China preparing to construct in Scarborough Shoal - Gazmin

From InterAksyon (Sep 3): China preparing to construct in Scarborough Shoal - Gazmin



Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin shows a map of the Scarborough Shoal that indicates where concrete blocks have been sighted.

China appears to be preparing to construct something at the Scarborough Shoal, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told congressmen Tuesday, noting that Philippine naval and air force saw “concrete blocks inside the shoal, which is prelude to construction.”

"As of August 31, we have noticed the presence of three coast guard ships in Bajo de Masinloc and we have also sighted concrete blocks inside the shoal, which is prelude to construction," Gazmin said at the hearing of his department's budget at the House of Representatives.

The defense chief showed photographs taken at the site, which he said were submitted, together with a report, to the Department of National Defense, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the President.

Akbayan partylist Representative Walden Bello, who asked for an update on the disputed area, said this development was "very alarming."

Asked anew by Bello if the development could lead to something that happened at Panganiban Reef, a rich fishing area located within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, Gazmin said, "If we follow history, then that is the direction."

China has also set up structures inside the Panganiban Reef first in 1994 when the Philippine Navy left the area due to strong rains during the monsoon season. China has since constructed bigger facilities in and around the reef, effectively taking control of it. Control is the primary basis for any territorial claim.

"This happened before. First rocks, then a pile-driver, then a foundation. When you get back again, if you don't survey, there will be a garrison," Gazmin told reporters after the hearing.

To stop China from doing the same thing in Scarborough Shoal, “the important thing is we put men there, so this can be prevented. We don't have the capability to do that at the moment,” he said.

At the same time, Gazmin said the Philippines can add this case to the arbitration case it has already filed before the Arbitral Tribunal. He said this again is a violation of the ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which instructs all parties to inhibit from doing anything that would escalate the tension in the area.

Rising tension

President Benigno Aquino III cancelled his trip to the 10th ASEAN-China Expo to be held in Nanning due to conditions set by the Chinese government, the DFA said. The DFA refused to detail the conditions as requested by China.

DFA sources said that Manila received information that the Chinese government will only receive the President if the Philippines withdraws the case it filed against China before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal and pulls out its vessel and military presence in Ayungin Shoal near Palawan.

The tension between the two countries started April 2012 when Chinese fishermen were caught inside the Scarborough Shoal, but the Philippine authorities were kept from arresting them by Chinese civilian government ships. The situation resulted in a standoff that was supposed to have been resolved with both parties agreeing to leave the shoal. Only the Philippines left. Chinese ships have stationed themselves in the lagoon inside the shoal.

This situation prompted the Philippines to file a case before the international court questioning China’s nine-dash line claim over large swaths of the South China Sea, including those that are part of Philippine territory and exclusive economic zone.
The case is now being heard at The Hague.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/69957/china-preparing-to-construct-in-scarborough-shoal---gazmin