China denies incursion into West Philippine Sea

Manila, Philippines - China yesterday rejected allegations of recent illegal military incursions into Philippine territorial waters.

“The reported ‘incursion of Chinese ships’ is not true,” the Chinese embassy in Manila through spokesperson Michelle Zhao said in a statement.

Zhao said Beijing is merely being consistent on the issue.

“China holds a clear and consistent position on the South China Sea issue,” she said.

The Philippine government alleged Chinese naval vessels had unloaded building materials and installed a number of posts and a buoy last month near the Iroquois Reef and Amy Douglas Bank, both of which are within the Philippine territory near the Spratlys.

However the Chinese embassy gave a different account.

“It’s only China’s marine research ship conducting normal maritime research activities on the South China Sea,” Zhao said.

The Chinese government earlier reiterated that there is nothing to claim on Spratly Islands, which they call the Nansha, since it is rightfully theirs.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it had formally protested to the Chinese mission over recent activity in the disputed waters of the South China Sea and Chinese plans to anchor an oil rig there next month.

President Aquino said the government could only lodge a protest against China in asserting its claims over the oil-rich Spratlys.

Even without military might, the Philippines – or any other country for that matter – is no match against giant China, particularly when it comes to asserting its claims on the disputed oil-rich Spratly Islands, Aquino said.

Aquino conceded late Wednesday that even in boxing, a sport where Filipinos excel, “we are no match against them (China) even on one-on-one.”

“We are only 95 million (Filipinos) but there are 1.5 billion (Chinese),” Aquino remarked in jest in trying to explain to reporters here the realities of asserting Philippine claims on the oil-rich island chains.

Aquino said any statements on the claims would always be counterproductive as it would not help the long-standing problem among claimant-nations in the Spratlys.

“Tensions will just increase if we engage in a verbal jostle. If they (Chinese government) lose face, how will they compromise?” he asked.

“So, in our meetings with our fellow claimants, we say we discuss this as a group. There has to be centrality,” he said.

Aquino said the best option to assert claims would be through diplomacy.

Aquino though noted that no amount of diplomatic efforts would stop the Chinese from intruding in the Spratlys.

Coming up with a central position on the South China Sea dispute among the claimant-countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be the best way to deal with a superpower like China, Aquino said.

The DFA on Wednesday summoned Beijing’s charge d’affaires in Manila Bai Tian to protest the intrusion of Chinese surveillance vessels into the West Philippine Sea.

The Chinese vessels were reportedly unloading building materials and also placed a buoy in waters inside Philippine territory.

The Philippines earlier lodged a diplomatic protest against Beijing over a March 2 incident in Reed Bank, which is within Philippine territory, where two Chinese patrol boats reportedly harassed a local exploration vessel.

While remaining optimistic that a peaceful resolution can be achieved, Aquino said the Philippines is preparing to file a report before the United Nations on some “six to seven instances” of Chinese intrusion or provocative actions in the West Philippine Sea.

“We are completing the data. We will present it to them (China) and then bring these to the appropriate body, which most of the time is the United Nations,” Aquino said.

During his meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guangjie two weeks ago, Aquino already warned that continued provocative actions in the area could trigger an arms race in the region.

‘Multilateral dialogue’

Aquino and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei agreed Wednesday to adopt a “multilateral dialogue” policy among claimant-countries in the Spratlys.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma told Manila-based reporters in a briefing that the two heads of state wanted all stakeholders to “engage in a multilateral dialogue” along with fellow claimants China, Vietnam and Malaysia.

“The principal objective is peace and stability in the region. There should be peaceful cooperation and dialogue. There are many stakeholders, and they are all committed to share those goals,” Coloma said.

Coloma, who was with the Philippine delegation, quoted the Sultan as saying “it’s best to have good relations with China,” but would not want to interpret it any other way, except to say: “The two leaders emphasized the need for a peaceful solution to the (Spratlys) issue.”

Coloma said Aquino – whose two-day official visit here ends today – is looking forward to seeing the Brunei leader when the ASEAN Summit closes in Bali, Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is held in Hawaii in November.

The President reiterated earlier the need for a Code of Conduct among claimant-countries in the Spratlys so that jurisdictional matters will be defined clearly, especially in the wake of reports China had built permanent structures and garrisons in the disputed reefs.

