The Philippines on Sunday expressed “grave concern” and demanded an explanation from China’s ambassador over what it said was an increasing number of Chinese boats near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in the South China Sea.
A Philippines Air Force plane on Saturday flew over the rocky outcrop and spotted more boats than usual in a flotilla China has maintained since seizing the shoal after a tense standoff in 2012, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana said.
“There were four Chinese coast guard ships and six other vessels, including blue-colored barges, around Scarborough Shoal,” he said in a text message sent to reporters. “The presence of many ships other than coast guard in the area is a cause of grave concern.”
China’s embassy in Manila could not be reached for comment.
Although the shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of its tranquil waters and rich stocks of fish. Manila says China’s blockade of the shoal is a violation of international law.
The dispute has become more significant since the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled on July 12 that no one country had sovereign rights over activity in the Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Taiwanese, Chinese, Filipinos and Vietnamese.
China has refused to recognize the ruling and the latest comment from the Philippines could cause a stir ahead of a regional summit in Laos starting today, where leaders of Southeast Asian states as well as China, Japan and US are to meet.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants China to abide by the ruling, but has pledged not to raise the issue during the summit.
He wants to smooth the way for bilateral negotiations and last month sent former Philippine president Fidel Ramos as his special envoy to meet Chinese representatives in Hong Kong.
Lorenzana said Beijing had earlier this year tried to send dredging barges to the shoal, but there was no sign of any reclamation activity so far.
China previously used barges to dredge sand for its seven artificial islands in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島).
“We don’t know yet if those barges are precursors of future dredging operations,” he said. “If they try to construct anything in Scarborough it will have far-reaching adverse effect on the security situation.”
China maintains claims to almost the entire South China Sea, which is a vital waterway for global trade. Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam have competing jurisdictional claims.
A US State Department spokesman on Sunday said the US was monitoring the situation and encouraged “all sides to exercise restraint and take practical steps to lower tensions.”
US President Barack Obama on Saturday pressed his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping (習近平), on territorial disputes in the South China Sea, urging Beijing to uphold its legal obligations and stressing the US’ commitments to its regional allies.
Tensions over the disputed waters between China and its neighbors were expected to hang over the G20 summit, which opened in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Sunday.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not