A Philippine Navy ship and at least two
Chinese vessels were locked in a standoff for a second day at the Scarborough
Shoal (Philippine name: Panatag Shoal; Chinese name: Huangyan Dao) today after
the Philippine Navy caught eight Chinese fishing boats poaching in Philippine
waters and was about to apprehend them, the foreign office said.
It said
Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario had summoned the Chinese Ambassador Ma
Keqing to a meeting to resolve the problem diplomatically.
A
statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs said the confrontation
happened two days after a Philippine Navy surveillance plane found the eight
Chinese fishing boats anchored inside the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal on April
8.
According
to the DFA, the Panatag Shoal is an integral part of Philippine territory.
"The
Shoal is 124 nautical miles from the nearest basepoint in Zambales province. It
is within the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and
Continental Shelf,” the DFA said.
To
protect the marine environment and resources in the Panatag Shoal and to assert
Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights over the area as a responsible
coastal state, the Philippine Navy deployed the BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15)
from Palawan to Northern Luzon waters on the same day to conduct maritime
patrol over the Shoal.
"In
the course of its patrol, PF-15 confirmed the presence of the eight Chinese
fishing vessels anchored inside the lagoon of the Shoal,” the DFA statement
said.
The
navy vessel remained in the vicinity of the shoal for continuous monitoring of
the fishing vessels, it added.
In the
morning of April 10, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, in accordance with the
established rules of engagement, dispatched a boarding team to inspect the
fishing vessels and collect photos and other evidence of their catch.
"The
inspection team reported that large amounts of illegally collected corals,
giant clams and live sharks were found inside the compartments of the first
fishing vessel that was boarded by the PN team,” the DFA said.
It
added that the BRP Gregorio del Pilar later reported that two Chinese maritime
surveillance ships identified as Zhonggou Haijian 75 and Zhonggou Haijian 84
managed to sail to the mouth of the shoal, placing themselves between PF-15 and
the eight Chinese fishing vessels, thus preventing the arrest of the Chinese
fishermen.
This
situation has remained unchanged as of Wednesday morning, the DFA noted.
"To
seek a diplomatic solution, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario
communicated to Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing in the evening of April 10 that
the Panatag Shoal is an integral part of Philippine territory and the PN is
enforcing Philippine laws on the Shoal, which is within the Philippine EEZ and
Continental Shelf,” the DFA said.
Furthermore,
Secretary del Rosario has invited Ambassador Ma to the DFA for further
discussion of this issue, it added.
Zhang
Hua, spokesman for China’s embassy in Manila, told Agence FraÑce-Presse on
Wednesday he had no comment on the latest standoff.
The
incident is the latest flare-up in tensions between the two countries over competing
territorial claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to sit
atop vast oil and gas deposits.
China
insists it has sovereign rights to all of the South China Sea, even waters
close to the coast of other countries and hundreds of kilometres (miles) from
its own landmass.
The
Philippines says it has sovereign rights over areas of the sea within its
200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and that its position is supported
by international law.
Apart
from China and the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam, also have
overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, making the waters one of
Asia’s potential flashpoints for armed conflict.
The
Philippines and Vietnam complained last year of increasingly aggressive acts by
China in staking its claim to the South China Sea.
The
Philippines accused Chinese vessels of firing warning shots at Filipino
fishermen, as well as harassing an oil exploration vessel.
Tina G.
Santos
Philippine
Daily Inquirer
With
reports from AFP, AP
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment