing formally protested 

Manila’s decision to allow foreign journalists 

to visit the disputed island Chain. 

Apart from the Philippines and China, 

Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also 

claim all or portions of the Spratlys, which 

are believed to be rich in oil and other mineral deposits. 

The media group, composed mostly of 

members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, left Manila on 

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May 24, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S7387 

May 11 for Puerto Princesa, nearly 600 km 

southwest of the capital. 

It returned Tuesday to Manila after observing special municipal elections held Sunday in Pag-Asa, the largest of seven Spratly 

islands held by the Philippines. 

After two nights aboard a private cruise 

ship, the journalists reached Jackson Atoll, 

about 50 km northwest of Mischief Reef, 

where they transferred to the World War II 

vintage Benguet. 

The first two sorties with 16 journalists on 

board Vietnam war-era Uhih choppers with 

‘‘press’’ markings took off at about 11:15 AM 

when the landing ship was about 30 km off 

Mischief Reef. 

Also on board was Tanega, the first Philippine officer to fly over the area since the 

Chinese built at least 14 structures on four 

platforms around the reef. 

Manila has strongly condemned the Chinese occupation of the reef, which Filipino 

officials stress is well within the country’s 

200-km exclusive economic zone. 

Beijing maintains that the reef is part of 

its territory and claims the structures are 

‘‘shelters for fishermen.’’

Tanega pointed out the two Chinese ships 

raced back to the reef’s lagoon after apparently seeing the choppers, journalists said. 

But in the second wave of sorties, journalists saw the ships heading toward the Philippine naval ships which were about 24 km 

off the reef. 

From the ship’s foredeck, journalists saw 

the Chinese vessels, a small fast boat and a 

larger ship, assume blocking positions midway between the reef and the Philippine vessels. 

At that point, about 16 km from the reef, 

the Benguet stopped to launch the fourth 

and fifth sorties. 

‘‘We stopped because . . . We knew this is 

the place where we could accomplish the 

mission in the best, expeditious and safest 

way,’’ said Tanega at a press conference the 

next day. 

As the Benguet was ‘‘lying to,’’ a naval 

term to mean that a ship has stopped without dropping anchor, its patrol escort, 

Miguel Malvar, maneuvered from starboard 

to a position to port. 

Tanega said this was done to prevent the 

bigger Chinese ship from coming closer to 

the Benguet. 

The smaller Chinese vessel moved to a position as close as 50 meters from the Benguet 

from where some its crew took photos and 

filmed the operations of the naval ship. 

‘‘The reaction was definitely expected because they did not know what we were 

doing,’’ said Tanega. 

‘‘They did not know where the helicopters 

were taking off . . . They could not surmise 

how a land-based helicopter could fly 208 km 

from the nearest land field,’’ he pointed out. 

Tanega said that while the Chinese vessel, 

whose Chinese markings identified it as belonging to Beijing’s Bureau of Fisheries, was 

‘‘too close for comfort,’’ he was not bothered 

by its presence. 

As the choppers were secured on the deck 

of the Benguet, a Philippine Air Force reconnaissance plane radioed Tanega about the 

approach of ‘‘two savage fishes.’’

The plane was referring to Chinese frigates, which journalists learned were 24 km 

away and racing toward them. 

Shortly after, at about 2:45 PM, Tanega ordered the Benguet and its escort ship to maneuver out of the area and proceed to PagAsa, some 18 hours away. 

The two Chinese vessels made no attempt 

to stop the ships and stayed behind while the 

frigates, whose outlines could be seen on the 

horizon, appeared to stop. 

‘‘What is important here is we did what we 

had to do because this is our territory. We 

were eyeball to eyeball. We did not blink,’’

said Tanega. 

PRC STANCE ON MEDIA’S SPRATLYS TOUR

ANALYZED

(Editorial: ‘‘Manila Scores Versus Beijing’’) 

Whatever substance to Beijing’s claim that 

the Chinese structures on Mischief Reef are 

mere stations of Chinese fishermen has been 

shown spurious by the celebrated stand-off 

that took place last Saturday at the 

Kalayaan Islands. There, two Chinese warships suddenly appeared 15 nautical miles 

away in apparent support of Chinese vessels 

blocking a Philippine Navy ship carrying 

local and foreign journalists. 

The inspection trip by our Navy would 

have been enough to impress upon independent journalists that the structures on 

Mischief Reef could not have been mere fishing stations by ubiquitous Chinese fishermen: the structures are made of metal with 

parabolic discs all around, giving credence to 

Manila’s claim they could eventually become 

naval support facilities. 

But the Chinese, not exactly known for 

subtlety, betrayed their own intentions; they 

themselves confirmed Manila’s claim. Within 

minutes after Philippine Navy helicopters 

started their sorties of Mischief Reef last 

Saturday, two frigates from the Chinese 

navy raced to the sight in apparent aid of 

the Chinese ‘‘fishermen’’. 

