The cat-and-mouse encounter on
Saturday, witnessed by Reuters and other media invited onboard the
Philippine ship, was a rare glimpse into the tensions playing out
routinely in waters that are one of the region’s biggest flashpoints.
It’s also a reminder of how assertive China has become in pressing its claims to disputed territory far from its mainland.
The outpost is a huge, rusting
World War Two transport vessel that the Philippine navy intentionally
ran aground in 1999 to mark its claim to the reef.
There, around eight Filipino
soldiers live for three months at a time in harsh conditions on a reef
that Manila says is within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone
(EEZ). China, which claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, says the
shoal is part of its territory.
Things were going smoothly for
the Philippine ship until it was spotted by a Chinese coastguard ship
about an hour away from the Second Thomas Shoal. The Chinese boat picked
up speed to come near the left of the white Philippine ship, honking
its horn at least three times.
The Chinese ship slowed down
after a few minutes, but then a bigger coastguard vessel emerged, moving
fast to cut the path of the Philippine boat.
The Chinese sent a radio message to the Filipinos, saying they were entering Chinese territory.
“We order you to stop
immediately, stop all illegal activities and leave,” said the radio
message, delivered in English. Gato replied that his mission was to
deliver provisions to Philippine troops stationed in the area.
Philippine troops wearing civilian clothes and journalists then flashed “V” for the peace sign at the Chinese.
Watched from the sky
Instead of stopping or reversing,
the Philippine vessel picked up speed and eventually maneuvered away
from the Chinese, entering waters that were too shallow for the bigger
coastguard ships.
A US navy plane, a Philippine
military aircraft and a Chinese plane — all visible from their markings —
flew above the ships at different intervals.
Filipino troops on the civilian
vessel clapped as they came within a few meters of the marooned
transport ship, the BRP Sierra Madre. Supplies of food and water were
then hauled up to troops onboard.
Later, the eight soldiers due to be relieved put on military fatigues for a daily ceremony to lower the Philippine flag at dusk.
They had been scheduled to go
home three weeks ago but Chinese ships blocked two Philippine supply
vessels from reaching them on March 9, a move protested by Manila and
which the United States described as “provocative”. The Philippines
resorted to air dropping food and water instead.
China’s Foreign Ministry said late on Saturday that the action by the Philippines would not change the reality of China’s sovereignty over the shoal, which Beijing calls Ren’ai reef.
“China will never tolerate the Philippines’ occupation of the Ren’ai reef in any form,” it said.
The ships of its recently unified
coastguard are a fixture around the disputed waters. While they don’t
have the weaponry of military vessels, thus reducing the risk a
confrontation could get out of control, they still represent a potent
show of sovereignty.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to parts of the potentially energy-rich waters.
Raising the stakes over the South
China Sea, the Philippines will file a case against China later on
Sunday at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, subjecting Beijing to
international legal scrutiny over the waters for the first time.
Manila is seeking a ruling to
confirm its right to exploit the waters in its EEZ as allowed under the
U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), its team of US and
British lawyers have said. China has refused to participate in the case
at the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Source : Jakartaglobe
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