China beefs up presence near disputed islands
Palace warns of long-term implications of standoff over Scarborough
China insists it has sovereign rights to all of South China Sea, even waters close to the coast of other countries and hundreds of kilometers from its own landmass Philippines says Bajo de Masinloc is an integral part of the Philippine territory, located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and is within the 200 nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and Philippine Continental Shelf
BEIJING — A large patrol ship arrived yesterday in disputed waters off the coast of the Philippines, China’s state media said, beefing up Beijing’s presence in a tense 10day standoff.
The Philippines and China have both dispatched vessels as they lay claim to a group of islands in the South China Sea that is about 120 nautical miles west of the main Philippine island of Luzon.
It is one of the most high-profile flareups in recent years between the two countries over their competing territorial claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits.
Yesterday, a 350 feet high-tech civilian patrol boat also arrived to “protect the country’s interests in territorial waters,” the Chinese state Xinhua news agency said.
“The Yuzheng-310 will conduct routine patrols in waters off the coast of Huangyan Island, so as to protect China’s sea rights and ensure the safety of Chinese fishermen,” it quoted the South China Sea Fishery Bureau as saying.
The row erupted on April 10 when Chinese vessels blocked a Philippine warship from arresting crews of Chinese fishing boats in the area and spiked this week when Chinese boats were accused of harassing a research ship.
Beijing, however, claims the warship hassled the fishing boats, which it says were taking refuge from harsh weather in a lagoon. China has also urged the archaeological research vessel to “leave the area immediately.”
China has sent several civilian patrol boats to the disputed group of islands known in the Philippines as Scarborough Shoal and called Huangyan island in Chinese.
China said that it has sovereign rights to all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coast of other countries and hundreds of kilometers from its own landmass.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Bajo de Masinloc is an integral part of the Philippine territory and part of Masinloc, Zambales. It is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and is within the 200 nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and Philippine Continental Shelf.
The Aquino Government remains committed to ongoing consultations with China toward a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the Philippines’ Panatag Shoal (Scarbor- ough Shoal) situation, a Malacañang official said yesterday.
Presidential Communications Chief Ramon Carandang issued the statement during the regular press briefing following news reports that China reportedly rejected the Philippines’ proposal to bring to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea the dispute over the Scarborough Shoal.
“We continue to discuss the issue with the Chinese Government. The Philippine Government is determined to find a peaceful solution to this,” Carandang said.
He reiterated that the country exercises full sovereignty and jurisdiction over the rocks of Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag).
“But we’re also equally determined to assert our sovereignty over what is our territory,” Carandang said, noting that Bajo de Masinloc is not part of the Spratlys.
He said the government remains confident that the ownership dispute between the country and China would be resolved through diplomatic means.
“And I’d like to add also, while this issue has immediate implications for us and for China, it also has long-term implications for the rest of the region — for stability,” he said.
“In the immediate sense, this is an issue between the Philippines and China. But, in the end, this is an issue that has implications not just for the Philippines but also for other countries who are interested in navigating the South China Sea or, as we call it, the West Philippine Sea. So this is really an international issue,” he said.