Philippines sends navy on ‘sovereignty patrols’ to South China Sea amid fears Whitsun Reef is ‘Scarborough Shoal 2.0’
- Military chief orders deployment to the South China Sea amid claims a Chinese militia fleet of 200 boats has surrounded disputed Whitsun Reef
- The United States has said it will back the Philippines, but China is adamant there is no militia – only fishing vessels
Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has asked about 200 Chinese vessels he described as militia boats to immediately leave Whitsun Reef, a shallow coral region about 175 nautical miles (324km) west of Bataraza town in the western Philippine province of Palawan. China ignored the call, insisting it owns the offshore territory and that the vessels were sheltering from rough seas.
Military chief General Cirilito Sobejana ordered the deployment of additional navy ships to strengthen the country’s “maritime sovereignty patrols” in the disputed waters, the military said on Thursday.
It did not say how close the Philippine navy ships would manoeuvre from the Chinese vessels, whose presence Lorenzana has called an “incursion” and “provocative action of militarising the area”.
“By the increased naval presence in the area, we seek to reassure our people of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ strong and unwavering commitment to protect and defend them from harassment and ensure that they can enjoy their rights over the country’s rich fishing ground,” military spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo said.
The United States said on Tuesday it was backing the Philippines in the new feud with Beijing and accused China of using “maritime militia to intimidate, provoke, and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region”.
The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest but China insisted it owns the reef, which it calls Niué Jiao, and said the Chinese vessels converged in the area to avoid rough waters. The US, however, said “Chinese boats have been mooring in this area for many months in ever increasing numbers, regardless of the weather.”
Beijing has denied the vessels were maritime militias. “Any speculation in such helps nothing but causes unnecessary irritation,” the Chinese Embassy said Monday.
The Philippine government says the reef is well within the country’s internationally recognised exclusive economic zone over which it “enjoys the exclusive right to exploit or conserve any resources.”
Philippine military officials discussed the impasse with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Wednesday and conveyed Lorenzana’s demand for the Chinese vessels to leave the reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, Arevalo said.
President Rodrigo Duterte asserted Manila’s position in a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, but reported no resolution.
Greg Poling of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, a US-based think tank closely monitoring the territorial conflicts, said more Chinese fishing and militia vessels had recently frequented Whitsun Reef at the northeastern edge of Union Banks, an atoll where China maintains two bases. Vietnam, which also claims the area, has four bases.
“This deployment at Whitsun Reef is not new, but the numbers are way up,” Poling said.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has also said the Chinese vessels at the reef, which Hanoi calls Da Ba Dau, had infringed on its sovereignty.
“Vietnam requests that China stop this violation and respect Vietnam’s sovereignty,” Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said.
Hang said a Vietnamese coastguard vessel moored near the area was “exercising its duties” as regulated by international law, Reuters reported.
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