The Philippines has ordered the deployment of more navy ships to the South China Sea on Thursday amid a growing diplomatic row over a fleet of Chinese boats parked near a disputed reef.
China claims almost the entirety of the resource-rich sea, and was accused by the United States this week of efforts to “intimidate and provoke others” by parking its vessels near Whitsun Reef.
Philippines has ordered China to recall 183 boats at the boomerang-shaped reef around 320 km west of Palawan Island, describing their presence as an incursion of its sovereign territory. Around 220 boats were detected by the Philippine coast guard on March 7 but only made public last weekend.
A military aerial patrol over the reef on Monday found 183 were still there.
A spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines said the additional navy ships would carry out “sovereignty patrols” in the waterway. He did not say if the ships would go near the reef or what type of vessels would be used.
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 (324 km) 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 Gen Cirilito Sobejana ordered the deployment of additional navy ships to beef up the country’s “maritime sovereignty patrols” in the disputed waters, the military said Thursday.
“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 Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.
The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest but China insisted it owns the reef, which it calls Niue 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 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”.
Philippines has ordered China to recall 183 boats at the boomerang-shaped reef around 320 km west of Palawan Island, describing their presence as an incursion of its sovereign territory. Around 220 boats were detected by the Philippine coast guard on March 7 but only made public last weekend. A military aerial patrol over the reef on Monday found 183 were still there.