Saturday, November 08, 2003
Arroyo to protect RP interests in Spratlys
By Miko Santos
PRESIDENT Arroyo said Friday the government will ensure that the country's interests in the Spratly Islands would be protected amid reports that Chinese research vessels and warships have been sighted in the disputed area.
"If the report is true, it is a breach of the status quo agreement among the six countries, including the Philippines," the President said, referring to an agreement signed among China, the Philippines and other countries, which claim all or part of the Spratlys.
"We will protect our interests under the law and our diplomatic covenants," Arroyo said in a statement.
At the same time, the President said she directed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to consult with the Department of National Defense (DND) to "bring this issue to the diplomatic level as warranted."
The military has recently discovered new markers in several unoccupied reefs and shoals in the disputed Spratly Group of Islands in the South China Sea.
This, despite an agreement between the Philippines and five other claimant-countries on a status quo in the hotly-contested islands.
Two Chinese vessels and markers with Chinese inscriptions were found in unoccupied reefs and shoals being claimed by the Philippines last month, Western Command (Wescom) Chief Ruben Domingo said Friday.
Vice Admiral Domingo said the Armed Forces removed the markers, adding "we don't know what is written on the markers."
On the other hand, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez Friday said the presence of a Chinese Navy ship in the disputed Spratlys group of islands in the South China Sea is "nothing new."
"Gen. Narciso Abaya, military chief, made a flyover at the area, he checked out Panganiban reef and reported that there was one Chinese Navy ship there," Golez said. "But this incident has been reported a month or two months ago. There's nothing new to add to the previous reports."
Abaya and other top military officials, aboard a C-130 plane Thursday conducted an aerial inspection of the Kalayaan Group of Islands and were able to see for themselves the two vessels, a frigate class and an oceanographic ship moored along the Mischief Reef, 135 nautical miles from Palawan.
"It is common for markers to suddenly appear in the area and the Philippine Navy would remove them. Or we would put up our markers and someone else will remove them, that's the situation there," Golez added.
Golez said an interagency group led by the DFA will decide on the matter.
"It is possible that we would issue a note verbal to the Chinese embassy asking for an explanation, or we can hold discussions through diplomatic channels," he said.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye, for his part, said they expect Abaya to report to the President soon about the developments in the Kalayaan islands, particularly after conducting an aerial tour Thursday. The Spratlys are claimed wholly or in part by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
Government troops are stationed at nine islands in the Spratlys.
The area, a rich fishing ground, is also believed to contain extensive reserves of oil and natural gas.
The Mischief Reef, an islet within the country's 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, was occupied by China in 1995. In 1999, constructions included a helicopter pad, satellite dishes and anti-aircraft emplacements.
The islands are also strategically located, straddling the main sea route from the Arabian Gulf to North East Asia, where one quarter of the world's sea-borne trade travels.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed a treaty with China last year to prevent the escalation of tension over the islands.
The Spratlys are considered a potential flashpoint in the region.
Vietnam and China have clashed twice over the Spratlys, in 1988 and 1992 and since the 1990s, the Philippines has been concerned over a Chinese installation on the Spratlys atoll of Mischief Reef. Miko Santos/ST
(November 8, 2003 issue)
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