The rationale behind the Code of Conduct is to lessen such incidents of intrusion and avoid conflicts.

Likewise, Aquino hinted the reported sighting of fighter jets buzzing a Philippine Air Force patrol plane in the area might not result in a diplomatic protest on the basis that Philippine authorities could not clearly establish if it really was Chinese aircraft.

‘A serious concern’

Malacañang said the sightings of Chinese Navy vessels erecting posts at the West Philippine Sea were a serious cause for concern and would like to diplomatically resolve the issue in favor of the Philippines.

“You’re speaking of western Palawan, you’re not speaking of the Spratlys. Western Palawan is part of our territory, so that’s not a disputed area,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Lacierda though was careful not to say China had acted in bad faith as the sightings of the Chinese vessels came after Chinese Defense Minister Liang came to Manila and met with President Aquino.

“We had a meeting (Wednesday) on China and the agreement was that the Department of Foreign Affairs will be taking the lead role in explaining the situation regarding China,” Lacierda said.

“The Philippines asked China to explain what they’ve been doing there. If you notice, they were supposed to put in place an oil rig, so they were asked specifically what area are you going to place them. But certainly, it’s a cause for concern for us. And that’s the reason why the deputy chief of mission (of the Chinese embassy) was summoned to the DFA,” Lacierda told a press briefing in Malacañang.

Lacierda cited the Declaration of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea as basis for asking China to explain its actions in Philippine waters.

China and the ASEAN have yet to adopt a legally binding code as China wants to resolve the Spratlys issue bilaterally with each claimant-country as against the position of the Philippines to allow ASEAN as a whole to be a party, including non-claimants.

Undertakings

On the other hand, defense and military establishments are coming up with a new strategy that would address the country’s territorial defense due to the unfolding security development in the South China Sea.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said they would be refocusing efforts to revive all its external defense undertakings.

Over the years, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) temporarily shelved all its external defenses to deal with internal security threats like the communist rebels and the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group.

“Right now we are trying to mix both ISO (internal security operations) and territorial defense in our planning,” Gazmin said.

While the ISO has been the top priority of the military in its previous undertakings, the developments in the Philippine-declared territory in the South China Sea also calls for an urgent need to address the concerns, he said.

“Because of the increased incursions and violations of our territorial waters (by foreign forces), we have to take a serious look into external defense or territorial defense,” Gazmin stressed.

Gazmin referred to the latest incursion of Chinese missile-firing surveillance vessels within Palawan Sea with construction materials like steel posts, specifically at the Amy Douglas Shoal last May 21 and May 24.

Amy Douglas Shoal is located less than 100 nautical miles from mainland Palawan and near Lawak and Patag Islands, which the military leadership wanted to develop as a prime tourist spot.

Gazmin though admitted that the country’s military is no match to a superpower like China.

However, Gazmin pointed out that the Philippines, being a sovereign nation, must have at least a credible and respectable force to safeguard and maintain her territorial integrity.

AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said the military is planning to set up a coast watch system in the western seaboard in the next two to three years to monitor and secure the country’s maritime borders and natural resources. – Delon Porcalla, Aurea Calica, Jaime Laude, Alexis Romero, Pia Lee-Brago, Paolo Romero

from reader's comments:

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batu wrote: I fully agree with most of the observations here. Our President sheepishly stated his weakness. When it comes to our sovereignty and territory, nobody and I say nobody should ever compromise our position to our claim and integral territory however militarily weak we are. If you continue to do that, you are sending the message to our neighbors that they can do whatever they want because we are a weak country and all is left to us is just TALK. P-Noy should reasses his stand towards the chinese. Chinese are shrewd and slick as far as their interests are concerned. You're a friend to them so long as you don't go against their interests.

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pinoytoits wrote: What a WEAK statement of our weak president.. You don't hear these kind of surrender statements to Israel leaders who's tiny country is surounded by bigger arab countries eager to wipe them out...

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makabayan2 wrote:

The president is right that the proper way to solve the problem is through diplomacy, and the united nation as the venue. Provoking words would make things worst. This is not ordinary issue like your problem with your neighborhood or a family member. Remember guys, there are numerous claimants on the island not only china.