Update | Philippines seeks military protocol with China to head off clashes after South China Sea stand-off
Duterte calls off construction on sandbar in disputed waters after protests from China
China and the Philippines will negotiate a military protocol to avoid maritime “miscalculations”, Manila’s defence minister said on Wednesday, after a brief stand-off over a sandbar near a Philippines-occupied island in a disputed part of the South China Sea.
Disclosing details of the new territorial spat for the first time, Philippine Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana said President Rodrigo Duterte stopped construction work on the newly formed sandbar – part of a string called Sandy Cay – after China protested.
Lorenzana said the Philippines tried to put up makeshift structures on the sandbar about 4km off Thitu Island in the Spratly archipelago in August, but China objected and sent ships to the area.
The rift remained unresolved but both sides pledged not to occupy any new territory, he said.
“We intend to sit down with China to draft and agree on a protocol to resolve immediately any incident,” Lorenzana said, adding he hoped talks could start this year.
“We hope to avoid any miscalculations in the disputed areas so we need the protocol to act on any problems because we cannot wait for higher authorities to decide.