The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday called on China to respect the Philippines’ maritime zones facing the South China Sea amid reports of ongoing Chinese naval drills in the resource-rich waters that Beijing claims in whole.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the government is in the process of determining the exact location of the exercises, which could fuel tensions anew if China would insist on holding it in areas being claimed by the Philippines and other claimants. Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan are also staking claims to the waters, in which some parts are called West Philippine Sea by the Philippines.
“We would like to find out exactly where that military exercise is taking place before we comment on that issue but it is always important that other countries respect our maritime zone and our national territory because such exercises could not be undertaken without permission if they encompass part of our national territory,” Hernandez told a press briefing on Thursday.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua said several Chinese vessels sailed to the South China Sea on March 19 and the Western Pacific Ocean to conduct combat readiness patrol and high-sea training.
Hernandez said the Philippine Coast Guard will conduct a sovereignty patrol in the West Philippine Sea to ensure that there will be no Chinese Navy intrusions.
“As of yesterday, they don’t have a report of possible intrusions of Chinese ships in the area that was reported. Our Philippine Coast Guard will be doing its own sovereignty patrol at an appropriate time,” he said.
Overlapping claims to the contested waters, islands and reefs, has been feared to be Asia's next potential flashpoint for war.
Manila has taken China to a United Nations arbitration body to complain what it calls Beijing’s “excessive” claim to waters where undersea gas deposits have been discovered in several areas.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.