The United States has expressed concern about the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels near a disputed South China Sea reef, saying that Beijing uses “maritime militias to intimidate, provoke and threaten other nations”.
Chinese boats “have been docking in this area for many months in ever-increasing numbers, regardless of the weather,” the United States embassy in the Philippines said in a statement. China said earlier that its ships near Whitsun Reef were protecting themselves from the wind.
“We support the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in Asia,” said the United States Embassy. Manila filed a diplomatic protest with China and asked Chinese ships to immediately leave what they consider part of their exclusive economic zone.
Chinese vessels “flagrantly infringe on the Philippines’ sovereignty” and the nation demands that China “direct its fishing vessels to give up environmentally destructive activities,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a separate statement on Tuesday.
The incident occurs amid tensions between the US and China, and how the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte build friendly ties with Beijing while maintaining its alliance with Washington.
Duterte will discuss the incident with the Chinese envoy to Manila, said presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Tuesday, while repeating that the two countries can talk as friends. More than 180 vessels were still close to the reef, the Philippine military said after patrolling the area on Monday.
(Adds statement from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in the fourth paragraph)