Philippines bolsters military presence after ‘Chinese activities’ near islands
Reuters
The Philippines National Defense Department in mid-December 2022 ordered a strengthened military presence in the South China Sea after monitoring “Chinese activities” in disputed waters near a strategic Philippine island.
It did not identify the activities, but its announcement followed a report of Chinese construction on four uninhabited features in the disputed Spratly Islands.
Any encroachment or reclamation on maritime features within the Philippines’ 320-kilometer exclusive economic zone “is a threat to the security of Pagasa island, which is part of Philippine sovereign territory,” the National Defense Department said in a statement, using the Filipino name for Thitu Island.
“We strongly urge China to uphold the prevailing rules-based international order and refrain from acts that will exacerbate tensions,” it added.
The Chinese embassy in Manila said both countries would “properly handle maritime issues through friendly consultations.” (Pictured: Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships pass in the South China Sea in March 2022.)
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims most of the South China Sea, which Filipinos call the West Philippine Sea, even though an international tribunal largely dismissed those claims in 2016. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have overlapping claims in the sea, which is a global trade route and rich in natural resources.
Thitu is the most strategically important of nine features the Philippines occupies in the Spratlys, located near Subi Reef, one of seven artificial features that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has built on submerged reefs, some equipped with surface-to-air missiles, aircraft hangars and runways.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Command said in a statement that regular naval and air patrols found a “persistent presence” of Chinese maritime militia near Thitu and around Lankiam Cay, Whitsun Reef and Sandy Cay.
Also in mid-December, the United States State Department issued a statement supporting the Philippines and calling on the PRC to uphold “the rules-based international order and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” The statement said swarms of PRC vessels near Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal in the Spratlys interfere with Philippine fishermen and show “continuing disregard” for other South China Sea claimants and states operating lawfully in the region, according to Benar News.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. repeatedly has cited the 2016 ruling that invalidated the PRC’s claims. In November 2022, Manila filed a diplomatic protest accusing the Chinese coast guard of confiscating debris from a Chinese space rocket salvaged by a Philippine Coast Guard ship near Thitu.
IMAGE CREDIT: PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
