PH sea, air domain at risk from Beijing's rush to build facilities on reclaimed land - Gazmin

From InterAksyon (Apr 13): PH sea, air domain at risk from Beijing's rush to build facilities on reclaimed land - Gazmin

The frenzy of China's reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) not only poses a big threat to regional security, but more so to the national security of the country and the Filipino people, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Monday.

 

“[That has a big impact on] regional security… in terms of freedom of navigation [and] freedom of the air space. We are worried and we continue to stick to our initial reaction which is to apply the rule of law,” Gazmin told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo.

Nonetheless, the defense establishment is confident the international community will back the Philippines' resort to arbitration in an international court where China has repeatedly refused to participate. Instead, the Asian giant, which has built up its fleet of maritime patrol vessels the past three years, fast-tracked its reclamation activities inside Philippine maritime territory.

China's reclamation spree was condemned last weekend by President Barack Obama, who warned China against elbowing out small nations like the Philippines and Vietnam from the disputed Spratly Islands.

Other claimants in the Spratlys are Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Gazmin said on Monday, “We continue to launch a protest against the massive reclamation [by China]. As you know, we have been following the rule of law and because of this we drew a lot of supporters in terms of our case, the latest of which is the statement of President Obama.”

 

Gazmin believes China cannot prove to the international community the legality of its excessive claims over the South China Sea using its controversial “nine-dash-line claim”.

Meanwhile, Gazmin believes that other powerful countries will subsequently support the legal claim of the Philippines.

He noted the significance of having "one of the most powerful countries in the world supporting a small country,” referring to the United States.

Meanwhile, at the rate and the extent with which China has been illegally intruding and doing reclamation activities in the WPS, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will also step up its sovereignty patrols.

Gazmin told reporters the DND need not detail to the media how it was augmenting troops for such patrols, beyond stressing that “we continue to monitor. We will increase our monitoring capability in these areas.”

Balikatan, reclamation 'back-to-back risks' to ecology - group

To the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), both the ongoing reclamation for China's artificial islands on Mischief Reef and the US Balikatan war exercises starting April 20 in Ulugan Bay, Palawan are “back-to-back risks” to the marine ecosystems in the waters of Western Philippines.

“China’s reclamation activity is the latest episode in its drive to violate our sovereignty in the disputed seas. Meanwhile, this year’s annual US war games will be held in the country’s last frontier, Palawan, clearly to counter China. We Filipinos are the losers in this shadow war currently being waged in the West Philippine Sea; it is resulting in the degradation of coral reefs and its consequent disruption of entire marine ecosystems, and the displacement of our fisherfolk from their traditional fishing grounds,” said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE.

China’s rush to build the new military facilities is seen as intended to allow it to service military vessels as well as establish their exclusive economic zone and air defense identification zone, among others, in the West Philippine Sea.

On the other hand, increasing US military activities in Philippine territory is part of the US’ strategic military pivot towards the Asia-Pacific region alongside its efforts to establish a free-trade agreement across the region.

This year’s Balikatan exercises that will commence on April 20 involve 12,000 soldiers and will be held in resource- and biodiversity-rich areas adjacent to the West Philippine Sea.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/108711/ph-sea-air-domain-at-risk-from-beijings-rush-to-build-facilities-on-reclaimed-land---gazmin