MANILA, Philippines (AP) – The Philippine military has ordered more navy ships to be sent to “sovereignty patrols” in the South China Sea, where a Chinese flotilla surrounded a disputed reef and ignored Manila’s requirement to leave the area.
Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana asked about 200 Chinese vessels he described as militia boats to immediately leave the Whitsun Reef, a shallow region of coral about 175 nautical miles (324 kilometers) west of the city Bataraza, in the province of Palawan, in the western Philippines. China ignored the call, insisting that it owns the offshore territory and that the ships were protecting themselves from the rough seas.
Military chief General Cirilito Sobejana ordered additional Navy ships to be deployed to reinforce the country’s “maritime sovereignty patrols” in disputed waters, the military said on Thursday.
He did not say how far Philippine navy ships would maneuver from Chinese ships, whose presence Lorenzana called “incursion” and “provocative action to militarize the area”.
“With the increase in the naval presence in the area, we seek to reassure our people in the Philippine Armed Forces with a strong and unwavering commitment to protect and defend them from harassment and to ensure that they can enjoy their rights over the country’s rich fishing area. , ”Said military spokesman, Major General Edgard Arevalo, in a statement.
The United States said on Tuesday that it is supporting the Philippines in the new rivalry with Beijing and has accused China of using “maritime militias to intimidate, provoke and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region”.
The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest, but China insisted it owns the reef, which it calls Niué Jiao, and said Chinese ships had converged on the area to avoid rough waters. The United States, however, said that “Chinese boats have been docking in this area for many months in increasing numbers, regardless of the weather.”
Beijing has denied that the ships are maritime militias. “Any speculation in this regard does not help at all, but it causes unnecessary irritation,” the Chinese embassy said on Monday.
The Philippine government says the reef is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone, internationally recognized, over which “it enjoys the exclusive right to explore or conserve any resources”.
Philippine military officials discussed the standoff with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Wednesday and forwarded Lorenzana’s demand for Chinese ships to leave the reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, Arevalo said.
President Rodrigo Duterte affirmed Manila’s position at a meeting with Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian, said presidential spokesman Harry Roque, but did not report any resolution.
Greg Poling of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, a U.S.-based think tank that closely monitors territorial conflicts, said that more Chinese fishing vessels and militias have recently frequented the Whitsun Reef on the northeast end of Union Banks, an atoll where China maintains two bases. Vietnam, which also claims the area, has four bases.
“This Whitsun Reef deployment is not new, but the numbers are increasing,” Poling told The Associated Press.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have been in tense territorial stalemate over the rich and bustling South China Sea for decades.