Thursday, May 23, 2013

Presence of Chinese frigate off Ayungin Shoal 'unusual' - DND chief

From the Philippine News Agency (May 23): Presence of Chinese frigate off Ayungin Shoal 'unusual' - DND chief

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin Thursday called the presence of a Chinese frigate, along with a group of fishing vessels off Ayungin Shoal, highly "unusual".

The frigate, with two Chinese Maritime Surveillance ships, was spotted by a Philippine aerial patrol 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Three steel-hulled fishing ships and around 10 dinghies were also seen.

Gazmin said the presence of the frigate, a ship similar to the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) but more heavily-armed, further highlights the Chinese intrusion in Philippine maritime territory.

Ayungin Shoal is roughly 105 to 110 nautical miles away from Rizal, Palawan and well within the country's exclusive economic zone while the nearest Chinese landmass, which is Hainan, is around 500 nautical miles.

The DND chief said the country is a adopting a "jurist approach" in resolving the matter.

Gazmin said this is being done through the Dept. of Foreign Affairs which earlier filed a diplomatic protest at the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) against the Chinese incursion.

"At the moment, this the Philippines will do and hopefully the UNCLOS will rule on this dispute soon," he added.

But Gazmin clarified that despite this stance, the Philippine military is constantly monitoring the situation off Ayungin Shoal since this is an integral part of the country's territory.

"Monitoring will be done by aerial patrols and civilian ships passing through the area," he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=527125

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