The Philippines yesterday voiced concerns about Chinese “aggressiveness” in disputed regional waters as it launched giant war games with the US that were partly aimed as a warning shot to Beijing.
Philippine military chief of staff General Gregorio Catapang released what he said were satellite images of intense recent Chinese construction over seven reefs and shoals in the Spratly archipelago (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea.
“We have compelling reasons to raise our voice to tell the whole world the adverse effects of China’s aggressiveness,” Catapang told reporters, describing the reclamation and construction activities as “massive.”
He said this was causing concern “not only because it would deter freedom of navigation, but also due to its possibility of military purposes.”
China claims sovereignty over most of the resource-rich and strategically important sea, including areas close to other Asian nations, using so-called “nine-dash” demarcation lines that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s.
The Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims.
China has expanded its presence in disputed parts of the sea in recent years by embarking on giant reclamation work on reefs and islets, turning some into islands capable of hosting military aircraft landing strips.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III last week said that the world should fear China’s actions in the disputed sea, warning they could lead to military conflict.
In efforts to deter China, the militarily weak Philippines has encouraged longtime ally the US to increase its presence on Philippine soil and coastal waters through expanded and more frequent war games.
This dovetails with US plans to rebuild its military presence in the Philippines, a former colony where it had naval and air bases until the early 1990s.
The “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games are the biggest annual exercises between the allies, which signed a defense treaty in 1951 committing each to come to the others’ aid in the event of external aggression.
This year’s exercises involves about 12,000 troops, double last year’s number, and officials from both sides made references to the South China Sea in opening ceremony speeches in Manila.
“I am sure that this Balikatan exercise will ... likewise zero in on enhancing our combined capacity to undertake humanitarian assistance and disaster response as well as in dealing with maritime security challenges,” Philippine Secretary of Defense Voltaire Gazmin said.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg said: “We make no pretense that we are helping the Philippines as it builds a minimal credible defense and protects its maritime security. Let us be clear: the US is committed to its alliance and in the case of the Philippines, our oldest in the region, that commitment is, as [US] President [Barack] Obama has said, is ironclad.”
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