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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will take appropriate measures to remove a barrier installed by the China Coast Guard at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) and protect the livelihood of Filipino fishers, government agencies said Monday.
The appearance of numerous Chinese fishing vessels in the South China Sea shortly after China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels employed water cannons against a Philippine ship suggests that China's contentious maritime militia might become active should a conflict arise involving Beijing, Manila, and the US-led coalition, reported The Eurasian Times.Recently, the US, Australia, and Japan announced joint exercises in the South China Sea in response to the August 5 incident, during which six CCG ships, along with the fishing militia that often operates as China's quasi-military and unofficial maritime border management arm, obstructed two Philippine Navy-chartered civilian vessels delivering supplies to Philippine forces stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal.Images posted on X (formerly Twitter) on August 16 depicted a substantial gathering of fishing vessels, potentially numbering in the hundreds, in the South China Sea, navigating around a cluster of small islands. Scholars and observers of China have long studied this maritime militia, which has been deployed in prior disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines over contested territories.
The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea and which Beijing said on Thursday should be viewed rationally and objectively. China released the map on Monday of its famous U-shaped line covering about 90% of the South China Sea, a source of many of the disputes in one of the world's most contested waterways, where more than $3 trillion of trade passes each year. The Philippines called on China on Thursday "to act responsibly and abide by its obligations" under international law and a 2016 arbitral ruling that had declared the line had no legal grounds. Malaysia said it had filed a diplomatic protest over the map.
NEW DELHI: Amid fresh tensions between China and the Philippines in South China Sea, India reiterated its call for adherence to international law and rules-based order in the region, while also underscoring the significance of peaceful resolution of disputes."We've always felt that the issues need to be resolved, disputes peacefully, and the rules-based order, and we would certainly urge parties to follow that as well as ensure that such incidents do not happen," said ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
MANILA: The Philippines is exploring legal options against China accusing it of destruction of coral reefs within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, an allegation rejected by Beijing an attempt to "create political drama". The Philippines foreign ministry late on Thursday said it was awaiting assessments from various agencies of the extent of environmental damage in Iroquois Reef in the Spratly islands and would be guided by solicitor general Menardo Guevarra. Guevarra was quoted on Thursday by news outlet Rappler as saying he was studying the possibility of filing a second legal case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague, although no decision had yet been taken on what legal move would be taken. "The DFA stands ready to contribute to this effort," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
China on Tuesday repeated its call for the Philippines to tow away a grounded warship -- a rusted-out World War II relic used as a base -- from a disputed shoal, after Manila told Beijing it would not abandon the area.HowIn the latest spat on August 5, Chinese and Philippine vessels had another tense encounter in the disputed sea, with Manila accusing Beijing of using water cannons and blocking a resupply mission to soldiers manning the
Japan has joined India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan to lodge protests against China over its new "standard map" for including the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea as part of its territory.
The Philippines has accused China’s coastguard of installing a “floating barrier” in a disputed area of the South China Sea, which it said prevents Filipinos from fishing within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).