While Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie was making a “goodwill visit” in Manila less than two weeks ago, his people were attempting to set up structures in an island, 126 nautical miles away from Palawan.
The Philippines has protested the constructions which is a clear violation of the 2002 Asean-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea that no new structures should be built in disputed areas in the South China Sea.
Malaya
The military has monitored new intrusions by China at a Philippine-claimed island in the disputed Spratlys group of islands, where the Chinese put up buoys and posts that were subsequently dismantled by Filipino fishermen.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin he would bring up the matter before the 2011 Asian Security Forum or the Shangri-la Dialogue to be held in Singapore this weekend, which will be attended by defense chiefs in Asian region.
Gazmin said the first intrusion occurred on May 21 when Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and his party arrived Manila for a goodwill visit.
The second intrusion occurred on May 24 or a day after Gazmin and Liang met in Camp Aguinaldo where the two defense chiefs vowed not to take steps to affect stability in Spratlys, also known as the Kalayaan Island Group.
Last March, Chinese vessels reportedly harassed an oil exploration ship of Department of Energy at Reed Bank.
Gazmin said six incidents of intrusions by China have been recorded this year.
And all the Philippines could do at the moment is file diplomatic protests.
Asked what happens if the intrusions continue, Gazmin said, “We will continue to file our diplomatic protest.”
“The most we can do is file diplomatic protest, that is the most civilized thing to do at the moment,” said Gazmin.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it has asked the Chinese Embassy to explain the latest intrusions.
Gazmin said in the two latest incidents, a Chinese transport ship and two missile boats put up buoys and posts at the Amy Douglas Bank which is near the Philippine-occupied Likas and Patag islands. The bank is about 100 miles off Palawan.
He said the Chinese put up the buoys and the posts as part of their strategy to claim the island. “This means that they are putting up (structures) in our areas where we have no guards. In other words, they want to hoist their flag so that they can say the area is theirs,” he said.
Gazmin said President Aquino has been already informed of the intrusions.
“The option open to us is first, the diplomatic protest. We are in no position to confront the forces that are intruding into our territory simply because we do not have the capability,” said Gazmin.
He said he was somehow “affected” by the latest Chinese intrusion, noting these occurred during Liang’s visit.
“We showed them our hospitality. We talked to them properly and our agenda is that all problems can be resolved through dialogue. But while we were doing these (talks), something is happening in our area,” he said.
AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Oban said his instruction to the AFP Western Command is to step up patrols in the area. Nevertheless, he said there is no need to pour additional assets into the area.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it conveyed to the Chinese Embassy’s chargé d’affaires its “serious concerns” over the recent intrusions.
It said it requested clarification on the recent sightings of a “China marine surveillance vessel and other People’s Liberation Army Navy” ships at the Iroquois Reef-Amy Douglas Bank in the West Philippine Sea.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said that “any new construction by China in the vicinity of the uninhabited Amy Douglas Bank is a clear violation of the 2002 Asean-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.” – With Antonio delos Reyes
Statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs On Developments in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea)
Wednesday, 01 June 2011The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) conveyed to the Chinese Embassy’s Charge d’affaires its serious concerns over recent actions of the People’s Republic of China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on May 31.
Citing reports from the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the DFA requested clarification from the Chinese Embassy on the recent sightings of a China Marine Surveillance (CMS) vessel and other People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships at the vicinity of Iroquois Reef-Amy Douglas Bank in the West Philippine Sea. These ships reportedly unloaded building materials, erected an undetermined number of posts, and placed a buoy near the breaker of the Amy Douglas Bank.The Amy Douglas Bank is located southwest of Recto (Reed) Bank and east of Patag (Flat) Island and is well within the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). There are currently no structures on the said bank and the latter is unoccupied.
The posts and buoy placed by the Chinese at the vicinity of the Amy Douglas Bank are about 26 nautical mile east of Patag Island and 125 nautical mile from mainland Palawan.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said that “any new construction by China in the vicinity of the uninhabited Amy Douglas Bank is a clear violation of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea.”
The May 31 summons followed a meeting held last May 27, where the DFA also conveyed its concern to the Chinese Embassy over reports in Chinese state media about China’s planned installation of its most advanced oil rig in the South China Sea this coming July. During this meeting, the DFA asked the Chinese Embassy for the exact planned location of the mega oil rig and pointed that it should not be placed in Philippine territory or its waters.
In both meetings, the Philippines and China reiterated their respective commitment to the maintenance of peace and stability in the area, and to work together to maintain good bilateral relations.
The Philippines recognizes that critical to the peace and stability of the West Philippine Sea is the full and faithful implementation of the ASEAN-China DOC on the South China Sea. The Philippines also believes that it is in the best interest of all claimant countries and the region to transform the area into a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation (ZOPFF/C) through sustained consultations and dialogue.
