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Philippines tells PRC to ‘back off’ after South China Sea standoff

Reuters

The Philippines in late November 2021 condemned “in strongest terms” the actions of three Chinese coast guard vessels that it said blocked and used water cannons on resupply boats headed toward a Philippine-occupied atoll in the South China Sea.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said no one was hurt during the incident at the Second Thomas Shoal. However, the Philippine boats, which were transporting food to military personnel based there, had to abort their mission.

“China has no law enforcement rights in and around these areas. They must take heed and back off,” Locsin said in a statement, reminding the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that a public vessel is covered by a Philippines-United States Mutual Defense Treaty.

Locsin said he had conveyed “in the strongest terms” to China’s ambassador in Manila “our outrage, condemnation and protest of the incident.”

China’s embassy did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The Second Thomas Shoal, 105 nautical miles off Palawan, is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, and a small contingent of military has occupied it since 1999 after intentionally grounding a Navy transport ship on the reef. (Pictured: Philippine Marines fold a Philippine national flag during a flag retreat on a marooned transport ship in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.)

The PRC regards the shoal as its territory because it falls within the disputed “nine-dash line” that it uses on maps to denote its claim to almost the entire South China Sea. A 2016 international arbitration ruling said the Chinese line had no legal basis.

Locsin said the PRC’s failure to exercise self-restraint “threatens the special relationship” between the two countries. The office of President Rodrigo Duterte said it was aware of the incident at the shoal.

“We will continue to assert our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” acting spokesperson Karlo Nograles said.

Before the incident, National Security Advisor Hermogenes Esperon said authorities had noticed an unusual presence of Chinese maritime militia near the atoll and Philippine-occupied Thitu island. The Chinese Communist Party has denied operating a militia.

There were 19 Chinese vessels near Second Thomas Shoal the week before the incident, and 45 near Thitu Island, Esperon told reporters, describing those vessels as “very aggressive.”

 

IMAGE CREDIT: REUTERS

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