The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Sunday that it was monitoring the “illegal presence” of more than 135 Chinese military vessels at a reef in the disputed South China Sea.
Overview
As part of its response, Manila said that its chief has ordered patrols in the vicinity of Whitsun Reef, which Manila recognises as the Julian Felipe Reef, which lies within the island country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“The PCG maintains its unwavering commitment to safeguarding maritime security, safety and the marine environment in the course of protecting the territorial integrity, sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea,” it said in a statement.
The West Philippine Sea is Manila’s term for waters in the South China Sea that fall within its 200-nautical mile EEZ.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila is yet to comment on the matter.
The incident comes several days after the Philippines carried out joint air and sea patrols with the US, followed by a similar undertaking with Australia in the South China Sea, which has triggered tensions with the Asian giant.
The Philippines said Sunday that more than 135 Chinese “maritime militia” ships were “swarming” a reef that it claims sovereignty over in the disputed South China Sea, with Manila calling the vessels’ ramped-up presence “alarming.” https://t.co/AK9s2g21Xr
— The Japan Times (@japantimes) December 3, 2023
The Dispute
China and the Philippines have been at loggerheads, particularly over the ownership of the uninhabited Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal, which are strategically important to both countries.
The areas have potentially significant, and largely unexplored, reserves of oil and natural gas. In addition, the region is productive for fishing and among the busiest areas of commercial shipping traffic.
UNCLOS Ruling
China’s presence in the region comes despite an international ruling dismissing its territorial claims.
On 12 July 2016, the Arbitral Tribunal instituted under Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) issued a binding ruling on China’s claims against the Philippines in the South China Sea.
The panel ruled that China’s claims of “historic” rights within the nine-dash line, which Beijing uses to outline its claims in the disputed South China Sea, were without legal foundation.
It also found that Beijing’s activities, such as illegal fishing and the construction of environmentally harmful artificial islands, within the Philippines’ two-hundred-nautical-mile EEZ and continental shelf violated Manila’s sovereign rights.
At the time, China dismissed the ruling as “nothing more than a piece of waste paper” and has continued its aggressive provocations in the region.