China accused of secret island building

VIENTIANE – Beijing’s “illegal” island building in the South China Sea moved to center stage at an Asian summit yesterday after the Philippines produced evidence it said showed fresh construction activity at a flashpoint shoal.

An artificial island on Panatag or Scarborough Shoal could be a game changer in China’s quest to control the sea and raises the risk of armed confrontation with the US, according to security analysts.

Beijing insisted it had not started building at the shoal – a move that could lead to a military outpost just 230 kilometers from the

main Philippine island, where US forces are stationed.

But the Philippines released images it said showed Chinese ships in the area that were capable of dredging sand and other activities required to build an artificial island.

“We have reason to believe that their presence is a precursor to building activities on the shoal,” Defense department spokesman Arsenio Andolong told AFP.

“We are continuing our surveillance and monitoring of their presence and activities, which are disturbing.”

China denies accusation

China’s Foreign Ministry said there had been no change to the situation around Scarborough Shoal after the Philippines said it was seeking clarification from Beijing about an increase in ships near the disputed South China Sea shoal.

“I can tell you that there has not been any change to the Huangyan Island situation. China has also not taken new actions,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing, using China’s name for the shoal.

“Given this situation, some people are hyping the situation by spreading that kind of information. I think it is worth everyone being vigilant of this kind of intent,” she said.

The Department of National Defense (DND) described the increasing presence of Chinese vessels on Panatag Shoal off Zambales as a precursor to Beijing’s possible building of structures over the area.

Andolong said the military is not taking any actions except to continuously enforce its mandated tasks of conducting sustained territorial monitoring and surveillance operations over the area.

“As of the moment, we are still following our mandate, which are monitoring and surveillance, and our future actions will depend on what the commander-in-chief will say,” Andolong said, referring to President Duterte.

A week ago, China’s ambassador denied any construction plan on Scarborough Shoal while maintaining its sovereign rites to over 90 percent of the South China Sea under its uncharted nine-dash-line claim.

The denial is now causing major concerns within the defense and military establishments, after they monitored 10 Chinese vessels converging around the Philippine traditional fishing ground.

Located 125 nautical miles off Zambales, Panatag Shoal is currently under the de facto control of Beijing following a tense maritime standoff in 2012 with the Philippine Navy.

“We are gravely concerned about this development given that the shoal is well within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone). The photos that were taken last Sept. 3 make it even more disturbing,” Andolong said, referring to Chinese ships monitored in the area.

He said the matter is now being handled by the Department of Foreign Affairs while the defense and military establishments would focus on territorial and maritime surveillance operations.

A senior security official said the increasing number of Chinese ships on Panatag Shoal is a clear indication that Beijing is again resorting to subterfuge or deception to achieve its goal.

“They are employing the same deception when they lied to us when they initially occupied Panganiban Reef in 1995 during the time of former president Fidel Ramos,” the official, who asked not be named, said.

Beijing claimed then that it was merely building a fishermen’s refuge on Panganiban Reef.

Three years later, the former obscure maritime features in the disputed Spratlys archipelago have metamorphosed from bamboo stilts into highly fortified naval and air installations.