MANILA, Philippines (AP) – The Philippine military has ordered the deployment of several naval ships for “sovereignty patrols” in the South China Sea, where a Chinese flotilla has wandered around a disputed reef and ignored Manila’s request to leave the area.
Philippine Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana has called for about 200 Chinese ships, which he described as militia boats leaving immediately for Whitsun Reef, a shallow coral region about 324 kilometers northwest of Bataraza. west of the Philippine province of Palawan. China ignored the call, insisting it owned offshore territory and that ships were sheltering from rough seas.
Military Chief General Cirilito Sobejana has ordered the deployment of additional naval ships to consolidate the country’s “maritime sovereignty patrols” in disputed waters, the military said on Thursday.
He did not specify how close he would maneuver the Philippine navy ships from the Chinese ships, whose presence Lorenzana called “incursion” and “provocative action to militarize the area.”
“Through the increased naval presence in the area, we seek to reassure the strong and unwavering commitment of the Philippine armed forces to protect and defend them from harassment and to ensure that they can enjoy their rights to the country’s rich fishing grounds.” said in a statement the spokesman of the military, General Edgard Arevalo.
The United States said on Tuesday that it supports the Philippines in the new battle with Beijing and accused China of using “maritime militia to intimidate, provoke and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region.”
The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest, but China has insisted it owns the reef, which it calls Niué Jiao, and said Chinese vessels have converged in the area to avoid turbulent waters. The United States, however, said that “Chinese boats have been docking in this area for several months in increasing numbers, regardless of the weather.”
Beijing has denied that the ships were maritime militias. “Any speculation in this regard does nothing but cause unnecessary irritation,” the Chinese embassy said on Monday.
The Philippine government says the reef is in the country’s internationally recognized economic zone, over which it “enjoys the exclusive right to exploit or conserve any resources.”
Philippine military officials discussed the stalemate with the People’s Liberation Army of China on Wednesday and forwarded Lorenzana’s request that Chinese ships leave the reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, Arevalo said.
President Rodrigo Duterte stated Manila’s position in a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, said President Harry Roque’s spokesman, but did not report any resolution.
Greg Poling of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, a U.S. think tank that closely monitors territorial disputes, said several Chinese fishing and militia vessels recently frequented the Whitsun Network on the northeastern edge of Union Banks, an atoll where China has two bases. Vietnam, which also claims the area, has four bases.
“This development at Whitsun Reef is not new, but the numbers are very high,” Poling told the Associated Press.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have been blocked in a tense territorial conflict over the rich and busy South China Sea.