The United States has seen Chinese activity around Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough or Panatag Shoal), which was seized by China from the Philippines nearly four years ago that could be a precursor to more land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea, the US Navy chief said on Thursday.
The head of US naval operations, Admiral John Richardson, expressed concern that an international court ruling expected in coming weeks on a case brought by the Philippines against China over its South China Sea claims could be a trigger for Beijing to declare an exclusion zone in the busy trade route.
Richardson told Reuters the United States was weighing responses to such a move.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is currently looking into these reports.
“We have to verify the report of Chinese activity in Scarborough Shoal from concerned government agencies,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in a statement issued yesterday.
Richardson said the US military had seen Chinese activity around Scarborough Shoal in the northern part of the Spratly archipelago, about 200 km west of Subic Bay in Zambales.
“I think we see some surface ship activity and those sorts of things, survey type of activity, going on. That’s an area of concern… a next possible area of reclamation,” he said.
Richardson said it was unclear if the activity near the reef, which China seized in 2012, was related to the pending arbitration decision.
It was recalled that a standoff occurred between China and the Philippines on April 8, 2012, over the Philippine Navy’s apprehension of eight Chinese fishing vessels in the disputed Bajo de Masinloc.
During a routine patrol of BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a refurbished former US Coast Guard cutter, eight Chinese fishing ships were discovered to have illegally seized coral and live sharks. Subsequently, two Chinese surveillance vessels positioned themselves between the Philippine ship and the Chinese fishermen, preventing any arrest or further action.
Since then, China has been in possession of the shoal, erecting a barrier to its entrance to prevent the access of Filipino fishermen to their traditional fishing grounds. Tensions have continued between the two countries.
Under a 2012 deal mediated by the US, China and the Philippines promised to withdraw their forces from the shoal until a deal over its ownership could be reached.
The Philippines complied with the agreement and withdrew. China, however, did not abide the agreement and maintained its presence at the shoal, effectively militarizing it.
In February the previous year, Manila also strongly protested two incidents involving Chinese and Filipino vessels in Bajo de Masinloc.
The first protest deals with China’s continuing actions to “harass and prevent Filipino fishermen from legitimately pursuing their livelihood in that area.”
The DFA said it received a report from the Philippine Coast Guard that three Philippine-flagged fishing vessels were intentionally rammed by Chinese Coast Guard Vessel 3412 in the shoal thus endangering the lives and safety of the Filipino fishermen on board.
The PCG also reported that on January 22, 2015, at least 24 Chinese Utility Boats (CUBs) were seen collecting giant clams in the lagoon of Scarborough Shoal. Chinese fishing vessels (CFVs) were likewise spotted transporting collected giant clams to other CFVs.
Richardson said China’s pursuit of South China Sea territory, which has included massive land reclamation to create artificial islands elsewhere in the Spratlys, threatened to reverse decades of open access and introduce new “rules” that required countries to obtain permission before transiting those waters.
He said that was a worry given that 30 percent of the world’s trade passes through the region.
Asked whether China could respond to the ruling by the court of arbitration in The Hague by declaring an air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, as it did farther north in the East China Sea in 2013, Richardson said: “It’s definitely a concern.”
“We will just have to see what happens,” he said. “We think about contingencies and… responses.”
Richardson said the United States planned to continue carrying out freedom-of-navigation exercises within 12 nautical miles of disputed South China Sea geographical features to underscore its concerns about keeping sea lanes in the region open.
http://www.mb.com.ph/us-bares-new-chinese-activity-around-bajo-de-masinloc/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.