The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday accused China of undermining peace and stability in Asia by allegedly sending naval vessels to intimidate rival claimants in disputed sections of the South China Sea.
“The actions of the Chinese vessels in Philippine waters are serious violations of Philippine sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction,” the DFA said in a statement.
It said the actions of the Chinese vessels “hamper the normal and legitimate fishing activities of the Filipino fishermen in the area and undermines the peace and stability of the region.”
The DFA said it had sent another protest to the Chinese embassy on Thursday, which followed a series of protests by the Philippines over incidents in February-May, when the Chinese Navy allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen, intimidated a Philippine oil exploration ship and put posts and a buoy in Philippine-claimed areas.
The DFA also earlier queried Beijing over plans reported in Chinese state media to install an oil rig in the area.
The Philippines said the incidents occurred in what the country considers its territorial waters.
China denies intrusion
The Chinese embassy on Thursday denied that Chinese naval vessels had intruded on Philippine territory, while reiterating Beijing’s territorial sovereignty over the disputed South China Sea areas.
But the DFA said the two governments agreed to continue dialogue on the issue.
In Beijing, China said it was committed to maintaining peace in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, as Beijing tries to put on a friendlier face following a week of tension with the Philippines and Vietnam over the issue.
Meeting in Singapore, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie told his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh that both should resolve their disputes peacefully. Hanoi had said it would use its navy to enforce its territorial integrity.
“The involved countries should resolve their disputes over maritime sovereignty rights through friendly negotiations and bilateral talks,” the official Xinhua news agency, in a report late on Friday, quoted Liang as telling Thanh.
Clashes may erupt
In Singapore, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned yesterday that clashes may erupt in the South China Sea unless nations with conflicting territorial claims adopt a mechanism to settle disputes peacefully.
“There are increasing concerns. I think we should not lose any time in trying to strengthen these mechanisms that I’ve been talking about for dealing with competing claims in the South China Sea,” he said.
“I fear that without rules of the road, without agreed approaches to deal with these problems, that there will be clashes. I think that serves nobody’s interests,” Gates told a security conference in Singapore.
Gates called on the countries involved to build upon a 2002 agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China setting a “code of conduct” aimed at resolving disputes peacefully. Tina G. Santos, AFP and Reuters