China lands aircraft on disputed South China Sea reefs and coastguard blocks Philippine fishing boat as Beijing defies ruling

Two Chinese aircraft landed on disputed reefs and Beijing’s coastguard reportedly blocked a Philippine boat from a contested shoal, in acts of defiance after a landmark ruling found China’s vast claims in the South China Sea legally baseless. Vietnam protested on Thursday that the recent Chinese actions seriously violated Vietnamese sovereignty. Beijing braces for South China Sea challenge at Asia-Europe Meeting Chinese state media reported that two Chinese civilian aircraft landed successfully on Wednesday on two new airstrips on Mischief and Subi reefs. China also said it had completed four lighthouses on disputed reefs and was launching a fifth. In the Philippines, ABS-CBN TV network reported that Chinese coastguard ships blocked a Philippine fishing boat from approaching the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Thursday. Journalist Chiara Zambrano reported the two speedboats approached and encircled the Philippine boat carrying her and local fishermen. One video the network aired showed the Philippine boat being tailed by a white Chinese coastguard ship in an area Zambrano said was a kilometres from Scarborough, where the local fishermen were blocked from entering to fish. Another video showed the Chinese coastguard personnel using a bullhorn and ordering the Filipinos to leave “this area immediately”. Philippines urges Beijing to ‘respect’ South China Sea ruling Mayor Arsenia Lim, of the northwestern town of Masinloc, where the fishermen live, said they sailed to Scarborough to test China’s compliance with the ruling. “What they’re doing is bad because it shows as if there is no law,” Lim said. “Our government should defend the livelihood of these people because it’s the only place where they get their income.” The ruling Tuesday from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, was based on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which both China and the Philippines ratified. The Philippines sought arbitration in 2013 after witnessing China’s activities in Scarborough and elsewhere in the sea rich with fish and potential energy resources. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who said before the ruling that he wanted to start talks with China on the issue, asked former leader Fidel Ramos late on Thursday to travel to China and start the discussions. He has not commented on the arbitration ruling, but described the territorial disputes as a complicated issue that may affect the country’s ties with treaty ally the United States and the Philippine economy. China renews calls for South China Sea talks with Manila in Hague ruling’s wake Ramos, one of Duterte’s main backers, warned that he may not be able to heed the president’s request. “This is not to show disrespect to the president of the Philippines, but you have to consider my increasing age,” the 88-year-old Ramos told reporters. “But I can do the job, however, I have bigger commitments in terms of peace in the world and sustainable development.” Duterte did not say if the talks he sought would press China to comply with the tribunal’s ruling. He has been more reconciliatory with China compared with his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, who filed the arbitration complaint against Beijing. The tribunal has no power of enforcement, making the ruling’s impact uncertain since Beijing boycotted the case entirely and declared the ruling null and void. Hague decision on South China Sea puts US and China on collision course Six governments have overlapping claims to the South China Sea, and Beijing’s use of its coastguard, building of artificial islands and other activities to cement its claims have raised international concerns. Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh demanded Beijing cease actions that complicate the situation. “Despite the opposition of Vietnam and concerns by the international community, those actions conducted by China have seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty and are unlawful and cannot change the fact about Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes,” Binh told reporters, referring to the Paracel and Spratly chains of islands and reefs. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said if anyone challenged China’s interests with provocative actions, “China will surely make a resolute response”.