Manila accuses China of maritime intrusions

MANILA: The Philippines has protested to China over three Chinese vessels that allegedly intruded into its waters last month in the latest flaring of tensions over disputed South China Sea regions.

The Philippine government expressed its “serious concerns” to the Chinese Embassy after the three vessels, including a Chinese navy ship, were sighted near Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea on Dec 11 and 12, Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario said yesterday.

Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Juancho sabban said a philippine navy patrol ship and an air force plane kept watch from a distance until the Chinese vessels left the country’s territorial waters.

The three vessels apparently came from the Chinese-occupied Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands then cruised into Philippine waters on their way back to China as part of a regular shifting of forces, he said.

“We were watching them. They did not drop anchor or unload construction materials and appeared to be just passing through,” Sabban said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Del Rosario said the new Chinese intrusions violated a 2002 accord between China and the Association of South-east Asian Nations that discourages claimant countries to the South China Sea’s disputed Spratly Islands from taking aggressive steps that could ignite tension or confrontations.

China, the Philippines and four other claimants have long been locked in a tense dispute over potentially oil- and gas-rich South China Sea territories, including the Spratlys.

Many fear the region could be Asia’s next potential flash point for conflict. — AP