Philippines says 200 Chinese ships in Philippine EEZ

The Philippine government expressed concern after seeing more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels it claims were manned by militias on a reef claimed by both countries in the South China Sea, but it did not immediately file a protest.

A government agency overseeing the disputed region said late Saturday that about 220 Chinese ships were moored at Whitsun Reef on March 7. It released photos of the ships lying side by side in one of the most disputed areas of the strategic waterway.

The reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, is a boomerang-shaped and shallow coral area about 324 kilometers west of the city of Bataraza in the western Philippine province of Palawan. It lies well within the country’s exclusive economic zone, over which the Philippines “has the exclusive right to exploit or conserve resources,” the agency said in a statement.

The large numbers of Chinese boats are “a concern because of the potential for overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to shipping safety,” he said, adding that the ships were not fishing when they were sighted.

When asked if the Philippines would protest, Secretary of State Teodoro Locsin Jr. “only if the generals tell me”.

Officials at the Chinese Embassy did not immediately comment. China, the Philippines and four other governments have been in a tense territorial impasse over the resource-rich and busy waterway for decades.

Critics have repeatedly called on President Rodrigo Duterte, who has maintained friendly ties with Beijing since taking office in 2016, for not standing up to China’s aggressive behavior and deciding not to immediately push for China’s compliance with an international arbitral ruling that defies the historic allegations. from Beijing to virtually the whole sea. China has refused to recognize the 2016 ruling and continues to defy it.

The arbitration body also ruled that China violated its duty to respect Filipinos’ traditional fishing rights when Chinese forces blocked access to Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines in 2012. However, the Philippines could not deny Chinese fishermen access to Scarborough either, the ruling said. The decision did not specify other traditional fishing areas within the Philippines’ Exclusive Zone where fishermen from China and other countries would be allowed to fish.

“If Xi says ‘I’m going fishing,’ who can prevent him?” Duterte said two years ago when defending his non-confrontational approach, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“If I send my marines to drive away the Chinese fishermen, I guarantee that not one of them will come home alive,” Duterte said at the time, adding that diplomatic talks with Beijing allowed the return of Filipinos to disputed fishing grounds where Chinese troops used to be. chased them away.

Duterte has sought infrastructure funds, trade and investment in China, which has also donated and pledged to provide more Covid-19 vaccines as the Philippines faces an alarming spike in coronavirus infections.