MANILA - Beijing has denied any infringement of Philippine jurisdiction rights by sending its largest coast guard vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a press briefing that the coast guard “conducts its patrols and law enforcement activities in relevant waters in full accordance with the law.”
“It is fully justified,” he added.
Repeated confrontations in disputed waters over the past year have raised fears of conflict between China and U.S. ally the Philippines.
In the latest development, the 12,000-ton CCG5901, dubbed “The Monster” because of its size, seemed to have left the coastline off Zambales, in the central Luzon region of the Philippines, and was about 90 nautical miles offshore as of Wednesday afternoon, the Philippine coast guard, or PCG, said.
Another Chinese coast guard ship – the CCG3103 - is heading to the area and was likely to serve as a replacement vessel for the monster ship to maintain China’s “illegal presence” within the exclusive economic zone, it said.
Besides the CCG5901 and CCG3103, there are at least six other Chinese coast guard vessels in the waters in which the Philippines holds jurisdiction rights to resources.
“The Monster” had been operating in an area 60-70 nautical miles from Zambales for the previous four days, according to spokesperson Jay Tarriela, who said that coast guard vessel BRP Cabra was deployed to closely monitor the “illegal” Chinese ship.
China “has provocatively deployed a People’s Liberation Army Navy helicopter, tail number 47” to the area, Tarriela said in a statement. The Philippine coast guard has been ordered by its commandant to refrain from action that could escalate tension, he added.
The Philippine military on Tuesday confirmed that it would continue conducting maritime and air patrols in the West Philippine Sea, or part of the South China Sea under Manila’s jurisdiction.
The Global Times, a Chinese newspaper known for its hawkish stance, said the Philippines was “hyping up” the CCG5901’s “normal” activities.
Chinese analyst Ding Duo was quoted as saying that after China announced the baselines around Huangyan Dao, the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal, both the Chinese navy and coastguard were “set to increase their routine patrols and exercises in the area, and the Philippines needs to adapt to this process.”
That meant the current campaign, seen by Manila as an illegal act of intimidation, was set to continue.
U.S. aircraft carrier
Meanwhile, a carrier strike group led by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), has been operating in the South China Sea since Jan. 3.
The strike group includes the embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, cruiser USS Princeton (CG-59) and destroyers USS Sterett (DDG-104) and USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110).
The U.S. Navy has released a number of photos showing the Carl Vinson and its accompanying vessels conducting daily “routine operations” to reaffirm freedom of navigation in the waterway.
It did not specify the carrier’s exact location and only said that it was “in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.”
“U.S. forces operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis,” the 7th Fleet has repeatedly said in its statements. “The United States upholds freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle.”
“No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms,” it said.
Besides the Carl Vinson strike group, U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) was also spotted conducting a firearms shooting training for its sailors on Tuesday in the South China Sea.
The Philippines and the U.S. in 1951 signed a Mutual Defense Treaty that commits the allies to help each other in time of attack by a third party.
Edited by RFA Staff.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news organization.