The trip has therefore accomplished 

Manila’s objective of proving to the international community that the Chinese are 

undermining the status quo in the Kalayaan 

and unnecessarily causing tension there. By 

arranging for the coverage by foreign journalists, Manila has not only scored a public 

relations point against Beijing, it has also 

buttressed its territorial claim to the 

Kalayaan. As Acting Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon put it when he turned down 

Beijing’s request that the tour be canceled, 

the foreign journalists who were coming 

along for the inspection should be an indication of how they perceived the ‘‘sovereignty 

issue’’. 

By drawing international opinion to the 

issue, Manila has hit back at Beijing in the 

most capable way it could, making full use 

of the resources of democracy and unmasking in the process China’s unneighborly designs in the region. It has billed the trip as 

a concession to freedom of the press and 

made it just an item in the larger itinerary 

of visiting the Filipino settlements in the 

Kalayaan in order to conduct the elections 

there. In one fell swoop, the Philippines has 

been able to demonstrate its democratic 

character contrast to the authoritarian regime in China as well as the fact that the 

Kalayaan is hers by virtue of the Filipino 

living there. 

The rub is that the confrontation shows 

China’s aggressiveness in pursuing its weak 

claim on Kalayaan. And with the Philippine 

military by all accounts standing eyeball to 

eyeball with the Chinese display of mi last 

Saturday—the Italian-made jets of the Philippine Air Force screamed overhead during 

the stand-off to warn theinese—, what has 

been drummed to the international community is the seriousness of the Kalayaan dispute. In such a t, hostilities in the islands 

could break out any time. 

But the tension could be managed by forceful diplomacy and imaginative show of force 

against Beijing. Manila has been able to 

compel Washington to issue a statement 

which voiced United States’ interest that 

‘‘freedom of maritime investigation’’ shall 

be preserved in the South China Sea, a clear 

potshot at Beijing over its mischievous incursions. Manila now has to navigate 

through the contentious domestic dispute 

over some sort of a military logistical arrangement of the US in the aftermath of the 

pullout of the Americans from Subic and 

Clark. Asian capitals and some sectors in 

thilippine are loath to admit it but the key 

to controlling China and maintaining Asian 

security in the future is to America militarily engaged in the region. 

[From the Manila Philippine Daily, May 18, 

1995] 

‘‘CREATIVE’’ POLICY ON SPRATLYS LEADS TO

SUCCESS

The decision to take on China on the 

Spratlys is the boldest foreign policy initiative ever taken by the Ramos administration. It is even more remarkable if we consider that he took a stand despite the military and economic weakness of the Philippines. That the Philippines forcefully challenged Chinese creeping expansion in the 

Spratlys was a shock to China, as well as a 

surprise to our ASEAN allies. They never expected the ‘‘sick man of Asia’’ to take on the 

Chinese giant on the question of territorial 

integrity. The diplomatic gamble paid off. It 

brought to the surface historic fears in Asia 

about the Chinese threat, which is more 

magnified by the modernization of its armed 

forces and its rapidly expanding economy. 

President Ramos’ gamble touched a raw 

nerve among Asians, and now many of our 

neighbors have dropped their reluctance to 

warn against the Chinese threat. The fear 

and anxieties over the Chinese move on the 

Spratlys are based on stronger grounds than 

sovereignty or who should exploit maritime 

resources supposed to lie underneath the 

atolls. The larger issue, as pointed out by 

Goh Chok Tong to Chinese Foreign Minister 

Li Peng, involves the freedom of navigation 

in the South China Sea, over which China 

claims sovereignty based on antiquarian 

maps. 

It was the Philippines’ actions that proved 

to be the catalyst of the new-found solidarity among ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific 

nations, notably Japan and the United 

States, to forge a common stand in persuading China that it is in her interest to 

bring the dispute within the framework of 

multilateral negotiations. The Philippine action proves that tough diplomatic decisions 

can give us a position of strength if we get 

international support behind us. This is what 

we call creative diplomacy. 

Mr. THOMAS. Let me say in closing, 

Mr. President, that I am pleased the 

State Department has finally issued a 

definitive U.S. position on the 

Spratlys, with which I heartily agree. I 

believe that the Foreign Relations 

Committee will take up Senate Resolution 97—a sense-of-the-Senate resolution on the islands which I sponsored—

in the near future and move it to the 

floor soon thereafter. 

f 

MESSAGES FROM THE PRESIDENT 

Messages from the President of the 

United States were communicated to 

the Senate by Mr. Thomas, one of his 

secretaries. 

f 

EXECUTIVE MESSAGES REFERRED 

As in executive session the Presiding 

Officer laid before the Senate messages 

from the President of the United 

States submitting sundry nominations 

which were referred to the appropriate 

committees. 

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