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MANILA: The Philippines expressed concern about hundreds of Chinese military vessels it said were spotted this month in the disputed South China Sea, the latest example of tension on the crucial waterway.
The Philippine Coast Guard reported that around 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen moored in line formation on a reef on March 7, an intergovernmental task force said at the last minute. Saturday (March 20).
Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin, asked whether he would present a diplomatic protest over the presence of the ships, told a journalist on Twitter: “Only if the generals tell me. On my turn, foreign policy is the fist in the iron glove of the Armed Forces “. “
The National Task Force for the Western Philippine Sea expressed concern about overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to the safety of navigation.
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday, and calls to the Chinese embassy in Manila seeking comment went unanswered.
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In 2016, an international court annulled China’s claim on 90 percent of the South China Sea, but Beijing does not recognize the ruling. China in recent years has built islands in the disputed waters, laying runways on some of them.
Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei claim parts of the sea.
In January, the Philippines protested a new Chinese law allowing its coastguards to fire on foreign vessels, describing it as a “threat of war.”
The United States has repeatedly denounced what it called China’s attempts to intimidate neighbors with competing interests, while Beijing has criticized Washington for what it calls interference in its internal affairs.
The Chinese ships were at Julian Felipe Reef, also called Whitsun Reef, in Manila’s exclusive economic zone, the task force said, describing the site as “a large, shallow, boomerang-shaped coral reef northeast of Pagkakaisa. Banks and Reefs “.
“Despite the clear weather at the time, the Chinese vessels concentrated on the reef showed no actual fishing activities and had all white lights on at night,” he said in a statement.
The Philippines vowed to monitor the situation and “peacefully and proactively pursue its initiatives on environmental protection, food security and freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea.