ZOPFF/C provides a framework for segregating the disputed territorial features which may be considered for collaborative activities from the non-disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea in accordance with international law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The Philippines is also committed to cooperating closely and actively with ASEAN and China in finding peaceful solutions to attain this goal.
Just goes to show how little we are respected by other (most?) countries.
It could be that the Chinese didn’t mean to betray. Perhaps there’s a thug of war between hawks and moderated in Beijing. At any rate, PH should think about all possible scenarios and responses. As the weakest country, we are obviously the most vulnerable to China’s generally assertive actions of late.
Siguro kailangang tanggapin na natin ang mapait na katotohanan na hindi natin kayang pangalagaan ang ating sovereignty. Hindi ko alam kung kayo man ay nababahala sa unti-unting pagdami ng mga Koreano sa ating bansa. Wala na atang lugar na walang Koreano. Yung iba, ang alibi nagaaral dito, yung iba naman kunwari may negosyo pero kapuna pumna namang wala silang customer or kung meron man madalang pa sa patak ng ulan ang makikita mong pumapasok sa kanilang mga establisimento.
Siguro, kesa magising na lang tayo isang araw na nasasakop na tayo ng ibang bansa na di natin kapareho ang idelohiya, mas mabuti pang isurender na lang natin ang ating kalayaan kay Uncle Sam. Tiyak ko maraming maliligayahan dahil hindi na nila gumising ng maaga para pumila para lang makakuha ng visa sa bayan ni Uncle.
A most duplicitous modernizing gigantic empire just stretching its muscles to see how far its prey will go to defend its territory. A cat..no, a tiger.. playing with a mouse.
But the mouse is smart, it will do battle in the field of its own choosing and should fight like hell in that arena.
Just goes to show how little we are respected by other (most?) countries. – lurker
Di naman mangyayari yun if we have a government that trully represents its people. I blame the previous government of our country. Puro mga magnanakaw kasi ang karamihan. I’m hoping pnoy government is a little better than before and true to their word when it comes to addressing the issue of corruption but time is against our side to arm and become an economically significant country so that we can depend ourselves.
Diplomatic protests is not enough, when China built structures, we should sneak in and dismantle it when they leave. We should not allow them to have a permanent structures in any of our islands. At the same time, our government should recognize that these islands are for the Filipino people and notfor those politician-vested interest groups in our government.
Kung walang magagawa, eh kasi ayaw gumawa ng paraan.
Hulihin lahat ng siga sa Pinas. Ilabas muna pansamatala yung mga grupong Sige-Sige, Sputnik, BCJ, Bahala na Gang at kung ano pang gang na meron diyan. Baka yung mga Ampatuan may magawa. Naghahari-harian ang mga iyan diba?
what if we make these islands into penal colonies for the meantime, we can decongest the bilibid, etc, and the prisoners can roam anywhere in the island, the more the better?
Yung mga tinaguriang mga “latak ng lipunan” gawin pa ring productive. Sila ang ipadala dun, gamitin ang tapang at kasanayan kung saan sila magaling. Eh di may roon ng tugon sa “unemlpoyment” dito sa atin.
Yung mga gumagawa ng baril sa Cebu, hindi ba pwedeng suportahan iyan ng batas para magkaroon naman tayo ng idustriya natin ng armas? Hindi puro import at hingi. Kung ito man ay lumago, may trabaho na naman.
lurker,
i agree. nobody respects people who accepts bribes, most of all the one who does the bribing. for sure some chinese officials look at our officials with disgust.
Good suggestion Jug!
Kung mga siga nga naman ang nandiyan sa mga islang iyan, siguro naman magdadalawang isip yung mga nais magpunta sa mga islang iyan na teritoryo pa ng Pinas.
jug, bulawan,
dDn n’yo itatapon ang mga patapon sa Bilibid, eh kung kumampi sa mga Insik, di lalong paktaylo?
Namfootah, nadale lang si Lolo Osama mo, nandito ka na uli, Magno. Akala namin ibinenta mo na sarili mo sa mga Arabo. Maligayang pagbalik! Yahoo!
Nakalimutan ko tuloy komento ko.
Eto pala – kung yung ninakaw ni Garcia naipambili sana ng F-14 man lang meron na tayong pito hanggang walong pwedeng paikut-ikutin diyan sa Spratlys. Tapos pagsama-samahin yung kinupit nina Villanueva, Reyes, Cimatu at yung iba pa, aba e di hamak na modernong patrol vessels ng Navy kesa sa kumpit na inarbor lang sa Abu Sayyaf.
Ngayon, kung isama yung lahat-lahat ng ninakaw ng kampon at pamilya ni Putot sa SIYAM NA TAON, baka pinaka modernong Navy at Air Force sa ASEAN ang rumuronda diyan sa Palawan at Sulu.
Tumpak, Tongue!
Tongue na ka talaga, oo.
Ano palagay mo sa akin, lalaking kaladkarin, walang delikadesa at pumapatol sa mga amoy camel?
Haba ng panahon mong sinolo ang kabulastugan dine, hano?