Scarborough shoal still contested by China, Philippines
MANILA - The Philippines summoned Chinas ambassador in Manila on Wednesday for talks over a disputed area in the South China Sea after two Chinese surveillance ships blocked a Philippine Navy vessel from arresting Chinese fishermen in the area.
The Philippines and China are contesting sovereignty over a small group of rock formations known as Scarborough shoal in the South China Sea, about 124 nautical miles off the main island of Luzon, near a former U.S. navy base in Subic Bay.
A mosaic of conflicting claims over islands and other formations in the South China Sea have set China against the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. Some claims have drawn the United States to press China over sovereignty.
Tension has risen in the past two years over worries China is becoming more assertive in its claims to the seas, believed to be rich in oil and gas and straddling shipping lanes between East Asia and Europe and the Middle East.
The stakes have risen further in the past year since the United States refocused military attention on Asia, strengthening ties with the Philippines and Australia.
In a move to ease tensions, a Philippine military commander said a coast guard ship was on its way to Scarborough Shoal to assist a navy warship in holding Chinese fishing boats caught there. He said he did not want the navy involved in the enforcement of maritime laws.
We are sending our coast guard so that it will be a purely maritime and police affair, Lieutenant General Anthony Alcantara told reporters.
We have authority to confiscate them and bring the ships here. Weve done that in the past, Alcantara said.
On Tuesday, Chinese state media said a Chinese cruise ship called the Scent of Princess Coconut had completed a trial voyage to the Paracel Islands, a cluster of close to 40 islets, outcrops and reefs that both Vietnam and China claim.
The proposal to open the Paracels, known as the Xisha islands in Chinese, to tourism and the stand-off over the Scarborough shoal off the Philippines are likely to add to long-standing friction.
WAR GAMES
On Sunday, a Philippines Navy surveillance plane spotted eight Chinese fishing boats in the Scarborough shoal.
The Philippines sent its largest warship, a U.S. Hamilton-class cutter, to check on the Chinese presence, the first serious friction between the two this year.
In March 2011, Chinese navy ships threatened to ram a Philippine research vessel, prompting Manila to scramble planes and ships to the dispute Reed Bank area.
That incident prompted Manila to seek closer ties with the United States. The U.S. and Philippine navies will stage war games around the Reed Bank later this month.
Earlier on Wednesday, Philippines foreign ministry spokesman Raul Hernandez said Manila was seeking a diplomatic solution after Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario called in Chinas ambassador Ma Keqing for discussions.
A foreign ministry statement said the shoal was within the Philippines exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and Philippine laws were being enforced.
On Tuesday, a Philippine Navy team inspected the Chinese fishing boats and found illegally collected corals, giant clams and live sharks in one of the vessels.
Two Chinese surveillance ships soon arrived and placed themselves between the Philippine Navy ship and the fishing boats to prevent the arrest of any fishermen.
At a regional summit in Phnom Penh earlier this month, the Philippines pressed for a regional summit to discuss the disputes. China however has rejected internationalisation of the disputes, preferring to discuss them bilaterally or with the ASEAN regional grouping.
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Guess sending the Chinese destroyer made the Philippines to send in their Coast Guard.
