From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 11):
PHL calls China’s actions a 'clear and urgent threat' to its territorial rights; Protests move to block PHL vessels to Ayungin
The Philippines on
Tuesday called China’s
recent act of blocking two Filipino vessels carrying naval personnel and
provisions to Manila-controlled Ayungin Shoal off the West Philippine Sea
(South China Sea) a “clear and urgent threat” as it called on Beijing to stop interfering in its operations
in its territory.
China’s acting ambassador
was summoned to the Department of Foreign Affairs Tuesday morning to receive
the Philippine government’s diplomatic protest, containing Manila’s “objection” to the Chinese action.
It was the second protest handed by the
Philippines
to
China
in two weeks. Last Feb. 25, the Philippines accused China of harassing a group
of Filipino fishermen off the Scarborough Shoal – another Philippine-claimed
feature in the West Philippine Sea - now under Chinese control after a standoff
in 2012.
“China’s actions
constitute a clear and urgent threat to the rights and interests of the Philippines
under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Foreign Affairs
spokesman Raul Hernandez told a press briefing.
The Philippines also
demanded China to “desist
from any further interference from the efforts of the Philippines to
undertake rotation and re-supply operations at Ayungin Shoal.”
According to Hernandez, this is the first time that China prevented
a Philippine supply mission and personnel rotation to Ayungin since it
established a presence in the area 15 years ago.
An old Philippine Navy ship – the BRP Sierra Madre – has been grounded at
the shoal since 1999. The
Philippines
posted seven navy personnel there to guard the territory, which is 105.77
nautical miles from the nearest Philippine
province of Palawan
and constitutes part of the country’s 200-nautical mile continental shelf as
provided under the UNCLOS.
UNCLOS is a 1982 accord by 163 nations, including the
Philippines and
China – that aims to limit maritime
boundaries of states.
China, in response,
rejected the fresh protest lodged by the Philippines, insisting indisputable
and sovereign claim over the shoal, also known by its international name as
Second Thomas Shoal.
Based on a report provided to the DFA, Hernandez said the incident happened
around 9:30 in the morning of March 9 wherein the two civilian vessels
contracted by the Philippine Navy were trailed by two Chinese Coast Guard
Vessels with numbers 3112 and 3113.
Thirty minutes later, the Chinese ships tried to block and prevent the
Philippine vessels to proceed to Ayungin Shoal, Hernandez said.
At 12:40 p.m., the Chinese Coast Guard demanded the Philippine vessels through
a digital signboard, sirens and megaphones “to leave the area,” saying it is
“part of their jurisdiction.”
Then at 2:30 p.m., the Philippine vessels decided to abort the re-supply
mission and the rotation of personnel in Ayungin Shoal and went back to Palawan, Hernandez said.
Part of the South China Sea within
Manila’s
territorial boundaries, have been renamed
West Philippine
Sea by the Philippine government to stressed its claim.
The strategic waters, where a bulk of the world’s trade pass, are said to be
sitting atop huge oil and gas reserves and have been the subject of
decades-long conflict among China, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and
Taiwan.
All claimants have stationed military troops in their claimed areas, except
Brunei.
China’s
claim covered nearly the entire sea, citing ancient maps and documents to back
its assertion.
The
Philippines filed a
case against
China in 2013
before The Hague-based arbitral tribunal to denigrate
China’s massive
claim. The court will convene to hear
Manila’s
case soon as its written argument is submitted on or before its deadline on
March 30.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=624398
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