China is the "biggest disruptor" of peace in Southeast Asia, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said today, as tensions between Manila and Beijing over disputed reefs and waters in the South China Sea escalate.
Teodoro made the remarks at a conference of the US Indo-Pacific Command after repeated confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the waterway over the past 12 months.
Beijing claims almost the entirety of the sea, brushing aside rival claims by other countries, including Taiwan and the Philippines, and an international ruling that its stance has no legal basis.
Photo: AP
China's claims include reefs and waters inside the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends about 370km from the country's coastal waters.
"China ... is the biggest disruptor of international peace in the ASEAN region," Teodoro said.
Speaking to reporters, Teodoro urged other countries to call out China's "illegal acts" until it yields to pressure to stop its actions.
"We need a collective consensus and a strong call out against China," said Teodoro. "We are struggling against a more powerful adversary."
His comments come a day after China said it took "control measures" against two Philippine Coast Guard ships that had entered waters near Sabina Shoal (Xianbin, 仙賓礁) in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島).
The Philippine Coast Guard had sent two vessels to deliver provisions to one of its ships at the reef.
They were forced to abandon the mission due to China's "excessive" deployment of ships and rough sea conditions, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for Manila's coast guard, said yesterday.
Several confrontations have taken place in recent days around Sabina Shoal, located 140km west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200km from Hainan Island, China's nearest major landmass.
Both sides have stationed coast guard vessels at the shoal in recent months. Manila fears Beijing is about to build an artificial island.
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